More Brits, in Both 28 &15mm

Hello everyone!

It's been a minute since I've been on the blog, and for that I apologize. I just returned from two weeks of Rest and Rehabilitation visiting my parents back in Kentucky, and now that I am back I've finally had a chance to sit down an blog about what I was able to accomplish over the break.

I managed to get some painting done while I was at home, in addition to moving my entire Naps collection across the country so I can paint and game to my heart's content! Here's what I managed to get done: a center company stand for the 1/4th Regiment of Foot and another casualty marker, as well as some conversions (remember to click on the pictures for bigger versions).

These are 28mm Knuckleduster minis, and were a joy to paint up as usual. The only things really differentiating these chaps as being in a center company is their red and white shako plumes, as all other uniform differences are hidden by their greatcoats. These lads are mounted on one of the wooden 40mm x 40mm bases I purchased last month. This brings the 1/4th up to four completed stands out of six.

It was hard to get good pictures of this casualty marker because of how small it is. This is a 15mm AB British casualty figure. As with all AB figures I've ever worked with, this one is sculpted perfectly and painted up really fast, even considering its small size. I painted him up with dark blue facings of a generic "Royal" regiment. The base is a strip of card approximately 40mm long by 20mm wide.

Finally, I managed to sort out the Brigade Games figures I'm using for Whyte's West Indies Regiment that arrived without their heads. I had thought about what might work to recreate the round hats required, and so I gathered the materials I thought I would need.

Here's what I (thought) I needed: two 28mm plastic heads from the Wargames Factory Zulus sprue and a pair of 1/72 Spanish militiamen in round hats. My original plan was to cut off the round hats and use them as is: in practice however, this looked like they were wearing one of the tiny top hats that were all the rage in Victorian ladies' fashion:

Not really the look I was going for...

So I fell back and punted, and turned to greenstuff. I cut down the Zulu heads to fix, then glued them to the figures. I then used a flat disc of greenstuff to form the brim of their round hats.

After this had set for 24 hours I added the crowns, made from carved pieces of a 1/4" wood dowel. I then sculpted on their plumes with a bit more greenstuff. In the end I think it came out rather well.

Coming soon: I actually ended up starting to paint on some other figures while I was at home, but didn't end up finishing them before I had to leave. As I'm currently living aboard ship for the time being until I can get a place of my own, I really don't have the space or time for painting, and I probably won't for a couple of months. I will work on stuff when and where I can I guess.

Questions, comments and suggestions are always welcomed and appreciated. Thanks for looking!

-Chuck

1st (Whyte's) W.I. Regiment Colour Party--28mm

Hello everyone,

A quick post today, as I managed to finish up the command stand and colour party for the 1st (Whyte's ) West Indies Regiment. (Remember to click on the pictures for bigger versions.)

These are all Brigade Games figures, sculpted by the very talented Paul Hicks. Like the rest of this regiment, these figures are all wearing round hats and older style uniforms. The European officers are all wearing the old coats with long tails, and have their hair pulled back in queues, though the hair hasn't been powdered. The drummer is of African decent, as were most of the rank and file of the West Indies regiments, and he is wearing the typical reversed colors of musicians in the British Army.

The flags are hand painted by myself, as I shared in my last post. The regimental color's Union is wonky, but it's too late to fix now. Flagpoles are pieces of straw from a whisk broom cut down to size.

Coming soon: I'm working on a stand of the greatcoated 1/4th Regiment currently, and we'll see if I can get them finished up tomorrow. After that I'll be leaving for home for a couple of weeks of well-deserved R&R, so maybe I can work on something then.

Questions comments and suggestions are always welcomed and appreciated. Thanks for looking!

-Chuck

The 2/4th Foot Colour Party and New Old-School 25mm Figures

Hello everyone!

There have been several developments hobby-wise that have happened here recently, namely the arrival of a big lot of figures off of eBay. I also managed to get a little painted done yesterday, this time some more British: the start of the 2/4th Regiment of Foot (remember to click on the pictures for bigger versions).

The drummer and both ensigns are old, true 25mm Minifigs that came in a large mixed lot of figures that I bought off of eBay (more pics of these below), and as such they are just a tad smaller than the larger 28mm Foundry and Knuckleduster figures I own. They are all wearing the post 1812 uniforms, with short coatees, grey trousers and Belgic shakoes. They are painted in the dark blue facings of the 4th (King's Own) Regiment of Foot; this will be the 2nd Battalion, as my greatcoated battalion is the 4th's 1st Battalion.

I really like the dashing Battalion commander figure; he looks like he's rallying his men to push on despite the storm of steel around him. He seems kind of old school, even compared to the Minifigs, like some Hinton Spieler or Der Kriegspieliers figs I've seen. I tried looking him up myself, but my Google-fu was weak. Does anybody have any idea who made him? The code on the bottom of the base was BN28.

The Colours are my usual hand painted creations, as per usual. I actually did two sets at once; these as well as the Colours for the 1st (Whyte's) West India Regiment.

I'm planning on finishing the command stand for Whyte's W.I. Regiment before the weekend is out, you'll be seeing these flags again shortly.

So I picked up another large lot of figures off of eBay, this time a mixed lot of seventy 25mm Minifigs (and others) miniatures. There are both British and French miniatures, with a mix of different troop types.

The entire lot of 70 figures, cleaned up after unpacking. Unfortunately, several bayonets didn't survive the journey through the US postal system.

The French: Clockwise from the rear, 13 Old Guard Grenadiers , 4 French Artillerymen, 1 mounted French Dragoon, and 11 Line Infantrymen.

The British: Clockwise from top left, 7 Scotsmen, 28 Line Infantry, and 6 Foot Artillerymen.

Again, these are true 25mm figures, and so are smaller than my other 28mm minis. They are still large enough however that only four figs will fit on a 40mm x 40mm base, meaning a regiment of these lads will be 24 strong, just like their large 28mm cousins. The bulk of the British Line Infantry above will form the 2/4th Foot, which I started last night. These guys are very old school, which I like, and, though they are not the most detailed or dynamic sculpts in the world, as you see they paint up very nicely.

Coming soon: The figures for the command stand for Whyte's W.I. Regiment and those of a stand of the 1/4th Foot are on painting bases right now, and I expect to finish them before the weekend is out.

Questions, comments and suggestions are always welcomed and appreciated. Thanks for looking!

-Chuck

Casualties

Hello everyone!

It's been a while since my last post here, but lots of real-life has prevented me from doing much painting, let alone blogging.

Today a long-awaited order from Brigade Games arrived, and inspiration struck me to do a very VERY simple conversion: a British casualty marker.

(Remember to click on the pictures for bigger versions.)

My new figures: British Command in Top Hats, two British flank company figures in round hats (these lads will "round out" my West Indies Regiment), and two French 8 pounder guns, which will complete my American battery. All are 28mm figures.

Here is my conversion fodder, a 28mm Sash & Saber American Civil War casualty figure. I saw this chap in my lead pile today as I was separating out my new figures and though, "with a little trimming that fellow could pass for a Napoleonic casualty." With that my interest was piqued.

Here's the final article, painted up and based. Really all I had to do was trim away the original figure's kepi and long beard (neither of which would become fashionable in Europe for another 50 years or so). A very quick and simple conversion.

A view from the other side. You can tell from this angle that his tunic isn't quite right for Naps, but I bet that if I hadn't pointed it out you wouldn't have noticed, now would you? The base is a 40mm x 30mm plywood Litko base that I had left over from another project; the perfect size for 28mm casualty figures, I found.

The Sash & Saber figure came from a large lot of mixed ACW figures that I purchased a while back for another project. By shoehorning him into my Napoleonic collection, I've added another painted figure to my totals, while getting to completely sidestep the purchase column! A coup! A coup d'état I tell you!

Now, the name of this post is "Casualties' in the plural, and so far I've only shown one casualty figure. Allow me to explain: two of my brand new figures are headless! Somehow, through malice or neglect (though I rather expect that Lon at Brigade was just extraordinarily busy and it slipped by him) neither my British sergeant nor drummer boy arrived with a top hat head, or any heads at all. This is a shame, but not necessarily a game changer. I will have to do some sculpting and modeling to get some new heads for these chaps, and as figure conversion is one of my favorite aspects of this hobby, I rather look forward to the challenge!

Coming soon: Some new heads for some British infantry. These new figures also give me a hankering to start on some more West Indies lads.

Questions, comments and suggestions are always welcomed and appreciated. Thanks for looking!

-Chuck

28mm: New Figures, Caisson, and Whyte's Lights!

Hello everyone!

A lot has happened hobby-wise over the past few days, but I haven't had much opportunity to get it up on the blog until tonight. A couple of my orders came in, so I spent some time working on cleaning up some figures for the 1st West India Regiment, as well as putting together the MDF French Artillery Caisson from Blotz. I also managed to paint a stand of West Indies troops; so I've been pretty busy! Here are some pictures of my progress (remember to click on the pictures for bigger versions):

Two packs of Trent Miniatures "Chasseurs (Ste Dominigue)" received from Recreational Conflict. These are big, chunky figures with bold details. They are noticeably bigger than both Foundry and Knuckleduster.

My French Artillery Caisson from the British company Blotz. This is a very nice MDF kit. I took some pictures while I was putting it together, but I will post them when I finish painting it. This kit was a pleasure to put together and looks so good I'm (oddly) a little apprehensive about painting over it!

Cleanup of the Trent Miniatures begins. Out of all 16 figures, there was only one figure with any significant problems, namely the chap in front here who is missing the front half of his musket! The rear figure shows what he should look like.

And here's my fix. A few pieces of carefully carved styrene rod in three different sizes to represent the musket's fore end, barrel and ramrod. It looks pretty good, if I say so myself, despite this picture.

Everyone cleaned up and ready to go. In the background is a sneaky peek of the completed assembled caisson.

Finally, here we have the Light Company of the 1st (Whyte's) West Indies Regiment. The chap firing his musket is the figure I fixed with plastic rod. See? I told you it looks pretty good!

Uniform for these guys are long sleeved, red single-breasted jackets, with cuffs in the facing color, in this case white, and white loose trousers. Like many West Indies regiments in the field, these lads have gone barefoot and are wearing round hats, which support their green light company plumes. White crossbelts, black leather equipment and brown leather machete scabbards in addition to their India Pattern Brown Bess muskets complete their kit. 

The West Indies uniforms were inspired by a number of sources, namely descriptions of "West Indian tropical dress" found in Haythornthwaite's Uniforms of the French Revolutionary Wars, 1789-1802, plates 49 and 50. (This also marks the first time I've used this book, which I got for my birthday this year, as source material for some figures!) Even though these uniforms are from many years prior to the 1815 Battle of New Orleans, I find it hard to believe that, as remote a station as the West Indies was during the Napoleonic Wars and at the far end of a rather long supply chain, some elements of these uniforms would not still have seen use well into the 1810s. Also, the bare feet of the West Indies is well documented from the War of 1812, further strengthening the notion that the above uniform is far from implausible. Plus, these speculations have the added benefits of justifying the sculpting on the figures I bought and giving the entire unit round hats, which are awesome.

Coming soon: This weekend I plan on knocking out the artillery caisson, battery commander, and Brigadier General John Adair.

Questions, comments and criticisms are always welcomed and appreciated. Thanks for looking!

-Chuck

An Officer of Whyte's Lights

Hello everyone!

Just a quick post before I go to bed. While waiting for my laundry I quickly knocked out another 28mm figure, this time a British officer in scarlet. This chap will be a junior officer from the Light Company of the 1st (Whyte's) West India Regiment, which fought at New Orleans (Remember to click on the pictures for bigger versions).

The other 23 figures which will join this chap in the 1st West India Regiment are on their way, but I needed something to paint in the meantime as a test figure. This is a Knuckleduster figure, from the American Frontier Militia Officers pack, slightly modified to become a British junior officer, namely with the removal of the epaulette on his left shoulder. His uniform consists of Hessian boots, white breeches, scarlet tunic faced in white with white cuffs and turnbacks and a scarlet collar, crimson sash and black round hat. Round hats were favored by officers in hot climates (like the Caribbean), and this man's is sporting the green plume of a Light Company officer. The entire unit will have round hats as well, mainly because I think round hats look awesome.

Even though the 1st West India Regiment was what was, at the time, called a "colored regiment" (i.e. it consisted almost entirely of men of African descent; the title itself belies the casually racist attitudes of the day) all of its officers were Europeans, hence this figure's Anglo-Saxon skin tone. Casualties due to malaria and other tropical diseases were high amongst the ranks of European troops in the Caribbean, so most colonial nations with holdings there enlisted regiments of African troops who could withstand the harsh environment.

All in all I think he turned out nice. I look forward to getting a whole unit of these guys done.

Coming soon: we'll see what shows up in the mail in the next couple of days.

Questions, comments and suggestions are always welcomed and appreciated. Thanks for looking!

-Chuck

Aboard Once More, In a Limited Capacity

Hello everyone!

It's been a long couple of months, but I'm finally done with the first stage of my Navy career! Boot camp was tough, but now that it's over I can relax just a bit before pouring myself into my new job. However, while I'm back online, I'm not quite back into The Hobby just yet. I'm currently attending some advanced schooling before heading out to the Fleet, so even though I have Internet access, I don't have access to any of my minis or paints. So don't expect anything new for the next few months at least.

In the meantime I can post on the things I do have access to: books. For graduation my mother (a college English professor) gave me a few of the books that I had asked for my birthday (coming up in June) early, as well as a few that she had found on sale and couldn't pass up. Both of us share a love for reading, as well as a weakness for buying books on the cheap, something which my father doesn't really understand but is a good sport about. In keeping with the Napoleonic theme of this blog, here are the three books that she gave me which may be of interest to my fellow fans of the Napoleonic Era:

Any Approaching Enemy by Jay Worrall

The second in Worrall's nautical Napoleonic series continues to follow the career of Captain Charles Edgemont, captain of the HMS Louisa, a frigate in the Royal Navy, during the last years of the Eighteenth Century. The novel begins where the previous one (which I reviewed here) left off, following Edgemont, his brother-in-law Lt. Winchester and his best friend Daniel Bevan into the Mediterranean on a critical mission to find the French. I've only just begun reading it, and I really like Worrall's style. Also, with my new career in the Navy I now have a greater appreciation for nautical books such as this, and I was pleasantly surprised to receive it as a graduation present.

A Sea Unto Itself by Jay Worrall

The third and latest book in the same series. I hope that Mr. Worrall will continue to write books in this series, as I really enjoy his writing style with his intriguing characters and dialogue.

The Emerald Storm by William Dietrich

My mother found this book (along with a bunch of others) in a bargain bin at Kroger for less than five dollars. This is the fifth in a series of historical adventure novels set in the Napoleonic Era which follows the main character Ethan Gage. Now, I normally like to start series from the beginning so I don't miss out on any backstories and other major character-development, but in this case beggars can't be choosers. This novel (according to the back of the jacket) is set in 1803 in the West Indies and involves agents of the French and the British, the makings of a slave rebellion, and a cache of Spanish gold hidden from the conquistadors by Montezuma himself. Sounds like fun! If this one is good, then I'll see about getting the rest of the series.

So I'll have a few fun books to keep me entertained when I'm not hard at work studying. Thanks Mom!

I've spent the last couple of days catching up on the backlog of blog posts which I missed while I was away, and I must say that there has been a lot of good work done! I am so glad that I have found such a good hobby that has allowed me to view others' wonderful work and meet so many good and supportive people online. Speaking of which, I've gained a couple of more followers; a warm welcome goes out to Edward Devine and Ariel El vikingo dark! I hope that my continued, humble efforts will remain worthy of following!

Coming soon: Not much as of yet, but perhaps there will be something of note to post about until I can get my paints and minis in hand once more. I will definitely be checking out everyone else's blogs and ogling their beautifully painted figures in the absence of my own!

Questions, comments and suggestions are always welcomed and appreciated. Thanks for looking!

-Chuck