Saturday 15 June 2019

'Allo! 'Allo!

The keen eyed viewer may have noticed that there were some French civilians represented on the model of Pegasus Bridge.  It only seemed fitting to do so, especially in the case of Monsieur Gondrée, the cafe owner.  The only issue with this was that, try as I might, I just couldn't shift the idea of the cast of  'Allo! 'Allo! running amok on Pegasus Bridge.  This, of course, was a ludicrous notion and it was certainly not my intention to belittle the memory of those brave souls that fought for our freedom seventy five years ago.  That said it is a particularly British phenomenon to find laughter in the most direst of circumstances.  Who would have though that a comedy program about a small French cafe in war torn France would prove to such a hit, but a hit it was.  Running for ten years, 'Allo! 'Allo! was a firm favourite of Young Master Awdry.  The absurdity of the plots, the murder of the French language at the hands of Officer Crabtree and let's not underestimate the allure of Yvette's French accent on my teenage sensitivities, but where to find the miniatures?
A quick bout of web based research threw up some promising leads, with 'Artizan Designs', proving a rich vein to mine.  Martin Thornton, of 'The Life and Times of Mad Lord Snapcase' fame also proved incredibly helpful and was able to give me some suggestions for possible miniatures to convert to represent some of the other characters.

So it was that René Artois, Yvette Carte-Blanche and Michelle Dubois soon sprang to life.  They were closely followed by Colonel Kurt von Strohm, Herr Otto Flick and of course, Gruber's Little Tank.
It wasn't long before the whole affair was bordering on the obsessive, but it was great fun, particularly when it came to converting a couple of characters.  The first, Madame Fanny La Fan, saw a Hag's body chopped and then placed into a lovely resin piece from 'Charlie Foxtrot Models', the addition of some Milliput sheets helping to complete the illusion.  

Officer Crabtree, the British agent working undercover as a French Gendarme, saw another 'Artizan Designs' sculpt used, but with the addition of a truncheon and Milliput cape.  Finally the Resistance's master of disguise, Roger Leclerc, was created with yet another 'Artizan Designs' miniature, but this time with the addition of an MDF bicycle and strings of onions fashioned from some tiny beads.  
 With the addition of Flying Officers Fairfax and Carstairs, and a pile of stolen loot, sourced from 'Anyscale Models', and containing the infamous Fallen Madonna with the Big Boobies* the collection was at an end, at least for the time being.  That said if anyone can think of any suitable miniatures for the remaining characters then do let me know.
*Attributed to van Clomp.
So with a good proportion of the cast assembled, it seemed like a wasted opportunity not to take a few shots on the wonderful Pegasus Bridge model, the Café Gondrée, becoming Café René!
"I was pissing by the door, when I heard two shats. You are holding in your hand a smoking goon; you are clearly the guilty potty."
 Officer Crabtree


83 comments:

  1. Terrific work, Michael, and its immediately motivated me to order the DVD boxed set :-)

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    1. Thank you Simon, just seen all 9 series available on Amazon for under £10!

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  2. Hahahaha!
    "Listen vair carefullee I shall say zis only once:
    Brilliant work Michael"

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  3. What a glorious idea. Well done!

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    1. Thank you so much, wish I could take credit for it.

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  4. Brilliant!! I might have to copy some of this.

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  5. Brilliant work, Michael. A fantastic idea executed with your usual attention to detail.some of the plots from the series would make entertaining tabletop games, like when they tried to use the liitle tank to blow up the train, but the resistance interfered.

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    1. Thank you Jez, I was thinking something similar, such a rich vein.

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  6. Best post of the weekend !! mmmm Kirsten Cooke !!!

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    1. Thank you so much Phil, one of those projects that had to be done.

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  7. Oh this brings back memories. I used to love watching Allo Allo and you even got the famous Fallen Madonna in too!!!
    Magnifique!!!

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    1. Thank you so much Ray, I have started watching the series again, pleased to say it has held up well.

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  8. Wonderful images with lovely figures and backdrops, Michael!

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  9. Just brilliant Michael! Absolutely love that stolen loot marker 😃

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    1. Thank you Ivor, I had a lot of fun with this one.

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  10. You have far too much spare time? Excellent!

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    1. Thank you Jeremy, always try and keep busy is the secret. ;)

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  11. Wonderful, you got it down to a T :)

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  12. Bravo! Great project and fun post!

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  13. Great work - they look suitably characterful :-D I came across those Artizan figures recently, & it's great to see them painted-up with the rest of the cast!

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    1. Thank you. The Artizan miniatures and just wonderful to work with.

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  14. Superb, Michael! I can hear the theme tune in my head even now.

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    1. Thank you A.J. it has been running around mine for weeks now!

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  15. Brilliant. I am often mistaken for Officer Crabtree in my visits to France!

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    1. Thank you Dave, loving the idea of you as Crabtree! :D

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  16. > let's not underestimate the allure of Yvette's French accent on my teenage sensitivities
    It has exactly the same affect on my adult sensitivities!

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  17. Absolutely marvelous Michael - but where's "The Nicked Knockwurst" ;-)

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    1. Thank you, I have a feeling that this project will run and run!

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  18. Wonderful work, it brought a smile to my lips thinking of the programe you have captured so well.

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    1. Thank you so much, it was an absolute joy to work on.

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  19. Wonderful pictures, scenery and minis Michael, love the civilians and the perfect details...

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  20. Simply brilliant :--)
    Cheers
    Stu

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  21. What a wonderfully whimsical diversion. But surely there should be a Knuckwurst or two to hide the forgeries? :)

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    1. Thank you Tamsin, I think as I work my way through the series there may be one or two additions.

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  22. What an inspirational post and I'd love to see these in a farcial Pulp game.

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    1. Thank you Joe, there is so many possible games here. Just need the time!

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  23. Gorgeous! Love all the little detail.

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  24. Absolutely awesome! A brilliant project. +1 for the fallen Madonna!

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    1. Thank you so much, an absolute joy to work on.

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  25. As ever just great work coming from your creative brush!

    Christopher

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    1. That is incredibly kind Christopher, thank you.

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  26. Excellent--I have wanted to do something similar for some time now, when I eventually get around to my WWII projects! Also, I don't think it's disrespectful at all, as you say I think it comes under the umbrella of finding a bit of humour in a bad situation and any little details (or "easter eggs") that can draw in the viewer in an educational model can only be a good thing.

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    1. Thank you Kym, that was certainly my hope. The original idea was born from the desire to educate, but also to share creative ideas.

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  27. Brilliant! Very well done as per your usual standard of work.

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  28. Fantastic. I am really amazed nobody has done a Resistance themed unit along the lines of Allo Allo I did look for more miniatures to either convert or use but beside the Artizan ones couldn't track it down.

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    1. Thank you Simon. There are certainly more Resistance miniatures available now, so plenty of options to increase the unit if I wanted. Some of the new Warlord Games are rather good.

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  29. HAHAHA Fantastic stuff once again Michael. Never heard of that series, must be a British thing & it was too early to see the light of day across the pond.

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    1. Thank you Terry, certainly a very British thing, played out in France.

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  30. Great conversions and lovely paintwork Michael

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  31. Splendid! great sourcing, converting, and painting.

    Where is the civilian car in photo three from?

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    1. Thank you so much. The car was from Anyscale Models listed as a Gestapo Citreon. https://www.anyscalemodels.com/shop/scale-1-56-for-28mm/gestapo-citreon.html

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  32. "I was pissing by the door, when I heard two shats. You are holding in your hand a smoking goon; you are clearly the guilty potty."

    Excellent work, lovely painting. Presumably you have fitted "ze flashing knobs" to Fanny La fan's bed? These are really great, Michael.

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    1. Thank you so much Martin. Watching the series again now and "ze flashing knobs" has just appeared, but so too the exploding chickens - so tempted.😀

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  33. Wonderful work Michael, your collection is also becoming a classic.

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    1. Thank you Pat, not sure about a classic collection, but certainly a diverse one!

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  34. I could've sworn that painting depicted Helga. :)
    Seeing how accurate the minis to the real actors I can say your research went really well. Fantastic painting too.

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    1. Thank you so much, I do need to find a Helga now though... :)

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  35. I don't have any superlatives left as you go from one top to an even higher one.
    They're resembling the cast of the series so well. Great choice of models, research and paintjobs!
    I'm totally in love with this project.

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  36. Superb work Michael - love all the mastercrafted detail. Bravo!!

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  38. Marvelous stuff, Michael!

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  39. Love it 😂😂😂😂😂😂

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  40. I WISH I could buy some as I'm making a game board set in Nouvion and am just doing cafe René,please let me know if you can help

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    1. Thank you! The bulk of the miniatures all came from Artizan Designs and their Europe Ablaze range, happy hunting. https://www.artizandesigns.com/list.php?man=12&cat=121&sub=163&page=1

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