Constructing the Citroen Civilian 4,500kg Truck with Canopy

I have been reflecting and looking at some of the models on my workbench and making progress on them.

In addition to the Bolt Action Citroen Civilian 1000kg Dropside Truck I also bought a slightly bigger truck, the Citroen Civilian 4,500kg Truck with Canopy.

Citroen made many of these trucks in the 1930s and 1940s.

Citroen Civilian 4,500kg Truck with Canopy

The pack contains a resin and metal kit, this is a nice clean casting.

Citroen Civilian 4,500kg Truck with Canopy

The rear wheels were quite easy to secure to the rear of the truck. There is an axel and two sets of wheels.

The front axel, I really had no idea how this was secured and the photographs on the Warlord Games site didn’t help that much. So I first stuck the front wheels to the front axel and then checked how the wheels would fit on the underside.

I was then able to secure the front axel to the underside of the truck, getting it to sit flat was challenging. I also stuck the front bumper on as well.

The next stage is to give the model an undercoat.

See the workbench feature on the Citroen Civilian 4,500kg Truck with Canopy.

FFI (Forces Françaises de l’Intérieur) Char B1

The French Char B1 is one of my favourite tanks, probably as a result of making that Matchbox plastic kit of the Char B1 and the Renault FT17 when I was young. 

So it was probably a no brainer to get one of these for my French partisan band.

The Char B1 was a specialised break-through vehicle, originally conceived as a self-propelled gun with a 75 mm howitzer in the hull; later a 47 mm gun in a turret was added, to allow it to function also as a Char de Bataille, a “battle tank” fighting enemy armour, equipping the armoured divisions of the Infantry Arm.

Among the most powerfully armed and armoured tanks of its day, the type was very effective in direct confrontations with German armour in 1940 during the Battle of France, but slow speed and high fuel consumption made it ill-adapted to the war of movement then being fought. After the defeat of France, captured Char B1 (bis) would be used by Germany, with some rebuilt as flamethrowers, Munitionspanzer, or mechanised artillery.

What I had discovered in my research about the FFI (Forces Françaises de l’Intérieur) was that they had re-captured many of the German Char B1s and used them against the Germans. 

B1-bis FFI Vercors of 13rd Dragons - La Rochelle, May 1945

The model is a plastic kit and comes in a nice box complete with decals and instructions.

Bolt Action Char B1 bis

There are two sprues in the box.

The kit does go together relatively easily.

I had a few issues when putting the frontal weapon into place and where the top hull joins the bottom hull.

There are quite a few options when it comes to putting it together, if you want an original vanilla French Char B1, a captured German version or, as I am doing a liberated version for use in 1944 and 1945.

See the full workbench feature on the Bolt Action FFI Char B1.

FFI (Forces Françaises de l’Intérieur) Char B1 for Bolt Action

B1-bis captured by FFI (Forces Françaises de l’Intérieur), battle of Paris, August 1944.

After thinking about Bolt Action for a while and reflecting on the rules I finally decided on which force I was going to build. My regular opponent Simon was going Italian, so I actually had quite a wide choice of potential foes, from Early War French, British Desert Rats, Anzio which would mean regular British Infantry and US forces, Russians and even Germans towards the end of the war. I did initially think about Greek, they used regular British equipment so would be quite easy to model. I did consider Late War Germans, so I could get a JagdTiger in 28mm…. but in the end I decided that I would go totally irregular and go with Partisans, so just infantry, or maybe a car or truck or two.

I have a few civilian vehicles, a Citroen Civilian 1000kg Dropside Truck.

Citroen Civilian 1000kg Dropside Truck

And the slightly bigger truck, the Citroen Civilian 4,500kg Truck with Canopy.

Bolt Action Citroen Civilian 4,500kg Truck with Canopy

I have been slowly painting the models, and was quite clear to myself that I wouldn’t buy any more models for this force until I had most of the existing models painted.

However…

On a recent visit to the Warlord Games Store in Nottingham I was tempted by the boxed model of the French Char B1.

Bolt Action Char B1 bis

The French Char B1 is one of my favourite tanks, probably as a result of making that Matchbox plastic kit of the Char B1 and the Renault FT17 when I was young. 

The Matchbox and Airfix Influence

I already have a few in 15mm for Flames of War on the workbench too.

Flames of War French Char B1 bis

So it was probably a no brainer to get one of these for my French partisan band.

The Char B1 was a specialised break-through vehicle, originally conceived as a self-propelled gun with a 75 mm howitzer in the hull; later a 47 mm gun in a turret was added, to allow it to function also as a Char de Bataille, a “battle tank” fighting enemy armour, equipping the armoured divisions of the Infantry Arm.

Among the most powerfully armed and armoured tanks of its day, the type was very effective in direct confrontations with German armour in 1940 during the Battle of France, but slow speed and high fuel consumption made it ill-adapted to the war of movement then being fought. After the defeat of France, captured Char B1 (bis) would be used by Germany, with some rebuilt as flamethrowers, Munitionspanzer, or mechanised artillery.

What I had discovered in my research about the FFI (Forces Françaises de l’Intérieur) was that they had re-captured many of the German Char B1s and used them against the Germans. 

Captured Char B1 bis FFI (Forces Françaises de l’Intérieur) Panzerkampfwagen B-1 740(f) recaptured by Free France forces in 1944 and used in the liberation of Paris.

B1-bis captured by FFI (Forces Françaises de l’Intérieur), battle of Paris, August 1944.

This B1-bis FFI Vercors of 13rd Dragons was used in La Rochelle in May 1945.

B1-bis FFI Vercors of 13rd Dragons - La Rochelle, May 1945

So once the model is made I have two choices about which paint scheme to use.

B1-bis captured by FFI (Forces Françaises de l’Intérieur), battle of Paris, August 1944.

B1-bis captured by FFI (Forces Françaises de l’Intérieur), battle of Paris, August 1944.

B1-bis FFI Vercors of 13rd Dragons – La Rochelle, May 1945

B1-bis FFI Vercors of 13rd Dragons - La Rochelle, May 1945

Of course there is a slight reality issue in that by 1944 the Italians had already surrendered and changed sides.

The model is a plastic kit and comes in a nice box.

The first stage will be to make the model kit.

Bolt Action Partisans

Making some more progress with my Bolt Action Partisans, mainly painting the flesh tones.

Though my partisan band is suppose to be French, this one still looks a little too Soviet, probably because of the cap.

This model though looks like it will be fine for a French setting.

This though is my least favourite of the models. Not sure why, probably is the socks! Again maybe a little too Soviet in he look.

Maybe if the model looks more like Simone Segouin then, possibly I would like it more.


Using a borrowed helmet, this model would fit fine in Eastern Europe or in France.

Bolt Action Citroen Civilian 4,500kg Truck with Canopy

In addition to the Bolt Action Citroen Civilian 1000kg Dropside Truck I also bought a slightly bigger truck, the Citroen Civilian 4,500kg Truck with Canopy.

Citroen made many of these trucks in the 1930s and 1940s.

Citroen Civilian 4,500kg Truck with Canopy

The pack contains a resin and metal kit, this is a nice clean casting.

Citroen Civilian 4,500kg Truck with Canopy

Citroen Civilian 4,500kg Truck with Canopy

See more work in progress with this model.

Citroen Civilian 1000kg Dropside Truck

I decided that my partisan band for Bolt Action might need some transport, so did I think about getting an armoured car, well I did think about getting a Char B1, but in the end I got the Warlord Games Bolt Action Citroen Civilian 1000kg Dropside Truck.

Citroen Civilian 1000kg Dropside Truck

The model comes in a blister pack and comprises a clean resin casting and some metal components.

Citroen Civilian 1000kg Dropside Truck

As with many models I like to see what the original vehicle looked like and also what others have done with their models. The original Citroen truck was derived from a car.

Citroen B15

Citroen B15

Citroen B15

Citroen B15

Citroen B15

I have always found painting civiliian vehicles slightly troublesome, military vehicles are usually very drab, matt and weathered. Civillian trucks however are “colourful”.

So hoping some people have some useful ideas or methods they would like to share in the comments.

Bolt Action Civilian 1000Kg Dropside Truck

For Bolt Action I am in the process of painting some partisans to fight Simon’s Italians. I have been looking for some vehicles, my first choice was the Tamiya 1/48th scale Citroen. Though relatively easy to find online, it is a plastic kit, slightly larger scale-wise for Bolt Action scale models.

What I didn’t realise until recently was that Warlord Games actually make a fair few civilian models for Bolt Action.

Looking through the Bolt Action website I quite liked the look of the Civilian 1000Kg Dropside Truck.

Bolt Action Civilian 1000Kg Dropside Truck

The other civilian vehicles in the French range also look quite useful. In the main I will use them as scenery or as objectives.