Frankensteining an Old School Spanish Artillery Battery

In preparing a Spanish army to recreate the battle of Mesas de Ibor, during which a small Spanish division fought the German division of the French army, I decided it was time to add some artillery.  The German's are ready, so it is the turn for the Spanish.  The Spanish I have are late war figures around 1812-13, in British style uniforms, so I will be using those to represent the Spanish at Mesas de Ibor, even though that battle took place in 1809.  I have just finish two infantry regiments, but they need some artillery support.  Hinton Hunt did not make Spanish artillery, but fortunately the late war Spanish artillerymen wore French style uniforms, so some simple conversions are possible.  The battery below is made from a mish mash of parts from different manufacturers, but all together they appear to make a coherent whole.

I believe the battery above consists of parts from five different manufacturers; Dave Clayton recasts of Hinton Hunt figures, Der Kriegspieler, Hagen, Franznap, and SHQ!

The draft horses are Der Kriegspieler castings.  I have added some twisted wire "traces" which will be cut to size and attached to the limber. 

The front pair of horses have been fitted with Franznap traces which are cast with the wooden single tree already attached.

The riders are French line artillery train riders with a British artillery train rider's head.

The French artillerymen are the closest I come to genuine Hinton Hunt miniatures.  These were cast and sold by Dave Clayton.  The Hagen gun is a bit oversize, but still not totally out of the realm of reality.

Dick Tennant always modelled the artillerymen march as well as deployed for action so I will do the same.  Here is a mix of two Der Kriegspieler miniatures and two Dave Claytons.

Here is how the draft horses will be arranged around the central yoke of the limber.

The limber itself is an SHQ casting with a few modifications, including a suggestion of a yoke pole (I really don't know the proper name for all of the horse harness and limber parts) at the front to which the Franznap singletrees will be attached.

All of the parts above are cleaned of mold lines and ready for priming.  This should keep me out of trouble for a couple of months at least!

6.º Regimiento de Infantería de Marina

Richard Tennant's Last Regiment - 6.º Regimiento de Infantería de Marina

Dick's health was failing, but he managed to complete his planned forces shortly before he passed away (some 2800+ miniatures).  I can only hope that working on these provided some joy as he battled cancer.  Even while sick, his meticulous attention to detail was manifested on these figures in hand painted anchors on every ammunition pouch, and hand lined their water casks!  His one concession, was that he left the flag for me to do, and I believe, simply forgot to paint the reinforcing bands on the muskets, as he had done in all of his other Spanish units.  It was my absolute pleasure to add the finishing touches as well as some shading and highlighting, and bring his final regiment to completion.

https://miniatureminions.blogspot.com/2019/05/the-richard-tennant-collection.html

https://miniatureminions.blogspot.com/2020/12/55-years-from-start-to-finish-tennant.html

Below is the description Dick provided of the uniform he chose for the 6th Marines:

I had managed to find a website about Spanish Marine battalions, but I was not sure

of the authenticity of the illustrations. I wanted them to stand out from the other

Line battalions so decided to give them black cross-belts; the pack, including straps

and the musket sling are in a buff/light tan colour. Whereas the Line battalions had

coloured tapes on their shakoes, the marines have black leather; there was no

distinction (grenadier, centre & light) between companies which have red plumes.

The rest of the uniform is totally blue with brass buttons.

The 6th Marines with their new Colonel, converted from the Division General, a staff officer and Aide de Camp.  A new divisional commander is on my painting desk currently.  I was extremely pleased with the new hand painted paper flag.

Here you can see Dicks work on the ammunition pouches and water casks.  So much attention to detail!

The big 36 figure battalions have just enough room for the Colonel to shelter inside when formed in square.

The Colonel gets a visit from the divisional staff officer and General Bárcena's Aide de Camp. 

Unfortunately I have not been able to find a list of the Colonels actually leading the regiments of the Galician Division of the 4th Army.

The French Marshal's baton has been converted to a telescope and his epaulets removed, otherwise the figure was a great fit for a Spanish Colonel.

The two will accompany General Bárcena once he is completed.

Four more Spanish regiments to go before I start painting some more Spanish additions to Dicks original 6 regiments.