Spanish Artillery Limber

Hello everyone!

 

It's been a busy week and a half. My part of the country got hit with ice/snow storms over the weekend which made it very difficult to post anything due to the iffy internet connection. This week is my finals week which means there won't be many new things painted, but I was able to get a few things done last weekend which I'll add to the blog over the next few days. I'd like to start with a little project... which also happens to be the first "WIP" that I've ever done: a limber for the Real Cuerpo de la Artilleria, Spain's artillery Corps. I decided I wanted a foot artillery limber drawn by a pair of oxen to go with the artillery and guns I got on eBay and went to rummaging through the lead/plastic pile for suitable parts:

 

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

 

The base materials: oxen, wheels and wagon tounge from an old 1/76 scale "American settlers" plastic kit I've had for years, some wire and an AB French 8 pounder. Some materials, like a 'matchstick,' greenstuff and a paperclip, aren't shown.

I cut a piece of wire to act as the axle between the plastic wheels, then attached it to the wagon tounge with greenstuff to make it look like a solid, wooden limber axle.

Another view. Once the greenstuff dried I carved it down to look square. At this point I also attached a hook made from paperclip wire to the back of the wagon for the gun to hook onto.

Here is a mockup of the limber with the oxen and gun. The AB gun was assembled with superglue. My original plan was to use greenstuff to make a yoke for the oxen, but this proved fruitless with my minimal sculpting skill.

 

Instead, I opted to make a miniature yoke from a small piece of basswood called a 'matchstick.' I've got hundreds of these that came in a bag from the craft section of Walmart. I carefully carved it with an X-acto blade to get the shape of the yoke.

I then bent two pieces of paperclip wire for the oxbows before I drilled out the yoke to accomidate them using the tip of my X-acto knife. When I was done, I had a miniature, working yoke. 

Here is the whole limber glued to its base and primed, ready for painting. I attached the yoke to the tounge with thread and superglue before I glued the oxen in place within the yoke.

And here's the finished product, painted, based and ready for the tabletop.

Everything that I found indicated that Spanish equipment for the Real Cuerpo was painted a bright blue with black iron fittings and brass gun barrels, which I've depicted here. Also on the base is one of the painted AWI minis from my last post painted in the uniform of the Real Cuerpo: Dark blue trousers and jacket piped red, with red cuffs, collars and turnbacks, brass buttons and insignia and high black gaiters. This uniform was very similar to that of the French Artillerie a Pied, save for the bicorne hats, worn with a gold trim and red cockade.

Overall, I think it turned out rather well. I hope you enjoyed this little "WIP" post!

Coming up: posts for the other units I painted last weekend. On their painting bases are a stand of French Hussars, a stand of Portuguese infantry, and a command stand and grenaider stand for my Spanish infantry. None will probably get painted until Friday night, I guess, but we'll see.

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

-Chuck