Wednesday, August 28, 2013

17th Lancers


The Charge of the Light Brigade by Caton-Woodville

I've written before about how every wargamer as "the battle" one that has captured his imagination and never quite lets go.  I would say the Waterloo is "that battle" so far as I'm concerned, but failing that - Balaklava is a close second.  I, like most, came to it via Tennyson, but my interest was further piqued by Flashman, read at a too tender age in the public library and the Errol Flynn film. Though it took me a little while to realise the Mohammed Khan was not in fact an integral part of the story. 

The Crimea is a sometime thing for me and I will be building armies for it. I just intend not to hurry. In the meantime, these chaps will be serving on the sub continent.  






These are Strelets British Lancers, painted and sometimes converted by our man in Budapest. 


These look like a Caton Woodville come to live. Wonderful stuff.








The chap on the left is a bit of a puzzlement. The 17th didn't carry standards at the charge, so I was a bit mystified when I saw this figure. I eventually decided that a lancer waving a Russian flag is a fine victory point marker and I asked Kris to proceed accordingly. 


I like to think of him, snatching it from the remnants of a shattered Russian column and riding off, bullets whizzing around him.




Two lancers at the charge and a casualty. 




The last thing many Russian gunners ever see. 


Moving forward. 


I love the sense of movement in these figures - if I was in two minds about the Crimea before, I'm decided now. 




Group photo. 


You can almost hear the thunder of hooves. 


A forest of lance points. 


Clearly, the officer in the centre is a bit more enthusiastic than the other ranks. 


Looking very sharp indeed.




Charge!


Run away!



I usually use casualty figures to mark where a unit has been wiped out. It helps keep track of victory points and so forth. Now as it happened, this isn't the casualty figure from the Strelets set.


On the other hand, I really like the pose, it looks like a photograph that shows a stricken lancer who has been thrown clear. There is a casualty figure of a lancer being thrown over his horses head, but Kris has rather cleverly converted him into another charging lancer. Can you spot him in the pictures above?



28 comments:

  1. Hi Mate,

    How large will the project be? Will you be doing figures just for Balaklava or will you attempt to expand it to allow for the other major land encounters?
    The figures in the photos are terrific. Will you be completing the light brigade - two regiments of light dragoons and two of hussars?
    And lastly, so what if there was no Mohammed Khan at the real Balaklava. Wouldn't it be fun to have a turbanned figure at the end of the valley which could be the goal of the Charge? Have a great time with this project!
    Jerry
    A/K/A The Celtic Curmudgeon

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    1. Hard to say Jerry. I think I'll probably start with Balaklava and expand out. It will probably depend on how many of the Strelets figures I get my hands on.

      My particular interest in the Crimea revolves around Inkerman (extraordinary courage) and Balaklava, so I'll probably do the figures for them and then add a few bits and pieces so that I can do some grantian teasers.

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  2. Very nice figures, I like them very much, I was tempted to buy a box, then remembered I already have enough figures to last until 2015 to paint.

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  3. I cannot get over how finer detailed these are compared to some metal ones

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  4. Really exciting looking figures that do grab one's imagination. I like them.


    -- Jeff

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    1. They aren't as fine featured as some of their plastic cousins, but they have a tremendous life and movement about them.

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  5. Very smart looking unit. I have a soft spot for Strelets sculpts.

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  6. An excellent bit of brushmanship. But I've already decided not to succumb to the allure of the Crimean War

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  7. Pretty similar position to me, but far more advanced. I once actually owned some figures for the Crimean War,but eventually sold them off to bring some rationality to the lead pile and thereby save my sanity. However, I have always found the war and its causes/results very interesting and this sort of posting does nothing at all to keep this a purely academic interest.

    Nice figures though!

    ;O)

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    1. I'm sorry for leaving temptation in your wake Gary. I shall do my best to keep it under control.

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  8. A wonderful unit! The Crimea has always fascinated me, but when I began in the early 80s, there were no readily available (or affordable) ranges in production so far as I could ascertain. Only the Peter Laing figures in tiny 15mm, and those weren't quite what had in mind. How different things might look now, had figures like the ones you hare here been available then.

    Best Regards,

    Stokes

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    1. They are really something, I like all the little vignettes that are available with the Strelets sets. But I'm trying to focus on other projects and just tip away at the Crimea.

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  9. Very nice. The Crimea is one of those periods that has been tugging at me for years... and postings like this don't help! Neither does the newish Douglas Miniatures blog. I'd recommend having a look at Neil Thomas' Wargaming Nineteenth Century Europe if you've not seen it yet. Cheers.

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    1. I haven't had a chance to flick through it yet, though to be honest, I need a new set of rules like a hole in the head. I'll probably be bodging something together using C&C.

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  10. Dear Joy,
    You really are a splendid chap!!!

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  11. They look marvellous! A witty set of 'dioramas' for the post too (ha, ha)

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    1. All credit due to our man in Budapest.

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    2. You could consider contributing these beauties to the Strelets website perhaps...?

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  12. It struck me just how old my secondary school is when I discovered that a single alumnus managed to get himself killed in the Crimean.

    I suspect the fellow with the rather rigid left arm is the casualty?

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  13. Now that really is a stirring sight to behold! Like many others, I have also kept the Crimean War firmly in the back of my head since first seeing the original Minifigs range on display at John Tunstill's 'Soldiers' shop in Kennington, London.... would have been mid Seventies I think.

    I have to say that the paint job is simply first class, your man in Budapest has a real talent and feel for the plastic soldier, the horses are beautifully done.

    It's a wonderful period, and if you have not already read it KC I would most heartily recommend Christopher Hibberts 'The Destruction of Lord Raglan' an excellent read.

    Made my day seeing those :-)

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    1. Thank you very much Lee. I found a copy about a million years ago, it's all packed up and waiting to be loosed into the study/war room. Glad that they gave you a lift.

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  14. My introduction to this most famous of head-long charges came from an entirely different direction, and I think it has coloured my opinion on many matters more than I care to admit. A summary follows here: http://cambridgelibrarycollection.wordpress.com/2013/08/19/a-witness-to-the-charge-of-the-light-brigade/

    Written by Frances Duberly, the wife of a junior officer, it describes the day-to-day experience of the camp, it's soldiers and followers, and the officers, in a voice that is both scathing and grippingly immediate.

    One most surreal passage that has stuck with me is a description of Cardigans extravagant living arrangements aboard his private yacht, anchored within sight of his under-supplied and plague-haunted army. An almost perfect summation of the state of the British army at the time that would earn a satirist rebuke for it's outlandish simplicity.

    Very entertaining read, do try it.

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  15. Splendid looking figures! In fact, strikingly handsome. Your "Budapest Man" is a master with the brush.

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