Saturday 10 January 2015

Deserter Recaptured!

Lamming PI 6: Prussian Line Infantry Drummer
Recaptured for the Fatherland!
I was determined to get my Silesian line infantry finished before going on holiday next week, but as this is looking increasingly unlikely, I've decided to post the only thing I've got to show at the moment.

Lurking among some Hinton Hunt South Germans I acquired recently (of which much more in future posts) was this wee chap. Rather than have him shot for desertion, I decided that he should be conscripted into my line battalion forthwith. Prussian drummers are in short supply here in the Chateau d'homme de Wellington!


Lamming PI 6: Prussian Line Infantry Drummer
Acrylic Gloss, naturally!
Retro wargame figure connoisseurs will recognise him at once as one of Bill Lamming's creations: that Easter Island profile is unmistakable! Another helpful clue was the "PI/6" I found inscribed under his base, which is the code Bill used for Prussian line infantry drummers. I never met Bill, but I suspect that he had a conservative dress sense and a liking for order and precision. I swear that there are creases down the front of those trousers.

He's not a perfect fit for Hinton Hunts, truth be told - those enormous hands, apart from anything else....However, I'm delighted with him nonetheless. I'd cheerfully paint whole battalions of Lammings if I could get them!


Monday 5 January 2015

A General Answer

There was nothing for it after yesterday's post but to rush out after work and purchase some acrylic gloss varnish.

His buttons and other metallic bits didn't budge an inch!

Hinton Hunt PN 64
PN 64 in all his new, shiny glory

Hinton Hunt PN 64 Rear View
The other side. Red bits are redder in reality!

My heartfelt thanks, chaps.

WM

Sunday 4 January 2015

A General Question

Wellington may be a small town in the great scheme of things, but it's got fantastic second-hand book shops. Just a few months ago I was absolutely delighted to find a copy of David Nash, The Prussian Army 1808-1815 (London: Almark Publications, 1972), which is still reckoned by some to be the best single English language source for Prussian uniforms.

However, I'm a little confused about his description of general officers' uniforms. On page 77 he writes that on campaign Prussian generals wore "a soft, grey, peaked Schirmutze piped in scarlet". As the accompanying illustration on the next page isn't coloured, there are a number of ways this could be interpreted. Whereas Blucher is almost always depicted with a red band around his old blue Landwehr cap, Nash makes no mention of such a thing for the 'official' cap.

Below is my interpretation of what Nash may have been getting at. The figure in PN 64: Prussian general looking through a spy-glass. Has anyone seen or heard of a cap of this type? It has a rather WW1 appearance!

Hinton Hunt PN 64: Prussian General
PN 64: Prussian general looking through a spy-glass.
He's not been varnished yet, so there's still time to change him. Alternatively, I could always paint on a black oilskin cover!

Another question is: has anybody discovered a way to put Humbrol gloss varnish over Humbrol metallics without the metal colour running about all over the place? I'm very fearful about his buttons!