All Buttoned Up

The 2nd Light Infantry Battalion, King's German Legion, are ready to make their debut.

They've been finished for a week now, in fact, but I was too busy chopping wood in the back garden to set them up for their photo shoot before now. It really was a massive tree that fell down.

They are to be the skirmish element for Wallmoden's Corps. In reality, only about half the 2nd KGL Light Infantry was sent to join the Anglo-Hanoverian forces in Germany in 1813, but I thought I ought to paint up a full battalion so they would also be ready to occupy a certain farmhouse in Belgium.

Major Georg Baring's men filter through the woods ...

... and form up in line

 Major General Wilhelm von Arentschildt takes temporary command.

The battalion faces to the rear, showing off their dinky little havresacs. I'm not 100% sure that this is what those weird little bulges on their left hips are supposed to be, but they look OK.

Wallmoden's Corps forms up.

The figures are:

Alberken:

BN 4: Rifleman Officer x 1 (converted);

BN 3: Rifleman on Guard:x 22; and

Hinton Hunt:

BN 20 British Rifles bugler x 1.

I cannot thank Aly Morrison and Mark Dudley enough for providing me with these charming figures. As soon as I saw them I knew they'd be exactly right for Wallmoden's forces.

One of the things that made them so appealing for me was that, unlike much of the rest of the Alberken range, they do not look like Hinton Hunts. The big question then was: what were they?

I was starting to think they might be Jacklex conversions. Rob G then sent me a picture of a Jacklex ACW gunner, which looks to me as if it may very well have been the base figure. 

Exhibit A:

Jacklex ACWs were certainly of the right vintage for this, but it's his legs, wee pinched face and oddly sloping upper arms that clinched it for me.

I've been given a few other delightful presents recently. Here are two of them below, with a KGL light infantryman for scale.

The cottages were given to me by the Armchair General, who thinks he bought them in the 80s but can't remember the manufacturer. They're really nicely sculpted and seem to be made of rubber, as they're a little bit squishy. If anyone knows what they are, please do say so in the comments. I'd love to find out what else was in the range.

The 2nd KGL Light Infantry are the last of the Phase 2 Coalition infantry. I think it'll be some artillery next.

Best wishes

WM

Albert and Ken again

When I was a lad growing up in the 70s, the wargaming books of that era were full of wonderful photographs of little soldiers that I didn't have a clue how to identify.

Depicted below are some I found to be particuarly mysterious. They were clearly British light infantry of some description, seen here guarding Hougoumont in the amazing Waterloo layout created by Peter Gilder for David Chandler's The Art of Warfare on Land (London: Hamlyn, 1974), but I had no idea who made them or where I could find any of them.

Fast forward to 2023, and a parcel of these wee treasures arrived in the post, courtesy of Aly Morrison:

And in 2024 arrived a few more, courtesy of Mark Dudley:

Mark identifies them as Alberken/early Minifigs British Riflemen, and I haven't the slightest doubt that he is correct.

In my view, however, it is to be Hanoverian riflemen, and the 2nd Light Battalion of the King's German Legion in particular, that is their true destiny. I had a bit of time off this week, so I thought I'd test this hypothesis by painting a few of them.

First up is an Alberken BN 3: Rifleman on Guard:

He's been cleaned up a bit and has had some some buttons added and the belt plate removed, but is otherwise unchanged.

Next up is my conversion of an Alberken BN 4: Rifleman Officer to make him look a wee bit more Hanoverian:

The head was donated by a Hinton Hunt BN 15 British Rifles Officer, which I'm fairly certain was a pirate, so no harm done. He's also got some new buttons and a new bandolier made with flattened soldering wire. This was bent round his chest and soldered at the back, with the resulting blob of solder carved into the shape of a cartidge box.

Although 2nd KGL LI officers are usually depicted in light grey trousers, credible sources suggest that they may very well have worn black, so I decided to go with that. I reckoned he'd look a bit gnarlier that way.

A Hinton Hunt BN 20 British Rifles bugler completes the command group:

Definitely meant to be KGL, I'd say.

Only 21 more to go, although a farmhouse might also be in order.

Cheers,

WM

The Fifty Seconds

As promised, I present the 52nd, led here by Sir John Colborne, later to become the 1st Baron Seaton. He's Seaton on his horse now.

A couple of vintage Hinton Hunts, I'm pained to admit, were harmed in the making of this regiment. One of these was a BN 20: British Rifles Bugler, to whom I added some shoulder wings to turn him into a light infantryman

The second was Sir John Colborne's horse, which started out as an FNH 10: French General's horse, converted into a British Infantry Officer's horse.

And to finish up, here's what they look like with my other two Anglo-Hanoverian regiments. Some British artillery to go with them is looking a bit overdue.

The figures used for the 52nd were:

Hinton Hunt:

BN 93: British Light Infantry charging x 20

BN 90: British Light Infantry Officer charging x 1

BN 20: British Rifles Bugler, converted into a British Light Infantry Bugler, x1

FNH 10: French general officer's horse, converted into a British infantry officer's horse

Der Kriegspielers Napoleonique:

#154: British Light Infantry Command Group regimental colour bearers x 2, with a few modifications

Alberken:

BN 35: British light infantry officer, converted into a British Light Infantry colonel x 1

For those who haven't spotted it yet, Colborne is my new avatar. He was a Wellington Man, after all.

Happy New Year everyone!

WM

Regimental Sir John

It's Christmas Eve and I've been hard at it for the last few days working on the 52nd (Christmas chores allowing, that is).

Progress on the 52nd has been a rather glacial business, I'm sorry to say, but at long last they're finally coming together.  I've even managed to finish painting a commander for them. He is none other than Lieutenant Colonel Sir John Colborne, who commanded the 52nd at Waterloo.

The figure chosen for this gig was an Alberken BN 35: British light infantry officer, pictured here next to a Hinton Hunt FNH 10: French general officer's horse.

Cutting him off his base, fixing his sword and bending his legs, etc., so that he could sit on the horse were all quite easy. Less simple, however, was the major leg surgery he needed to shorten his unreasonably lengthy calves. Other changes were a new left arm, courtesy of a Lamming Scots Gray trooper, and some epaulettes suitable for a field officer.

The horse still needs a bit of work, but there's a fair prospect of getting Colborne and the rest of the 52nd finished this week.

In other news, I was very chuffed to see that my flag design for the Russo-German Legion has caught on a bit. You can see it here: The Hinton Spieler.: Green Jarmins

Pictured below is the absolutely exquisite version painted by Aly Morrison:

And not be outdone is the very pretty version made by the mysterious Count Goya, which he somehow managed to create directly from one of my photographs:

Seeing these flying above such beautifully painted regiments has been a really lovely way to round off the year.

Merry Christmas everyone!
WM

The Gilded Age

I've been hard at it painting Chasseurs this weekend, but they're complex wee beasties and after every few steps I have to stop to let everything to dry.

During one such episode late this afternoon I decided to dig out a regiment which has been sitting in a box at the back of a cupboard, more or less forgotten, ever since I bought it several years ago. I'm going to need some more redcoats at some point, so I thought I'd get them out to have a closer look at them. They are, I believe, Alberkens with a sprinkling of Hinton Hunt command figures, painted to represent the 42nd Highlanders.

Alberken 42nd Highlanders

I bought them because they looked so charmingly Gilderesque. When I saw them in the lead my heart almost sank a bit because the quality of the painting was so high that the only thing I could really do with them was a little gentle retouching and perhaps remounting with a few bayonet repairs. I may have a go at this over Christmas if I can get the Chasseurs and Lammings finished.

Vintage painting at it's best

Having got them out again, and with Gilder in mind, I hunted through some of my old wargaming books to see if I could spot something similar. Sure enough, on page 13 of Charles Grant's Napoleonic Wargaming (King's Langley: Argus Books, 1974), I found the following photo of Peter Gilder's collection:

The 42nd leading the right flank of Picton's Division at Waterloo in 1974.

Also featured is a very pretty regiment of Lammings on the left.

Do you know, I think it's the very same regiment.

Yours, in some amazement.

WM

Amateur Austronomy

I know, I should be working on Prussians, but all this fooling about with Austrians has distracted me. I couldn't resist getting them all out to have a look at them and to decide which, if any, could be cobbled together into a battalion.

It turns out that there are 98 of them - enough for four battalions with a couple to spare. For those curious to know what 98 distinctly dodgy-looking Austrians look like, they are pictured below.

Bring on the Clones

There was nothing for it after that but to get out my small collection of genuine, factory-painted Alberken/Minifig Austrians by way of comparison. These particular examples, I believe, are:

12 x AN 1W: German Line Fusilier, on guard;
2 x AN 2W: German Line Fusilier Officer;
1 x AN 15W: German Line Fusilier Standard Bearer; and
1 x AN 4W; German Line Grenadier Officer.

The Albert and Ken's

The good news is that having had a closer look at the home-casts, I decided that there may be, just possibly, a dozen or so which are genuine, in which case they're probably examples of the Alberken/Minifig code AN 5 or AN 5 W: Hungarian (or German) Line Fusilier, advancing.

The last shot is a closer view of what is definitely not an original, what might be an original, and one of the AN 1Ws. Do you know, I think one could actually make something of all of them: even the one who seems to be half man and half goat, with a bit of soldering.

What do you think? Should I do it?

Incidentally, I've started to post up a few pages about how I went about painting  the first wee man. If anyone wishes to make any comments (complementary or critical: both are very welcome), proffer advice or ask questions, please don't hesitate.

WM

Kaiserlicking Good

I've been going through an idle patch over the last couple of weeks, which is why I haven't posted anything.

That being said, I've done a little bit more work on my Reservists and also been trying out another little project, which is pictured here. I'm not exactly sure what he is, but the leading theory at the moment is that he's a home-cast pirate of an Alberken Austrian. Early on in my project I acquired no fewer than 96 of these, so there's the beginnings of an army there if anything can be made of them.

If I can successfully create the command group, I may go ahead a paint a whole battalion. It's all part of my cunning plan to persuade my friend, DM, to take up Hinton Spieling. DM has a special thing for Austrians, and said that he just might give it a go if I gave a demonstration of how to paint them. Details about how I went about it will follow in future posts!

Best regards

WM


Edit: Bit of a brain fade there. My friend's initials are DF! Sorry, DF, although I'm sure you would be a very fine Dungeon Master also.

General Uprising

Wallmoden's Corps of 1813 consisted of about 25,000 men, of whom something like 6,000 were cavalry composed more or less exclusively of hussars and cossacks. I've made a start on some hussars, but all I have to show at the moment is their commander. He is Major General Wilhelm Caspar Ferdinand von Dörnberg, or "Uprising Dörnberg" as he became known for his part in an abortive attempt to kidnap Napoleon's brother, Jerome, the new-crowned King of Westphalia, in 1809.

I can't say that I know a great deal more about him. After escaping from Germany, Dörnberg wound up in Britain and eventually rose to command the Brunswick Hussars in Spain. The British anglicised his name to William de Dornberg. Volunteering for service in Russia in 1812, by the following year he was in North Germany where he was given command of a brigade of Hanoverian hussars, stiffened by the 3rd Regiment of Hussars of the King's German Legion, which had been hurriedly sent over from Spain.

Dörnberg's only other claim to fame, at least far as the Anglosphere is concerned, is his failure to pass on early intelligence that Napoleon's army was about to invade Belgium in June 1815! However, he seems to have made up for this by leading numerous gallant charges at the head of the 3rd British Cavalry Brigade at Waterloo.

Vintage 20mm Napoleonics connoisseurs will instantly recognise the figure I've used as the Alberken/Minifigs version of the Earl of Uxbridge. I thought he'd be just the ticket for Dörnberg, however, after I found a portrait of him made in 1813 held in the Anne S. K. Brown Military Collection. This can be seen here.

The first squadron of the hussars he is to command are now quite advanced and so with a little bit of luck I may be able show them off next weekend.

Till then

WM

Edit: I've added another shot to give a slightly clearer view of his face. Alberken commanders can be a bit vague in the face department, but this one's not too bad.

Enigma Variations

The Archduke has sent me some photos of his enigmatic Hinton Hunt variations, but before getting to them I thought a few establishing shots of what they almost certainly are not are in order, if only to put them out of contention.

The first two shots are what I believe to be the DK and Alberken variations on Hinton Hunt FN 2: French Line Grenadier, charging. As in my previous post, in each shot the Hinton Hunt is in the centre, the DK on the left and the Alberken on the right.

The DK and Alberken figures are:

Der Kriegspielers DK 10: French Line Infantry 1812, receiving; and

Alberken  FN 29: French Line Fusilier, On Guard.

DK 10, HH FN 2 and  Alberken FN 29

Rear view

The DK, in my view, is a clear derivation from the Hinton Hunt. If one looks very carefully it's even possible to make out the traces of the cross belt that would have supported his sabre briquet and bayonet scabbards, all now removed in order to turn him into a fusilier. Unfortunately I don't have the DK 10E ('elite') grenadier/voltigeur variant, if there is such a thing. A DK 10E would have been a particularly interesting comparison, so if anybody has one, please send me a photo!

The Alberken also sports a fair few similarities, particularly in terms of legs and left arm positions, but also has some distinctions of his own. His knapsack, for example, is really rather different.

While I was sorting through the figures I also noticed that not all of the Hinton Hunt FN2s were identical. Pictured below are the two variations I discovered. The main differences are in the head, arm, musket and leg positions.

As will be seen below, the Archduke's splendidly painted examples are something else altogether! When I first saw them I thought they must be DKs (those hanging musket slings, you see), but the Archduke tells me that they are far too heavyweight and far too finely detailed to be DKs, and on studying them I can see his point.

Conventional HH FN 3 in the background, mystery variant in the foregound

HH FN 2 in front, mystery variant in the rear

Has anyone else seen anything quite like these before? Hinton Hunts or something else?

WM

Turning Up the Voltage

It's not all been vintage Napoleonic reviews and battles in the last few weeks, I've also been doing some actual painting.

As I have rather a lot of Frenchmen to paint in order to catch up with the Prussians, I thought I'd start with the biggest job first, which is the battalion of skirmishers I need to take on all those Silesian Schutzen. A few of the French line infantry voltigeurs I've found for this gig are pictured below:

DK and Hinton Hunt Voltigeurs

The figures (from left to right) are:

Der Kriegspielers, DK 12: French line infantry 1812, Légère battalion, firing;

Hinton Hunt, FN 3: French line infantry 1812-15, grenadier, firing, and

Hinton Hunt, FN 1: French line infantry 1812-15, officer, charging.

Although the DK is not an exact match for the Hinton Hunt, and lacks many of the crisper details, he's not all that far off. I think they'll work reasonably well together in a unit.

A certain family resemblance!

As it happens, I've managed to get hold of a fair number of Hinton Hunt and other types of French infantry recently, so a few more comparisons follow. The figures in each case are Der Kriegspielers on the left, Hinton Hunt in the centre and Alberken on the right.

The extra DK on the left is an interesting variant of DK 12. Alberken FN 28 on the right.

The Alberken pictured above on the right is: FN 28: French Napoleonic infantry, grenadier, firing. He's a very good match for the Hinton Hunt in almost all respects except one - a rather horribly malformed right arm that doesn't attach to the rest of his body very convincingly at all!

Next up is a selection of charging/advancing figures:

Some more close cousins....

The figures are:

Der Kriegspielers, DK 9: French line infantry 1812, advancing;

Hinton Hunt FN 5: French line infantry 1812-15, fusilier, charging; and

Alberken FN 30: French Napoleonic infantry, fusilier, advancing.

The Alberken is noticeably taller and chunkier than the others, and lacks the finer detailing of either the HH or the DK. However, I think they'd all look quite good together on the same tabletop.

Pictured last is the same group again but with something completely different: a Garrison FN 7: French Fusilier, advancing. which I just couldn't resist painting up as a test figure.

....and a different lineage altogether!

Garrison only ever produced a quite small range of 25mm Napoleonics, but I've always admired them. Masses of them routinely appear in early wargaming publications, where they look absolutely stunning. As I have enough for a whole battalion I'm sorely tempted to have a go at them after I've finished the voltigeurs. After all, this is supposed to be a blog about "Hinton Hunt, Der Kriegspieler and other vintage Napoleonic Figures"!

WM

Update: As MS Foy points out in his comments, that should be Garrison 20mm Napoleonics, and not 25mm. Doh!