Vimeiro 1808 Test Match

 My good buddy Terry dropped by to help with testing out the deployment and balance of the Vimeiro battle the other day, and proved to me, that while challenging, the French can make a good go of taking the British position.  We didn't play it to conclusion, but the initial turns showed me a few tweaks that will be needed, which was the goal.  In the meantime, here are a few pictures of the action in classic black and white, befitting the old school armies:

Vimeiro village as the assault develops.

French battalions beginning the assault on Vimeiro Hill.

The assault develops and the British flank is threatened.

Run away!  The British Artillery is over-run and they abandon the guns!

A counter attack developing?

The French frontal assault was costly!

But will the flank fold under the pressure?

Increasing the pressure on the British line.

The reserve enters the fray, but are they just in time or too late...

French 25th Regiment of Dragoons

 

The French 25th Regiment of Dragoons

This regiment, originally painted by Richard (Dick Tennant) was due for a refresh and repair prior to their appearance in the Vimeiro scenario.  These were in pretty good shape with the majority of repair being focused on chipping paint on the horse ankles and any exposed corners such as boots, greatcoats, saddle cloths and elbows.  The original flag was in great condition so no repairs were required on the guidon.  I did add significant highlighting and shadowing to the horses, sheepskins, and jackets of the riders as well as their faces.  These will make up one of three cavalry regiments for the French in the Vimeiro scenario, heavily outnumbering the one small regiment of British and Portuguese light dragoons.

This regiment is the last of the combat units needed for the recreation of the assault on Vimeiro, so next up will be a welcome change to modelling the terrain of the area.

The First of the 54s! A Classic Marcus Hinton Sculpt (and some Romans...)

 54mm Marcus Hinton Voltigeur - Legion du Midi

Recently I found a collection of 54mm Hinton Hunt and Stadden miniatures that were priced in a way that I couldn't say no, so added them to my collection of classic Napoleonic miniatures from the dawn of tabletop wargaming in the 1960s.  I coerced some friends into painting them, just so that I would have a keepsake from friends around the globe who I have only met virtually.  The first of these to arrive is a simply lovely Voltigeur of the Legion du Midi painted by none other than Alistair Morrison of the UK.  Not only did he take the time to repair the somewhat battered figure and meticulously prep the sculpture itself, but he also fashioned this wonderful plinth replete with brick work and autumn leaves.  I am one lucky puppy!!!

I will let Aly's work on this figure speak for itself.

I noticed on Aly's blog that he has recently been posting some repaints of late Romans.  

https://alystoysoldiers.blogspot.com/

 While these are no where near the same quality as Aly's, I just happened to be adding some elements to my own Marian Romans to make them playable for L'Art de la Guerre, so I thought; why not post them here as well.

My first use of round bases for command elements.  I like it!

While I do like these, they were definitely a speed paint.

These were some earlier additions when I had a bit more time to paint them with more of an eye for detail.

Not sure I have the patience for shields like these anymore...

I want to say these are Xyston miniatures, but someone please correct me if am am mistaken.

Just a final word of thanks to Aly for taking the time to do such a wonderful job on the 54mm Hinton Hunt Voltigeur.  What a treasure I have in figures and friends!

Combined French Line Grenadier Battalion for Vimeiro, Portugal - 1808

To pull off the battle for Vemeiro village I had to add some additional Grenadiers to make up the four battalions of combined Grenadiers that Junot massed as his reserve.  Thanks to Wellington Man, I got to use some fantastic classic figures for these additions.  The first was made from some classic Garrison figures, and now this second battalion is made with some really lovely Lamming figures.

The Lammings have a very nostalgic toy soldier charm.

So much detail on the Grenadiers!

This pose of attack shows they mean business!

For some reason the back of the French uniform is always more interesting to me than the front.  I love the look of the turnbacks and cow hide packs, not to mention the "monkey butts" on the back of their bearskins.

A keen observer noticed that the lamming sculptor put the French drum on upside down!

You have to love the moustaches of the Grenadiers!

General de Division Francois Kellermann led the Grenadier reserve, along with Colonels St. Clair and Maransin.

Kellermann is made from a Der Kriegspieler copy of the original Hinton Hunt figure.

Love all of the bullion!

This is one of my favorite sculpts.  I love the way his hand rests on his hip somewhat behind his back.

All four battalions of the reserve massed for the attack.  Next, the terrain and one more regiment of Dragoons!

Nashcon Finds and Works in Progress!

 Works in Progress at Home and Abroad

What better way to pass the time when recovering from the dreaded COVID, than to post some works in progress, and remembrances of a lovely gaming convention with friends in which many new toys were acquired.  I had avoided COVID for many years, getting jabbed as soon as vaccines/boosters were available, but no such luck this year.  In any event the symptoms are abating and I finally feel well enough to get a little computer time in and perhaps even some painting later today.

Here we have the first of the 54mm Hinton Hunt figures I am attempting to paint, a Hungarian infantryman.  The precision of casting/sculpting is not as fine as I would have expected, but I have tried to clean him up as best I could before beginning the paintwork.

I have suckered, I mean persuaded, some of my good buds into tackling a few of these vintage sculpts with me.  This Voltigeur from the Legion du Midi is underway having received a lot of love and a new hand!  I won't give away his caretaker until he is done.

This Austrian fellow with the big pipe is being done closer to home and is sporting a new mustache thanks to the ministrations of his caretaker.  The amount of prep work done on this poor fellow to get him into better condition is astonishing!

·         Undercut as many places as I could reach

·         Repositioned the arms

·         Recarved the musket

·         Made and added a new musket strap

·         Removed the bayonet and put it in the scabbard

·         Drilled out the musket barrel and the bayonet socket

·         Cut his que loose and shaped it

·         Added a moustache

·         Drilled out his pipe

·         Removed the cast flap and added a new one to the cartouche

·         Undercut the ends of the straps on the pack

·         Recarved the overcoat and reshaped it to look folded on top of his pack

·         Removed the pack, did a little carving and re-etched/enhanced the fur then glued it back to fit properly

This Stadden figure of De Hilliers will be winging his way across the pond shortly to get the attention of another talented artist based in the UK.

Back to my normal scale, I'll add some of my own work and correction to the Lamming Grenadiers from my previous post, on which I had painted an incorrect "monkey butt".  These fine fellows are now looking the part of line Grenadiers!

Nashcon Vendor Finds

These fine 1/72 Austrian fellows were labelled as Les Higgins, but I knew something was off about that.  They turned out to be Douglas figures.  I had never even heard of Douglas figures so these were a new one on me.  I picked them up for a friend who is slowly being seduced by the Austrians.

These were clearly based on a Hinton Hunt sculpt, but modified with a new canteen, rolled greatcoat and musket sling.

These Minifig s-series French Cuirassiers will be winging their way across the ocean to their new home shortly.

These fine fellows will be staying with me.  Two Minifig s-series varieties of Spanish Lancers; SNC 1s and SNC 2s, along with some s-series British Heavy Dragoons who will be converted to serve as officers, should make for a lovely regiment with some nice Spanish flair.  The Colonel in the lead is likely a Warrior Miniatures British Heavy Dragoon trumpeter, and will undergo a transformation to a Spanish Colonel of Lancers.

I already have this carriage set (SFA 1s), but for $5 I could not resist adding a second.  The original, painted by Dick Tennant is part of a vignette with Marshal Messena's mistress riding in the carriage.  I believe I will leave this one as is, albeit repainted as Massena.  

These lovely s-series Spanish Grenadiers (SN 5s) were my favorite find.  The s-series is a bit bigger than the Hinton Hunts that make up the majority of my collection, but they are Grenadiers after all, they are supposed to be big! 

I plan on converting the Austrian General into a Spanish Colonel to lead the Grenadiers.

I also found a nicely painted set of Der Kriegspieler French legere firing with enough intact bayonets to finish off a regiment I had in the wings.

These are Warrior miniature's Spanish Dragoons mounted on s-series horses for the most part.  Not the nicest figures, but I really do love the idea of adding a regiment with the yellow jackets of the Spanish Dragoons.

ADLG Madness and a Spanking!

The real draw of Nashcon for me this year was to play in the L'Art de la Guerre tournament.  I am not an experienced player but wanted to give it a whirl, so pulled out some Romans I had and with a few speed painted additions, was able to put together a 200 point army.  

Despite the addition of these rugged Roman legionnaires, lets just say that my games were a learning experience and leave it at that...

Finally a few pictures of a work in progress of a nifty vignette from a bud across the pond that I wanted to share.  Rob sent the following shots:

The inspiration is a painting of a Spanish Cavalry General with Guerillas and Lancers by Denis Deighton from the Royal Collection

The figures are a mix of Warrior and Minifig s-series castings

SNC 3 s with a modified telescope to match the painting more closely.

The original of this figure was holding a telescope out horizontally, so clearly a major re-work with solder and green stuff to match the Guerilla leader shown in the painting!  Can't wait to see him painted.