French Foreign Legion in the Levant
While it was outmatched in the Battle of France against the German Panzers, the R35 was still a capable tank for colonial warfare where forces were less well equipped to deal with relatively heavy armour. This was the case in the Levant, where up to 90 R35s were delivered to Commander Henri Dentz's administration in 1940 to replace the Great War-era Renault FT17s. These tanks made up the 6th & 7th armoured regiments of the Chasseurs d'Afrique.
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| This book is a great resource for anyone wanting to learn more about Operation Exporter and the French Foreign Legion stationed in the Levant. |
Following the surrender of France, the Army of the Levant was ordered by the Vichy Government to remain neutral and to defend its territorial integrity against both German and British forces that would seek to push the French out of Syria. However, as Rommel was rampaging through the Western Desert, conflict was escalating in the Mediterranean, and German operatives were fuelling a coup in British-backed Iraq, access to Syria's airfields became a priority for Germany. Vichy reluctantly agreed to allow the Luftwaffe to land in the Levant to refuel and rearm, which prompted Churchill's cabinet to demand an invasion to topple Dentz's administration.
The R35s were considered a trump card against the lightly-armed assortment of Free French, British, Australian, Indian and Jewish invasion forces that made up 'Operation Exporter.' The R35's heavy armour was practically invulnerable to boys anti-tank rifles and could only be penetrated by the British 25 pdr guns at point blank range. This made the R35s extremely valuable for supporting Levantine cavalry regiments during counter attacks.
Rubicon's Renault R35
Deciding that I couldn't field the Army of the Levant without an R35, I set my eyes on Rubicon's resin kit.
While other companies make their own versions, I couldn't go past the crisp detail that Rubicon provides. A lot of this has to do with the model being made in resin, which allows for a highly detailed R35 that would make any French commander proud.
The kit allows you to make both an R35 and R40 with two separate turret options. The R35 was the original design armed with a 37mm anti-tank gun, which was severely underwhelming against enemy armour. The R40 was later developed which supported a heavier gun and superior suspension, but they were produced too late and in too few numbers to make a difference against the Blitzkrieg.
One of the big pluses was the ease of assembly. The tracks were all in one piece (there's nothing worse than having to glue separate track pieces together!), and could just be glued on before or after assembly. There were a few small pieces that were a bit fiddly and needed to be glued to the rear of the tank, but other than that it was very simple to put together.
Also interesting to note that the hull was hollowed out. I assume this is to save on resin costs, but they have done it really well. There is a single floor panel that is easy to glue in to the bottom of the tank.
Both weapon options are given their own turret, which is nice because it means you can swap each variant in and out of your list as you like. The back hatch is also a moving part, so you don't need to glue it down if you'd prefer to keep the detail or if you would like to put a tank commander sticking out of it.
As you can see, the detail is extremely crisp on the model, including in the track components and on the hull. Remember that it is resin, so give it a wash with warm soapy water before applying paint!
Even compared to my Matilda II which isn't exactly a big tank, the Renault R35 is tiny! Operated by a two man crew, it has a very low profile which makes it easier to hide and gain cover in games.
I undercoated the model in Plastic Soldiers' Army Sprays range 'British Khaki'. This is what I normally undercoat my infantry so I had it on hand, though I wish I had bought a can of Desert Yellow spray which would have saved me a lot of time instead of applying the base layers via brush.
A Vallejo Desert Yellow base coat and a Games Workshop Seraphim Sepia later, the R35 is ready for some highlights. For the tracks, I mix together GW greys and blacks and apply it at different levels for bases and highlights.
I wanted to try something different, so I decided to try to use a technique from Patch's LRDG which involves using foam from blister packs to blot the vehicle and layer it from wash to highlight. Learn more about this technique at wwpd.net
The foam technique listed above came out way better than I expected. It definitely gives a good desert feel to the tank, and makes it looks like it has actually been out in the weather, whereas other vehicles I have painted tend to look very new and shiny.
The Army of the Levant is growing! I have a few more Foreign Legion models to go before I'll be ordering some Levantine native troops and other vehicles to support the R35.
My take away
I'm really glad I went with Rubicon's Renault R35. It's the first time I've painted a Rubicon kit, and I was more than impressed with how easy it was to put together and how detailed the model was. It is certainly better than alternative models by other companies, and I will be looking to Rubicon for other WW2 vehicles in the future.
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