Tuesday, 10 November 2020

Scruby Tuesday 2

I have a few more Scruby 25mm Napoleonic samples to show off.

Most clearly have the word 'Scruby' written on the underside of their bases. They also various hard-to-make-out numbers inscribed on them, but these seem to bear no relation whatsoever to the HistoriFigs Scruby 25mm Napoleonic catalogue, so I cannot confirm if these same figures are potentially available from HistoriFigs.

First up are what I believe to be a French light infantry voltigeur (although he might conceivably be a Nassauer), a Russian infantryman, and a French light infantry carabinier.



Second up are three French Guard or line grenadiers, being a drummer, an officer and a grenadier in a sort of 'at the ready' pose. Their coat skirts are all a little on the short side, but they are really nice figures in my opinion, and the officer in particular is a splendid figure.



That's it for Scrubys for the time being, but there will almost certainly be some more at some point!

Cheers

WM

Tuesday, 3 November 2020

Scruby Tuesday

Well it's Tuesday in New Zealand, although I suspect this hasn't yet happened for much of the rest of the planet.

My last post featuring Aly's wonderful Scrubys generated a fair bit of interest in things Scrubywise, so by special request I'm posting a few of the Scruby cavalry which I've picked up along the way.

These Polish Lancers are proper old campaigners:


As shown below, the horses have a faint trace of a bridle on their faces, but are otherwise completely nude. The lancer's portmanteau is simply moulded onto his bum!

I'm told there are other types of horse, however, which have reins moulded onto them, and that not every type of Scruby cavalry trooper is quite so lightly equipped. Scruby French dragoons, for example, are moulded with the troopers sitting  astride proper saddles and shabraques. 

I may even Scruby do these lancers some day, if I can find another pair of them.

WM

Sunday, 1 November 2020

Bring Me Sunshine

I promised something really special a couple of weeks ago and so here it is. It's the absolutely stunning Neuchatel Battalion painted by Alastair Morrison. The figures are all from the iconic 25mm Napoleonic range produced by Jack Scruby in the early 1960s.

When Aly published these on his Aly's Toy Soldiers blog a wee while ago, he mentioned that he'd decided to replace them. As I've been hankering after some Scrubys for ages, I asked him if I could have them, and he gave them to me.


These particular figures are the remastered 25mm Scrubys available from Historifigs in the United States. They are the most beautifully hard, clear and crisp castings, unlike the very soft and 'leady' figures originally sold by Jack. You can spot vintage Scubys a mile away in wargaming blogs because of all the excessively bent muskets!

Jack's 25mm range was designed to be compatible with Hinton Hunts, which these last two pictures demonstrate very well. The Neuchatels and the 3rd Swiss will make a spectacularly attractive brigade, I think. I'll also need to paint a commander for them, of course, and I've got just the fellow, as it happens. He'll be making an appearance in a week or two, with a bit of luck.


As the last photo shows, however, to make them fully compatible with my army I'll need to rebase them, so right after these photos were taken. off they went into a shallow warm bath to soak them off their bases.

Judging from the Historifigs 'Classic 25mm Armies' of the Napoleonic Wars' catalogue, the figures are:

3053: French Fusilier, advancing to the attack, x 10;
3054: French Voltigeur, advancing to the attack, x 12; and
3064: French Officer, shako, leading, x 2, with one converted by Aly into a standard bearer.

Thank you Aly. They're like a gloriously golden ray of sunshine, and I will treasure them.

WM