Refurbishment of 2nd Division #2 - 28th or 34th Regiment of Foot

"O'er the hills and o'er the main

Through Flanders, Portugal and Spain.

King George commands and we obey

Over the hills and far away."

These wonderful figures from Hagen miniatures are full of character. They are battle-weary old campaigners in tattered uniforms with individual embellishments like legionnaire-style neck shades, firewood stuffed into the knapsack, trousers rolled up to the knee, espadrilles instead of boots, rolled blankets in place of kanpsacks, and various styles of forage cap. They really were a joy to paint, being used to the cookie-cutter figures in most plastic sets.

My only gripes are that there were no elite figures in the set, necessitating the fiddly application of Milliput shoulder wings to a couple of figures, and no command figures, either. The officers and drummer are HaT plastic and are slightly smaller and finer compared to the metal figures, but it's not a big problem, really.

As there were two yellow-faced regiments in 2nd Division, I haven't settled on which of the two this unit represents, hence the confusing post title. As the colours are furled and cased, they can be either at this stage. I use generic coloured flags, anyway, so it doesn't really matter.

I'm happy the way that the furled and cased colours turned out, especially after the doggy-disaster! The replacement figure has a slightly thicker furled colour than the original, not that you can really notice on the table top. Because the infantry look like they're on the march, rather than actually in battle, I wanted the officers to match. The only colour party figures available carry naked poles with finial and tassel which really need a flag attached. My solution was to bodge up a couple of ensigns carrying cased colours based on the image below.

I used the marching officers from the HaT command set, cut off the swords each arm pose carries and glued on a cased colour each, made from piano wire and Milliput. I also added another shoulder strap to each figure with Milliput; an exercise in extreme frustration!

The varnish I used for shading is a little too dark (I finished the last pot, which I got from Masters, a hardware chain which has since gone out of business!), but I think it accentuates the grubbiness of a hard-campaigning regiment. Still, I think I'll have to find a varnish that isn't quite so overpowering.

Grenadiers with home-made shoulder wings

Rear view showing firewood and neck-guard

Corporal in forage cap and espadrilles

Patched knees

HaT drummer and officer

Colour party

Two different arm poses

Left hand colour slightly thicker. Looks heavier, too!

Shako at a jaunty angle and second style of forage cap

Light bobs. The right hand figure came from another set I ordered, but instead of 4 marching elites, I only got this one and more marching centre company figures, because they'd run out!

Rolled blanket.

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!

All Quiet on the Hobby Front

"Heeeeeeere's JOHNNY!"

There has been a distinct lack of hobby action of late, and like Jack Nicholson's character in "The Shining", cabin fever is setting in...

A combination of family commitments and it just being too damn hot (or humid, or both) have meant I haven't been to the club for weeks and painting has been a write-off. Why try painting when the paint on your brush dries up before it touches a figure? A slight exaggeration, but it's been consistently hotter and muggier since summer officially finished at the end of February, and that kind of weather is not conducive to painting, as you probably know all too well.

Anyway, things are looking up; I'll be going to the club this weekend and will probably play French this time. Several new players have been investing in British armies, so I'll give them some target practice. The Italians I painted up late last year will probably get their maiden run on the battlefield (queue routing markers!).

Because there's been a flurry of British regiments being created, there have been quite a few questions being asked on numbers and basing, and I realise my regiments are undermanned. My focus for when I get my mojo back will be to upgrade my British line regiments from 10 to 12 figures and Highlanders from 12 to 15 figures. I'm also planning to retire some of my older units and replace them with Hagen metal figures (marching and action) and the new Strelets Highlander range. The problem is, though, both ranges have problems: the Hagen figures don't have elite company figures, while the Strelets figures don't have centre company figures! I had ordered some Hagen marching light infantry to use as elite company figures, but when I got the parcel in the mail I found that they'd been replaced with extra centre company marching figures, instead. Consequently, I've used Milliput to make shoulder wings on a few figures. I'll see how they look once I start painting them. I've also laboriously carved off the shoulder wings from the majority of the Highlander figures, too.

Also, I will need to re-base my Spanish infantry, which I mistakenly based on the larger 2-rank base, instead of the standard 3-rank continental infantry. Plus, I plan to boost the numbers of Spanish infantry so that I can field a complete 1500 point Spanish army! "Why?", I hear you ask; well, I have a soft spot for the hapless Spaniards who kept getting up after being knocked down again and again! They embody the image of the plucky underdog, which appeals to my sense of justice. Plus, I have an ambition to win a game with them one day; if I can do that, then I know I'll have made it as a player! That's the same reason I'm still plugging away with the Neapolitan project, too.

Portuguese Artillery and Spanish Command

"Pronto!... Fogo!"

I am terrible at resisting the "ooh, shiny!" impulse, especially when it's for a unique set in my chosen scale and can add to my already existing collection. With that declaration made, let me introduce you to my new Portuguese artillery battery!

These are from the expanding range of metal Napoleonic figures offered by Hagen Miniatures. The figures are great, the gun very detailed, and there's quite a range of paraphernalia that comes with the set. In fact, I found that I could only use 4 of the 6 figures provided, otherwise the base would have been very crowded!

I've added my patent tuft of cotton wool to the portfire and blackened the muzzle to show that it's been in heavy use.

┉┉┉┉┉┉┉┉┉┉┉┉┉┉┉┉┉

"Yo espio con mi ojo pequeño...."

This is the second of my recent Spanish command figures. He'll act as an infantry brigadier or cavalry divisional general. Again, he's from the Italeri French command set with a head modification using a Lancier Bleu head. He's had his epaulets removed and his collar built up with Milliput after decapitation of his original head took off more than I intended!

The "Ooooh, Shiny!" Complex Strikes Again!

The new Portuguese artillery set from Hagen Miniatures

Sometimes it's a curse keeping abreast of the latest developments in our hobby! If I wasn't a member of Benno's Forum or followed History in 1/72, then I would still be living in blissful ignorance of developments in areas where my collection has gaps, viz. the Portuguese artillery above.

I can justify to myself ordering a set of the Portuguese gunners as there is a glaring lack of figures for this important British ally in 1/72nd scale. What I can't really justify is the "oooh, shiny!" impulse buy of the new British infantry on offer from Hagen as shown below.

The tattered marching infantry are right up my alley. I love the assortment of headgear they are sporting; that's what I try to do with my head conversions, but these are ready-made with an assortment of shakos, forage caps and a bare head.

Tattered Tommy Atkinses.

The dynamic action poses of the light infantry figures just cry out to be painted! I love the light-bob officer resplendent in his hussar's pelisse, directing traffic with his light cavalry sabre. I'll probably mount them on 2" round bases as skirmishers

Dandy officer and light bob.

Skirmishing light bobs.

Now to resist temptation and keep away from the siren call of the Wellington in India collection!

(All images courtesy of Hagen Miniatures website.)

Spanish Cavalry - Regimiento Farnesio

Regimiento Farnesio

Here's the second unit off my paint desk for this year! These are my Hagen Spanish cavalry (see previous post) painted in the uniform of the Farnesio Regiment.

I still haven't perfected my photography in our new place yet; they're still coming out fairly muddy, even with the appropriate camera settings and flash. I either need stronger lighting, or should try natural light instead, I think.

I was a bit unimpressed with the horses to begin with, but they've grown on me. The usual horse pose for plastic 1/72 scale figures is thoroughbreds in a flat out gallop or some other dynamic action pose. These ones are very staid in comparison. Also, they initially looked a spavined, sway-backed, moth eaten lot for cavalry mounts. Then I remembered reading somewhere that the Spanish equine bloodlines had been corrupted by centuries of prioritising the breeding of mules. They're actually quite appropriate in that regard!

The horses also came complete with saddle and bridle, but no reins. I remedied that by gluing on a loop of black cotton from each horse's bits to their rider's fist. Not sure if it was worth the aggravation of attempting something requiring extra-fine motor skills with my sausage fingers! Anyway, you be the judge.

Regiment in line

Guidon from Warflag

Command

Guidon bearer and escort

One figure had lost his plume, so I cut it off another one to vary the look of the regiment.

Troopers

I love the fact they all come with carbines.

Reins visible in profile

Troopers

Hagen Spanish Cavalry

Images courtesy of Hagen Miniatures
http://www.hagen-miniatures.de/index.php/en/

Got myself some of these lovely figures from Hagen Miniatures (which were commissioned by none other than MS Foy of Promotheus in Aspic fame). I bought one pack of the command set and  two of the troopers. Like all metal figures shipped to the Antipodes from the other side of the world, once shipping costs were added, the costs caused a sharp intake of breath! However, as there aren't any other Spanish cavalry commercially available in my chosen scale, it's either time consuming conversions or pay up.

I feel my Spanish forces need a little stiffening in the cavalry department to make them a well rounded force. Not that it really matters as Spanish cavalry really are rubbish in our rules (although in my latest report to come, my Spanish cavalry punched well above their weight in an awesome display of derring do, so stay tuned, folks!)

Below is an image of Spanish Line Cavalry by the Spanish artist Dionisio Alvarez Cueto which I'll be using as a guide for these figures.