Ransome Chua's Frontline French Foreign Legion Project

[ransomechua]

Hi guys,

Finally got my act together and snapped this French Foreign Legion project together. Do have a look. My thanks to Philip Garcia for his helpful references on the Camerone Legionnaire. As usual all comments and suggestions are welcomed.

Enjoy, mon amie.

Ran

[ransomechua]

Uhhh... heh heh.... it's at my website:

http://www.ransomechua.com

Ran

[Lightning Sword]

Wow! Ransome, those are some excellent figures. Great to see such a sampling from era to era.

[pukingdog]

Un travail de beauté formidable ! This is one of those projects where the hobby transcends itself. These figures belong in the Legion Museum at Aubagne, and you are a man of uncommon talent, Ran.

Mike

[Von Cougar]

very nice! i love the "through the ages" idea. that's one of the reasons i got into this hobby, although on a wider scale...

a very interesting collection...and love the history lessons!

[ransomechua]

Many thanks Lightning Sword, this project has been on the backburner for some time, glad to have got it humming along now.

Ran

[romedome]

I died and woke up in 1/6th heaven.
..........!...........
Someone resuscitate me!

[Double Dare]

Excellent work, Ran. Educational too.

Nick

[Doctor T]

Fantastic work and great website!

[payneja]

beautiful, i really love the presentation and background info on the troops!

Awesome job!

[Pad75]

Hey Ransome that's fantastic!

[Tengu Sniper]

Awesome, Ransome !!!
"Legio Patria Nostre !"

TS.

[medic]

Amazing Mr. ransomechua, and even more amazing is your photoshop techniques. It is PSD isnt it.

[ransomechua]

Mike: Merci mon ami, il est mais un hommage humble. And I am truly humbled by your kind words. Thanks again.

Von Cougar: Glad you liked it. I found it more substantial to add in the history bits, it makes this hobby even more meaningful when one is able to look at it in deeper perspective and wider range. Personally, I learnt a lot along the way working on this project.

Romeo: LOL, I knew you would enjoy this treat!

Double Dare, Doc T, payneja, Pad 75, Tengu Sniper: many thanks for the compliments and encouragement, guys. I've more planned for this project...

medic, thanks.... my Photoshop techniques? Yes, the Dien Bien Phu (slightly modified) digi-diorama which you guys have seen posted on this forum was created thanks to Photoshop.

Ran

[WAF07]

Amazing work. I'm always struck by the talent on this board, and you sir seem to be well endowed with it.

A quick question as well. Could you recommend any literary resources on the Battle of Camerone- been in the back of my mind to look up something about it after reading how important it is to the Legion's history, and your model of the legionare reminded me.

Great job again,
Cheers,
Allen.

[Brett]

Ran, I must say, I take pride in telling you, you are one of my 1/6 heroes, have been for quite some time. You and many of the other artists from this board, never cease to amaze and inspire. You do some of the most incredible work, of that there is no doubt. Thanks for sharing these, and do keep them coming,

[pukingdog]

By hitting your local library or bookstore (real or virtual) you should be able to find several good titles on the Foreign Legion. Any history will have an account of Captain Danjou and his men, as this is the sacred event of the Legion.

Some titles (all older, but several still in print) -

French Foreign Legion: A Complete History of the Legendary Fighting Force
by Douglas Porch, Paul Pugliese
ISBN: 0060923083

French Foreign Legion
by Erwan Bergot
ISBN: 0441252052

March or Die: A New History of the French Foreign Legion
by Tony Geraghty
ISBN: 0816017948

Damned Die Hard
by Hugh McLeave
ISBN: 0553299603

and this expensive limited title, which covers the battle exclusively -

Camerone: The French Foreign Legion's Greatest Battle
by James W. Ryan
ISBN: 0275954900
$79.95

FROM THE PUBLISHER
"The first detailed account in English of the battle that defined the elite unit's "fidelity to the mission." The battle was fought at Camerone, some 40 miles west of Vera Cruz, Mexico, on April 30, 1863; the opponents were the half-strength 3d Company, 1st Battalion, of the Legion opposed by more than 2,000 Mexican regulars and guerrillas. After several fights against the Mexican lancers just beyond the deserted La Trinidad Hacienda at Camerone, the 3d took cover behind the old walls of the hacienda. There, for ten hours the Legion withstands repeated assaults from a Mexican force that grew to more than 2,000 men. Finally, the surviving officer and four men of the 3d charge into the midst of the massed juaristas. The officer is mortally wounded, two men are killed, the other two captured. The Legion has never regarded Camerone as a defeat but rather as the prime example of "fidelity to the mission." Annually, on April 30, Legion units, whether in peace or war, commemorate the gallantry of the 3d of the 1st."
__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ ____

A bit of good news for Indochina-obsessed readers, this title due in December -

Last Valley: Dien Bien Phu and the French Defeat in Vietnam
by Martin Windrow
ISBN: 0306813866

[romedome]

Mike is Tha Man in regards to good reads, so the books he recommends are definitely something that's already gone thru the PDog Good Reads Filtration System.

And I can't wait for Martin Windrow's new book - I didn't know that so super-thank you for that, Mr.Incredible! (or is that Ransome & his works, hmmm)

Martin Windrow knows what he's writing about as he's written the following Osprey books I have:
French Foreign Legion 1914-45
French Foreign Legion Paratroops
French Foreign Legion Infantry & Cavalry since 1945
The French Indochina War 1946-54
The Algerian War 1954-62

Which makes me wonder what's next on Ran's FFL list? WWI, more pre-20th Century? Whatever, I'll dine on them with relish! Fabulicious!

[ransomechua]

Brett, i'm so humbled by your kind words. Thank you and all in this forum for making this hobby a truly wonderful experience.

Ran

[ransomechua]

Mike, whew! Thanks for coming up quick on the Camerone reference list, I couldn't have done it better nor faster!

You must have a postgraduate degree in Research or something I suspect. You always amaze me....

Ran

[USMCRon]

Outstanding work again Ran. Especially like the Dien Bien Phu scene

[ransomechua]

Thanks Ron, great to see you back here again! The Dien Bien Phu digi-diorama will be the kind of standard I will be setting myself to achieve from now on.

Ran

[ransomechua]

Which makes me wonder what's next on Ran's FFL list? WWI, more pre-20th Century? Whatever, I'll dine on them with relish! Fabulicious!

Romeo, good and clever question that! I would love to do some Beau Geste era legionnaires, maybe based on that favourite FFL movie of me "March or Die"

A WW1 FFL - early and late war is also great... althought I think Sideshow should do that, it's easily up their street.

Some FFL ceremonials should be great too.

Mannnn... I'm such a slut for fancy uniforms

Ran

[pukingdog]

Glad to help, Ran. I was raised with the belief that I'm an "idiot-savant", but mom told me the other day that they made up the "savant" part, LOL.

[ransomechua]

Mike, now that you mentioned it, I think many of us in this hobby are really savants. Really brilliant when we want to be. LOL

another idiot too,
Ran