First Figures for 2017

While I get Austerlitz Part 2 sorted out, I will reward your patience with some photos of the first units to come off the production line for 2017.

The first is the 2nd battalion of the Neapolitan 4th Regiment of the Line. This has been a long time in coming as it's been on the go since October last year! Again, the figures are from Italeri set 6066 with one of the voltiguers sporting a Lancier Bleu pokalem-wearing head. The next unit in this project will be the yellow faced 2nd Regiment of the Line which was an exclusively Afro-Caribbean regiment, reputedly the worst in the French army until it was transferred to Neapolitan command during Joseph's reign when it became the best without any change in performance!

The next unit off the painting desk is the Spanish cavalry regiment, the Lanceros de la Legión Extremeña. I have found quite a few pictorial references, some of which are featured below from my Pinterest archive, though not much seems to be known of their battle record. It seems to be one of those hastily organised regiments which popped up and then disappeared soon afterwards in the period before 1812.

As their uniform is so similar to a French uniform, they cried out for a conversion project using the Waterloo 1815 French Line Lancers, similar to the one I did to create the Neapolitan Chevau-Leger regiment. This time, as well as using shako-wearing heads from the old Italeri French infantry set, I also used horses from the Italeri French Dragoon set. The colour-bearer has a head from Lancier Bleu and one of the lancers has a bear, bandaged head from Franznap.

The Waterloo 1815 set has a drawback in that there aren't enough lances for every figure with an empty hand. I had to use piano wire to create lances for the two figures with outstretched arms, and the lance pennants out of paper. I think the pennants are a little large and may require replacing, if I can be bothered. Likewise, the colour requires some sort of finial, but I'm not sure when I'll get around to it! Maybe I should just paint the tip gold and be done with it.

The colour and the bugler's uniform are entirely speculative, so if anyone has any has any further info on this unit, I'd be happy to hear from you.

With the increase of Spanish cavalry in my collection, it's time I had a cavalry commander to try and prevent them routing off the field when they inevitably break! Below is my version of a senior Spanish officer based on images of a brigadier from Napoleon's War in Spain by Lachouque & Tranie using a figure from Italeri set 6016 with the epaulets and aiguilettes removed and a Lancier Bleu head added.