Napoleonic Army – Page 5 – ARCANE Scenery and Models

Does Size Matter?

The title, of course, is a cheap shot aimed at getting attention but stems from a serious question from a customer asking if one range of 28mm figures was compatible to another. The answer depends very much on your own standards or personal degree of OCD. I’ll be showing you my thoughts and opinions (never humble – but opinions, nevertheless!) through my own collection of Napoleonic figures. I think the principle will apply to most periods, though.

My collection features at least eight different manufacturers -it’s difficult to see them at this distance.

So first of all, lets establish that we are talking about 28mm figures here. Other sizes are available and again, many of my comments are as relevant to them as 28mm figures, particularly when the ‘scale’ is given in millimetres. So whether 6mm, 10mm, 15mm, 20mm, 25mm or 28mm we are talking about a size of figure NOT a scale. Whatever manufacturers may claim, it is not really sensible to think of scale when it comes to wargames figures. As a side issue, I get a bit twitchy when I am asked what ‘scale’ a model tree is – it is rare that such items are a particular scale but simply a depiction of how a tree might look. But I digress and perhaps I’ll look at scenery in another blog.

What scale is this tree?

Back to wargames figures. They are sculpted and manufactured to a size rather than a scale and for 28mm figures this is supposed to be the height, from feet to eye level of the figure. In theory, this means that all figures will be the same size. Which in scale terms is immediately a nonsense. People come in all shapes and sizes. So where has the idea of scale come from? I think in the main, the issue has grown out of the need to match figures to vehicles and guns, particularly as wargamers moved into the industrial age with their games. In the main, a gun or vehicle would be manufactured to a specific size, so one Sherman tank will be identical in size to another. The ‘hobby’ seems to have fixed on 1/56th scale as the ‘right size’ and there is a growing standardisation in this scale for vehicles. That in turn seems to have fed back into figures and customers seem to be increasingly concerned with a ‘scale’ as opposed to a ‘size’.

Peter Crouch was disappointed that he would not be represented in the Spurs Subbuteo team once again

From my own point of view, so long as the figures are reasonably similar I guess that I am happy to mix and match…up to a point. Different companies use different sculptors for their figures and this leads to both variations in style and size. At the smaller end of the scale Foundry and HaT produce some nice figures in 28mm but Foundry can be smaller – some are closer to 25mm, although not all the range is so…HaT tend to produce plastic figures that look thinner and more to a ‘scale look’ than the ‘chunkier’ metal manufacturers. Sitting nicely in the middle, the main Plastic manufacturers , Perry, Victrix and Warlord are all very similar and certainly compatible with each other to the point that interchanging components is very straight forward when converting. At the top end of the size comes Front Rank and Trent Miniatures. Front Rank and Trent sculpts are simply superb but tend towards 30mm rather than 28mm. So how do they all mix. See for yourself.

I deliberately haven’t captioned this picture but I can tell you that there are Foundry, Perry metals & plastics, Warlord, Victrix, Front Rank and Trent Miniatures all present. If you start to look closely enough you will see differences in style and size but are the differences really that great? They look like a natural line of blokes in uniform…

Line infantry Comparison

This picture shows from right to left, Perry Miniature plastics, Warlord games plastic, Front Rank Metal and Victrix plastic. The most obvious difference is the thicker bayonet on the metal figure.

Light infantry Comparison

I’m actually not sure but I think the models here are Foundry, Front Rank, Trent Miniatures and Perry metal. Yes, there are slight differences but more in style than size and were they not side by side I think that it would be difficult to tell them apart.

Regiment Comparison

Apologies for the poor photograph, but the point here is that if you use the same manufacturer for different units rather than mix them, the difference becomes less obvious, particularly when on the table. This means that I am more than happy to mix and match manufacturers in my collection and army. I tend to produce one unit from a manufacturer rather than do too much mixing within units. That said, when it comes to skirmishers, as they are individually based, I am happy to mix things up and if there is a noticeable height difference, an extra piece of plasticard under the base can level things out.

The Guards line up ready for battle!

The final picture shows figures from at least four different manufacturers on the table. With hind sight, my army would look more cohesive if I had been more consistent with the basing! Unfortunately, I have a tendency to experiment with different products and techniques! The old wargaming adage that ‘faces, bases and flags make a good unit’ is great advice and applies to armies as well. I do have plans, or more accurately, dreams, to standardise all my movement trays and that will go a long way to give a more uniform look to my collection.

So, in the end it is up to you whether you mix things up or stick to just one or two manufacturers. My experience is that the majority of the well known manufacturers produce superb figures that in the main are compatible with each other. I guess that some people have their favourites but I have always been happy to mix and match. Without getting too analytical, I think that different people want different things from their hobby. I know that some collectors and wargamers prefer their figures to be identical and all lined up in the same pose. It’s not for me though. When discussing the subject of all units looking the same in the same pose with my wife, her opinion was that if you had 400 blokes marching down the road together, the chances are that at least one would be scratching his arse or picking his nose….

Happy modelling!

You can see our comprehensive range of 28mm Napoleonic models from many of the manufacturers mentioned above all mixed together here:

28mm NAPOLEONICS

Sloop ahoy!

I’ve continued work on my sloop and have surprised myself by nearly finishing it. In fact, it’s got to the stage where I have to remind myself that I am building a piece for the wargames table and not a display model. The thing is that the model is so nice that it is tempting to go overboard ( pun intended) and really detail it – the problem being that it would then be impractical to use because of the rigging and the sails. Regardless, the masts are now in place – I went for a straight forward varnished finish – they will darken over time anyway – and the tiller/rudder is done. I am still working on a name for her – I wont consult the internet for answers, Boaty Mc Boat Face is already taken….

Sloop all rigged and ready for action.

There are a few additions that I will make. For a start, she needs guns and I have four cannon that I am painting. I should have finished them last night but I was distracted by the football on the radio – Tottenham beating Real Madrid 3-1 was too exciting to let me focus on the painting! I’m nearly there though.

Cannon on the painting mat.

The guns are made by Amati and supplied by Expo – we do carry them in our shop and the link is below. I think that they might be a bit on the large size for the Sloop but they look superb and should deter pirates! I decided to paint the gun carriages to match the ships hull, with any metal parts painted black.

The crew!

Just for fun, I’m also going to add a couple of permanent crew figures, a ships cat and a powder monkey! The cat is from the DeeZee small dogs pack and the monkey from North star, although I don’t think that he is now available. Again, there is still some more work to do to finish these off. The only other additions planned are an anchor and a lantern for the mast. When it comes to the crew, I do have a few Sailors and Marines that I can use as you can see from the picture. It might be nice though, to add a new crew that have bases that either match the deck of the Sloop or are clear. I am also tempted by the Footsore figure, John Finch…

Sloop with crew

Close up of the Crew

You can also see from the pictures that the three pieces of scatter scenery for the Caribbean are now complete so I better get writing those rules! As well as the sloop I have also been playing around with some Japanese lanterns for my Test of Honour set up. These are also nearly complete – I’ll put the results up in next weeks blog!

As usual, here are the links to the items used in this weeks blog. The ship is from Games of War and only available direct from their web store:

GAMES OF WAR

The cannon are available here:

SHIPS CANNON AND FITTINGS

Palm trees are here:

PALM TREES AND JUNGLE PLANTS

The cat is available as part of the DeeZee Range:

DEEZEE RANGE

and you can see John Finch here!

JOHN FINCH

At the time of writing, the items are available post free to most worldwide locations.

Whats on the workbench?

You can tell that I am struggling to get anything finished by the title of this weeks blog. It’s been one of those busy fortnights where my painting and modelling has had to take a back seat to the other things in life. Mind you I did manage a Black powder game last Thursday, during which I was comprehensively thrashed by my opponent, Mr Grant. I wished that I had taken pictures of the game just to remind me of how one over confident move can end in disaster.

Cavalry charge!

I had charged a regiment of Cuirassiers with two regiments (a brigade) of British household cavalry. The combat went very badly and both of the British regiments were pushed back leaving the Cuirassiers nicely positioned behind a brigade of three battalions of my British infantry within initiative charge move… The brigade was wiped out as they lost the one sided combat and then failed their morale tests. ‘Game over, man’ as Hicks or Hudson would have said! In future, if I have a cavalry regiment positioned to protect a flank, maybe I’ll think twice before committing it to an attack and leaving the flank so exposed!

Perry’s Ammunition Wagon

So back to the work bench. I had started work on a Perry’s British ammunition wagon. As usual, the sculpting, poses and detail on the model is superb and everything that you would expect from the Perry’s. However, the casting quality was not so good. I expect to do some cleaning up when starting a model but the amount required on this piece was considerable. In fact, after two evenings scraping and filing, the model is still not ready for priming. The annoying thing is that in cleaning up the casting, I have inevitably spoilt some of the lovely detail – the wheels and horses were particularly poor. The up shot was that I have put the wagon aside and started another model. I will get back to it when I’m in the mood for some more filing….

My next project - a small loop fpr naval engagements.

My next project – a small loop for naval engagements.

No such problems with the resin ship that I purchased from the last Partizan show. I have managed to loose the name of the company from whom I bought the model – I will find it and include it in a future blog or edit this one. The model is worth recommending! Once I had washed the model down using soap & water, I primed it with Army painter brown as you can see.

Sloop ahoy!

The next task was to paint her. I used Vallejo paints; Mahogany Brown 70846 for the interior woodwork, 310 Old wood for the deck, Biege 70917 for the upper hull, Off white 70820 for the lower hull and Black 70950 for the trim etc. I gave the interior, including the deck, a wash with army painter dark tone and then dry brushed the deck only with 310 old wood and then a further coat of 50/50 old wood 310/Iraqi Sand. The grating was painted in Chocolate brown and washed in Dark tone. I painted the stern panel in 70961 Sky Blue with Brass trim.

Stern of the Sloop

As you can see, I’ve also painted one of the cannon that will arm her. The cannon is from Arcane Scenery – the link is below. There is still quite a bit of work to do before she is ready for the table. Obviously, the mast, bow sprit and rigging will all need completion but I think that she will make a nice addition to my Caribbean collection. Incidentally, I haven’t got too hung up on how accurate the colours are. Although the sloop (?) will be crewed by the Royal Navy, it seems that even when it comes to such an iconic ship as HMS Victory, there is some controversy as to the actual colour:

RESTORED VICTORY CAUSES CONTORVERSY

So I am not going to be too precious regarding the colour scheme of a fictional boat designed to go on a wargames table! The other dilemma that I have is what to name her – I think I will resist indulging my sense of humour and perhaps steal a name from an Alexander Kent or Patrick O’Brien novel…

The view from the stern

So, the next job will be to fit her out – hopefully, I’ll make a bit more progress now that the clocks are about to go back.

More Jungle Scenery

In between painting the Sloop, I’ve been making three more pieces of scatter scenery for the table using a slightly different variety of palm tree. They are waiting for a coat of paint and some scatter but are nearly complete. If you missed how I make these, check out last weeks blog ‘ Desert Island Discs’. Although you can never really have too much of this sort of thing, I think that this will do me for the time being. I have plans to make some area bases to incorporate these pieces. If it works, I’ll include this in a further blog.

That’s it for now, here’s the usual links. Remember, if you are buying from Arcane Scenery, at the time of writing, postage is free to most worldwide locations!

SHIPS CANNON AND FITTINGS

VALLEJO PAINT & TEXTURES RANGE

PALM TREES AND JUNGLE PLANTS

STOP PRESS! I’ve just remembered the supplier of my boat. the Web site is Games Of War, you can see their excellent range of boats here:

GAMES OF WAR

Cuban War Dogs

My Caribbean project continues with the addition of a set of Cuban Chasseurs with dogs to my collection. These troops, or more accurately mercenaries, were brought across from Cuba by the various combatants in the Caribbean to fight against the rebellions and revolts taking place. The British imported these mercenaries specifically to suppress the Maroon rebellion on Jamaica but I understand that they were also used on Haiti. My references have come from an account in an book by Robert Charles Dallas written in 1803, ‘The History of the Maroons’ that I found online. As well as describing the Cuban Chasseurs, he gives an account of the brutal training regime inflicted on the dogs and how they were used.

Reference: The History of the Maroons.

In 1795 the second Maroon rebellion took place and despite being faced by some 5000 British soldiers and militia, the Maroons held their own and fierce guerrilla warfare led to a stalemate. It is claimed that the introduction of the Cuban Chasseurs and their dogs broke this stalemate and ended the rebellion.

Chasseur and Cuba Bloodhounds

The dogs have been described variously as a cross between Lurchers and Bloodhounds, although it is possible that they were a variety of Great Dane. It could just be that the breed itself wasn’t consistent but it was the training by the Cubans that made the dogs so effective. To paraphrase from the book, ‘These people live with their dogs, from which they are inseperable. At home, the dogs are kept chained and are never unmuzzled but for attack…..The Chasseurs beat their dogs most unmercifully, using the flat side of their machetes. As a result the dogs coat is much harder as is the structure of the dog…’

In the book, there is an account of how during the voyage from Cuba the dogs got loose and tore apart the cattle that were also on board. On page 129, there is also an account of how the dogs were demonstrated to a commander in Jamaica to see how they would react under fire. The dogs were loosed on a small body of troops and despite a volley of musket fire being discharged (presumably blanks) the dogs charged home into the ranks of the soldiers, seizing the muskets in their jaws and causing the commander to run for his carriage to escape, before the handlers brought the dogs under control.

My understanding is that such dogs were used by the Spanish and French troops as well as the British and the Cuban Chasseurs that trained them were held in high regard. They were most effective at fighting against irregular troops in rough ground and helped to avoid ambush.

Trent Miniatures sell a pack of these ‘troops’ so I wanted to add some of them to my collection.

Trent miniatures Cuban Chasseurs

The pack includes two Dog handlers, or Chasseurs and four dogs. As you can see, I’ve cleaned them up and primed them in Army painter Leather brown. Painting was a straight forward task. It is said that the Cubans favoured a red checked shirt, so I have finished one accordingly. Using the picture from the Robert Dallas book as a reference, the other Chasseur is more plainly attired. Similarly, I have gone for a simple finish for the dogs, with one white, one light/orange brown and two Dark Brown.

Painted Chasseurs & dogs

The figures are based using a special ‘sabot’ style tray to enable the dogs to be unleashed during wargaming.

Unleash the dogs!

These bases are not yet available through my shop but if there is sufficient interest, I can have more cut. I finished the bases in my usual style with the Vallejo dark earth texture, woodland scenic scatter and Gamers grass tufts.

I have already used the dogs as a unit in wargaming as I am in the process of developing a set of rules for the Caribbean conflict. We conducted the first play test last week and although much was learnt, there is a long way to go before the rules will be ready.

If you would like to purchase the Cuban Chasseurs and their dogs you can do so by clicking here:

CUBAN CHASSEURS CAR09

Vallejo paints and textures can be found here:

VALLEJO PAINTS

Woodland Scenics Scatter here:

WOODLAND SCENICS

and Gamers grass here:

GAMERS GRASS

All are available post free at the time of writing.

Napoleonic War in the Caribbean

The war in the Caribbean is project of mine that has been rumbling along in the back ground for some time and I think that I am now in the mood to move it forwards. I have been painting bits and pieces for this theatre for some time but it’s been a bit of a solo project and has taken a back seat to my other interests.

I decided that I would first paint all the variants of the Trent Miniatures Caribbean Slave packs. They are sold as random mixes but I managed to persuade Duncan to let me have one of each type. First we had to identify them!

Revolting Slaves – with firearms.

Revolting slaves with hand weapons

There are actually 30 variants. Although the pictures show 31 figures, there is a duplicate hidden in there! I already had painted a couple of packs of the revolting slaves and also a pack of Maroons but the idea was to build a decent sized warband of these guys to represent the small detachment of men led by Jean Kina in Haiti. Jean Kina was originally a slave but now freed, who came to command a force of up to 300 men (depending on the references that you consult) and fought for the British on Haiti.

This leads me perhaps to explain some of my fascination with the Caribbean in this period. The period of interest spans from 1793 to 1815 and during this time, there was a constant conflict running across the whole of the Caribbean area, including some parts of South America. The nations involved included the usual suspects of Britain, France, Spain and significantly, the Slaves and local population but the nature of the conflict and climate meant that many disparate troops types were sent out to fight on the islands.

I suspect that the lack of huge set piece battles has meant that the war has not been well documented despite the fact that the stakes were so high. Britain, France and Spain, gained an incredible economic benefit from the area and these Islands were crucial to these countries ability to finance their wars elsewhere. To be clear, most of my little knowledge comes from reading just one book, ‘Death before Glory’ by Martin Howard and some web articles. However, this has been enough to whet my appetite and I am rapidly learning as much as I can whilst continuing to build my forces.

Block painted Caribbean fighters.

As you can see from the picture above, once cleaned up, the figures were temporarily based, primed with Army Painter Leather brown and then painted in an assortment of pale colours to represent the sort of clothing worn in the Caribbean. I used the Vallejo Black brown to paint the flesh and highlighted with chocolate brown.

Caribbean Fighters based

I had decided to used Army Painter Quick shade Dark Tone to speed up painting and then rehighlighted were appropriate. The basing was my usual Vallejo Dark earth Texture paste but I added some gravel and small stones for additional texture.

Close up of basing

The bases were finished by painting first with Chocolate Brown, then a Chocolate Brown/Iraqi Sand mix, finishing with a light dry brush of Iraqi Sand. Finally, I added some green scatter and some grass tufts and they are ready for the table.

Jean Kina’s Fighters are ready for battle!

There’s plenty more in the pipeline! As well the land operations there was plenty of action at sea, so I will have a use for my growing naval detachment.

My next project – a small sloop for naval engagements.

If you would like to read more on my Caribbean project and the figures that I have painted, click here:

CARIBBEAN BLOG POSTS

The Trent Miniatures Caribbean range is available here:

TRENT MINIATURES CARIBBEAN RANGE

The Vallejo range can be seen here:

VALLEJO PAINTS AND TEXTURES

All Square – part two

Earlier this year, fellow gamer and modeller Chris Kirk showed how he intended to build an infantry square to use as a marker when playing Black Powder. You can see the first blog article here where Chris explained how he would convert the models:

ALL SQUARE – PART ONE

The model is now finished and as you can see, it looks very nice indeed!

British Infantry Square

Chris decided to paint the figures as 27th Regiment, the Inniskillings. The 27th is famous for the stand that they made at Waterloo. Towards the end of the battle, they had moved up to take position just to the left of the crossroads, some 200 hundred yards behind La Haye Sainte which had by now fallen to the attacking French. They were ordered by Sir James Kempt not to abandon their position and to hold at all costs as their presence would stop the French infantry from further penetration of the British centre.

The 27th stand

This left them terribly exposed to both the French tirailleurs who had taken position on the small knoll to the side of La Haye Sainte and from the French artillery that had moved up in support. The casualty rate for the 27th was horrendous. Without moving a step the regiment lost over two thirds of it’s men, the highest casualty rate for any British Battalion that fought at Waterloo. The Battalion was commanded at the Battle by a Captain, John Hare. There were 19 officers in total, of which sixteen were killed or wounded. Of the total of 747 men in the battalion, 493 were killed or wounded in a matter of hours and yet still they stood in position, holding the line.

The Square – close up!

The lady in the model represent one of the remarkable stories of Waterloo. In the midst of the carnage unfolding in the square was a soldiers wife, who though pregnant, had refused to go to the rear and stayed with her husband. She busied herself attending to the wounded until she herself was struck in the leg by a shell splinter. Her poor husband faired even worse, losing both of his arms.

The Square holds firm

The model, as well as being a practical gaming piece will serve as a small reminder of the bravery of the 27th. The idea of such a model is that it will be used on the table and not just appear in a glass cabinet. Chris and I had quite a discussion about such ‘practical dioramas’ that allow the gamer to stray beyond just churning out regiments to fill the battlefield. The square marker is just one of these ideas – others will follow!

Safely in the Cabinet

Victorious Miniatures

The launch of a new range of miniatures is always an exciting prospect. However, it’s not quite so easy as it looks and many start ups fall by the wayside once the initial enthusiasm has passed. I hope that this is not the case for the latest range that we are happy to support! Victorious Miniatures is a venture undertaken by long term wargamer and enthusiast, Keith Tait. I have often had the pleasure of facing his armies across a wargames table, so I was intrigued when he told me of his plans to launch his own range of figures.

NAPBR15 Duke of York

My first reaction and words of encouragement were ‘are you mad..?’ I reminded him of the well known quote, oft repeated in the industry ‘how do you make a small fortune in the model soldier business? – Start off with a big one…’ Keith was undeterred. His project was to be a labour of love and he was planning to build a range of figures that he had always wanted. The commercial side was only important in as much as he hoped that the range would eventually become self financing and grow accordingly. And so Victorious Miniatures was born.

NAPBR16 Sir Ralph Abercrombie

The initial ranges have been sculpted by the very talented Mark Simms and focus on the British Army circa 1793 – 1795 in the Flanders Campaign. The figures are compatible with Perry, Warlord and Victrix miniatures. Even better, they compliment the Trent Miniatures range, who cover a similar period and are great favourites of mine.

NAPBR01 Round hat command

The two main commanders have been sculpted, the Duke of York, who led the expedition, and one of the Generals, Sir Ralph Abercrombie ( also spelt as Abercromby). The Line infantry is represented by four packs: a command pack, Centre Company Infantry marching; Flank Company Infantry Marching and Skirmishing Infantry. These infantry are all wearing the round hats and long tailed frock coats of the time. In addition to the standard line troops, there are also some very nice Highlanders. Before you reach for the tin of tartan paint, fear not! The Highlanders in the Flanders Campaign were wearing standard issue trousers. So there is no excuse why you cannot have a Battalion of these in your collection!

NAPBR03 Round hat Flank coy

Following on from the initial releases, will be British infantry in bicornes, giving another option for your growing army. Although designed for the Flanders Campaign, I think that these new figures will be useful in other settings. The troops sent to the Caribbean at this time would have been similarly equipped and I guess that they will be suitable for service in Ireland. To be fair, my knowledge of uniforms in this early period of the Napoleonic wars is still lacking, so don’t take my word for it!

NAPBR05 Highland command

However, I have just finished reading the first part of Wellingtons biography by Rory Muir ( an excellent if somewhat lengthy read). I was intrigued to find out as early as 1793, Britain had planned to invade France in support of the Vendee insurgency with a force under the Command of Lord Moira. The landing never took place due to a heavy defeat of the rebels but the possibility of ‘What if’ scenarios would make an interesting game. Sharp Practice would provide an ideal set of rules! Wellington was present in the Flanders campaign. He was Lieutenant-Colonel of the 33rd Foot. His first action was at the Battle of Boxtel where although not involved in the initial attack, his regiment successfully covered the First Guards withdrawal, repulsing a French attack ‘throwing a few cool and well directed volleys into the enemy’s squadrons, obliging him to decamp’. So I guess that I have an excuse to get my first battalion of Victorious Miniatures!

Boxca01 Chinese Dragon cannon

I digress! Back to Victorious miniatures ranges. Also available are some very nice Chinese cannon for the Boxer Rebellion, the next period in which Keith intends to build his range. I am very much looking forward to more of this period becoming available. That said, if I can use these for the earlier Taiping Rebellion of 1850, I will be able to scratch another wargaming itch and my special edition Flashman figure will find a use on the gaming table!

The Victorious Miniatures range is now available to purchase from both Keiths own web site here:

VICTORIOUS MINIATURES

or, from the Arcane Web store here:

Arcane Scenery/Victorious Miniatures

Please take a look at these new models and of course, if they appeal, your support will be most welcome. If you are not ready to purchase, a ‘like’ click on the Victorious Miniatures facebook page will at least help cheer Victorious Miniatures on!

Victorious Miniatures Facebook page

Keith will need all the help that he can get in building his range. I know that he has some great ideas for future releases and of course all of us here at Arcane scenery wish him the very best of luck with his new venture.

Jonas Jones Part 3 – Napoleons Foot Guides

Napoleons Guides, converted Trent Miniatures

Once again, I’m happy to bring a guest post from a regular contributor ‘Jonas Jones’. Jonas likes to look for interesting and obscure subjects to model using the Trent Miniatures range as the start point. Now that should give you an idea of who Jonas is! Converting metal miniatures can be quite a challenge, unless you are talented with the ‘green stuff’. However, sometimes a simple head swap can lead to some interesting options. It is in this field that Jonas excels. In the first of his articles, ‘Off with his head #1’, a complete decapitation was required. OWHH#2 was more of a trepanning than a complete decapitation, but with the same end in view. In this short piece Jonas just replaces the headgear rather than the full head!

The Trent Miniatures Legere in Mirletons (FLe01) are very nice figures in their own right, but cut (saw) off the Mirleton and replace it with a plumed Bicorn and you will have a passable likeness for Napoleons Foot Guides as they appeared in Northern Italy and the early days of Egypt. The appearance of the Foot Guides in Italy would be a bit of a ‘what if?’ as Napoleon left them behind to guard his base HQ. They were only a couple of companies strong at this point. However, at the time of the invasion of Egypt, they would have been built up into a small battalion, more than 400 strong.

Later in Egypt, they were issued with a new uniform, like the rest of the army. For the early months they would look quite resplendent in green coats, red breeches and tall red plumes. Jonas has chosen to vary the breeches on some of the figures – a reflection of the rigors of campaigning! The plumed bicorne that Jonas has used has come from one of Toussaint Louvertures officers in pack CAR08 but a spare plastic one from a Victrix or similar set would do – you may just have to build the plume up. All of the figures shown have been painted according to information from Knotel Prints.

So just enough of an excuse to build a small unit of guides to field with your army and confound your opponent when he questions the colour scheme of your new unit! Regardless as to whether Napoleons Guides is to your taste, perhaps there are other units that you can make with a simple head swap. Sometimes, a simple conversion is faster than waiting for you favourite figure manufacturer to produce the unit that you need to finish your army!

All Square!

This weeks post is a guest post by the very talented Chris Kirk. Chris has recently ‘converted’ to Napoleonics and is in the process of building his army. Like most of us, he has agonised over how many men should be painted to form a Battalion and then how best to base them. There is of course no correct answers to these questions. It largely depends on what rules set you have decided to use and even then, there is usually some flexibility. After much thought, Chris had decided that he would like his battalions to be made up of 32 figures and that to make life easier on the Wargames table, he would put his figures into a movement tray, complete with Battalion name plate and space for casualty and disorder markers. We had these trays custom made for him by those clever people at Sarissa Precision and they were based on the smaller 12 man trays that I use for club night games.

As he was building British battalions, they would spend much of their time in Line formation so the need to take them out of the tray would be mainly limited to when they were forced into square when using Black Powder rules. In the course of discussing this, Chris decided that rather than take the figures out of the movement tray, he would make some ‘generic’ square markers that could be used to replace the line if forced into square during a game.

If this seems like a lot of extra work, it is, in the short term! However, Chris really enjoys his modelling and painting and the option of making some mini dioramas was too tempting for him. Rather than paint another 32 figures for each square, Chris decided on using a 120mm x 120mm movement tray to represent the area would then build & paint just enough figures and scenery to give the impression of a square. In doing so, he needed plenty of casualties and the following sequence of pictures shows how he achieved this. I hope that you find it as instructive and useful as I did. I have now added another project to my list!

The start point for a casualty – a Victrix standing figure.

Remove the base, leaving as much of the boots as you can!

Cut V’s into the backs of the knees. this will allow bent legs at the knees. Remove feet at the ankles to reposition as if gravity is taking over the limp body.

Re assemble legs and flatten the back so that the figure lies flush with the ground.

Add a suitable head – this one is actually from a Warlord Ancient Briton set!

Add the arms – once again, gravity is king! Whilst there will still be some finishing touches, once the polystyrene cement is dry the figure will be roughly correct and ready for filling.

A selection of casualties made using the same procedure. All waiting overnight for the glue to really set hard before more filing down to ensure that they are flat and any cleaning up to be done.

Trimmed of flashes. Green stuff applied to gaps. Heels of boots created where needed. Arm sling and head bandage added.

The Square takes shape!

I hope that this has been useful. As you can see, it is a work in progress and once Chris gets the rest of the figures to complete the square and of course, paints them we will return with the finished article. I think it shows how useful Plastic figures can be when it comes to making your own units. I know that some wargamers have very fixed views when it comes to plastics versus metals. I like both and when it comes to converting, I think that this article shows how plastic figures can be adapted and remodelled far easier than metals.

If you would like to try your hand at conversions, we have a massive selection of fillers and tools to browse through here:

FILLERS AND TOOLS

You can get Victrix plastics here:

VICTRIX MODELS

and Glues and Adhesives here:

GLUES AND ADHESIVES

New British Heavy Cavalry from Warlord!

OK, the title is a bit of a tease. I don’t have any painted examples to show you other than the ones currently posted on the Warlord Games site but I do have some of the sprues! I have been asked to write a step by step painting painting guide for a forth coming issue of Wargames Illustrated so I have been given early access to the sprues as part of the project.

I’m not in a position to do a full review, as I don’t have the full boxed set and I have yet to start my research but here are my first impressions. Actually, I would further qualify that statement by saying I’m not the most objective when it comes to reviewing. I either like something or I don’t and I don’t get too hung up on the miniscule detail. If I don’t like something, then I don’t review it…so I guess by now you will know that I do very much like the look of these new additions to the Warlord Range.

For £20 you will get a nice box of 12 plastic Cavalry figures ( 6 sprues), plus a metal Officer figure and a metal Buglers arm or in the Union box a metal bugler, so 13 or 14 figures in all in the set. I guess that for most of us, that will mean that we will have one or two bonus spare plastic figures as wargamers will tend to build their units for Black powder in 12’s. Also included in the box will be a leaflet explaining how the British heavy cavalry were organised and some basic painting hints to supplement the box art. I think that this is very good value. I particularly like the effort that Warlord Games have gone to in terms of the packaging and information leaflets that are enclosed with their sets. It is yet another example of how this company is making historical wargaming more accessible to the new entrant.

Union Brigade Sprue Front

Union Brigade Sprue Rear

The pictures above show the front and rear of the Union Brigade sprues. You will be able to use this set to make the following regiments: 1st Royal Dragoons; 6th (Inniskilling) and of course the iconic 2nd Royal North British or Scots Greys. The Horses are well posed and in full gallop and they look like the big horses that were used in the heavy cavalry regiments. I’m not sure but it looks to me as though you can mix and match the four halves of the horses to get a variety of poses but I have yet to put this to the test. The horses tails are ‘docked’ which is generally correct for British cavalry – it is said that officers often left their horses with full tails as they looked nicer on parade but lets not worry about that now…

Union brigade heads

The cavalry men themselves look well molded and very well posed. When combined with the choice of the five sword arms supplied, you should be able to model some nice action poses. I like the arm holding the sword ‘at point’ and the arm with the pistol is a nice touch. There are six choices for the heads. Bearskins both with covers and without are supplied. For those that would like a ‘correct’ Waterloo look, the covered bearskins are the ones to use. For others, the chance to use the uncovered Bear skin headwear will make a nice change and the models will look even prettier on the wargames table! You also have the standard Heavy Dragoon helmet from 1815, an oil cloth covered version as well as the bicorne for the Penninsular Campaign. There are also Watering caps supplied that will unlock further conversion options – mounted 95th Rifle officer perhaps?

The parts all look well molded with little or no flash apparent and no sink holes to fill. I also like the way that the water bottle and sabretache fit onto the body as a separate piece. First of all, it is clear how it should fit and secondly the join should be nice and solid. I think that painting these as a separate item and attaching them later will be a good option and should simplify the painting process.

The House hold Cavalry sprue is very similar but has less in the way of headware options.

Household Brigade Sprue rear

Household Brigade Sprues Front

As you can see, the horses and riders are identical to the Union brigade sprues, it is just the headwear that is different. The heads come either with plumes – used in the main for officers & trumpeters or without, for the troops. It’s also worth pointing out that there is a bare head with a bandage – just in case you would like to model the regiment either after the battle or perhaps as one of the ‘riding wounded’ from Quatre Bras!

Household brigade heads

The box will let you model the main Household regiments, the 1st or 2nd Lifeguards, Royal Horse guards ( the Blues). To model the 4th regiment in the Household brigade ( at Waterloo), the 1st Dragoon Guards, you will need to use the Union brigade box to get the helmets with the ‘horse tails’.

I think that these sets are a fantastic addition to the range of plastics that are now available. My next project will be a ‘batch paint’ of 24 of these, representing the 1st and 2nd Lifeguards. They should go nicely with my existing ‘Blues’ and no doubt, the next project will be another 24 from the Union Brigade to go with my Scots Greys. It will be nice to have a representation of the British Heavy Cavalry Brigade at Waterloo and having them in plastic will mean that I wont need a fork lift to transport them! Now whether I ever get them all onto a wargames table at the same time will be another story…

The official release date for these sets is 17th June. Unusually for Arcane Scenery we will take pre-orders for these sets as we are close enough to release not to delay dispatch by too long! If you would like to order your sets just click on the links below and as usual we send our orders post free to most worldwide locations. As soon as we have them – we’ll send them …..CHARGE!

BRITISH UNION BRIGADE CAVALRY POST FREE!

BRITISH HOUSEHOLD BRIGADE CAVALRY POST FREE!

Basing the 28th North Gloucestershires

Ready to base!

If you have been following the series of blog posts, you will know that from the outset, the aim has been to produce a unit for the Black Powder rules set. So deciding how to base the figures is now a straight forward task. I prefer to base my figures on Renedra plastic 40mm by 40mm bases, four figures to a base. This gives each figure a 20mm ‘frontage’. Other basing configurations can be used – the Perry’s use six figures on a 45mm by 40mm base, each figure having a 15mm frontage. To be fair, this looks more realistic, with your troops standing shoulder to shoulder. However, it would involve painting more figures per battalion and by now, you will know that I prefer to take the easier option.

The other point that I would make concerning basing is that by using a consistent 20mm per figure approach, you can get around the need for multiple basing by using movement trays. In the early days of my change to Napoleonics from Scifi gaming, I based figures individually on 20mm square bases to use them in Sharpe Practice skirmish games. It was easy enough to then change these into battalions by putting them into movement trays when I started to play Black powder.

Ready for basing Sir!

I now base in fours and you can see from the picture above the start of the process. I take the Renedra 40mmm square base and cover it in Vallejo 26218 Darth Earth paste.

Splot! put figure on the base!

Then just push the figure into the paste. I don’t even glue the figures, there’s enough adhesion in the paste to hold them solidly in place when the paste dries. It even is good for metal figures. In the unlikely event that I decided to rebase my collection, it would be a simple task to gently pull the figures from the bases.

Four on a base

As each figure is placed on the base, I use a sculpting tool ( it could be a cocktail stick!) to bring the paste up over the figures base to blend them into the groundwork. You could at this stage, add some other detail to the bases – small rocks, logs etc – on this occasion I’ve kept it simple.

Whilst the bases were drying, I went back to the Grenadier company. I should confess – My OCD had got the better of me and I decided to change the badges on the back of the shakos. They are still slightly oversize but by using a smaller strip of evergreen, I managed to cut some slightly smaller diamonds. It was then a case of using a scalpel to slice off the larger ones and to replace & repaint the badges & any damage to the shakos. I also have decided that I would paint 28 figures for the Battalion. I thought that a full base of four grenadiers (the guys with all white plumes) would look better than just two on their own as they would have the French backpacks. I then would have four figures in the Light company (all green plumes) that I would base seperately to be used as skirmishers. All of this will be clear when you see the finished unit.

French back packs

To make the french back packs it was a simple task to cut the water bottle & cartridge case from a British pack pack and then glue them to the cleaned up French style packs as shown above. I then painted the packs in leather brown with off white patches – everything else was painted as standard. These were then super glued to the Grenadiers and they were finished as per the rest of the unit using the quickshade & rehighlight method described in last weeks blog.

Light company will skirmish!

The picture above shows the four figures from the light company on their seperate bases. The Vallejo paste has dried and I have painted it first with Vallejo chocolate Brown and then highlighted this with a quick dry brush of the chocolate brown with some Iraqi sand added to lighten the top colour.

Green scatter added to the bases

The next stage is to add some green scatter, in this case I have used Woodlands Scenics Green blended turf. I use watered down PVA and apply with a small brush. Then just dunk the base into the scatter, tapping off the excess.

Grenadier Company based

The picture above shows the Grenadier company based but there is one final touch. I like to add some grass tufts to give another layer of detail on the base. I’ve used Gamers grass Dry green tufts and attached them with a dot of super glue.

Rear of Grenadier Company – tufts added

The Command Stands

You will have noticed that the Officers & ensigns have also been painted and added to the unit. The procedure that I use is exactly the same as for the troops but I paint the Drummer & Sapper separately, rather than as part of a batch. The ensigns are carrying flags supplied by GMB, my favourite flag supplier. With the flags and tufts added, the Battalion is now ready to take to the table.

Full battalion in line ready for action!

The Light Company will skirmish!

So another unit is completed and it’s on to the next project. I tend to have a break between Napoleonics so I’ll be painting something a bit different. However, next week, I’ll just explain how I use movement trays and how to split the battalion into two to facilitate a black powder game on a smaller table.

If you would like to have a go at painting your own unit, as I write, we have an offer in the shop. Buy the black powder rules set and get a box of Warlord figures for free. This also includes free postage. For more details Click here:

Special Offers

You can purchase the other products mentioned using the links below:

RENEDRA BASES

VALLEJO TEXTURES AND PAINTS

ALL BASING PRODUCTS INCLUDING GAMERS GRASS TUFTS

WOODLAND SCENICS

Block paint and Quickshade – Batch Painting the 28th

On with the next colour

Having painted the shakos black, it is a straight forward job to paint the plumes in white – I use Vallejo off white 70820. The shako plates are painted with 70801 Brass. Notice that I will have to use these colours again, but the point about the batch paint process is that small progress is better than no progress. It is easy for me to find 10 or 20 minutes to paint the plumes and shako plates rather than block out a whole evening or part of my weekend trying to complete a whole figure or batch of figures. This is why the process works so well for me. Any spare time that I have, I use to paint a couple or more figures in one colour and the Battalion gradually takes shape. I do admire those painters that can sit and gallop through 24 figures in one sitting. However, first of all my back would seize up after a couple of hours, then my eyes will get tired, until finally, I start to make mistakes. So short sharp bursts work for me! It’s not so daunting to work through a battalion in this way, over the course of a week, you will find that the unit moves to completion.

Back to the painting. The next colour is Red 70957 for the jackets and the bottom of the shako plumes. There is a fair degree of discourse that takes place on forums as to what colour or shade British redcoats really were. Without repeating the general thread of this conversation, my view is simply to take a pragmatic approach, they were red. To be fair, the quick shade will darken and dirty this colour to a less garish red, so the effect is about right for my eyes. The other colour the I have used is Iraqi Sand 70819 for the food haversacks. These were usually made from canvass or a strong linen and although they started out as perhaps a paler shade than this, they would have been discoloured from use. If you prefer, you can use off white for these as well.

White lace and yellow facings added

The picture above shows the next stage. When it comes to painting yellow, I always find it very difficult to get a decent coverage and colour. To help overcome this, I first painted the collars and cuffs ( facings) in sand yellow 70916 and then when dry, over painted this with flat yellow 70953, although the vallejo 70915 deep yellow may have been more effective. Next up, the laborious job of painting the belts, lace, collar edging and rifle strap in off white 70820. I prefer the off white as it is a softer white, but if you prefer, you can use 70951 white or the Foundation white 70919 for a brighter finish. The next colour is Natural steel 70864 for the buttons, musket barrel and bayonet. I’ve also added some detail to the muskets and at the same time painted the main buckle plate using Brass. Finally, I’ve painted the water bottle strap in Leather brown 70871. The figures are nearly complete.

Rear view & Flank Company

The picture above shows the rear view of the figures with the brass painted onto Musket sling, bayonet scabbard and rear shako plate. (which keeps looking bigger…see last blog entry!) Note also that the Light Company figures have green plumes and the Grenadiers, which are not pictured, will have all white plumes. If at this stage you think that the painting is a bit messy, bear in mind that the quick shade will cover some of the errors, I will tidy anything too obvious and of course, the pictures tend to magnify errors. On to the backpacks!

Back packs primed in black

As you can see, I have primed the back packs with army painter black spray to save some time. I have also painted the water bottles with Vallejo 70901 Pastel blue, which I think is about right. If it looks too light here, it will darken down with the quickshade.

Back packs completed

To finish the back packs, I used Neutral Grey 70992 for the blankets ( I also used this to tidy any overruns onto the troops trousers), off white for the straps, leather brown for the water bottle straps and miscellaneous pouches and steel for the pan. I suspect that the mess pan is far too clean for being on campaign and should be a smoky black, but it looks nice! You will notice the tidying up that I have done around the white strapping. Once again the quick shade will cover this up.

Ready for action – well quick shading…

I’ve now attached the back packs to the troops using super glue. As we are gluing two painted surfaces together, super glue will be more effective than polystyrene cement. The main painting is now complete. The next stage is to use the army painter quick shade to add depth and definition to the models. Now you could use, either an Army painter ink or another brand – I’ve used the Windsor & Newton Ink in the past to good effect. However, I do like the finish that you get with the Army painter quick shade. I do not ‘dip’ the models as army painter advise, simply paint the model with the quick shade. I prefer the Dark tone, which is a black shade, rather than the dark brown strong tone, although some prefer to use strong tone over red. I know that there are reservations about using this stuff and to be fair I agree with many. The quick shade is too expensive, more because I have yet to completely finish a tin before it starts to ‘skin’ over. This isn’t to do with the seal on the lid but the air that gets trapped as the level in the tin goes down. The tins are simply too big. I have passed my concerns on to Army painter but I cant see them designing a new tin just for me! Having got my gripe out of the way, I have to say that otherwise the product is excellent and does do what it says on the (oversized) tin!

Three stages of quick shade

The picture above shows the effect of quick shade. The first figure is just block painted, the second has been painted with quick shade and the third has had a coat of army painter matt varnish or as they call it anti shine. You can see that the shaded figures look as though there is more depth to them. The Quickshade does ‘dirty down’ the colours and close up this looks messy but in ‘real life’ the effect is quite acceptable.

So to recap, once the figures have been coated with quick shade, leave them to dry for at least 24 hours to harden off properly. Then spray with a good matt varnish. Matt varnish can be very temperamental and I could write a blog just on this subject – just carefully follow the instructions.

Ready to base!

The final part of the painting process is to retouch some of the lighter colours. You can ignore this stage but you will find that if you carefully retouch the most prominent parts of the figure, the effect is well worth the extra effort. For these figures, I have repainted the white cross belts, tip of the shako plume, shoulder tufts and lacing on the cuffs. I have also retouched the yellow facings and finally, painted the bayonets in silver 70997, to make them shine!

The figures are now ready to be based. I will cover this in detail in my next blog. I’ll also show you the Grenadiers with their French backpacks and the completed Battalion.

If you are new to Napoleonics and would like to give it a try, at the time of writing, we have an offer running in the shop. If you buy the set of Black Powder rules, we will add in a free box of figures. we also send post free to most worldwide locatios. Click here for details:

BLACK POWDER OFFER

All of the products mentioned above are also available from my shop here:

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