11th Light Dragoons – prepare to Charge!
I’m not sure the Foo Fighters are really relevant to Napoleonic war gaming but it was playing in the background as I came to write this blog post and it did seem appropriate. Another unit is completed and I’m on to the next one! A question that I am often asked is how many units are you going to paint? Well, I do have a vague idea and it revolves around completing some (not all) of the brigades that were present at Waterloo. The plan is to complete the first British Cavalry Brigade ( Household), The 2nd British Cavalry brigade ( Union), 4th British Cavalry Brigade (Light Dragoons) 6th British Cavalry Brigade (Hussars). As well as these cavalry brigades, I intend to have the 6th Infantry Division (I’ve completed this), The 1st infantry (Guards) division, the 8th British Brigade, The 2nd KGL brigade, and finally, a representation of both the Brunswick Contingent and the Nassau Reserve Contingent. Of course, I’ll also need the relevant Artillery, support and Command troops to go with these units. So it’s safe to say that I will be working on this project for a few years to come.
11th Light Dragoons
As you can see, the unit representing the 11th Dragoons is now complete and ready for battle. I was tempted to continue and paint the other two Regiments that would complete the Brigade. But a change is as good as a rest and so I have started the next Infantry Battalion in my grand plan. I think that mixing in it up a bit does help to keep me painting. I know that there are some hobbyists out there that are focused enough to start a brigade by buying all of the figures in one go, assembling them all and then paint them as one project. My butterfly mind wont allow this, so I like to chop and change things a bit. It also means that I can get on with other periods or subjects, so I may take a short break from Napoleonics and paint some Wars of The Roses figures, for example.
As well as mixing up the subjects a bit, I am also happy to mix up different manufacturers. I think that there is very little difference between Perry Miniatures, Warlord Games and Victrix – they all mix happily. I’m also happy to include Front Rank, their figures are generally excellent, albeit a bit bigger than the others. Of course, Foundry are also useful, although a bit on the small side – if you add a bit of height to the basing, no one will notice the difference. However, both these manufacturers can be used to create separate units that look fine on the war games table.
The final tip that keeps me painting, is to try new techniques. And so it will be with my next unit. I usually completely assemble my infantry figures before painting them but on the next unit I’m going to try something that one of my gaming buddies does, that is, painting the equipment whilst it is still on the sprue. However, I’ll show that in the next blog for now, The 11th Light Dragoons are finished and it’s on to the next one!
Regiment ready for battle!