Indochina 1946–1954: 3D Printable Soldiers

First Indochina War 1946–1954

French Expeditionary Forces & Viet Minh STL Miniatures

The Forgotten War

Between the end of the Second World War and the conflicts that followed in Korea and Vietnam, another conflict shaped the future of Southeast Asia.

The First Indochina War (1946–1954) saw the French Expeditionary Corps battle the determined Viet Minh across dense jungle, mountains, rice paddies and remote outposts. It was a war of patrols, ambushes, airborne assaults and isolated strongholds, where leadership, training and determination often proved more important than numbers.

From the streets of Hanoi to the hills of Dien Bien Phu, this conflict laid the foundations for the Vietnam War that followed, yet it remains one of the most overlooked periods in historical wargaming.

This campaign aims to change that.

A Complete Range

This Kickstarter introduces a brand-new collection of highly detailed digital STL miniatures covering both sides of the First Indochina War.

Every sculpt has been designed specifically for historical wargaming, combining historical accuracy with dynamic, natural poses that look great on the tabletop while remaining practical to print and paint.

The range has been designed for both 15mm (1:100) and 20mm (1:72) wargaming, providing complete, historically organised forces for two of the most popular historical gaming scales.

As digital STL files, every model can also be scaled to suit your preferred collection. Many hobbyists enjoy printing our figures at 28mm, where the slightly heroic proportions produce excellent tabletop miniatures while preserving the detail and character of the original sculpts.

Whether you're building a small patrol for a skirmish game, recreating a historical scenario, or assembling entire companies for larger battles, these miniatures have been created to provide complete military formations ready to print, paint and play.

Choose Your Side

This campaign offers three straightforward rewards, allowing you to collect the force that interests you most—or both.

French Forces

Receive the complete French Infantry Company together with every French stretch goal unlocked during the campaign.

Viet Minh Forces

Receive the complete Viet Minh Infantry Company together with every Viet Minh stretch goal unlocked during the campaign.

Complete Campaign

Receive both core companies and every stretch goal unlocked for both factions throughout the campaign.

Whichever reward you choose, every unlocked stretch goal for your selected faction will automatically be added to your pledge.

What's Included on Day One?

Both core rewards are built around complete, historically organised infantry companies rather than individual packs of figures.

French Core set 

French Infantry Company incluides -

Company Headquarters

Platoon Headquarters

Riflemen

Light Machine Gun Teams

Grenadier / Anti-Tank Teams

Viet Minh Core Set

Viet Minh Infantry Company includes -

Company Headquarters

Platoon Headquarters

Riflemen

Light Machine Gun Teams

RPG / Anti-Tank Teams

Each company contains a wide variety of poses to create realistic units suitable for both gaming and painting.

Stretch Goals That Expand Your Army

Every stretch goal has been selected to make your force larger, more varied and more historically complete.

Rather than unlocking random bonus figures, the campaign alternates between French and Viet Minh stretch goals, ensuring supporters of both factions continue to receive exciting new content throughout the campaign. Each reward will recieve the country option. Campaign rewards will recieve all stretchgoals

As funding grows you can expect to unlock:

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Every unlock has been chosen to provide meaningful additions that expand your army and increase your tabletop options.

Optional Add-Ons

One of the advantages of this campaign is the opportunity to bring back a selection of popular releases from previous projects, alongside a few unique items.

These optional add-ons allow you to expand your collection with specialist troops, vehicles, terrain pieces and accessories that complement the Indochina range without increasing the cost of the core pledge.

Some add-ons are returning favourites from earlier campaigns, while others are limited or niche releases that require additional sculpting, preparation and support work. Making them available as optional extras allows us to produce these unique items while keeping the main rewards focused and affordable.

Whether you're looking to reinforce your force, add character to your tabletop, or pick up models you may have missed previously, the add-ons provide plenty of opportunities to customise your collection.
Add-ons are optional and can be selected after the campaign through the pledge manager. They are not required to enjoy the core rewards.

Built by a Wargamer

These miniatures have been created by a lifelong historical wargamer with one goal in mind: producing complete armies that are enjoyable to print, paint and play.

Rather than selling individual figures, this range focuses on historically organised military formations that work straight out of the box with your favourite rules.

Whether you're refighting Route Coloniale 4, Hoa Binh, Na San or the epic battle of Dien Bien Phu, these miniatures are designed to help bring one of history's most fascinating conflicts to life.

From History to Miniature

Every miniature in this campaign begins with research.

I spend countless hours studying wartime photographs, original equipment, museum collections, military manuals and historical references to ensure every uniform, weapon and piece of equipment is as authentic as possible. My aim is not simply to create soldiers that look good, but to capture the appearance, character and fighting style of the men who served during the First Indochina War.

Once the research is complete, every figure is sculpted from the ground up in ZBrush. Each pose is carefully designed to look natural and believable, with an emphasis on movement and the way soldiers actually carried themselves in combat. Rather than producing static display miniatures, I create figures that work together as complete military formations and look convincing when deployed across the tabletop.

Great care is taken with every detail—from webbing and ammunition pouches to weapons, packs and personal equipment. Every model is then test printed and refined to ensure the finished STL files are both highly detailed and straightforward to print.

Whether you're printing in 15mm, 20mm or scaling up to 28mm, my goal is always the same: to produce miniatures that are historically authentic, enjoyable to paint and immediately recognisable on the battlefield.

Each project begins with extensive research using period photographs, original reference material and surviving equipment. From these references, I create a set of accurate base "dolly" figures that capture the correct anatomy, uniform and equipment. These serve as the foundation for the range, allowing me to efficiently reposition limbs, adjust poses, swap equipment and create a wide variety of realistic figure options while maintaining historical accuracy and consistent proportions.

As the campaign progresses, I'll be sharing more work-in-progress images, digital sculpts and printed examples from both the French Expeditionary Forces and the Viet Minh.

Example Digital Sculpts

French Patrol (Work in Progress)

A French soldier advances cautiously with his submachine gun at the ready, capturing the movement and tension typical of jungle patrols. Equipment, webbing and uniform details are based on extensive historical reference material before being brought to life in ZBrush.

Viet Minh Rifleman (Work in Progress)

A Viet Minh rifleman moves forward with determination, demonstrating the natural anatomy, realistic equipment and dynamic posing that define the range. Every figure is sculpted individually to create varied, believable units on the tabletop.

Painted Example

Painted by Painted Panzer  - this was printed at 18mm scale and not 20mm (my error). Not that you can tell given the superb paintjob! 

Design Philosophy

Every miniature is designed as part of a complete military formation—not as an isolated figure—ensuring each company looks coherent, historically organised and believable on the tabletop.

Thank You

Thank you for supporting this project and helping bring one of history's most overlooked conflicts to the tabletop.

Your support allows us to continue creating high-quality historical STL miniatures for periods that deserve far more attention within the hobby.

We look forward to seeing your printed armies, painted miniatures and battle reports.

See you on the battlefield!