1813-15 battles in 20mm for AoE and V&F - (part 37) The French "Chaos brigade"

 

With this title I´m sure I´ve captured your attention. This group is meant to be Marechal de Camp Jean-Luis- Brue brigade represented here by 95e regiment de ligne one of the units of D´Erlon Corps. 

From this picture you can understand the "Chaos" term. This group was made from bits and leftovers of all possible origins: You can see many marching Airfix figures from the artillery set, some ex-Westphalians, all with new pom-poms made of Milliput; Esci figures with backpacks added, new Italeri, coated Hat and some figures with Zvezda heads. 

After painting the group is more or less homogeneous. 

I like the idea of old items of equipment and clothing being used at the 100 days campaign. Now read this story carefully as I will only say this once: In my last visit to France I found in a Bric-a-Brac shop  (antique shop) in Paris, on a place I was asked not to disclose, a letter dated 1st of May 1815, from Jean Menteur, a Grenadier of the 95e de ligne, to his wife Marie de la Tricheur with the following text: "Chère Marie, je besoin de mon plumet de grenadier...", well. as most of you read and write in English and have no idea what French is,  I´ll translate: " Dear Mary, I need my grenadier plume, as my shako has no pom-pom, please send it ASAP by post. Don´t forget the cords of the shako! From you husband who loves you. Jean". And here you have it, a living proof that the French used old items of equipment already phased out around 1812, still 3 years later! 

This story is one more total BS but serves to illustrate my aproach in the finishing the French for Waterloo and also a bit of despair!

The Grenadier on the rear right is a 1808-12 Hat figure. What I already did to some of them is to cut the tail of the coat so it looks like the bardin coat. Then at the front a different paint job makes the rest. 

Next: more 1815 French

1813-15 battles in 20mm for AoE and V&F - (part 30) 1st and 2nd Light Brigades of the Netherlands Cavalry Division

 

These two brigades - Ghigny and van Merlen - finishes the Netherlands Cavalry Division after Trip´s Heavy Brigade done some time ago. 

In TC´s exchange I got some 30 nice painted Peninsular British Dragoons with the Tarleton helmet.  Initially, it looked like there were several boxes of painted Hat industry figures but on a closer look I noticed there was only one with the other being conversions from the Airfix British RHA. And they were so well done! My job was to use these as  the 8th Belgian Hussars and 6th Dutch Light Dragoons after repaint, taking the advantage of the Hussar coat of all figures. The shakoes came from the dead Zvezda light infantry you can see lying all over... what a plassacre! 

Here you can see some of the Airfix bodies used by TC to make cavalrymen. The legs are Esci, something I also just did in the previous post. 

The only the shakoes were taken from the Zvezda figures, a risky operation that has to be done carefully with a new blade. Here I behaved like the Cumberland Hussars and got scared of using some Milliput to make the typical bedrolls around the torso which was typical in the Dutch-Belgian cavalry even if not universal. In order to find an excuse for myself I thought about the heavy rain that fell on the previous day of Waterloo and the possobility of the bedrolls being soaking wet and left at the rear position. Even asked AI what was their opinion but nope, the bedrolls were most probably used as they provided some protection at combat. 

The rear pointy shabraque was simply painted on the Hat and Esci horses.

One last conversion was on the 8th Belgian Hussar cornet which got a Hat Colpack as it should. MSJ website shows the colpack without cords or sac but it looks better with both.

Next: the 36th Belgian Jaeger (Detmers brigade) 

1813-15 battles in 20mm for AoE and V&F - (part 24) Les Géants

 

These were the "big Guys on big horses", the Grenadiers à Cheval de la Garde were the last unit of the French Guard still to be done. This is one more conversion this time using the horses and bodies of Italeri Dragoons and the heads of the very old Airfix Foot Grenadiers (the officer has a Zvezda head). 

In fact both French Horse Grenadiers and Dragoons shared the same uniform cut, which, even better, barely changed all along the Napoleonic wars. 

The good thing about the Airfix Grenadier heads are the big heads they have (compared with the bodies) and so they blend quite well with the much bigger Italeri bodies. 

The officer with Zvezda head had to have a plume and this why no Airfix figure was used here. 

Unfortunately you only need 4 stands for Waterloo AoE as these guys are a nice sight with their black horses and imposing figures. 

Next: More Dutch

1813-15 battles in 20mm for AoE and V&F - (part 22) Chasseurs à Cheval and Lancers of the French Guard

 

This another useful group to have for Napoleonic wargaming. The uniform didn´t change for years and all of them can be used up to the Waterloo campaign. You just have to be careful with the Polish lancers which started to carry the lance at the end of 1809 and the Dutch lancers in 1810. Even so you can use all the three units along the Russian campaign, the 1813 campaigns and the 100 days campaign, without change in uniform. The Polish Guard lancers were just a squadron at Waterloo but making 5 squadrons allows for the other campaigns. 

The Chasseurs à Cheval are Revell from  a nice and rich box that includes 17 mounted figures plus a dismouted one. 

The only conversion of the group was the making of a standard bearer from the figure with the sword at the front.

The Polish and Dutch Guard lancers are Esci from their 1985 box but even so a very nice box with very detailed figures as usual with Esci. 

The problem with these Esci figures was some memory problems of the designer who forgot to place reigns on the horses and saved on the lenght of the lance. Here you can see plastic (you can also use wire) pieces for the reigns and an alongated lance of 4cm when the original is only 3 cm. The trick is to cut 0,5cm from the original, glue the shaft to the hand and then to glue a 1,5cm piece of plastic to the back of the hand, making 4cm lances. It´s always better to try to sit the rear of the lance on the horse for sturdiness. 

The flag bearer is a conversion from the figure with a sword. 

The trumpeteer of the Dutch lancers is Zvezda while the other is Esci. The Zvezda box is a far superior product but with the two tricks of the reigns and alongated lances you can always improve the Esci figures. Regarding Esci, don´t forget to glue all horse´s legs to the base as they tend to be unbalanced. 

Finally I painted General Michel of the Foot Chasseurs guard division, a Waterloo 1815 figure that I got half painted from TC. There is still a debate around who said the famous sentence "La garde meurt mais ne se rend pas" between Cambronne and Michel. The known truth is that Michel was killed leading the charge of the 3e Chasseurs and his body is most probably in the big mass grave at Mont-Saint-Jean. 

Next: a return to Vietnam

1813-15 battles in 20mm for AoE and V&F - (part 21) Bauduin´s Brigade and the French Guard Horse Artillery

 

These two were not that much close at Waterloo. The 2ème Légère fought around Hougoumont mostly (part of the 6ème Division of Jerôme Bonaparte) while the several batteries Guard Horse went along the Guard Infantry in its final attack late in the afternoon. 

The artillery is made of Esci and Zvezda guns (some with Airfix barrels); Zvezda caisson and Italeri artillerymen. The driver of the caisson was later exchanged by the Zvezda one as no colpack equipped driver was used in this unit, even if it would look damn good!

In fact these figures are good enough up to the 1812 Russian campaign as after this campaign the uniform changed and left the Hussar type only keeping the colpack. The Hat uniformed officer with colpack came from the voltigeur box and enters here as a "transitional" figure. Maybe in the future I´ll make this unit again using Esci artillery bodies with Hat colpacks for a proper 1813-15 unit. 

The 2ème Légère was the biggest French regiment at Waterloo with four battalions. Like this I broke the unit into two battalions, the first (with Eagle) made of Airfix and Hat figures and the other ( 3rd battalion, red fanion) with Italeri and Hat figures. The only addition was made on the Airfix figures which got bigger pompons made of Milliput.

Next: Vietnam or more French Guard cavalry

1813-15 battles in 20mm for AoE and V&F - (part 17) Imperial Guard artillery reserve (Napoleon´s "Beautiful Daughters")

 

These three batteries of the reserve Imperial Guard were big 12 pdr guns of terrifying power last time used at Waterloo but already with a deadly record at Wagram and Borodino, just as examples. In fact this group is intended for Waterloo but is a mixed bag: 

- the artillerymen are using the white gaiters, which were no longer used since 1813, just because they look nice;

-  General Drouot is here still a Major and this is how he was uniformed at Wagram;

-  the limber drivers are still using the uniform of 1812.

Drouot is the Airfix French officer with a Hat bicorne increased slightly in height with gel superglue. 

The limber is Zvezda and comes from one of the best boxes in the market, the French Foot Artillery, a box filled with marvellous miniature figures, 3 guns, a limber and one ammunition wagon. 

One of the artilleryman is in fact a Grenadier (Esci conversion) as the Imperial artillery had plenty of help from the Grenadiers and Chasseurs during many battles as these last ones didn´t like to stay iddle. 

The guns and crew are Esci with one of the 12 pdr barrels coming from the Zvezda set. 

Next: more French infantry

1813-15 battles in 20mm for AoE and V&F - (part 14) Middle Guard Grenadiers

 

The French Middle Guard wasn´t very well dressed around Waterloo time. Apparently some items of the equipment were missing to equip the 3rd and 4th regiments of both Guard Grenadiers and Chasseurs, like bearskins, blue trousers and coats. Thus the white trousers and  greatcoats were common and even the guard bicorne was used as main headdress by some. 

These four regiments didn´t have eagles but 24 company fanions were distributed. Alexis Cabaret, the author of the absolutely amazing site MSJ 1815, shows them as similar to the ones of 1812-13 but I added a large "N" with some laurels just for the central white rectangle being happier. 

The figures are Esci, Revell, the pioneer is Zvezda and there are also three Hat figures in bicornes and greatcoats. Half of the Esci figures didn´t have a backpack and got theirs from old Airfix Grenadiers. 

Next: probably Nassauers or Dutch Militia. Eventually a go at the Papelotte farm.

1813-15 battles in 20mm for AoE and V&F - (part 13) Empress Dragoons Vs 95th Rifles

Well, with so many enemy units entering to the shelves sooner or later this would have to become a brawl! The Old Guard Empress Dragoons charge the 95th Rifles as it happened in the afternoon of the battle of Waterloo. The figures were mostly painted by TC and I just added different facings and details on the Empress Dragoons and the 95th Rifles, as well as new bases. The beauty of both units is that they are not only famous but they didn´t change uniform throughout most of the war making them apt for many campaigns. 

The 95th Rifles are the new and big Italeri figures. These are also great as the plastic is semi-rigid keeping the paint very well.

The Empress Dragoons are Zvezda and Italeri. The flag bearer and the officer got new plumes and a paper flag with these being the only additions. 

Next: The Imperial Middle Guard

1813-15 battles in 20mm for AoE and V&F - (part 6) "La Garde meurt mais ne se rend pas!"

 

I always wanted to put this title! In fact it sums pretty well the life and death of these fantastic soldiers, even if this sentence was said by Cambronne of the Guard Chasseurs.  The figures are all from the last batch of exchanged figures and were already painted. Even so I changed a number of details like the blue bedrolls, flags and golden details as these figures started their life as line grenadiers and now are Guard Grenadiers. 

The figures are Zvezda with two Kozak 3d printed. One of the drummers is Esci and one Officer is Hat from the 1805 range. 

A good thing about these figures is that you can use them without any relevant uniform change for most of the Napoleonic wars. 

Next: More British infantry. 

The 1812 Russian army for AOE/ V&F rules in 20mm size.

Sorry but I did something stupid and if you want to see this video you have to paste it on the bar or see it on my YouTube channel:

https://youtu.be/NhOvhsYHMWc?si=z79kcseEVmnP13LF

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NhOvhsYHMWc

The Napoleonic French allies for the campaigns of 1809 and 1812 for AoE/V&F rules in 20mm size

French Cuirassiers at Wagram and Borodino for AOE/V&F in 20mm

My 1809-12 French were designed around the Armée du Portugal that invaded Portugal in 1810. As this ratio is higher (1-100) than the AoE ratio (1-360 in infantry terms, for instance) I was not very worried about expanding French Line and Light infantry or Hussar, Chasseur or Dragoons as there are plenty in the shelves, but there were no Cuirassiers as they were not part of the Order of Battle of the Armée du Portugal.

Like that you need between 24 and 36 bases for Wagram (1809)  up to Borodino (1812). The first group of 24 bases divided in groups (brigades in AoE terms) is done with each brigade represented respectively by the 1st, 5th, 10th and 11th regiments. The good thing about painting Cuirassiers is that the differences between regiments is minimal and the painting process is quite straight forward with some changes in the facing colors. 

Another good thing about French Cuirassiers is their usage up to Waterloo as there is virtually no change in uniform. This has to do with my idea of returning to 20mm Waterloo and quitting my 28mm for that specific campaign. 

For this group I used (from front row to back row) Airfix figures, StreletsR and Zvezda. 

The Zvezda box is simply beautiful with a generous 19 figures provided. A few extra Airfix were added to make the total of 24 miniatures in two regiments. 

The Airfix figures are very old and incomplete so they needed some extra work, namely the addition of a plume in the helmet, a valise on the back part of the saddle (both made of Milliput) and a plastic scabbard on the left side of the cavalrymen. All horse´s "legs in the air" are glued to the base as usual but also as they are quite fiddly. 

All three additions can be seen here. Like this these oldies can became goldies. A paper flag was also added to the eagle pole. 

The StreletsR regiment is made of the usual funny figures made of shorties, when in fact the Cuirassiers were big guys on big horses. Even so all figures are different and very lively.

Next: photos from Arnhem

Rapid Fire! Blitzkrieg in 20mm - Additional German bycicle fusiliers, artillery and staff cars for the 18th ID and 7th PD

The bycicles convinced me to add all other things: The bycicle Fusiliers are necessary for the OB of the 18th ID together with Staff cars and artillery limbers mentioned in the RF! Blitzkrieg battlegroups for May 1940; the 20mm Flak gun is the last piece missing for the Flak battalion of the 7th PD that wreaked havoc in the ranks of the Matildas in the Arras action.

The Cadillac 1941 from Matchbox is the closest I could find to the Opel Admiral and this photo made me buy the two toys in a local supermarket. 

The wheels were replaced by some better ones from Airfix and Matchbox as the original ones are generally what spoils these kind of models. Some 3d resin extra jerrycans were placed copying the original photo as they also help to disguise the different front of the Cadillac in relation to the Opel. 

So together with some ACE staff cars already made I´m more or less done with these kind of vehicles for the Panzer Grey period. 

The Hat box of german cyclists was once again (after the Slovaks) used to make these German fusiliers using BlueStuff as the matrix and two component resin as the filler and lost details with Milliput. The original resin heads, turned into blobs and were replaced by Esci DAK heads. 

Together with the resin contraptions a few more dismounted cyclists were made using old Atlantic, Airfix and Esci figures. 

"- Hey Hans, is it us overthere on those bikes?

- Of course not Helmut! You are on too much Pervitin!"

After another moment of fine poetry lets have a look at limbers. There were still three Revell limbers around without horses, wheels or figures that must have been used somewhere else. I coupled the limbers with Napoleonic horses, wheels of unknown origin (some are 3d printed) and figures from FtF. The horses had to have some Milliput extras as they were demoted from the fancy line cavalry to the hardships of horse artillery. 

Limbers on the wargames table or even on a shelf, like mostly my case, are always a nice sight. The card bases were strenghtened with super glue. 

In the end you have some reasonable looking limbers to pull guns from the 75mm caliber to 150mm. The harness was heavily transformed and reduced in lenght as I didn´t want the huge final model that Revell offers even if its the correct one. 

One more Zvezda 20mm Flak 38 was added and this one will be closer to the 7th PD assets as it concludes its Flak battalion. The standing figure to the right is FtF. 

Next: More Slovaks or reinforcements for the 1944 British airborne division.