Introduction

On 10 May 1940, Germany launched its long-awaited attack in Western Europe, driving through Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg. However, this was a diversion, for Army Group A - and its 1,753 tanks - was ready to slice through the lightly defended Ardennes. XIX. Panzerkorps, under the command of Heinz Guderian, emerged at Sedan on the Meuse River, and the capture of this city would allow German forces to advance deep into the undefended interior of France and to encircle British forces in Belgium. The Battle of Sedan took place from 12-15 May. The city was quickly taken, and demoralized French forces on the west bank of the Meuse were unable to mount a coherent defense or to launch successful counterattacks. The Battle of Sedan was thus instrumental in the total defeat of France shortly thereafter.
Quoted from the Dragon Models LTD website

Contents

Dragon has released French Infantry – Sedan 1940, kit number 6738, a set of four figures in 1/35 scale in its '39-'45 series which depicts four Frenchmen defending their positions on the outskirts of Sedan during World War II. The kit bar code is 089195867384. The box that the kit comes in is the typical soft cardboard open end box, size 162 x 258 x 38mm, with artwork of the figures on the top of the box. The bottom of the box has a very basic assembly guide in the form of photographs of the completed figures and an artwork painting guide. The sprue is sealed within a clear plastic bag.

Review

Instruction Sheet
There is no separate instruction sheet included in the kit. There is only the basic assembly guide on the bottom of the box. There are a few simple mistakes made on the sheet such as wrong numbers and numbers completely missing in regards to pieces that go on the figure. These are simple mistakes that should have been noticed and corrected.

Painting Guide
Included on the bottom of the box is a very basic painting guide. There are three brands of paint referenced. They are:

• GSI Creos Corp. Aqueous Hobby Color
• GSI Creos Corp. Mr. Color
• Model Master Color

To paint the figures as shown the necessary colors are:
GSI Creos Corp. Aqueous Hobby Color

• 12 – Flat Black
• 47 – Red Brown
• 81 – Flat Khaki
• 303 – Semi-Gloss Green
• 18 – Metallic Steel
• 27 – Gloss Tan
• 37 – Gloss Wood Brown

GSI Creos Corp. Mr. Color

• 33 – Flat Black
• 41 – Flat Red Brown
• 55 – Flat Khaki
• 303 – Semi-Gloss Green
• 28 – Metallic Steel
• 44 – Flesh
• 43 – Semi-Gloss Wood Brown

Model Master Color

• 1749 – Flat Black
• 1533 – Light Brown
• 2106 – French Khaki
• 1712 – Field Green
• 1415 – Burnt Metal Buffing Metalizer
• 1706 – Sand
• 1735 – Wood

The Sprue
The kit comes with one grey styrene sprue which contains 65 total pieces. The sprue come sealed in a clear plastic bag. All of the pieces are attached to the sprue with a minimal amount of contact points. When I examined the sprue I didn't find any bent, broken or missing pieces nor did I find any poorly placed knock out points. Please refer to my photographs of the front and back of the main sprue so that you can see the individual pieces and their layout and location on the sprue.

The Parts
As I examined the individual pieces I found what I would consider to be a normal to minimal amount of flash however there are seam lines present. I did not find any push out (knock out) marks on the individual pieces. The detailing on the individual pieces is nice.

The Figures
The kit comes with four WWII French infantrymen defending their positions on the outskirts of Sedan. I assembled all of the figures straight out of the box without doing any work on them, other than to clean up the spot from where I removed them from the sprue, to show all of the seam lines, flash, gaps and how the equipment fits on the figures. I feel this is a good way to show the work required on all of them. This has become my standard for figure reviews and it has met with praise and appreciation from my fellow modelers.

Build

Figure A. French infantryman with the MAS Modele 36 rifle
The figure is made up of 9 pieces for the main body, not counting the gear and weapon. The detailing on the clothing is nice. The figure is wearing a Capote (overcoat) with the lower front buttoned back that is very nicely done. The lower section comes in three separate pieces which makes for a realistic 3-D appearance. There are locator holes for the coat pieces on the figures torso and locator pins on the separate coat pieces which make it easy to place them correctly. The look is nice and there are minimal gaps to fill. The cuffs on the coat sleeves will need to be hollowed out by the modeler for a realistic look. The figure is also wearing a standard pair of Pantalon type trousers which are bloused at the knee with the lower leg being wrapped with puttees down to the lace-up ankle boots.

The figures face is decent and the neck fits into the collar nicely and leaves a realistic looking gap between the neck and the collar. The French Model 1926 "Adrian" helmet fits on the head good and the detailing on it is molded nicely. There is a molded chin strap on the figures head but it is faint. In my opinion the head looks a little small and out of proportion to the rest of the body. He is armed with a French MAS Modele 36 rifle which fits into the right hand very well and with little gap. If desired the modeler will need to scratch build a sling for it. I felt that the detailing was poor and lacking detail on the rifle especially around the breech and trigger area. The weapons barrel will need to be hollowed for a realistic look. The figure comes with a M35 canteen and a French ANP 31 gas mask & carrier, for which there is a molded strap, and the Model 1935 leather harness and pouches set. The harness is molded on the figure but the ammunition pouches are separate. There is very little flash present however there are seam lines which will need to be removed. The overall fit of the pieces is good with minimal gaps to be filled.

Figure B. French infantryman with binoculars
The figure is made up of 9 pieces for the main body, not counting the gear and weapon. The detailing on the clothing is nice. The figure is wearing a Capote (overcoat) that is very nicely done. The lower section comes in three separate pieces which makes for a realistic 3-D appearance. There are locator holes for the coat pieces on the figures torso and locator pins on the separate coat pieces which make it easy to place them correctly. The look is nice and there are minimal gaps to fill. The cuffs on the coat sleeves will need to be hollowed out by the modeler for a realistic look. The figure is also wearing a standard pair of Pantalon type trousers which are bloused at the knee with leather cavalry gaiters instead of puttees on the lower leg and he is wearing lace-up ankle boots.

The figures face is decent and the neck fits into the collar nicely and leaves a realistic looking gap between the neck and the collar. The French Model 1926 "Adrian" helmet fits on the head good and the detailing on it is molded nicely. There is a molded chin strap on the figures head but it is faint. The figure comes with a M35 canteen and a French ANP 31 gas mask & carrier, for which there is a molded strap, and the Model 1935 leather harness and pouches set. The harness is molded on the figure but the ammunition pouches are separate. The figure comes with no weapon but is holding a pair of binoculars, possibly Lumex Paris stereo 10 x 35 binoculars, for which there is a separate case added to the back of the belt. There is no strap for binoculars so if desired the modeler will have to scratch build one. There is also a leather document pouch on the figures right side for which there is a molded strap. One area of detail I want to point out is the fingers on the right hand. The fingers are separated which gives the hand a realistic look. There is very little flash present however there are seam lines which will need to be removed. The overall fit of the pieces is good with minimal gaps to be filled.

Figure C. French infantryman with Fusil Mitrailleur Modle 1924 M29 (FM 24/29) light machine gun
The figure is made up of 9 pieces for the main body, not counting the gear and weapon. The detailing on the clothing is nice. The figure is wearing a Capote (overcoat) that is very nicely done. The lower section comes in three separate pieces which makes for a realistic 3-D appearance. There are locator holes for the coat pieces on the figures torso and locator pins on the separate coat pieces which make it easy to place them correctly. The look is nice and there are minimal gaps to fill. The cuffs on the coat sleeves will need to be hollowed out by the modeler for a realistic look. The figure is also wearing a standard pair of Pantalon type trousers which are bloused below the knee with the lower leg being wrapped with puttees down to the lace-up ankle boots. The figures face is decent and the neck fits into the collar nicely and leaves a realistic looking gap between the neck and the collar.

He is armed with a French Fusil Mitrailleur Modle 1924 M29 (FM 24/29) light machine gun which fits into the left hand very well and with little gap but it fits poorly into the right hand. I felt that the detailing is decent on the weapon but it could be better. The weapons barrel will need to be hollowed for a realistic look. The French Model 1926 "Adrian" helmet fits on the head good and the detailing on it is molded nicely. In my opinion the head looks a little small and out of proportion to the rest of the body. There is a molded chin strap on the figures head but it is faint. The figure comes with a M35 canteen and a French ANP 31 gas mask & carrier, for which there is a molded strap, and the Model 1935 leather harness and pouches set. The harness is molded on the figure but the ammunition pouches are separate. The figure comes with a FM 24/29 light machine gun magazine carrier hanging on his right side for which there is a molded strap. There is very little flash present however there are seam lines which will need to be removed. The overall fit of the pieces is good with minimal gaps to be filled.

Figure D. French infantryman with the tobacco pipe
The figure is made up of 9 pieces for the main body, not counting the gear and weapon. The detailing on the clothing is nice. The figure is wearing a Capote (overcoat) with the lower front buttoned back that is very nicely done. The lower section comes in three separate pieces which makes for a realistic 3-D appearance. There are locator holes for the coat pieces on the figures torso and locator pins on the separate coat pieces which make it easy to place them correctly. The look is nice and there are minimal gaps to fill. The cuffs on the coat sleeves will need to be hollowed out by the modeler for a realistic look. The figure is also wearing a standard pair of Pantalon type trousers which are bloused well below the knee with the lower leg being wrapped with puttees down to the lace-up ankle boots. . The figures face is decent and the neck fits into the collar nicely and leaves a realistic looking gap between the neck and the collar.

He is armed with what appears to be a French Model 1935 automatic pistol judging by the holster and there is a separate cartridge pouch on the front of the belt. The French Model 1926 "Adrian" helmet fits on the head good and the detailing on it is molded nicely. In my opinion the head looks a little small and out of proportion to the rest of the body. There is a molded chin strap on the figures head but it is faint. The figure comes with a M35 canteen and a French ANP 31 gas mask & carrier, for which there is a molded strap, and the Model 1935 leather harness and belt which is molded on the figure. The figure is carrying a magazine for the M29 light machine gun in his right hand, which fits nicely, and a tobacco pipe in his left hand. The pipe bowl will need to be drilled out, if desired, for a realistic look. There is very little flash present however there are seam lines which will need to be removed. The overall fit of the pieces is good with minimal gaps to be filled.

CONCLUSION

All in all this is a decent set of figures. I was impressed with the detailing, especially on the uniforms and the gear. A modeler will just need to be prepared to spend some time removing seam lines and filling the few gaps. Other than my few complaints I was very impressed with the kit and I feel that anyone who purchases this set of figures will be pleased with them. I would have no hesitation to recommend this set of figures to others.

REFERENCES

World The Military Book Club Encyclopedia of Infantry Weapons of WWII
Saturn Books Ltd.
Ian V. Hogg

Blitzkrieg
By Robert Werncik and the editors of Time-Life Books
Time-Life Books

Into the Cauldron
Das Reich in France 1940
Robert Michulec & Dmitriy Zgonnik
Concord Publications Company

Maginot Line 1940
Battles on the French Frontier
Marc Romanych & Martin Rupp
Illustrator John White
Series Editors Marcus Cowper and Nikolai Bogdanovic
Campaign series - 218
Osprey Publishing Ltd.