A bit of green

As mentioned in my previous post, I have a few Napoleonic models knocking around. The general idea is to aim for the Quatre-Bras order of battle, but pretty much anything for the hundred days campaign in 1815 is of interest here. The contents of today's post are brought to you by the colour green and were painted many moons ago.

Apologies for the terrible pictures. I'm still a novice when it comes to camera work.

First up is a base of the 1er Régiment de Chasseurs-à-Cheval. A quick search on the internet tells us that the regiment was created way back in 1651 by Mis. d'Humières. It was renamed the Conti Chasseurs in 1733, and then became a regiment of dragoons in 1776. A further change to the Régiment de Chasseurs d'Alsace in 1788, before becoming the 1er Régiment de Chasseurs in 1791. Upon restoration of King Louis XVIII in 1814, it became the Régiment de Chasseurs de Roi. My main interest in this regiment is that they fought at Quatre-Bras and Rocquencourt.

 

The second offering is the command stands (minus flag) from the 2nd Nassau-Usingen regiment. I'll write about the history of these chaps when the battalion is finished. Most units will be 24-36 models strong, in this case 36. I'm currently halfway through the unit, so hopefully I will be able to post it in it's entirety in the near future.

In general, the vast majority of these miniatures were painted with the Wargames Foundry paints range, with a few GW washes and such thrown in. Models are from Perry Miniatures. As ever with Napoleonic miniatures, there are probably some mistakes that someone can call me out on. However, so long as they look approximately right from a distance, I'm happy with the results.

And hopefully the photos will be better next time.

Intermission

Hmm, it's been a while since I last posted anything here. Excuses are as follows:

1) I spent a month working in Leuven (Belgium). With not much time in the week due to work, and a combination of rain and no camera on the weekends, opportunities to report anything worthwhile from this period are lacking.

2) While I was away, the clip (it probably has a proper name. All I know is it has a spirit level on it) that connects my camera to the tripod went walkabouts somewhere in Italy. A new one has apparently turned up and been fitted this last week or so.

3) I've been too lazy to clear the gaming table and set up the lightbox (wait... that's not an excuse).


However, although the lack of photos and such means there is so far no record of it, progress on the painting front has actually been made. I even managed to get a game in the other weekend! As such, photos can be expected in the near future covering a wide range of topics, as I'm far to disorganised and irresponsible to settle down with one subject. Items will include members of the Orange-Nassau and Nassau-Usingen regiments for the hundred days campaign (1815), some American War of Independence models, and a few chaps with extravagant facial hair from the first Carlist War.

Oh, and some pirates may appear on here at some point.

"...nothing will happen, and I shall be back again this evening early"

It's been a while since the last update. As a change from the wood elves, I thought I should post some of the historical stuff I've been working on recently. The current main project is the Anglo-Zulu war, courtesy of the recent range by Warlord Games/Empress Miniatures. I'm truely impressed at the quality  of both the miniatures and terrain avaliable for this period.

The initial plan is to get the scenery for Rorke's Drift painted up, and then the models, though a few will sneak in earlier I suspect.

Girdle of Tightness

Atkin Tightgirdle adjusted his tunic again, smoothing the cloth over his torso. The elves around him were checking their bow stings and counting arrows, but he had none of these concerns.
As the leader of this small band of archers, Tightgirdle enjoyed the prestige and fame that his role provided. The fact that it allowed him to dress differently to his fellows was just an added bonus. Tightgirdle would have been the first to admit that he was a little more fashion concious than the average elf. Let them wear practical and, dare he say it, comfortable clothing. It was the role, nay, the duty of a leader to stand out from his comrades in arms, if only to provide a reference point for them to co-ordinate their efforts around. An immaculately cut tunic, framed by a majestically tight belt, with bright red leggings! Now that was the thing to be seen in, not all this brown and grey.
Tightgirdle winced as the belt dug into his waist, and adjusted the tunic again. Behind him, the other elves hid their smiles as they watch their vain leader struggle.
Not for him the drudgery of aim and fire, Tightgirdle mused. Not for him the muscle ache in the back and arms from a long days battle. If a leader used a bow, how would he concentrate on the swirling melee around them? How would he provide them with his expertise?
He winced again as the belt dug deeper. He was glad he didn't have a bow. It may have proved difficult to use with this particular outfit.

Today's addition is a band of elven archers, led by their champion, Atkin Tightgirdle, named for his impossibly thin waist.

The chaps with swords and shields also have bows on their backs, hence their inclusion in the regiment.

Now that's a tight belt!

Elemental Fury

The main army that I am going to be working on is a wood elf army for Warhammer, using old models, the majority of which are nearly as old as I am. First up are a pack of rather unhappy looking Elementals. In the current edition of the game, these will be used as Treekin. In older editions, I currently have no idea, though I may end up working some rules out myself.  

In general, most of my painting is done using the Foundry paint system. I find these quick and easy to use, as generally you don't need to do too much mixing, meaning it's easy to keep colours consistent over several units. Some Games Workshop paints get used as well, the major ones being the most recent set of washes they produce.

Seventeen years of progress

So, seventeen years of wargaming. You'd think that would mean a fair few painted armies. It turns out that if I think about it, I may have finished maybe two armies in all that time, both of which would have been ones soon after I started. As such, I have a massive pile of unpainted miniatures, interspersed with a few finished models. Occasionally an entire unit might make it to the battlefield resplendent in their bright uniforms, colours gleaming overhead as they march over a dusty plain or blasted heath. Unfortunately, this doesn't happen that often, and when it does, the unit in question is very lucky to march into battle next to a similarly finished unit.

The idea with this blog is to chart my progress painting things, with the aim of actually getting to fight a battle with a fully painted army or two. The amount of different systems I tend to play means that a variety of different things will appear, though the majority will be 28mm (or 25mm, depending on who you ask) miniatures. A large amount will be Games Workshop models, though I have amassed a large collection of historical armies over the last few years.