Strelets French Army Sledge Train 1 & 2

French Army Sledge Train 

My Russian army is nearly complete and I've been playing through the full set of Spanish Peninsula scenarios over the last few months.  This means of course, that before too long it will be time to set out for the frozen wastes of Russia as the Napoleon's Grande Armee marches towards nemesis.  There are a couple of scenarios from the retreat from Moscow in the Russian expansion. While I have acquired a snow mat and some fir trees with the firm intention of doing a snowy setup, I have no intention of adding another army of Frenchers wrapped in blankets to the figure collection. 

However, I was ordering some Zulu War British from Harfields the other day and wasn't really able to justify spending almost £5 on postage for a £5 box of figures. Now with the economic sense that has made me the millionaire I am today, I realised that if I ordered more figures, the postage wouldn't go up and if it did it wouldn't be by much. 

And that gentlemen, is how I talked myself into buying the two boxes above, reasoning that I don't need to buy a new army - I can just add a few figures here and there and the illusion is complete. 

Right?

The boys in the plastic

What you get for your money is two plastic sleds and a collection of grim looking Bonapartists, several of whom are missing limbs.  I was a bit dissappointed at first as the number of figures was quite low, but on mature reflection the only comparable offering is from Schilling and they are more expensive again. 

My plan is to base these up as little dioramas, with each stand representing a single infantry stand and a stand on it's own being a casualty.  This should give my 1812 Frenchers a more ragged look and for under a tenner. 

You can get a more in depth look at the figures individually here, but I think if you like Strelets usual output you'll like these.  Otherwise more expensive metal figures might be the way to go. 

In other news, my new neighbours have been doing rather well with the new arrivals. Poppa Swan is rather protective of their lawn. I think he's thinking of putting some planters down. 

A better view of the cygnets taking a well earned kip. They are getting so big. 

1st Hussars

(click to embiggen)

After all that time stealing other mens glory - I thought it might be time to post some pictures of figures that I've painted myself.  These are hussars of the 1st Regiment of Hussars in the French service.  They were originally know as the Hussars of Bercheny, but were renamed during the Revolutionary unpleasantness.  

I love commanding cavalry on the tabletop, but I hate painting them. With that in mind, I purchased some French hussars from a german collector last year.  Now as it happens, I managed to get enough figures to do one and a half units.  

(click to embiggen)

So I gritted my teeth and based up some extra Italeri hussars that I had lying around and painted up the spares.  These fellas complete one unit and I will have to paint up officers and a bugler for the second. 

The first served at Eylau, Friedland and Leipzig so they will see some service against my Russians.  

Not the finest paint job ever to grace a toy soldier, but they fit with the rest of the unit and that's the main thing.  

(click to embiggen)

I don't have any Napoleonic games planned right now and I do actually have three units of Chasseurs in stock should I need them, but occasionally one needs more than three units of French lights cavalry for large games. 

Not that there any of those planned right now. 

To be honest, there's probably dozens of things I should have painted before these (and I have another four lads to go!) like for example Afghan jezails,  VBCW BEF and Crimean turks, but I suppose this just goes to show the innate perversity of the wargamer. 

Airfix Imperial Guardsman

Photo by TK

This is the latest from our unnamed genius in Budapest - who I shall call Mr. M. This is an old kit, an Airfix French Imperial Guardsman that I found in a box of stuff at the back of a model shop, along with a collection of other old Airfix kits. It seemed a shame to leave him there. Mr. M has done a really bang up job on this chap, very neat work.  TK sent me some pictures and I look forward to taking delivery.

For all his finery, Francois here strikes me as being all business. Like Cassius, he has a lean and hungry look.

He thinks too much, such men are dangerous.

Photo by TK 

Francois is clearly on a green field, possibly a shell torn field in Belgium, I imagine.  I'm quite looking forward to seeing him in the flesh as I want to get a closer look at that face.

But this one of the Emperors Immortals will be guarding part of the bookshelf once he arrives, along with his hussars and lancer brothers.

Strelets Zouaves

The Zouave by Van Gogh

There is something about a Zouave that provokes a romantic response.  My tastes in painting tend more to the Academic or the Romantic, than post Impressionists like Van Gogh, but I still like this piece.  My old mucker Vincent however did not care for his work - I think it captures the essence of the man in a way that photography simply can not. What strikes me most about the painting is the insouciance of the soldier and the gorgeous rich red of the uniform.  

I was fortunate enough to be the recipient of the largesse of a fellow wargamer, who passed on a box of 1/72 Strelets plastics to me. This box not only contained more British infantry than I could shake a stick at, but a massive bag of Frenchmen. 

Not only that, but a goodly number of them were already painted.  So much so in fact, that I've been able to add five fully fleshed units of infantry to my Crimean French forces.  The freemasonry of the hobby working its magic yet again.

I needed one or two extra figures to finish of one unit of Zouaves, so I added these fellows myself. 

 

Sergeant & Officer

I used the marching figure as an officers as Strelets set comes with a lot of acrobatic Zouave types, throwing themselves around as is their wont. I decided that this slightly more staid fellow would do for an NCO.  

I notice from my photograph that some strands of static grass have attached themselves to the officers kepi - drat, drat, drat. 

A crawling Zouave - very inconspicuous I think you will agree

These chaps were painted in an off fashion to match the figures my friend had sent me.  He primes everything in black and then adds a drybrush of white over the top. The result is to give some shading and so forth.  He makes a far better fist of it than I, but I think you can see some of the results here. 

Sneaky

Much like our pal Van Gough, my friend paints his figures in a deliberately expressionist style which I think works very well for such brightly coloured gentry as these zouaves.  I have done my best to replicate his style - I will add some pictures of his figures very shortly - though I did experiment with adding some shading to the trousers.  I painted these Scab red and then built up a series of highlights using translucent Vallejo acrylics. 

A wounded Zouave & a bugler

Normally I'd chop up a figure to use as a casualty marker, but it would be silly to do so, when the Strelets have gone to the bother of including a wounded figure. Given that I should be studying right now and that my next wargame will almost certainly involve the Hundred Days, there is absolutely no reason why I should be painting Crimean War French. 

Perhaps he's just done his ankle while he was leaping about?

It just goes to show that Homo Ludum Bellum will almost always find a reason to paint the last thing he should be painting.  Still it was a nice distraction to put a brush to some figures.  These took me about two hours all told, most of it spent on the couch with Mrs. Kinch.  I've found that I've lost the knack of watching television without something to do with my hands. 

Airfix French Cuirassier

Photo by Takacs Krisztian 

One of the pleasures of the Sunday game was that I got to meet up with Krisztian (not painting Krisztian, gaming Krisztian)* and he beat me hollow at Memoir '44. I settled his hash at Arnhem, but he hammered me at Samur and in the Courland Pocket. Krisztian brought with him some figures from Hungary which will be appearing here in short order. But first amongst them was an Airfix French Cuirassier. 

Photo by Takacs Krisztian 

This was painted by a friend of Krisztians.  A man he described as "...the talented one." Now, I mostly collect figures for wargaming purposes, but every so often one picks up a toy soldier for the sheer pleasure of looking at a toy soldier. All I can say is what a beauty. I don't know if the chap is looking for commission work, but I will gladly forward the details of any blog reader that is interested. 

Photo by Takacs Krisztian 

The use of colour, the attention to details, the beautiful work on the horse - this dastardly Frencher is sitting on my desk at the moment (I'm meant to be writing an article) and I've just been spellbound. What a piece of work. 

Photo by Takacs Krisztian 

I think the work on the face of the cuirassier and the horses eyes are particularly good. You can almost smell the sweat.  On the few occasions I've had the privilege of working with the mounted unit, the thing that has always struck me is the heat that radiates from a horse on a cold day and the strong musky scent. Having this chap coming at you at full tilt must have been a nerve wracking experience. 

Hold boys! Hold! 

The battle of Quatre Bras by Lady Butler

(of which I am really inordinately fond) 

Note the dismounted cuirassier in the right foreground. 

Another look at that fantastic horse - I can only presume that the painter was working in oils to get such a wonderful sheen on the horses coat. 

Artist's impression of Kinch

I'd just like to conclude this post by observing that don't talented people make you sick to your stomach? Look at them with their hard won skill, achieved by work, application and God given talent - thinking their better than you.  And knowing that they are right. 

I'm just going to sit here and stew in my own mediocrity. 

Bah humbug. 

But, still and all, what a figure - just wow. I'm still marvelling at him as I write this. 

Note: Should anyone wish to get in touch with the painter, drop me a comment and I'll put you in touch.  He works exclusively in large scale figures. 

*I have a theory that all Hungarians are in fact called Krisztian.  Old John maintains that this is true, though there is one Hungarian called Zolt apparently.  He must have been terribly picked on in school. 

Sunday Basing

Two French Generals

I've a heavyish week at work and a few writing jobs to get done in addition to that, so I've restricted myself to basing - which at least lends itself to being done at odds hours and in small bursts. I've started doing the basing of my Mysorean matchlock men (see at the back), but the heroes of the hour are two very old Hinton Hunt French generals. These were part of a collection bought some time back and their paintwork while somewhat chipped is still mostly good. 

To the side gentlemen

I was considering repainting them, but it seemed bad form, so I'm merely rebasing them and giving them a quick blast of varnish to prevent further damage.  These are old campaigners and it wouldn't do to disgrace the uniform of the old corps by a later imposition, they shall serve as they are. 

And a shiny sixpence to the bright lad who can identify them. 

Schilling French Grenadiers

Schilling French Grenadiers

Sharp eyed readers will no doubt have observed the freshly painted grenadiers lurking at the rear of the French line at the Battle of Vimeiro. The fellows pictured above are Schilling French Grenadiers bought from John Cunningham of 20mm Nostalgic Revival. John lectured me during his last visit that no true Napoleonic wargamer can be considered as such until he has fielded Old Guard Grenadiers. However, being of a Peninsular turn of mind, I didn't have much call for them at the time. However with Waterloo looming it seems I'll have to field some after all. 

And in close up

These were painted by Krisztian Takacs and they're brilliant figures well painted. Krisztian is also a photographer of some skill. He took the pictures above for Uwe of History in 1/72, who is also selling the Schilling grenadiers. As you can see they are crisp, beautifully proportioned castings about equivelent in height to SHQ I think, but I'll try and get a comparison photo posted soon.

From left to right, Officer, Pioneer and two grenadiers

I've also discovered that there is so little differance between Guard and Line Grenadiers that I'm happy to use the same figures for both. As Windrow & Embleton write in Military Dress of the Peninsular War,

"British diarists recalling the fighting in Fuentes de Onoro mention being attacked by "Imperial Guards", but there were no units of la Garde present.  The troops who made such an impression were three battalions of detached grenadier companies drawn from all eight of Drouet D'Erlons two divisions. It was a natural mistake for any man to make in the heat of battle, with the massed ranks of tall bearskins coming at him through the powder smoke."

The paths of glory lead but to the grave...

Lastly, there is the ever important casualty figure to mark where the unit has fallen.  Inigo, Uwe's sculptor has done a wonderful job - there is pathos there that gives weight and feeling to Thomas Gray's words.

All in all, two wonderful units that will hopefully break as soon as they see the sight of cold steel.

But somehow I doubt it. 

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Lieutenant Etienne Gerard of the Tenth Hussars

 I have no idea why the Exploits of Brigadier Gerard has a swastika on it. 

I presume it is for the same reason as many of Kiplings books do.

One of the simple pleasures of working nights is that hour of solitude when you return home. The dawn is breaking; the house is quiet except for the cats, who are awake and demanding food. My mind is too active from the shift just past to sleep, so I usually settle down and do a little reading. I often leave tasks in the war room so that I can potter for an hour or so before going to get to bed. Mrs Kinch once compared it to rest periods divers take when returning from deep dives.

This morning I applied myself to my Brigadier Gerards, so that I could solve the problem of the regimental number.  The Brigadier led the Hussars of Conflans and were they the 3rd Hussars?







Well it turns out that Kristian was right in a way. My hussar is not wearing the uniform of the Hussars of Conflans, however, the gallant Brigadier was not always a Brigadier, nor was he always in the Hussars of Conflans. At one point he was Lieutenant Etienne Gerard of the Tenth Hussars.









Now as it happens blue as the gallant Brigadier explains is the colour of the tenth. And referring further to the text, it turns out that Kristian...

 ...got the uniform details exactly right. So gentlemen, I give you Lieutenant Etienne Gerard of the Tenth Hussars. A bold and saucy fellow just at the beginning of his career.

Hopefully, I will get another quiet time tomorrow morning and I shall be able to confirm whether the Hussars of Conflans are the 3rd Hussars.

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Hussar

I have an entirely fictional regiment of Hussars of Conflans in my French army, but this chap is from the very real 10th Hussars. If I had been thinking I would have asked Kristian to paint him as one of the 3rd, as that is the number of the real Hussars of Conflans. At least that's what wikipedia says, I've embarked on the ardous task of rereading the stories to make sure.

I do these things so you don't have to.





 But even if the uniform is wrong, this figure, a gift from a good friend, has the right sort of stuff about him, that Etienne Gerard swagger. It is a beautiful piece of sculpting and Kristian has done him proud.

Damned if I know what I'll do with him, now that I have him, but we shall see. 

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Schilling French Grenadier

Isn't he a dapper chap?

I didn't get to do much today, but I managed to meet up with Kristian and picked up some of the Schilling figures that he painted for me. Only a poor quality phone picture, but he did a good job, I think you'll agree.



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French Infantry - 39eme Ligne

39eme Ligne

When I began my Napoleonic project many moons ago - I was rather intimidated by the number of figures required and the intricacy of painting demanded. With the eye to raising a large number of troops in short order, I picked up six boxes of HATs Young Guard. These are fairly innocuous looking fellows in great coats and shakos. The idea was that I would be able to paint these up without any of the facings or other flapdoodle required and I would have my French army relatively quickly. This was the case and they've stormed across many a shot torn tabletop, but in retrospect I'm a little unhappy that I went this route. Part of the attraction of the period is the sheer pagentry of the uniforms, the horses and so forth and while the grey ranks of the greatcoats are probably damn sight closer to the reality - they lack a certain something.

I think the French have a word for it, but I don't know what it is.

A Kennington officer, Ykreol Drummer and HAT NCO

In many ways, I suppose it sums up my attitude to the French army of the period - a grey mass of stormtroopers. The hussars and the foreign legions add colour and I've plenty of Irish and Swiss troops in my French army. Which reminds me, I must add some Poles.

The 39eme Ligne broke during the Combat of Foz de Arouce in 1811, during Massena's retreat from the Lines of Torres Verdras. They attempted to cross a river to their rear, but found the bridge blocked by French cavalry who were attempting to join the fight. Forced to ford the river, several soldiers drowned including the chap with the regiments eagle, which was lost. The eagle was later recovered by Portuguese peasents in return for a hefty sum and now sits in London.

A rather gory casualty figure

The casualty figure above is part of a collection of generic French casualty figures I bought from Mark Bevis a few years ago. I think they look rather well for an odd figure that he's taken a craft knife to. I think this chap started life as an Italeri French Infantry Standard Bearer.

I should probably read some of the French memoirs of the period, which would probably make the Gallic juggernaut a little more human.

Any suggestions?
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From the work bench - Horse Grenadiers of the Guard

I finally finished the trimming, filing and clipping necessary to get the Grenadiers to sit their horses. These are the last unit I need for my Hundred Days games.

I had trim the blanket roll so that the tails of the coat would fit. Also trimmed the inner thighs of the horsemen until they fit saddle. As Foy has said this is something akin to GCSE metalwork.

The Eagle bearer and Officer (with curiously waggly sword), all that remains is the musician. Clive of Vintage Wargaming has sent me a bugler, but I haven't tried him out yet. I think I may have to strip him first (ooo'er Matron).

French Guard Grenadiers a Cheval by SHQ

Le Gros Frere

I've been working mustering forces for Waterloo for quite some time now. The Anglo-Dutch forces didn't present much difficulty, though I will have to reorganise my filing system to take account of the influx of Dutchmen. However, I did have to grapple with the problem of French Guard Heavy Cavalry or specifically, the Horse Grenadiers of the Guard.

These are not available in plastic, so I had to look at the available figures in metal. I've had good experiences with Pete and Ray at SHQ and they didn't disappoint. When there was a problem with my order, they rectified it immediately. Sterling service.

French Guard Grenadier A Cheval at rest by SHQ

The figures arrived and as you can see they are virtually flash free. There are unfortunately two flies in the ointment*. Firstly, the command pack contains two officers and a chap with an eagle and therefore lacks the trumpeter who usually graces my French cavalry units.

Secondly, as you can see above getting the chaps to sit their horses properly is a bit difficult and will require some work with a craft knife and file. I was thinking about my own experience of riding and thought maybe that the rider could be rising in his stirrups. But then, the whole squadron can hardly be doing that!

That said, I am happy with the figures themselves, which have a pleasing heft and solidity that I expected of this most iconic of Napoleonic corps.

*I recently came across the origin of this particular phrase while reading Ecclesiastes. It was a strange, touching someone across an ocean of time moment.

Hinton Hunt Tirallieurs of the Young Guard

Tirallieurs, two units of sixteen each on their new bases

I was lucky enough to be part of a consortium that bought some Hinton Hunt figures relatively recently. This was organised by the ever reliable John Cunningham. I haven't had a chance to sort through them as much as I would like, but I was working with these chaps tonight because I need two additional units of French Light Infantry for the scenarios I'll be running at Gaelcon.

These fine fellows are Tirallieurs of the Young Guard, though I'll confess that John had to identify them for me as my knowledge of the Guard is very limited. I'll be rating them as line troops for my purposes at least until Gaelcon and I'll be adding some HAT figures to make up the requisite officer, musician and sergeant. They were painted by the collector John bought them from and the paintwork is in very good condition. From examining the bases it seems clear that these are veterans of many a shot torn tabletop as several of the cornflake packets in question are priced in old money.

The chaps on their original bases, not the greatest of pictures,

but not bad for a camera phone in the middle of dinner

We had friends over for dinner and afterwards over the grapes and cheese, I pottered about cutting bases (though Sheelagh* helped). I then tore the veterans off their card bases and based them singly on 5/8 squares of plasti-card. I'll add filler and magnetic bases later. This is where having a tray helps.

Little and often, that's my new mantra.

So they'll be rebased, but otherwise I wouldn't touch these veterans. I only hope they serve as long on my table as they did on their previous masters.

*Curiously enough, I can often enlist female help if the job involves "colouring in" or "cutting out".

Strelets French Field Hospital

Strelets French Field Hospital from their now defunct French Army Camp set

I bought these figures ready painted from Mark Bevis of Micromark along with the rest of the set. They are quite crude and not as good as the current run of Strelets work, but they paint up well and Mark has done a good job here. All I did was dolly up the base a bit, though I may trim it later to reduce the footprint.

There are Memoir '44 rules for Field Hospitals, which are as follows.

"Hospital: An ordered infantry unit on a Hospital hex may recover lost figures, as long as no enemy unit is in an

adjacent hex, by applying the exact same procedure as a Medics & Mechanics Command card, but rolling 6 dice

instead. The unit cannot move or battle this turn, even if it is healed."

I think that might be a little generous and I think it reflects Provosts or MPs rousting out men who've carried wounded back to the hospital and sending them back to the line rather than Lazarus like recoveries. There's plenty of anecdotal evidence of straggler clustering around hospitals in the blackpowder period.

On the other hand, being next to an open air operating theatre where men are having their legs hacked off probably isn't too good for your spirits, so there is an argument for making troops more brittle in close proximity to one. How about this for size.

"Hospital: Whenever an infantry unit takes casualties, take one of the removed figures and place them in the hospital hex. These are straggler figures. An ordered infantry unit on a Hospital hex may recover lost figures, as long as no enemy unit is in an vadjacent hex, by applying the exact same procedure as a Rally Command card, but rolling 6 dice. The unit cannot move or battle this turn, even if it is healed. The replacement figures must be taken from the stragglers. Units in a Hospital hex do not count for supports."

Stretcher bearers, a duty traditionally performed by bandsmen

Field Hospitals are rarely feature in wargames. Funny Little Wars is the only set that I can think of where they appear and I suspect that may have had something to do with the author is an Army chaplain. Chaplains, if they are anything like the clergymen of my social circle, spend more time than they would like in hospitals.

Our hospitals and accident and emergency rooms are often bloody, but they certainly cannot compare to the squalidness and the horror of triage on the horse and musket battlefield. We're all familiar with the idea of amputation, but I've never come across a better evocation of the reality then Ed Zwick's Glory. This is clip , though it lacks gore, is not for the faint of heart.

The bloody business, the surgeon calls for his blades

I'm reading War and Peace at the moment and was put in mind of hospitals when Count Nikolai Rostov visits one.

"Close to the corner, on an overcoat, sat an old, unshaven, gray-bearded soldier as thin as a skeleton, with a stern sallow face and eyes intently fixed on Rostov. The man's neighbor on one side whispered something to him, pointing at Rostov, who noticed that the old man wanted to speak to him. He drew nearer and saw that the old man had only one leg bent under him, the other had been amputated above the knee. His neighbor on the other side, who lay motionless some distance from him with his head thrown back, was a young soldier with a snub nose. His pale waxen face was still freckled and his eyes were rolled back. Rostov looked at the young soldier and a cold chill ran down his back.

"Why, this one seems..." he began, turning to the assistant.

"And how we've been begging, your honor," said the old soldier, his jaw quivering. "He's been dead since morning. After all we're men, not dogs."

"I'll send someone at once. He shall be taken away—taken away at once," said the assistant hurriedly. "Let us go, your honor."

"Yes, yes, let us go," said Rostov hastily, and lowering his eyes and shrinking, he tried to pass unnoticed between the rows of reproachful envious eyes that were fixed upon him, and went out of the room."

Tolstoy probably saw his fair share of hospitals during his service in the Crimea and the Caucasus. I don't doubt that then as now, it was better not to be there.

A very generous gift

From left to right: Kennington Spanish Infantry, Hat Dutch Line Infantry, Minifigs French Dragoon Officer, Der Kreigspieler (nee Hinton Hunt) Dismounted French Dragoon. As always click to embiggen.

The Napoleonic collector faces something of quandry - there are so many Frenchmen. In much the same way that the collector of the Second World War will usually have a collection of Germans that surpasses his needs even at their most extravagant, the Napoleonic gamer is haunted by visions of Chasseurs, Lancers, Grenadiers of the Guard and six different kinds of hussar.

I have achieved most of my purely personal goals in Napoleonic toy soldier collecting; I have vivandieres for many of my regiments, I possess a good supply train, I can field the "Die Hards" and a troop of the Sixth Light Dragoons. There are other goals and to be honest, I add more all the time, but one that has dogged me for years is the desire for a regiment of Dragoons.

Left to right - Minifigs French Dragoon Officer, Minifigs French Dragoon Ensign, Minifigs French Dragoon Drummer, Der Kreigspieler (nee Hinton Hunt) Dismounted French Dragoons. As always click to embiggen.

Easily done you say, there is the fine Italeri set, go to it young man - but I am an awkward sort and want Dragoons mounted, dismounted and horse holding. This is more difficult - I had Italeri Dragoons and the Strelets dismounted set had some good (and some very bad) figures in it, but it didn't completely scratch the itch. My chum John C was able to provide me with some Der Kriegspieler French dismounted dragoons. I had been pondering what to do with these, should I convert some of them into horseholders?

I have since learned that the original figure was a horse holder that was converted by the addition of a musket.

This did leave me with the tricky question of what to do for officers, musicians and other such harmless persons?

Left to right - Hat Dutch Line Infantry, Minifigs French Dragoon Officer, Minifigs French Dragoon Ensign, Minifigs French Dragoon Drummer. As always click to embiggen.

By an incredible stroke of luck, I got to corresponding with Mr J of Chicago, who had in his collection not only some more Kriegspielers, but also some Minifigs in the shape of an officer, a chap with an eagle and a drummer. These he sent off and they are now tromping around my wargames table, sowing panic and dismay in their wake. They are of a height with the other figures, though considerably bulkier, but I think with a lick of paint and the same basing they should do the job. The tricks the eye can play are extraordinary.

I don't think it can be too long before I have a troop of Dragoons, charging and on foot. Just in time to do some damage when the Command & Colours Spanish supplement arrives.