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

French Old Guard Chassuers a Pied 15mm Figure Review

Hello everyone!

A promised, here's the review of the latest miniatures that I received, some 15/18mm French Old Guard Chasseurs a Pied figures from Napoleon at War and Essex.

 

Napoleon at War French Old Guard Chasseur a Pied Battalion

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Essex French Old Guard Chasseur in Greatcoat and Bonnet de Police Review

The blisters as they arrived in the mail.

Initial Impressions

As has been the case recently, I purchased these figures when I found them on sale at very good prices in the bargain section of one of my favorite online retailers. While I've bought Essex figures in the past and knew about what to expect from them, I was curious about the Napoleon at War figures, which are produced by a Spanish company called Man at War Miniature Games. These figures are bulk packed with included bases, I'm assuming to be used with Man at War's own proprietary ruleset, but the large number of figures per pack piqued my interest: it was nearly enough for one of my 36 man battalions. The pack was advertised as containing 32 figures, but when I broke it open and started counting, it turned out to contain 33! Bonus! At the price they were on sale for, I couldn't resist the deal. Unfortunately, in my opinion, these are the few positive points I've found regarding these figs.

The contents of the Napoleon at War battalion pack: A selection of bases for Men at War's proprietary rules, 20 marching figures, 8 skirmishing figures in four different poses, and 5 command figures, including an Eagle bearer, an Officer, two sergeants (one with a porte fanion), and a drummer. So 33 figures in all, of an advertised 32. Bonus!

Scaleability

The Napoleon at War figures are approximately 18mm or largish 15mm; it's hard to say for sure, as the minis are sporting the rather large bearskins worn by the Old Guard. I believe that these figures would fit in height wise with AB and Fantassin figures, but never stylistically; these figures are definitely from the "rough and ready" school of sculpting. The Essex figures are the same old same old. They may be Napoleonic dwarf lords, but at least they are consistent.

The more mundane contents of the Essex pack: 8 standing or marching French Chasseurs a Pied in greatcoats and bonnet de police.

Quality

As I mentioned, the Napoleon at War minis are very rough and ready. The sculpting on these guys makes the Essex figures look like masterpieces; overall, they are kind of lumpy, with mushy details. The metal is also really, really soft; I could see the rifles and bayonets on these lads bend and break quite easily if they were mishandled or dropped. In my humble opinion the quality on these guys is severely lacking and probably one of the worst things about these figs.

Other than production values, the figures are wearing the appropriate equipment and uniforms to represent the Old Guard Chasseurs a Pied. It's also neat that the Essex figures are wearing the bonnet de police fatigue cap, which from what I've read was quite popular amongst French troops of the era.

Size comparison between the two manufacturers. The larger overall size of the Napoleon at War figures (18mm vs. 15mm for the Essex figs) plus the tall bearskins make them tower over Essex's Napoleonic gnomes.

Price

The good price I got on both of these packs of figures is why I bought them in the first place. Frankly, if I hadn't have gotten the Napoleon at War figures at a deep discount (I paid $7.19 for them--$0.21 per figure--when they normally run $25.88), I would have felt sick paying $0.78 per figure for them: that's higher than AB figures, and with much lower quality! The Essex figures were also slightly discounted as well, but their prices have always been consistent for what you get from them.

All in all I'm a bit disappointed in the quality of the Napoleon at War figures for what they charge for them. They do come in large packs which is nice for guys like me who have large numbers of figs per unit, but the high prices for low quality is not good. However, I got mine cheap, and if you can too, then you'll have some decent figures to flesh out your armies. I'm looking forward to having some Old Guard to protect the Emperor from the damn Ruskies!

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Coming soon: I should be getting my 12 pounder for my American artillery from Brigade Games sometime this week, and I'll post some pics when it arrives. I'll also be on the lookout for my Knuckleduster figs as well.

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

-Chuck

Great Deal on a New Rulebook Expansion (For Me)

Hello everyone!

It seems like all I do is post more books to this blog nowadays instead of minis... oh well. Another book came in the mail for me... yesterday? I'm pretty sure it was yesterday. Here's Triumph of Nations, the 1809-1815 expansion for Field of Glory: Napoleonic, written by Terry Shaw and Mike Horah.

Triumph of Nations, written by Terry Shaw and Mike Horah

As readers of this blog may or may not know, I picked up the core set of rules, Field of Glory: Napoleonic, back in January for use as a "big battles" ruleset. Triumph of Nations is a supplement to the core rules, establishing army lists for number of different campaigns in from late 1809 through the 100 Days and the final defeats of Napoleon in 1815. Useful to me in particular are the lists for the French invasion of Russia in 1812, which includes both Russian and French/Allied army lists. This is but one of many campaigns covered, however, with lists for the 1809 Austrian Campaign, the British Walcheren Expedition, the Russo-Turkish Wars, the 1813 Campaign, the 1814 Invasion of France, and the 1815/100 Days Campaigns. While I normally game the Peninsula, the 1812 Invasion of Russia and the American War of 1812, a lot of these other army lists make my mouth water a little bit... must resist!

Really the only reason I picked this book up was because I found it cheap. Whilst browsing through the discount section of one of my favorite online wargaming stores, I saw that this one had been added. While normally selling for $34.95 (or so the back cover tells me), I paid a mere $8.74! I couldn't pass up that kind of deal, even if it isn't 100% tailored to what I normally game.

Scattered throughout the book are snippets of information about the campaigns covered, which his handy for any scholar of the period. The quality of the book is excellent; well laid out, nice printing, and nice solid hardback cover. All in all I'm quite pleased with this purchase.

Coming soon: maybe some more French that I started back in May and never finished. I did put the flock on those older bases from when I didn't have Elmer's glue, so I'll post some follow up pictures of those as well.

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

-Chuck

Birthday Book Review

Hello everyone!

It's been a bit since my last post, things have slowed down quite a bit for me as real life has gotten in the way. Also, I really haven't had a lot of things to talk about. That's changed though, so here I am!

Before I left for Navy boot camp back in February I gave my parents a list of books that I wanted for my birthday in June, just in case my duties took me someplace where I couldn't get a list to them in time. So, as my birthday rolled around, I was pleased to get a number of packages in the mail containing the books I had asked for so long ago! They arrived over the past month or so, so I waited until I got all of them in before I reviewed them.

The books I asked for are all concerned with the French Revolutionary Wars and the early Napoleonic Wars. I decided that my personal Napoleonic library was lacking and had neglected the early wars, so I sought to remedy this.

The first book is Marine of Revolution and Consulate by Moreau de Jonnes, a first-person account of a French Marine serving first in the National Guard following the Revolution before transferring to the Marine Artillery, where he served at the Siege of Toulon, against the Royal Navy at sea, at Quiberon Bay in opposition of the Vendee rebellion, in the Irish Rebellion, and finally in the Caribbean. I thought it would be interesting to see the early Revolutionary Wars from the perspective of a French soldier who fought in them.

Marine of Revolution and Consulate, by Moreau de Jonnes

The second book I received was The Art of War of Revolutionary France, 1789 -1802 by Paddy Griffith. This is a historical monograph which covers many different aspects of the French military during the Revolutionary Wars. As a matter of fact, I used this book as a source a few years ago in a paper for my French Revolution class in college. It is an excellent source of information covering the tactics, armies and leadership of the early Revolutionary Wars.

The Art of War of Revolutionary France, 1789 -1802, by Paddy Griffith

Finally, and because I am a sucker for books on uniforms, I received Uniforms of the French Revolutionary Wars, 1879-1802 by Philip Haythornthwaite, illustrated by Christopher Warner. As can be expected of a Haythornthwaite uniform volume, this beautifully illustrated and meticulously researched book is a great resource for miniature painters (like me!). The color plates in this book cover all of the major belligerents and most of the minors ones that fought with or against France during the Revolutionary period. This book is my favorite of the three because of the pretty pictures.

Uniforms of the French Revolutionary Wars, 1879-1802, by Philip Haythornthwaite, illustrated by Christopher Warner

I am quite pleased with all of these books and am glad that they are now a part of my library. Will this mean that I'm going to start painting French Revolutionary Wars figures? Probably not, but I am a student of the Napoleonic Wars as a whole and wanted some books on the early wars.

Coming soon: I'm not sure... not had much painting mojo here lately. I may put the flock on the Kentuckians and French I completed back in May.

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

-Chuck

Back in the Saddle Again

Hello everyone!

This past weekend my parents came up to visit me, and with them came an abridged version of my painting setup and a few of my 1/72 plastic figures to paint. I will have to fit it all in around my school and work schedule, but I'm excited to get back into painting a little bit once again!

I also have the opportunity now to review the big 1/72 lot that I purchased right before I left for boot camp, since those are the majority of the figures that I had my parents bring down. (Remember to click on the pictures for bigger versions.)

Here's my basic painting setup. A small selection of basic paint colors, some green stuff, super glue, hobby knife, brushes, base flocking materials and bottle tops to hold onto the figures whilst painting. Not pictured is my old Army t-shirt that I use as my brush-cleaning rag.

1/72 Review: Random eBay Lot

12 Strelets Russian mounted jagers. While not enough for a full unit of 18, they will get me well on my way to fielding a full Russian cavalry regiment.

Initial Impressions

The lot I found was unmarked as to what was in it (the descriptions only saying "American Revolution/Napoleonic?"), but thanks to Plastic Soldier Review I was able to determine that the lot consisted basically of the contents of Italeri #6066 French Infantry, Strelets #018 Russian Mounted Jagers, and Italeri #6060 American Infantry (from the American War of Independence), plus a mystery plastic mounted figure. The mystery figure turned out to be a mounted plastic medieval knight or similar and looked to be a board game piece of some kind, so pretty much useless to my needs. Also, the number of figures in the lot didn't match up to the number of figures listed on the boxes, meaning at some point there was some miniature attrition. I was also disappointed to see that some of the figs were incomplete, but more on that in a minute. Overall I was pleased that I got a good deal, and I can use the figures for a variety of projects: The French infantry will be French infantry, the AWI figures will mainly be painted as French in bicornes (not Portuguese as I originally speculated) with some of the figures augmenting my American militia and Native American forces for New Orleans 1812, and finally the Russian mounted jagers for my Russian forces.

29 Italeri American War of Independence figures. These are the only ones from the group that are ready to be painted as is.

Scaleability

All of these figures are the average size 1/72 figures; not the towering behemoths of some Italeri figures, and not the dwarfs of some other manufacturers. Since they will be placed in their own units there won't be any kind of disparity in height amongst the figures.

Here are 11 more Continentals, but all of these guys are missing arms, hands, drums etc. These would have normally been on the sprue, but unfortunately they didn't arrive with the figures in the big bag they came in. I will have to fix these with green stuff.

Quality

For the most part, other than the qualms that the folks over at Plastic Soldier Review have regarding the accuracy of the sculpts and whatnot, I like these figures. The sculpting on all of them (including the Strelets figs) is really good, save for the occasional miss-cast saber. I am rather disappointed that the eBayer I bought these from neglected to send all of the separate arms and drums that go with the AWI figures, which leaves almost a quarter of the entire group useless without some green stuff sculpting on my end. This is a pain.

46 Italeri French infantry in shako. All these chaps need are some cleaning up and then some paint to be table-ready.

Price

As I mentioned in an earlier post, the whole reason why I bought these figures was because of their price: 104 figures (not including the weird green knight game piece) for $5.50 shipped! That's $0.05 per figure, including twelve mounted figs. That's ridiculously cheap compared to what I've paid for 1/72 minis before. The deal was too good to pass up in that regard.

American militia. The three cream-colored figures at the lower right are from the AWI set; all are missing their right hands and muskets.

Native Americans. The figures holding their rifles at their hips are from the American War of Independence set.

The above two groups include the Native American and American militia figures that I salvaged from the Lewis and Clark set I bought at Hobby Lobby a good while back. There were three Native American figures that were included with the Revolutionary War figures, and they will fit in quite nicely with the others as is. There were also three ragged-looking figures in the same set, but unfortunately none of the hands with weapons were included with the figures, which is a shame. At the same time, though, since I will be making new hands and muskets out of green stuff, I will get a bit more variety out of the three poses than if they were all the same. Perhaps it's not much of a silver lining, but I have to work with what I have.

All in all the entire purchase was well worth the minimal price, and I should have plenty to keep me busy during my off times.

Coming soon: Well, I don't have many options. It could be French (either in shako or in bicorne), Russian mounted jagers, American militia for New Orleans, or American-allied Choctaws for New Orleans. Either something painted or some conversions made on those armless figures to get them paint-ready. Either way, I'm quite excited to get back in the hobby!

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

-Chuck

Real Men Wear Pink

Hello everyone!

Well, I guess miracles do occur because my box of Strelets French Foot Dragoons arrived in the mail yesterday, so I happily spent the evening trimming, cleaning and painting a few of them. Today I present the command stand for the 16e Regiment de Dragons, en service a pied, as well as a quick review of the figures as a whole.

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

I based these fellows on my standard 50mm x 40mm cavalry base. Also like my regular mounted cavalry, there are three figures to a base, for a full regiment of 18 figures. They are after all dismounted cavalry and would have had the same number of men as a mounted unit; also, this will keep them distinct from my larger infantry units.

The command stand consists of the Regiment's colonel (in greatcoat) flanked by a drummer and a bugler, both in reversed colors. I love figures in greatcoats; they are so easy and quick to paint it almost feels like cheating. The colonel is holding a Year IX pistol, and his helmet is the standard officer's pattern with black horsehair crest and cheetah-fur turban.

I relied pretty heavily on Funcken plates for the musicians; the helmets of the drummer and bugler both have dark brown 'other-ranks' turbans and the white horsehair crests that distinguished musicians. The drummer is wearing a standard tunic with lapels in reversed colors for the 16th Dragoon Regiment (pink with green cuffs, collars and turnbacks), piped in white with white epaulettes. The drum itself is based on a number of different plates and seemed to be fairly standard across the regiments on foot service; dragoon regiments on foot service were given drummers, unique amongst any other contemporary cavalry formation.

The trumpeter's tunic is frogged across the front in white, as it lacked lapels, with green cuffs, collars and turnbacks piped in white. The anguillette hanging from the bugler's epaulette confused me for a time, until it occured to me (based on Funcken) that it was meant to represent the cord which secured the bugle to the bugler's person. Funcken showed this as being red, so red it it here. All in all, I'm quite pleased with how they turned out.

1/72 Review: Strelets 0009: French Foot Dragoons and Polish Grenadiers

The box. As usual, Strelet's box art is pretty neat.

Initial Impressions

I purchased these figures because I had been hankering after this set for a good while after I had looked at them on Plastic Soldier Review. Having no luck in getting this set on eBay I had a look around the Internet and finally found it in stock at Hobby Bunker, which shipped them the same day I ordered them. I probably would have gotten them sooner but becasue they are in Massachussetts the massive blizzards they have been having up that way more than likely slowed it down.

Sprue 1: Polish Grenadiers in bearskins.

I really like these figures! The French dragoon regiments have always fascinated me, and I thought it would be really cool to have a regiment of Foot dragoons. As far as I know no one makes 15mm French foot dragoons, so these guys were my only hope to make my dream a reality. Additionally, because they are mixed in the set with Polish Grenadiers, I pretty much own every 1/72 Napoleonic Polish set that is out there; the grenadiers (with their bearskins) will form the grenadier company for the 1st Regiment of the Vistula Legion.

Sprue 2: French Dragoons.

Scaleability

These figures are compatable with the vast majority of my 1/72 collection; smaller than some of the massive Italeri figures I have, on par with Hat, Strelets and most of my Italeri figures, and a bit larger than Revell.

Sprue 3: French Dragoons.

Quality

Like most Strelets figures, these guys looked like hammered hell on the sprue but clean up and paint up very nicely. There are a few figures with mushy faces where the mould didn't quite fill and some areas of sloppy sculpting, but generally I like them. There is very little flash, and the figures are well proportioned and accurately equipped.

Sprue 4: French Dragoons.

Price

These chaps were $16.95 shipped from a lovely little company in Massachussetts named Hobby Bunker. For 48 figures (plus a few accessories), this comes out to about $0.35 a figure, which is a bit on the expensive side for  my 1/72 figures, but I had been wanting this particular set for a while and I was willing to pay a bit more to get it.

Sprue 5: Ladder teams.

Coming soon: Not a whole lot. I leave bright and early tomorrow morning for boot camp, so these French Foot Dragoon will be the last figures I will paint until late this summer, more than likely.

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

-Chuck

Happy New Year! (Featuring 'The Dandy King')

Happy New Year everyone!

I hope everyone has been having a good start to their 2015s... I know that I have. Things have been pretty productive for me too, at least in the last few days. The 1/88th Regiment of Foot is well underway, as is a stand of the 5th West Indian Regiment. I've purchased some more 1/72 figures, and, lastly, I've finished a command stand: Marechal de France Joachim-Napoleon Murat, Roi de Naples.

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

 

 

 

 

Here are all of the figures mocked up on their oval base. The figures come from three different sets: Murat is from Strelets #0003, the officer standing with the telescope and the mounted officer are both from Italeri set #6018, and the two horses standing in the back are from Italeri # 6016.

This stand is supposed to represent Murat as he would have been during the Russian Campaign of 1812, though because he fought for many years in the Peninsula I'll probably use this stand for both theaters when I game. Murat was called "The First Horseman of Europe" by his brother-in-law Napoleon Bonaparte, and he was known for being both a flamboyant dresser and a dashing and able cavalry commander. He was the King of Naples from 1808 until his death in 1815. This, combined with his elan, earned him the sobriquet "the Dandy King." A very interesting character, and one of those men that makes the Napoleonic Wars such an interesting period of history to study.

I painted Murat based on a number of different pictures that I found from various sources around the Internet, wearing a green undress coat, low czapka style hat with feathers, white trousers piped red and riding boots. His horse has been saddled with a tiger pelt; I cut this out of a piece of paper and stiffened it in place over the saddle with super glue. I am really pleased with my painting on the tiger pelt; it turned out really good. I couldn't resist giving Murat a tiger pelt once I saw a picture of Murat riding a horse with one.

The two officers Murat is with are from two different hussar regiments. At Borodino Murat had in his cavalry corps the 5th through 9th Hussar Regiments, and here I've depicted officers of the 6th (red and blue) and the 8th (red and green). Their horses are saddled appropriately for their regiments as well.

1/72 Review" Italeri #6001: Scots Greys

Initial Impressions

I picked these up on eBay because they were cheap and I won the auction. I was excited because according to Plastic Soldier Review this set came with 18 figures, which is a full unit of cavalry per box. So before they arrived I had been planning on using them for the 1st and 4th Dragoons, wearing watering caps for the Peninsula. I was a bit peeved when they arrived and one of the boxes was missing a whole sprue.

The two boxes of Scots Greys. One of them was still sealed, while the other was opened. The opened box only contained one of the two sprues in this set.

These guys are in the 1815 uniform of the Scots Greys as they rode at Waterloo, wearing beasrskins with oilskin covers and post-1812 uniforms. To convert them to Peninsular Dragoons in watering caps I'll neet to trim their hats a little, turn the officer's hat into a bicorne with green stuff, and then paint them to look like the older uniforms. The sculpts are very clean, with no flash, and anatomically correct.

Scaleability

These chaps are closer in size to Revel or hat than they are to the honking great Italeri Imperial Staff and Line/Guard artillery. The horses are much smaller and the figures are noticably smaller as well compared to other Italeri mounted figures that I've worked with.

Sprue #3

 Quality

Though they are smaller, these guys are of the same quality that I'm used to with Italeri. There are no prominent mold lines, no flash to speak of, and the scupting is top notch. These guys will be a pleasure to convert and paint.

Sprue #2

Price

Like I said, the only reason I bought these guys in the first place was because they were really cheap. I got 27 horses and riders for $9 and some change, which averages about $0.33 per figure. This is a bit more expensive than I've bought 1/72 figures for in the past, but I was also expecting to get 9 more horses and riders.

Overall I like these guys, and they'll be painted up as one of the Dragoon regiments that served in the Peninsular War, like the 1st or the 4th.

Coming Soon: I've got the 1/88th and a stand of the 5th West Indian Regiments halfway done on the workbench right now, and hopefully I'll be able to finish these guys by the end of the week. Some of you may notice the "2015 Totals" box at the top of the blog tracking my painted vs purchased figures; all of these figures will put me back in the positive again, for the time being anyway. I've also ordered a new rule set to look over; I'll discuss it when it arrives in the mail.

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

-Chuck

New Figures and Big News!

Hello everyone!

Today the mixed lot of 15mm figures came in the mail and I had a little time to sort through them and figure out what all I got. Sometimes buying lots like this yield some things you both expected due to the item description, as well as a surprise at times. While everything I expected was there, there were a few surprises as well.

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

Russian Pavlovsk Grenadiers. These are of two different manufacturers, one wearing greatcoats, the other (mainly command figures) are not. I will probably base these up as is, as the painting is pretty good.

Initial Impressions

The package arrived with all of the figures crammed in together in a blister pack. The vast majority were painted to a decent standard, but some were just primed; only one was bare metal. Six of the figures had broken completely off their bases at the ankles, but there were only three broken bases, leading me to believe that the seller threw them in to get rid of them not that I mind. This belief was reenforced with the addition of a stand of three 6mm figures of unknown type or origin, though they look viking-esque.

AWI infantry that will be used as Spanish infantry. The three to the upper left (in while and light blue) are actual honest-to-goodness Napoleonic Spanish. Two of them don't have feet, but they have the bottoms of their bases.

Scaleability

All of these figures, though they are a mix of manufacturers, are all true 15mm figures. They are bigger than Heritage figures, about on par with Essex, and quite a bit smaller than AB and Fantassin.

French infantry. The four on the left are wearing overcoats, which will doom them to one of my second battalions, while the four on the right don't have feet.

Quality

There are five "groups" that I could break these figures down into: Russian Pavlovsk Grenadiers, Revolutionary War Americans (which I use as Napoloenic Spanish; there were actually three honest-to-goodness Spanish Napoloenic Infantry in there with them), French infantry, French artillery, and two "other" figures. Other than the French artillery, which are Minifigs, I cannot readily identify the makers of the other figures, though I can see at least three distinct sculpting styles among the rest. With such a disparity of manufacturers, quality is still pretty good. The painting on the Pavlovsk grenadiers is actually pretty good, with not a lot of chipping and such; I may keep them as is without stripping them and using them as is. I can't say the same for the Revolutionary War figures. There was one mounted figure, what looks like a Russian or Austrian Heavy Cavalry bugler, which did not come with a horse, but I have spare horses.

French artillerymen, all by Minifigs. These guys are wearing bicornes, which would indicate pre-1809 troops.

Price

There were 48 figures in total, not including the 6mm vikings for which I have no use. The eBay lot description only mentioned 40 figs, so I got an 8 figure bonus. At $9.00 shipped, it averaged $0.19 a figure. This is a lot cheaper than I've bought metal figures for in the past, so I think I got a pretty good deal over all.

The "others." The first is either a Russian or Austrian Cuirassier bugler, with the distinct helmet and crest, while the second is a man with a hunting jacket and a top hat. Since I don't have Austrians the first will be a Russian, while I'll use the second as an American volunteer.

I also managed to strip most of the paint from the 15mm French cannon that arrived last week. They were a pain to strip, as they had been painted with a really thick, rubbery paint that I had to scrape off with a knife blade to get in the nooks and crannies, but they're clean as they're going to be now.

The guns: two twelve pounders, an eight pounder, and a howitzer.

And finally, the big news!

I'm joining the Navy! Being unemployed sucks, especially now that I'm well out of school and have nothing to do. I ship out in February, and I'm really excited to get started in a career in the Navy. As such, There probably won't be much in the way of blogging happening while I'm in boot camp and getting settled next year, but I'll be back. In the meantime, I have a month and a half to paint.

Coming soon: I'll probably base up the already-painted Pavlovsk Grenadiers. I'll have enough for a line stand as well as the command stand; I'll just have to make some flags and base them up. Then I need to finish up those Portuguese lads, then on to the 1/88th.

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

-Chuck

1/72 Review: Hat #8116 Spanish Guerillas

Hello everyone!

Not much going on here at the moment except a series of pretty nasty thunderstorms. School is winding down and finals are next week, so I haven't been able to paint a lot. I am, however, working on a command stand for my French cavalry; I should have them done before the end of the week (fingers crossed).

Meanwhile, I thought I'd do a quick review of some new 1/72 plastics that I recieved the other day. As the title of this post reads, it is Hat's Spanish Guerillas. (Remember to click on the pictures for bigger versions.)

Initial Impressions

The set consists of four identical sprues as shown below, each with 24 figures. This gives a total of 96 figures, which is a substantial number of minis in one set. The plastic on these is pretty soft, and all of the muskets and bayonets are quite bendy, which is a downer. Casting quality is decent, and they shouldn't take long to clean up. The box art is, however... well, let's just say it doesn't really turn my crank.

The box art is just kind of... meh.

Scaleability

These guys are on the medium-large end of the 1/72 spectrum, being similar height-wise to Italeri figures. This makes them pretty big compared to standard 15mm minis, but put together in their own units they should look fine.

Sprue shot.

Quality

As I mentioned before, the plastic is pretty darn bendy... I'll have to be really careful about how I finish these guys to keep the paint from accidentally chipping. The quality of the sculpting is ok, but some figures are definately better than others. Uniforms I guess are pretty accurate. Most of the figures seem to be in one of three or so "regiments" while there are a few that seem to be sporting civilian attire... I'm not sure. But they certainly seem to be dressed the part of Spanish guerillas. It might be time to rewatch some Youtube clips of Sharpe...

Price

I bought these guys off of eBay for $17.28 shipped. Divided amongst 96 figures that comes out to $0.18 per figure, about half of what I've paid for 1/72 scale figures in the past. As far as price goes, these are a pretty good deal, even taking into account the meh sculpting and bendy plastic. There are plenty of figures for a couple of units as well as plenty for conversion fodder. I wish they were a bit better, but you work with what you have to hand.

I plan on painting up a full unit of the lads in round hats (aka top hats) as a regular Spanish infantry battalion wearing blue or brown coats faced red. I've found several plates in Osprey books and elsewhere that depict this uniform as well as a number of other wargamers online that have painted up similar units.

Not red facings, but you get the idea.

Coming soon: more command stands until my summer break starts. I've also got it in mind to base and paint up a few 1/72 figures individually for some small-scale skirmish gaming... it depends on how many figures I would need, how difficult the terrain I would need would be to make, and what rules I would use. Who knows, it may come to fruition or it may not, all I really know is that finals are next week and they are approaching quickly. Wish me luck!

Comments, questions and criticisms are always welcomed and appreciated! Thanks for looking!

-Chuck