Victory or Death! #2

Here's the guerrilla colour bearer in all his glory, based and ready for action on the table-top this Friday night.

The flag motto translates as:

For King Ferdinand VII

VICTORY OR DEATH!

5th Battalion of the Volunteers of La Mancha

As I haven't had a game in over a month (gnk...excuse me...gnk...twitching a bit lately), I fully expect this brave lad to be an early victim. I'll be playing a long delayed game against John R. and his hordes of lackeys of the Corsican Ogre. My forces of light and purity will consist of my British and Portuguese combined with my masses of Spanish, so it'll be an interesting game to say the least!

Everyone's a Winner, Baby!

Well, I can't speak for you, but I certainly am; A winner, that is!

After trying to rid the image of shirtless, bald, kilt-wearing, St. Andrew's Saltire draped weirdos from your mind's eye, I'll tell you the reason behind this slice of Celtic kookiness: I won a PRIZE!!

Tamsin over at Wargaming Girl had a prize draw to celebrate her mumblety-mumbleth birthday (a gentleman doesn't ask a lady her age, though I notice it didn't stop some!). One of the prizes on offer was Tales from the Rifle Brigade by Kincaid, which I couldn't go past, of course, so I put my hand up to go into the draw. The draw was duly drawn and I came up trumps!

Thanks Tamsin!

PATHE newsreels on Wargaming / Figure Painting

Found by NWA club member, Steve.


Spiffing Practical Uses of Wargaming, By Jingo!





You, too, can paint Napoleonic figures (as long as you wear a silly dressing gown!)

Victory or Death!

Staying at home today as a result of a freak kitchen accident (Junior Rosbif #1 would say all accidents I suffer are freak ones as that's what I am. Ha, ha, ha....ha........ha. Note to self: Next time I alter my will, give her share to the cat!). For those of you taking notes,while in bare feet a heavy glass oven-proof pie dish fell, edge-on, onto my big toe nail, resulting in blood and severe bruising. The bedclothes hurt my toe last night, so there was no way  I was going to be able to put shoes on and walk today. Lots of ice and neurofen, and I should be right soon(-ish!)

Anyway, it's given me time to complete this chap especially so he can sport one of the flags created by MSFoy over at Prometheus in Aspic. I hadn't intended painting this chap as he's from a strange set that seems to have figures by two different sculptors. My other guerrilleros are a lot chunkier, so I didn't think these more finely sculpted ones would really go all that well with them. After considering conversion potential, it was a no brainer; this chap has 2 pistols, but is only using 1, with his other arm flung out behind him. He's leaning back slightly, as if bracing against something; maybe a large, heavy flag billowing in the breeze? Bingo! He's your man!

Westfälisch Infanterie Fertig!

Here's the first battalion of my Westphalian project finished and ready for the table-top! Until I paint some more, they'll have to go in a combined brigade or division with some French or Italian infantry, but that's OK.

I plan to paint at least another 3 battalions of line infantry and then a couple of light infantry battalions, and even some hussars in dashing green. If I don't get distracted by another project (which I'm sure I will!) I'll probably paint up a regiment of cuirrassiers, too.

Next lot of infantry I do, though, I think I'll be a bit more careful about cleaning up the mold lines, as the elites have a particularly noticeable stripe down their arms after the highlighting process. It's only really when you look at them on the screen that you really notice them, but now it's all I see when I look at them. GRRRR!

Battalion in line...

...and in column

Command stand

Firing line

NCO - Feldwebel

Grenadiers

Voltiguers

Westphalian WIP #5 - Nearly Finished!

Here's some more pictures of my progress on my Westphalian infantry progess.

The first battalion is completed and based, waiting for pretty-fication around the bases. I'm quite happy with the results, so I'll power on with completing a couple of regiments out of the plastic mountain. That is unless I get distracted by something else, or decide to go back to finish another ongoing project, like my Peninsular British and Portuguese, or my Italians, or my Royal Marines and sailors, or.... ;-)

Actually, I'd better get cracking with Jim's Soviets, or he'll start asking me to pay him for the privilege of painting them!

This is just about my favourite figure ever;
A combination of the pose and the paintwork just does it for me! 

The head swaps have really worked, IMHO.

The whole battalion

These two make a great little vignette;
A mini firing line!

Schilling Zinnfiguren - review

I haven't done a figure review before because I'm fairly limited in choice due to my preferred scale of 1/72. Besides the odd metal figure or unit by SHQ/Kennington for figures I can't find in plastic, or for which I wouldn't waste money buying in plastic (Think Airfix and some of the weirdly posed early Italeri and Esci productions), most of my figures come from the stables of HaT, Italeri and the limited, but beautiful, Zvezda collection.

I indulge in conversions (usually head-swaps) to produce figures that can't be found in general production, but often I'm resigned to not having figures in my collection which I'd really like to have (read British Peninsular War cavalry; what prejudices do manufacturers have against tarletons and bicornes, I ask you?!).

It comes as a welcome surprise to find a new manufacturer of my chosen scale whose product is so enticing online that I had to get my mitts on some!

The company is German based with a German language website which, with my schoolboy German and help from Google Translate, I was able to find my way around. I sent an initial email query, again in my pidgin German, and was answered quite promptly in English. Jorg's English is about as good as my German, but Ulrike's English is fluent, so there were no problems there. The ordering and payment system went smoothly with the transaction conducted via PayPal. After the order was dispatched, the Schillings kept in touch, wanting to know how the package survived its international trip and if there were any problems. As my figures were securely packaged in a box filled with shredded paper, they were snug as a bug in a rug from Germany to Australia and arrived in perfect condition. The only thing was that I timed the order to coincide with the Easter long weekend, so I didn't get them as quickly as I could have; Damn those public holidays, I say!

So, to the figures.

They are very well sculpted and exquisitely cast with no signs of flash or mould lines to speak of. The range is very comprehensive from action poses like firing, loading etc., as well as march attack, advancing at the charge and standing to attention. My favourite are the casualty figures (yes, I am a morbid chap, I know!) including a figure sculpted in the act of falling, dramatically flinging his musket as he falls.

Compared to the more anatomically proportioned plastic figures, these figures are a little boof-headed, but not in a way that detracts from the otherwise excellent proportions. As fans of 28mm figures know,  anatomical features are often exaggerated (thinking of Front Rank, Foundry etc.). Compared with the lumpen sculpting of my SHQ/Kennington figures, these are sylph-like!

My one gripe is that the range doesn't stretch to elite company figures. Yet. I notice that they make Grenadiers of the Guard and Black Brunswickers, too, so they are obviously aiming at the Waterloo period. The Napoleonic Wars are not defined by Waterloo, so I'm a little ambivalent about the range catering to that battle AGAIN, but I suppose they think that's a selling point.

Two of several marching figures

The casualty figure (focus problems, sorry!)

Eagle bearer with attached wire; too long IMHO, but I'll trim it to match  my figures. The figure also has eagle and  ribbons!

Loading figure, biting cartridge

Charged bayonet figure

Firing figure. Very dynamic, as he leans in against the recoil.

One of the other wounded figures. Knocked over on his a*se, he asks "Did anyone catch the number of the bus that hit me?"

 Comparison shot with HaT Chasseur NCO

All things considered, these are wonderful figures. I hope they make more, including the elite companies, but other than that, I give them 4/5 cockades! 

Westphalian WIP #4

Here's a sample of my Westphalians ready for basing. They're looking tired and weary after marching across Prussia, The Duchy of Warsaw and western Lithuania; their pristine white uniforms are now decidedly shabby!

Thanks all who responded to my flag query, as well. It was a great help!

Colour bearer using Napflags version of the 1810 Line infantry colours. Finial spear-point made from tiny slice of fridge magnet; and cords from plastic coated wire tie, with most of the plastic trimmed off.
He'll get an extra dry brushing of white as befits his status as an Offizier.

The folds of the sleeves really stand out on this chap.

I've added a dry-brushed layer of muddy brown on the lower legs, as well as the shading, to add extra grime!