Prussian Artillery

My latest unit is a 6LB Prussian Field artillery battery. These are recast Hinton Hunt figures and are manning SHQ artillery pieces.

Napoleonic Prussians are a nice army to paint as they have a good mixture of unit types wearing a range of uniforms. They are not all Prussian blue. Not as pretty perhaps as other nations but functional and business like.

The figures used are 

PN 30 Officer

PN 31 Gunner with porte fire

PN 32 Gunner with rammer

PN 34 Gunner with handspike

The gun is available from SHQ and is code GUN02 - Prussian 6lb Gun

Reinforcements and painting progress

In the last couple of weeks I have been very generously been given some original Hinton Hunt figures by fellow enthusiasts.

Firstly from the East.  Dave V has sent me 6 French one piece line lancers (FN118). One has a broken lance so I am going to convert him to a trumpeter. These figures will bring my 5th Lancers up to full strength.

Secondly from the West I received 24 French Guard Marines (FN 94) from David C.  The officer is a recast Marine Officer (FN 90) l had in my spares box.  I will use a line drummer and standard bearer to complete the command.

Meanwhile on the painting table I am close to finishing 8 Prussian gunners and a couple of SHQ artillery pieces. These should be completed this weekend.

5th Line Lancers

This morning I finished the 5th Line Lancers I started earlier this month.

The figures are a mix of Hinton Hunt and DK figures

Now the unit is painted the DK figures are a little harder to recognise and the unit looks rather smart in their nice green uniforms. I used Vallejo Flat Green for the uniforms.

Since my post early this month I have been very generously been sent 6 original Hinton Hunt Lancers by Dave V so now have enough figures to complete the full unit.

Can you spot which figures are the DK ones?

Humbrol Green

I use Humbrol Grass Green for my figure bases on my classic Napoleonics.  Over the years I have noticed that the colour varies tin to tin. 

I have been looking for an alternative to use on the mdf bases which matches the Humbrol Green I use on the figures themselves. I gloss varnish figures, including their bases, and leave the mdf  bases matt. The Gloss varnish changes the colour as it reflects light making the figure bases lighter than the Matt finish on the mdf bases

I have tried various tester pots of Matt emulsion and think I have well found a good match.

The photo shows a comparison of a Valspar matt emulsion colour called Sea Turtle (R251A - available at B&Q), on the left and Humbrol 80 on the right.

A pretty good match and with bonus that the Matt emulsion is cheaper and easier to use.  It also gives me the option of painting my 2ft square mdf boards in the same colour.

Next up - Line Lancers

I recently received a few DK French Line Lancers from RG and now have enough figures for a 6 figure squadron. The unit will consist of 4 original Hinton Hunt figures (FN 118) and 2 Der Kreigspieler figures (DK 38).

The figure on the left is an original Hinton Hunt figure and as you can see the DK copy on the right has a shorter lance and is shorter in statue. 

As can be seen the DK figure is not only shorter but thinner than the original Hinton Hunt figure. There is not a lot you can do make the figure fatter but there is something you can do about the height.

My experience of DK figures is that they have thin bases particularly when compared to Hinton Hunt.  My solution is to add some Milliput under the base to add that extra little height.

The DK figure is now a closer match, height wise, with the better fed Hinton Hunt figure. I am hoping that once painted and based the figures will blend together.

Polish Guard Lancers

Well it taken way longer to get these figures completed but they are finally done. 

The trumpeter is a conversion and has a bionic arm donated by a plastic figure. I also use Newline figures for spare parts.

The uniforms are rather pretty and but they were time consuming to paint. I have another 6 figures which will be painted as Red Guard Lancers. I however I need a break ,and need to find something easier to do next.  Perhaps a squadron of Line Lancers or a unit of Prussian Dragoons.

Another point was trying to get the Lances all at the same angle. They would not look like Guard Lancers if they had their Lances all over the place would they.

I use my old trusty Funckens, with french text as my uniform guides.  I have had these since the 70s. I know people say they have inaccuracies but they inspired me as a youngster and continue to do today.

Polish Guard Lancers - in progress

I have had a break from painting classic Napoleonics over the last 3 months.  This week however I have been making progress on a 6 figure squadron of Polish Guard Lancers using FN44 figures. 

They are as per usual taking longer than I expect but his morning I make good progress on them and managed to complete the white on the first figure.  It took over 30 minutes just doing this.

There is still a fair bit of detail to finish him off but I can now see what the finished figure is going to look like.

The 2nd Squadron will be painted as the Red Guard Lancers and will look rather fetching on the wargame table.