French Post Coach

In keeping with the Napoleonic theme for a moment, this is Westfalia Miniatures' limited edition French imperial post coach, together with an additional French postman smoking his pipe.  This is an all-metal set that comes in various parts.  In can be fiddly to put together, although the Westfalia website offers good instructions.  The only really confusing part are the bits that go on the back of the coach and precisely where they go.  The model might have benefited from reins, but I decided I didn't really know how to go about it and I couldn't really be bothered anyway.  

The standing postman is straight out of an illustration in Osprey's Elite series "Napoleon's Imperial Headquarters (2)", a book that provides a bit of useful information.  Apparently the French Military Postal Service was staffed by civilians but came under the command of the military.  Every army had a detachment, but in circumstances where Napoleon himself commanded an army the director-in-chief of the service came under the command of the imperial household HQ.   This model shows a two-wheeled coach that was often used to transport letters - these are on the roof of the coach, protected by oilcloth.  The postmen here are wearing civilian blue rather than imperial dark green, but their attachment to the army is shown by the tricoleur ribbons around their hats.  The illustrations in the Osprey book show the various imperial coaches painted yellow ochre with red oxide woodwork, so that's those are the colours I've used here.  I painted this some time ago but didn't quite finish the painting or the lantern.  I tried to paint the lantern as it might appear in daylight, but that's failed totally and it looks as if there's a phosphorus grenade going off inside it.  Anyway, this joins my "rear echelon" stuff for my 1815 collection.

 

 

Coach and postmen painted November-December 2014.

On the painting table at the moment are the Perries' Sergeant Ewart Waterloo vignette and the 8th Ligne - wip photos below.

French line foot artillery (6)

This the French Napoleonic caisson made by Westfalia Miniatures, with a Foundry artilleryman.  I've posted some stuff from Westfalia Miniatures before (which can be found with this new label).  They produce a variety of off-beat Napoleonic figures and equipment, including a new later-war Saxon range.  This caisson is just the thing to have behind a battery of French guns.  It comes in about 10 different metal bits and, in the absence of any diagram or instructions, is a bit fiddly to put together.  I had to rely on photos opf the completed model to work out where the bits went.  Even so, I still found two pieces left over which I cannot place at all.  That said, once you see where (almost) everything goes it doesn't take long to glue together.

I had a think about what figures, if any, to add to the caisson.  I originally thought about a couple of wounded Frenchmen, but then realised that a gunner fetching ammunition would be much more appropriate. So I used an artilleryman from a Foundry gun crew set I painted in August 2010.  I originally based this chap on his own separate base (the Foundry pack has 6 figures and I only base 4 with a gun).  I had meant to order another pack, but forgot and so decided just to plonk this figure into the base.  I like the way the pole on the caisson rather towers above him - it looks rather menacing.

I painted the caisson while on holiday in Norfolk for a week at the beginning of the month.  I had never taken painting stuff on holiday before, but I realised I wouldn't need more than 4 paints to do the caisson and a couple of other French cannon pieces.   To recap on the paints used:  for the artilleryman - Foundry palette "French Blue 65" with a final highlight of Foundry "Deep Blue 25B; for the woodwork of the caisson -  base coat of Vallejo "Yellow Green" mixed with plain black, then first highlight of  "Yellow Green" and second highlight of "Yellow Green" mixed equally with Vallejo "Dark Yellow".  I did actually paint the inside in a nice pale wood colour, but the top is glued shut so that was a total waste of time!  While we're discussing paints, in case anyone is interested, I paint my bases with an undercoat of GW "Steel Legion Drab" (formerly known as "Graveyard Earth") and then highlight first with Foundry "Base Sand 10B" and then with Foundry "Boneyard 9C".  I've always made my bases quite bright, for a couple of reasons.  First, I like my figures to "pop out" and brighter bases help that to happen.  Secondly, unless you're in a forest or mud, ground colours are always lighter than you think, especially when viewed from a distance.

Westfalia Miniatures are available in the UK from Empress Miniatures, although I placed an order with the company direct without any problem (that was when they were based in Europe - I think they've moved to Canada now, so postage may well be quite a lot more now).  This caisson costs £8.  Foundry do a very similar one for £12.  Easy decision!

A caisson and an artilleryman.  Painted August 2010 and July 2013.

Hanoverian Field Jaeger Corps

These figures represent the Hanoverian army's Feldjager corps in 1815. This unit was raised from foresters and huntsmen in 1813.  Originally 2 companies strong, it was increased to 4 companies.  Only 2 of those were present at Waterloo, about 330 officers and men, in Kielmansegge's 1st Hanoverian Brigade in Alten's 3rd Division.  1 company, about 160 men, was  part of the garrison at Hougoumont, and this is the unit I have modelled here.  That's 8 figures using the General de Brigade 1:20 ratio, which is perfect because 8 figures are what you get in this excellent set from Westfalia Miniatures.  The sculpting is by Paul Hicks.

I haven't been able to find out much about these troops.  At Hougoumont, they appear to have been positioned in the wood to the south of the farm, and in due course retreated to the farm's orchard.  There was some to-ing and fro-ing as the orchard changed hands a couple of times y appear to have been  at some stage.  As for the uniforms, sources refer to "dark green" coats and "apple green" facings, with black leatherwork.  I used the Foundry "French Chasseur Green 71" for the coats and "French Dragoon Green 70" for the facings.  Officers' sashes were yellow and the rifle straps were brown leather.  The grey trousers were painted with the Foundry "Stone" palette.  I thought about basing these figures as singles, but then decided to put them on standard GdB skirmish bases.  My next idea was to pose them in a sort of "fighting retreat", with the running figure on each base moving backwards, being covered by the other figure.  But that just looked odd - I think with skirmishing figures like this you really need them to point the same way.  This is a lovely little set of figures, very well sculpted and easy to paint.  These were the first figures I painted when on paternity leave in February - I just felt I needed to paint something a bit different, and which didn't involve British red or French dark blue.

I'm slowly getting ready for "ACW Week", which I first threatened this time last year and then didn't get around to it.  To recap - I painted about 100 Dixon ACW figures last year, including many that I'd "tarted up" from about 15 years ago.  I've painted a few more ACW figures since then and I'm trying very hard to finish off my Stonewall Jackson command vignette.  

8 figures. Painted February 2013.

George Washington's wheelbarrow

This is something I've wanted to paint for a while.  During my trip to Boston in April 2007 the Kiwi and I visited Christ Church in Cambridge, Massachusetts.  There was a small display inside which recounted the history of the church and it stated that George Washington and his wife Martha prayed there.  The display also referred to Washington leaving his famous wheelbarrow outside the church while he prayed.  I had hoped to paint this up but couldn't find a suitable model.  However, the Westphalia Miniatures wounded Frenchman set that I bought recently came with an extra wheelbarrow.  Thinking about how to use it, I recalled Washington's wheelbarrow and so tried to find out more.

Much is written about Washington's horses, Nelson and Blueskin, but not so much about his

wheelbarrow. Washington's wheelbarrow accompanied him throughout his campaigns.  It reminded him of his Virginia plantation home and became a symbol of the independent society that he hoped his armed struggle would bring about.  He used it to transport personal items that he didn't carry on his person, such as a spare telescope, extra pistols and ammunition and fodder for his horses.  The wheelbarrow often found itself in the think of battle.  At Long Island in 1776 is was almost left behind in the American fortifications as Washington retreated across and the sergeant in charge of the wheelbarrow's safety, Ebenezer Crouch of the 2nd New York regiment, was demoted to the ranks for his negligence.  On 9 October 1781, as Washington prepared to fire the first cannon shots against the besieged British inside Yorktown, in was in his wheelbarrow that the relevant shot was brought to him.  The wheelbarrow could also turn into an impromptu soapbox.  In May 1782, Washington's army was encamped along the Hudson River and the men, bored, underfed and with pay heavily in arrears, started thinking of mutiny.  A plot developed in the 1st Connecticut regiment, whereby the men would march to the nearest arsenal, seize the cannon and then descend on the Connecticut legislature to demand their pay.  The soldier in charge of the wheelbarrow at this time was a certain Ambrose Gaylord, of the 1st Connecticut.  He tipped off Washington about his unit's intentions. Washington calmly walked to the regiment's lines, upended his wheelbarrow to create a speaking platform and gave an inspirational speech that stopped the mutiny in its tracks. 

I wanted the wheelbarrow to look like it was made from Virginian wood and also as if it had seen action.  I quickly realised I had no idea how to do either of those things, and so painted it to my standard "wood" recipe. Still, I'm glad to be able to add this old campaigner to my American forces.  I might allow it to add a +1 on morale throws when attached to an American unit.

1 wheelbarrow. Painted 1 April 2013.

French wounded (1)

Posting time has been short of late, so while I work up a couple of longer posts here's a quick something I painted last week.  This is a set from the quite excellent Westfalia Miniatures, who produce a whole load of rather nice late Napoleonic sets that are well away from "mainstream" fare.  This set represents a couple of peasants dragging away a wounded French fusilier on a type of wheelbarrow.  I think the inspiration comes from the German campaigns of 1813, but I see no particular reason why this vignette cannot be added to my 1815 collection.  The French casualty looks like he's wearing an unbuttoned 1812 Bardin jacket, but as I recently noted with some Foundry French infantry it can sometimes be difficult to tell whether the figures are wearing pre- or post-1812 uniform.   He's sitting on straw and being wheeled by a couple of civilian types.  The engravings pictured on the Westfalia Miniatures site show women pulling the wheelbarrows, so I added some thread to represent rope.  The sculpting of this set is superb, and the Paul Hicks figures have very characterful faces.  The farmhouse in the background of the photos is from Paul Darnell of Touching History (an excellent model-maker who is much missed from the wargaming scene).

3 figures. Painted February 2013.