Industrial areas in France 1940?

[Wulf]

I'm thinking of adding some kind of industrial area for my 10mm scale battlefields. Needless to say, there's no end of possible stuff available for N gauge railways, but I'm not at all sure what would look right for 1940 France. Most of what I see available looks modern, but obviously there would be some industrial units around then.

Does anyone have any advice, or some pics of actual combat areas involving industrial areas? It would probably involve a rail line... I'm hoping for something like a refinery, with fuel/oil tanks and piping all over the place...

[Ithoriel]

All of the pics I can think of are taken from the air during bombing raids. Makes it difficult to pick out details!!

These are Ploesti rather than France but I imagine they would have been similar.

[Wulf]

That first pic looks like what I want, but I actually doubt if the contested areas of France in 1940 would have been as industrialised as that. It is the sort of thing I wanted to create though...

[Lord Kermit of Birkenhead]

Wulf - NE France was the most industrialized area of the country. Most of the buildings would be fairly new, it were flattened in 1918 was the Germans retreated.

IanS

[OldenBUA]

A bit of googling:

1925 Ford factory (near Paris)


1938 factory in Alsace


193? Oil well/refinery in Alsace (Pechelbronn)

[Bernie]

Don't forget mining districts such as Lens, canals and the way most towns had light industrial units on their outskirts

[Subedai]

There is a book about after Normandy titled something like 'Normandy: Then and Now' which has loads of local pictures in. You should find it in your local library and it may have some inspirational pics in.

[Wulf]

Right, thanks all, that's just what I wanted to see. Especially the oil refinery pic, and the general idea that I can have a heavy industrial area plonked right into otherwise open countryside! I don't intend to industrialise my whole tabletop, just a few square feet. A coal mine also appeals - there's buildings around for that in N gauge too!

[GrumpyOldMan]

Hello Wulf

I can recommend the Metcalfe N gauge buildings for earlier industrials.



Die cut card but reasonably sturdy. Also can fit in with an earlier period.

http://www.metcalfemodels.com/boilerhouse-and-factory

Cheers

GrumpyOldMan

[Wulf]

Yes, I have some (smaller) Metcalfe stuff, the church & Farm buildings. The problem with the bigger ones is, as I play Skirmish scale games (hopefully CoC for 1940), I really need to use the interiors, which is difficult with bigger, multistory railway buildings. So I was hoping to keep to smaller stuff and ruins designed for wargaming (with open roofs & sides & partial floors, etc.)

[Orcs]

You could have a look at Fieldworks. Most of the buildinga are battle damaged, and they are a lttle crude when compared to Timecast, but they paint up ok.

They are avaliable basically painted for a £3-4 more, but I would still buy the unpainted.

They do a number of industrial buildings with Oil tanks etc. Most for under a tenner

http://www.fieldworks.org.uk/10and12mm.htm

[GrumpyOldMan]

Hello Wulf

You could have a look at the Kestrel factory:-

http://www.gaugemaster.com/item_details.asp?code=GMKD1001&style=&strType=&Mcode=Kestrel+KD1001



About £20 though.

The Tomytec or Greenmax factories won't need much work to shift them from Japan to Europe:-

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/m.html?_odkw=car&_ssn=plazajapan&_from=R40&_osacat=0&_from=R40&_trksid=p2046732.m570.l1313&_nkw=factory&_sacat=0



The Greenmax looks like a great objective/battleground  .

This ebay seller is selling his Tomytec stuf, the Bus shelter and Taxi office might be handy (dealt with this seller, very good service).

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/Model-Trains-/479/m.html?item=251573830038&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEWNX%3AIT&_ssn=hakoniwa-giken



Cheers

GrumpyOldMan

[Wulf]

The fieldworks stuff looks very nice - also looks like it has removable roofs. Kestrel I have looked at various bits from, decent stuff. The Tomytec looks... Huge... but stunningly cheap!

[Orcs]

Roofs are removable.

I dont think any of the more complete buildings with more than one floor have internal floors but this would be simple to put your own in.

[Wulf]

You could have a look at Fieldworks. Most of the buildinga are battle damaged, and they are a lttle crude when compared to Timecast, but they paint up ok.

They are avaliable basically painted for a £3-4 more, but I would still buy the unpainted.

Do you say that through experience with the painted ones?