They were really fun to paint. I hesitate to say it out loud, but I may be beginning to get over my cavalry aversion.
I don't have enough castings to make up the second squadron, so they will probably form part of a mixed regiment of light cavalry for the time being.
However, all that will have to wait as reinforcements for the Leib Hussars have finally arrived. I really ought to get at least one 12-figure regiment of cavalry properly finished!Have a great weekend.
WM
They look great, nice job!
ReplyDeleteVous êtes trop gentil, Phil!
DeleteSo Cool!
ReplyDeleteWhat is your policy on replacing lances with wire WM? I have done both, particularly where some of the figures in a potential unit had lost. heads or butts. The vertical lances on HH separate riders are psrticularly vulnerable to breakage, being too light for wargames handling. The cast on lances, do, of course, have the advantage of having the leather carrying strap modelled on the handle and a neat little pennon. I have met chaps who regarded replacing lances as desecration of a piece of art and those who just whipped out the drill every time.
Cheers, Roy.
DeleteI like to leave things as they are where possible, but it's certainly a problem with these lads as the lance heads and butts are far from robust. However, the lances are so thick and so integral to the rest of the figure that removing them looks like it would require re-carving half of the right side of the horses!
I was lucky with these six as only one of them needed a new spear point, which I added with my trusty soldering iron (it's the smaller, particularly pointy-looking one). However, I'll need to be a lot cleverer than that if I ever scrape enough figures together to do a second squadron as the entire lance heads are missing on the few I've got left over from this lot!
They look absolutely superb Matt and well done for getting over your cavalry aversion I wish I could say the same for myself!
ReplyDeleteCheers, Ian. They'll never be proper HH Guard lancers, but they'll do OK as line cavalry I guess.
DeleteI only said "I may be beginning" to get over my cavalry aversion. I also suspect this may only apply to the French, given the enormous amount of nothing whatsoever that has happened to the Leib Hussars since they arrived.
Aha a man who likes a robust butt. You need a Cantiniere figure :-))
ReplyDeleteWith regard to horses,nwhen I had lots to do I would clean abd undercoat several units and then make up horse colours and spend a day painting the basic horse colours,then let them dry and put them away so that when I came to paint the unit there was already a substantial head start.
As t cutting off the horizontal lances, its actually not too difficult with a pair f those sharp snips that Games Workshop sell.nThen a bit of file worknand cutting. Then paint the horse a dark colour. The 1st Chasseurs with their helmets , for Waterloo, were converted that way and they look fine. Mostly you will be replacing the lance, so do not use too thin a wire and get it roughly in the same position as the original. That will mostly cover the area that you cut the original lance from. It works just fine! The trick is that the hew lance distracts the eye. Have a try with one of your Poles to create a standard bearer and another as an officer and you will be pleased with the result.
Roy
Cheers Roy, those are all excellent suggestions. I may carry out some experiments in between plodding through the Leib Hussars......
DeleteMagnificent unit Matt, will you be able to acquire the rest of the figures you need to finish them?
ReplyDeleteThanks, 'Lee.
DeleteNever say never, say I! However, I may still resort to having some units with smaller squadrons. There's no doubt that 4-figure squadrons would be a lot easier to recruit.