Mustering the British army: Part three.

The 15th Light Dragoons. These are Italeri figures painted by Mark Bevis. These are the chaps that charged with Paget at Sahagun, a battle which I first came across in the pages of the Mathew Hervey books. They've seen much hard service over the years and with the 18th, they make up the majority of my British lights. Given the option, I may supplement them with some troops in tarletons before too long, also the sabre scabbards stick out quite a bit and as a result it can be hard to rank them up properly. Not my favourite figures, but serviceable.

The 18th Light Dragoons (Hussars). These are Crimean British Hussars given a bit of a paint conversion by Mark Bevis. They're probably not the best figures in my collection, but I'm very fond of them. They've done some service and are more usually known as "The Drogheda Cossacks" because of their devotion to looting and rapine. You can find out a little more about that here.

The last squadron of the 15th, lurking next to some Portuguese infantry.

The 7th Portuguese Line. These are definately warriors for the working day. I needed some Portuguese infantry and I picked the regimental number out of a hat. The figures themselves are Ykreol plastics and they are awful. The Colonel is an SHQ British officer given a paint conversion. I think if I get any more Portuguese, they'll be HAT Peninsula War British conversions.

 The Connaught Rangers. These didn't actually start out as the rangers, but when I first started painting Napoleonics, I just followed the instructions on the back of the box. When I finally reached a point where I actually knew what I wanted rather than just painting figures for the hell of it, I then started reaching about for a regiment that fit the bill. I had attended a wedding in Clonmel which has a long association with the Rangers and decided that was as good a reason as any. As it happened the chapel contained a monument to General Sir John Gough of Corps of Guides fame.  The chap out front is a MARS British mounted officer, though I think he's a pirated Revell figure who base I've neglected. The rest are a motley crew of HAT British Light infantry, MARS knockoffs with headswaps, a stray HAT Peninsula War British infantry officer I see lurking in the supernumary rank and some Italeri chaps.

I regret to say that I have yet to read William Grattans "Adventures with the Rangers". I'll have to add it to the list. 

 Another shot of the Connaught Rangers. It was around this time, when I began to realise that just collecting random figures was a poor choice and that I should give some thought to how to rank them.

 4th Royal Irish Dragoon Guards. I needed some Peninsula war British heavies and no-one made them in plastic, so I turned to Newline Designs. These are nice figures, though I think the arms a trifle short. Mark did a very nice job on them. The 4th did not have a particularly glorious Peninsula, but my affection for Irish regiments guaranteed them a place and so here they are. This habit has led to some odd situations, where on one occasion the 4th Royal Irish Dragoon Guards, the Connaught Rangers, the Legione Irlandais and the regiment Hibernia in Spanish service all ended up in melee together. Both sides expressed their desire to fight to the last Irishman.

I really must get around to shorting out that chaps flag.

Another shot of the 4th Royal Irish Dragoon Guards. I really like the bicorne worn athwart.

The last squadron, these were my first metal cavalry figures and I think they convinced me that Newline Designs were people worth dealing with.

 The 7th Portuguese Dragoons. These have had something of a pillar to post sort of existence as to the best of my knowledge there were cavalry regiments in the Portuguese service, but no distinction between the lights and the heavies. Command & Colours makes a distinction, so I generally attach a differant label to the base as and when required. Eagle eyed readers will no doubt have spotted the few mistakes that indicate that these are not actually Portuguese dragoons, but in fact Dutch-Belgian horsemen, given a paint conversion. My second metal regiment from Newline.

A picture of the horse paraded together.

Another shot of the brigade, note the brothers and medical staff doing their best for the wounded at the rear. More of them later.