I promised Blasthof for this post, but I've been distracted by a burst of painting energy (of which more anon), and by these little chaps:
The figures are all 20mm Lamming Miniatures French Foot Napoleonics of early 1970s vintage, specifically (from left to right):
FI/8: Line Fusilier;
FI/3: Imperial Guard Grenadier Advancing; and
FI/1: Line Voltigeur or Grenadier Elite.
These are not well documented figures (although the Vintage Wargamer has a wonderful collection of FI/3s on his Old Metal Detector blog), so I'm very pleased to present them to the blogosphere. I have very many more of them than is really wise or sensible, so the first task is to paint them up as test figures.
They won't be to everyone's taste, I fear, but I think they have the same very clean, simple and sharp qualities as the Lamming British infantry I finished earlier these year and I have high hopes for them.
Wish me luck!
Yours, as ever
WM
P.S. My special thanks to Goya, international man of mystery and all-round smashing bloke who alerted me to these and was instrumental in getting them to me.
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| By the Left |
The figures are all 20mm Lamming Miniatures French Foot Napoleonics of early 1970s vintage, specifically (from left to right):
FI/8: Line Fusilier;
FI/3: Imperial Guard Grenadier Advancing; and
FI/1: Line Voltigeur or Grenadier Elite.
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| Face Front |
These are not well documented figures (although the Vintage Wargamer has a wonderful collection of FI/3s on his Old Metal Detector blog), so I'm very pleased to present them to the blogosphere. I have very many more of them than is really wise or sensible, so the first task is to paint them up as test figures.
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| About Turn |
They won't be to everyone's taste, I fear, but I think they have the same very clean, simple and sharp qualities as the Lamming British infantry I finished earlier these year and I have high hopes for them.
Wish me luck!
Yours, as ever
WM
P.S. My special thanks to Goya, international man of mystery and all-round smashing bloke who alerted me to these and was instrumental in getting them to me.
That Goya is an enigma wrapped in a mystery!
ReplyDeleteI'm very much looking forward to seeing what you do with these splendid little figures.
Cheers, Ian
DeleteThe fusilier in particular, I think, will be a bit of a challenge, but the voltigeur is an absolutely cracking figure. I think he'd make a very stately Guard Fusilier Grenadier, although I plan to paint this one as a standard line voltigeur.
Nice figures with clean detail (c.f. HH) not sure why you think the painting will be a challenge although there is just something about the Fusilier's shako I can't quite put my finger on.
ReplyDeleteThose coat tails are really obvious though - so not suitable for 1815 as you said earlier. Did Lamming do earlier or later uniforms in the Napoleonic range?
Really looking forward to the latest delights from your current painting surge.
I think he looks more like an early Victorian Peeler than a French infantryman, Rob, but we'll see how we go.
DeleteThey're all in pre-Bardin uniforms, as far as I can tell, although I think Bill may have produced some Young Guard types in 1815 kit. It's hard to tell. Lammings are altogether a bit mysterious. I have some very strange Prussians which will feature in a future post....
They look very good WM - how are they for size? As previously discussed, I have been caught out numerous times in the past when I bought Lammings from eBay that turned out to be from the wrong bit of the Scale-Creep Chart. I also have some Lammings to paint sometime - including some Highlanders, so I'm interested to see how you get on!
ReplyDeleteThese are the real 20mm deal as far as I can tell, Foy, and have an excellent early 70s provenance. They're certainly a match for the British infantry I did back in January, which means I'll need to use slightly thinner bases for them to match them up to my Hinton Hunts.
DeleteI've seen some Lamming 20mm Highlanders and they are excellent!
"I have very many more of them than is really wise or sensible"..that made me smile.
ReplyDeleteMe, I really like them. They have a charm that isn´t matched by todays "all so historically and anatomically acurrate" produce.
If there was a readily available range (is there?) of equivalent medievals I´d be in there like a shot.
A good question, Paul.
DeleteI think B&B Miniatures own the Lamming rights (http://www.bandbminiatures.co.uk/index.htm), although I've no idea if any of the old 20mm ranges are still available. The 20mm Napoleonics, I'm sorry to say, are definitely no more.
Lamming '25mm' Medievals are back in production with East Riding Miniatures. They are not 20mm but then you didn't say they had to be but either way this range has a lot of Old School charm.
Delete'Strue! https://shop.eastridingminiatures.co.uk/
DeleteThose look interesting, did you do any prep before taking the photos, eg a thin, light, dark wash, the detail is very crisp? I can see why you'd want to mount them on thinner bases.
ReplyDeleteThese are just how they looked when they came out of their Dettol bath, David. They are exceptionally crisp castings, and also remarkably tough. Some of those muskets were bent into extraordinary shapes when I got them!
DeleteThey look wonderful even in their raw metal state. Eager to see some painted examples when you finish them.
ReplyDeleteBest Regards,
Stokes
They're weirdly compelling, aren't they Stokes. I'm very keen to get started on them, although a complete regiment will have to wait until Phase 3, which ought to be at some point in 2020.
DeleteCongrats on a nice find! These are vaguely similar to the GHQ line in their simple symmetry. Very appealing and look forward to seeing what you do with them. In a moment of weakness I purchased what I believe is a unit of the Duchy of Warsaw 8th Infantry Regiment (which I needed like a hole in the head), but have no idea about their provenance or manufacturer. I thought maybe Alberkan or Scruby even, but really haven't a clue. Mixed in was a French Officer by Rose. I had never seen a Rose figure, but also simple and clean like these. Happy painting!
ReplyDeleteIf you send me a picture, Dave, and I'll have a go at identifying them.
DeleteI'm really hoping these turn out alright as really do have far too many of them.
Full of charm!
ReplyDeleteCheers, Matt. Vintage...er, vintage, I reckon.
DeleteA great addition to your collection. I have some Lamming British figures in my painting queue but have never seen any 20mm French figures and they do have a charm to them.
ReplyDeleteI am sure you will be able to bring out their full character when you get them painted.
The French have had very little exposure on the internet, so they're not at all well known these days. If they turn out even half as well as your Douglas voltigeurs, Mark, I will be very pleased!
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