A box of Prussians

I have been fortunate to receive some welcome reinforcement in a box of classic Prussians from a fellow gamer.  

There are a bunch of Lanwehr (on the left) and whilst the bases have been filled down you can still make out the HH code numbers. I have started rennovating a unit of these figures and I hope to finish by the end of the month.

The marching figures on the right and at the back are probably copies of an Austrian marching figure which have been painted as Prussians.  I will probably strip these and paint up as 1813 Austrians.

I was also pleased that I now have some rather nice Prussian Garde figures. Not quiet enough for a full unit unless I add a detachment of Freiwilller jager to make up the numbers.

I was also pleased that there is a rather nice Prussian Mounted Officer (PN64).

There a few figures that are not Hinton Hunt types. Firstly a drummer that is I suspect a Lamming one by the look of his face.2

Secondly there is an Infantry man advancing. This one is a mystery. I assume he is a Prussian as he has a mess tin on his backpack. Could he perhaps be an early minifig/alberken figure. 

Boom Boom

My latest classic napoleonic unit has been completed. This French Line Artillery unit are all original crisp castings and were nice to paint.  

I am however uncertain of the manufacturer of the guns. They are nice models and have a separate axle that runs under the carriage.  This is the same as the classic 20mm Hinchcliffe artillery.  Wellington Man has suggested that they are Warrior Miniatures.  You can see an example of WM blog.

https://thehintonspieler.blogspot.com/2015/11/a-whiff-of-grapeshot.html

The extra artillery will come in handy as my French forces are outnumbered by Allied army.

Major W Robertson

During the Waterloo campaign the 1st KGL were commanded by Major W. Robertson.

I have used an Alberken colonel to represent him and lead the 1st KGL in action. There is less detail on this figure than a Hinton Hunt personality figure. I have therefore added the detail, such as buttons, using paint.

Although a less detailed figure he is a useful addition to my classic collection.

I have some French artillery crew on the go before I tackle some French cavalry.

Better late than never

There have been times over the last couple of months when I lost my painting mojo and thought I would never complete the 1st KGL.

The unit certainly stretched my patience particularly as I had to use multiple coats of both red and white to get the depth of colour right.

The standard bearers and colours take time and are painted in multiple layers of paint. The regimental colour was originally a Union Jack which I had cleaned off with a dremmel. As they looked like recast figures I did not mind. I am not sure I would not be so drastic with one of my original Hinton Hunt standard bearers.

The officer, drummer and fifer are original figures and painted up nicely although why the British had some much lace and white beats me.

The full unit in line. In the Charge rules you get 1 dice per 8 figures so a full volley from a refresh unit is three D6.  At close range what ever you roll are casualties. So anything from 3 to 18. Ouch. You have to be lucky to get a column to beat a line using Charge. As it should be.

1st KGL almost done

It has taken me much, much, longer to get this unit finished than planned.  I think my original plan was over optimistic and went out out of the window with the first coat of red.

Anyway there is light at the end of the tunnel.  The rank and file are done, mdf bases painted humbrol green and the  command under way.

The command also includes an Alberken mounted British Officer who will represent Major W. Robertson.

I can now start planning my next unit and whilst I may go for something simple I feel another French unit is needed. However I am still uncertain whether to go for another cavalry or infantry unit . There is  still the matter of 16 French gunners to consider. 

1st KGL - first batch completed

I have got the first 10 figures of the 1st KGL completed. These have taken longer than anticipated as I have been distracted a bit and the fact that British are just fiddly to paint.

These figures are not originals however are pretty good castings and look the part.

I am now moving onto the 2nd batch of Infantry before finishing of with the command.

I have been distracted by the ACW. My first wargaming period with Airfix figures. I have a reasonably sized 28mm collection which I am slowly rebasing however I have recently bought some 10mm figures for the Altar of Freedom rules. My interest in the Western Theatre was re kindled after my visit to Chickamauga and Kennesaw Mountain last year.

These are 10mm Blaze Away figures. After painting these chaps it made my Napoleonic 20mm figures look huge.

Hinton Hunt Paint Along - 1st KGL Infantry - work in progress.

Along with Stryker of the Hinton Hint Vintage Wargame Figure blog (http://hintonhunt.blogspot.com/?m=1) last month we both completed a French Old Guard unit.

For our next synchorinesed Paint Along we have decided to both do a British unit.

For my unit I have selected the 1st KGL Line Infantry. The Infantry have been cast from a converted BN7 British Infantryman with the arms adjusted and musket added.  The officer, standard bearer, drummer and fifer will be original figures.

These figures had been painted and I decided on a paint restoration rather than a full bleach strip and clean. The command however I have stripped off the old paint and will get the  full treatment.

The first ten are well underway with main colours refreshed and the belts etc painted black. I have now started the white. This is fiddly and will require touch up particularly the piping on the collars. It takes about 10 minutes to do just the white on each figure. In all it takes up to 2 hours to paint one per figure.

I hope to complete the unit by the end of July.

Grumblers finished

I am a few days late in getting this unit finished as I hoped to complete on the 18th June.

The unit consists of both original and recast figures. The standard bearer may be a DK figure but I am not sure. The Sapper is of unknown origin.

The unit from the back. Something the enemies of France seldom saw. It was a bit fiddly getting the figures to fit on the bases but with a bit iof wangling I managed to get them to fit.

I added a couple of sergeants to ease the congestion on a 2 of the bases. This means I have enough figures left over to create a 4 figure Grenadier company in bearskins for a Swiss unit I am contemplating on adding to my French army.

As requested by WM and Rob a picture of the unit in line.

Next up on to am going paint refurbish a unit of British.

I got a unit of these painted Infantry as part of a trade but without command. The figure looks to be a copy of a BN7 with a slight pose change and a musket added before being cast. It's not a bad casting and I have enough unpainted for 3 more units. I have some original command to paint from scratch to complete the unit.

Something Different

Until yesterday the weather has not been good for under coating the final 5 figures for my French Old Guard unit. So as a short interlude I have put together a Prussian FPW unit for the 'A Gentlemans War' rules.

I bought about 100 Zinnfiguren from ebay over 10 years ago. They were factory paint jobs and I have done a bit of refurbing for Wargaming use. Certainly no where near the level that serious Zinnfiguren collecters achieve.

I had based a few figures up on big bases but that was as far as it went.  A recent thread on the Law Forum was discussing the WoFun flats and it reminded me about these figures.

So I spent a pleasant day yesterday removing the figures from the big bases and the sand and grit groundworks.  I have gone  for a toy soldier look with single figure basing , with a nice toy soldier green base colour, and lashings of Gloss varnish.

I went for single basing as this is very much the ethos of the AGM rules but also I found that if Zinnfiguren on multiple bases are actually more likely to be damaged when picked up than if they are singly based.

Finally I came across another old photo of classic Napoleonics which I had not seen before. Mostly Hinton Hunts with a Superquick Cardboard church

Grumblers - Part 2

I finished the first batch of 9 figures this morning.  Second batch are being cleaned up.  I hope to have the full unit ready for inspection on June 18th.

And all 9. I was worried about doing the gaiters black but I think they have come out Ok. They do look more 1812-15 with black gaiters.

Grumblers Part 1

I made some progress on the first  figures of my Old Guard unit. I need to crack on with these so I can get them finished before Strykers unit of Old Guard. See his latest blog post.

http://hintonhunt.blogspot.com/2020/05/mustnt-grumble.html?m=1

He has a head start. I am targeting to complete the unit on the 18th June.

I have got some painting done today

These are all JC recasts and are cast  from one on my original figures. I am painting these as later period 1813-15 and I am going for Black campaign style gaiters.

And now for a mystery, well a mystery to me that is. I have a French Sapper figure who I assume is an Old Guard chap who will be part of my unit. But who made this figure. The base was miscast, hence the Milliput I have added, but does look a bit Hinton Huntish.

I have check Clives blog and listings and there is no Sapper figure listed. I thought he made be an Alberken but their Guard Sapper is a different pose. Does anyone have any ideas as to who made the figure.

Lutzow Infantry

I have finished my unit of Der Kreigspielers Lutzowers. DK ref 122. The command was a made up from other figures and I not sure of their providence. The drummer was a copy of a French Drummer with a Prussian head. He required a fair bit of cleaning up before painting. The Officer is a Hinton Hunt PN1 but possibly not original. The standard bearer looks like a David Clayton casting PN11 Garde Standard bearer but without he plume. All 3 command figures needed Milliput Litweka adding.

The DK Lutzow figure has French style backpack rather than a Prussian one.

I painted all 24 figures in one batch as I thought as they are in Black it would be easier. Now I am not sure about this and will revert back to smaller batches.

I based the flag on a image I found on the Lutzow Freicorps Website. I am not sure about is authenticity but a Black flag does complement the uniforms.

To support my Lutzowers I am going to add some old Kennington Austrian Jaeger as a company of the Lutzow Tyrolian Jaegers in Grey and Green. 

After that it these boys next.

This unit will include 11 of my original Grenadiers I bought from the Hinton Hunt shop in Camden Passage. The rest are more recent recasts. Unfortunately I don't have a Grenadier drummer however I will add  a Sapper instead.

Battle of Gardenville

It been sunny today and the Garden Lawn has  been cut. What an opportunity for a spot of Garden gaming.

So my son Max and I set up a played a game based on Charge.

Each side had 2 Brigades of Infantry each of 2 regiments of 24 figures and a battery of 2 guns.

The rebels advanced across the open ground. The Louisiana Tigers leading the 4th Texan as the sunlight glinted off to the bayonets.

With flags fluttering in the gentle breeze.

The Union are not slow to respond. Tge Iron Brigade moves forward to provide support

As the New York Zoauves defend a fence.

A rebel yell is heard and repeated across the battle field

Grim faced the New York Zoauves are determined to stand.

But the rebel attacks sweeps them away and allows the 4th Texans to turn on the 20th Maine holding Gordon's Farm.

The 4th Texan charge down the Gordonsville Pike is too much for the 20th Maine who turn and run.  With only the Iron Brigade left in fighting shape the game is up.

A fun way to spend a couple of hours. Perhaps I can persuade Max to play a Garden game of Fire and Fury next.