Life Goes On

My mother-in-law, Rosemary, died suddenly a week and a half ago due to complications with the surgery she decided in the end to have. Either way, she was faced with a terrible choice; a slow deterioration which could rob her of a meaningful life, or a risky operation which offered her a chance of total recovery or catastrophic failure. After a week in which her symptoms only got worse, she opted to take the surgery with the proviso that if anything went wrong, she would be allowed to die without intervention. The surgeries themselves went without a hitch; it was just her body's reaction to them that was the risk factor, and unfortunately the worst happened. She died after a very rapid deterioration in her condition a week and a half ago. 

We said goodbye to her yesterday in a moving ceremony where my stepfather-in-law read out not only his own eulogy, but a letter Rosemary had written to her grandchildren. Each of the four grandkids was presented with a little enamel box and instructed to fill it with things that bring them happiness and that they'll only find these things if they go out and live their lives to the fullest.. If they aren't filled it's a sign that they are not trying hard enough. There was not a dry eye in the house. I'm typing through a mist of tears just thinking about it now!

We were expecting around forty people to turn up on the day, but were staggered to find nearly double turned up to farewell Rosemary. A true indication of a life well lived, even if it was cut short. She was only 69.

On to more happy things, as life does go on; my latest units off the workbench; An Italian Light Infantry battalion (the 1° Reggimento Fanteria Leggera) using HaT's light infantry figures and a couple head swaps on the officer and kneeling voltiggiatore. The link takes you to the Napitalia site for the regiment, but the details on that site don't mention plumes, so I used a little artistic license. My Italians have lacked a light infantry arm for a while now, so that hole has finally been filled!

The other finished unit is a white faced British infantry unit, either the 32nd or 59th Foot. They are not from the order of battle the rest of my British infantry are from, just an addition using the available flags I still have knocking around!

I decided on this colour scheme before I started research on what I needed to recreate the Albuera order of battle (a long-standing goal for my allied forces). I found out, too late, that there were no regiments with white facings present at Albuera! Oh, well....

I used a mix of figures, but gave them a touch of uniformity by giving them all heads from the HaT Peninsular War British Infantry set. I think it worked out well seeing there a figures from 3 different manufacturers; Strelets, HaT and Waterloo 1815. The command figures (except for one of the colour bearers) and grenadiers are all Strelets, the advancing figure in the forage cap and the figure ramming a cartridge down the barrel are Waterloo 1815, while the rest are HaT figures with their own heads! Apart from the chunky Strelets muskets, I think they match up quite well with the same heads. I'm pleased with the results anyway!

There's nothing wrong with my eyes; my arms are just too short!

I've been short sighted since the age of 12 but with my glasses I've had 20/20 vision, close or at distance. Until recently, that is! After an unproductive (figure painting-wise) year, I've noticed that after a fairly long break where I didn't put brush to figure, I find it difficult to focus on the details. Hence, after a recent visit to the optometrist at work, I now have not one, but two pairs of glasses! One for everyday distance and computer screen use and the other pair for close in work, like painting figues and reading. The improvement is astounding! I hope this translates to a marked increase in productivity, not only in figure painting, but blogging as well.

Below is the latest output from my workbench (which due to said age-induced eye failure has taken months) namely a continuation of my Neapolitan project. In this instance it's more Guard infantry and the Swinging Dick himself, King Joachim Murat. The command figures and the 1st Regiment of Velite Grenadiers are by the ever brilliant Franznap, although the messenger's horse is a ring in from Zvezda, as the original horse's delicate legs snapped off at the ankles after a mishap.

1st Velite Grenadiers of the Guard 

Command figures

"Andiamo, ragazzi!!"

NCO telling it like it is.

The other ranks aren't that impressed, though.

Hurry up and wait!

"Message for you, Your Majesty!"

Joachim on his Tiger-skin saddle

ADCs from the rear.

The Voltiguers of the Guard are a mishmash of various elite figures from HaT sets like 8095, 8166 and 8167 with head replacements using Italeri heads with the shako plate and cockade shaved off. The unique look of the shakos was achieved by painting alone. Only the officer hasn't had any modifications, besides having his shako details trimmed. He's the only Italeri interloper amongst all the HaT figures.

My version of amaranth is a little too red-brown, when it should really be a pinky-purple as per the images below. I can't work out from the images and what little description I've found if the stripes on the shako were hussar-style flammes / bands or just painted decoration, but as my conversion is just a paint-job, that's the view I'm taking. Also, the images don't make it easy to decide whether the colours should be buff or yellow, so I've made an executive decision for buff shako and collar and yellow lace.

Voltiguers of the Guard

Firing line

Command and infantry 

NCO and marching infantry.

Refurbishment of 2nd Divison #1 - 92nd Foot (Gordon Highlanders)

"Can yer mammy sew? Well, get her to stitch that!"

After finding out I'd shortchanged myself with the size of my British infantry battalions, I've started expanding or replacing my Peninsular War forces. First unit off the desk is the 92nd Foot, or Gordon Highlanders. My existing battalion was only 12 figures strong, when I could have had a 15 figure-strong battalion!

The new Strelets set of marching highlanders seemed to fit the bill, though I found out too late that they were all elite figures, all sporting shoulder wings. I shaved off the wings on the figures used for the centre companies, swapped a couple of heads for variety and stuck a couple of highland bonnet-wearing heads on a couple of HaT flag bearers. That worked quite well, despite them having their sashes around their waists instead of over their shoulders. There is a flag bearer in the Strelets set, but the figure has a moulded flag, and there is only one.

I varied the appearance of the figures with some head swaps; a wounded head from Lancier Bleu, and a Tam o' Shanter wearing one from the HaT command set. The wounded head conversion worked well, but the other on didn't so much; the collar looks much too thick and messy. I'm not sure why, because they were the same figure.

The full battalion in comlumn

Wounded head conversion.

HaT flag bearers with Strelets heads. Officer in full dress, including sporran!

Drummer and piper

Light company troops including (not so successful) head conversion.

I also have been working on a line battalion using the wonderful Hagen Peninsular Infantry set in their battered, hard-marching campaign best, so I thought I'd have a go at creating a couple of ensigns carrying furled and covered colours using HaT command figures. I'd finally managed to make two after much fiddling about with Milliput and thick piano wire and was ready to start painting. I hadn't reckoned on our newest family member, though, had I? We recently got a Jack Russell/Fox Terrier cross puppy, and she understands that anything that drops on the floor is hers....to chew. Obviously I hadn't caught up on the news!

Sigh!

Italian Infantry Redux

"Per l'Italia e Napoleone!"

It's been a while since I started my Italian project (4 years in fact!), so I felt it was high time to get it going again. Especially as my Italian collection consists mainly of guard infantry, painted for Aspern-Essling and Borodino; it is decidedly top-heavy!

After seeing how good the HaT Young Guard figures look with head mods, I decided to get a set myself and use them with the left-over figures from the HaT French Line Infantry in Greatcoats. To round them out and add some variation, I also used figures from a couple of other sets, namely HaT 1805 Infantry, HaT French Guard Chasseurs for some of the elite figures, and figures from Hat Light Infantry Carabiniers and Hat Light Infantry Command for the command stand of the 1st/3rd.

All figures have had head modifications (except for the officer of the 1st/3rd who has had an arm replaced instead!) using the wonderful heads from the otherwise useless Italeri French Infantry set, or metal conversion heads from Franznap and Lancier Bleu.

I realised I made a mistake with the metal work of these figures: Italian infantry should have silver buttons, chin-scales, epaulets etc. and I've painted these gold! I only realised once I was basing them, so I decided that it was a mistake I could live with (otherwise called being too lazy to be arsed fixing the problem!)

I'll probably paint up some more of my Neapolitans next, or else the Hagen metal figures I bought earlier in the year. I'll be on leave for a month soon, so I'm hoping to be able to get through the backlog of figures I've been planning on painting and just haven't found the time to get to. It's been such a busy year that I seem to have had less time for the important things like painting, blogging and gaming. I hope 2017 will be kinder!

2nd battalion 1st Line Regiment

2nd battalion 2nd Regiment

1/3rd Regiment

1/3rd command stand.
Colour party have head conversions, and officer has sword arm conversion.
The edge of the flag looks a lot worse in the photo than it does in real life, though I might end up touching it up with a felt tip pen.

All head conversions. Two outer figures HaT 8034, middle figure HaT 8146. Left hand figure has Franznap head.

Elites with head mods; Grenadier was HaT 8170, the voltiguers HaT 8146

Outer figures from HaT 8062. Middle figure HaT 8146

Outer figures HaT 8146. Middle figure HaT 8062 with Lancier Bleu head.

Grenadier and middle voltiguer both HaT 8170. Right voltiguer HaT 8146 with Lancier Bleu head.