Gunners on the Go

It was my birthday this weekend, so I celebrated by finally putting the varnish on to my new French line artillery gunners.

The figures are sufficient for two batteries. They are vintage Hinton Hunt French Artillery of the Line 1807-12, being:

FN 30: Officer, pointing, x1
FN 31: Gunner firing the gun, x2
FN 32: Gunner holding cannonball,x2
FN 33: Gunner ramming home, x2
FN 35: Gunner, ammunition carrier, running, x1

It's taken me a full ten years to get round to actually painting any of these. I think the officer is my new favourite figure.

There's the guns to finish and all the basing up to do, but a line up of the all the Phase 1 and 2 French artillery (6 batteries, no less) shouldn't be too far off now.

I hope you all had a good one too,

WM

All Buttoned Up

The 2nd Light Infantry Battalion, King's German Legion, are ready to make their debut.

They've been finished for a week now, in fact, but I was too busy chopping wood in the back garden to set them up for their photo shoot before now. It really was a massive tree that fell down.

They are to be the skirmish element for Wallmoden's Corps. In reality, only about half the 2nd KGL Light Infantry was sent to join the Anglo-Hanoverian forces in Germany in 1813, but I thought I ought to paint up a full battalion so they would also be ready to occupy a certain farmhouse in Belgium.

Major Georg Baring's men filter through the woods ...

... and form up in line

 Major General Wilhelm von Arentschildt takes temporary command.

The battalion faces to the rear, showing off their dinky little havresacs. I'm not 100% sure that this is what those weird little bulges on their left hips are supposed to be, but they look OK.

Wallmoden's Corps forms up.

The figures are:

Alberken:

BN 4: Rifleman Officer x 1 (converted);

BN 3: Rifleman on Guard:x 22; and

Hinton Hunt:

BN 20 British Rifles bugler x 1.

I cannot thank Aly Morrison and Mark Dudley enough for providing me with these charming figures. As soon as I saw them I knew they'd be exactly right for Wallmoden's forces.

One of the things that made them so appealing for me was that, unlike much of the rest of the Alberken range, they do not look like Hinton Hunts. The big question then was: what were they?

I was starting to think they might be Jacklex conversions. Rob G then sent me a picture of a Jacklex ACW gunner, which looks to me as if it may very well have been the base figure. 

Exhibit A:

Jacklex ACWs were certainly of the right vintage for this, but it's his legs, wee pinched face and oddly sloping upper arms that clinched it for me.

I've been given a few other delightful presents recently. Here are two of them below, with a KGL light infantryman for scale.

The cottages were given to me by the Armchair General, who thinks he bought them in the 80s but can't remember the manufacturer. They're really nicely sculpted and seem to be made of rubber, as they're a little bit squishy. If anyone knows what they are, please do say so in the comments. I'd love to find out what else was in the range.

The 2nd KGL Light Infantry are the last of the Phase 2 Coalition infantry. I think it'll be some artillery next.

Best wishes

WM

KGL Catch Up

 Just a wee post about where I've got to with these.

There's not all that much to add to them, apart from their haversacks. This is a bit of challenge as the sculpting for these, if that is indeed what the odd looking bulges on their left hips are supposed to represent, is a bit vague to say the least - they may or may not, for example, have canteens moulded on to them. It's very hard to tell and will take a bit of creative painting. Other than that it's just their muskets, greatcoat rolls and innumerable buttons. 

We'll see how we go. The enormous sycamore tree at the bottom of the garden fell down last week, so I now have rather a lot of wood splitting and stacking to do! Thank goodeness I had the good sense to produce a couple of strapping sons. I knew they'd be useful eventually.

Happy New Year!

WM

Edit: below is a recap of the test Rifleman I completed, next to an original, which gives an idea at least of the haversack/canteen area issue. I acually carved this area back and flattened it a bit for my test figures, but decided to leave as is for the rest of them in the hope that how to paint it would be resolved by experimentation. It's very hard indeed to see what Mr Gilder was intending here. The bayonet belt and scabbard amost look as if they're passing over the top of the haversack, which would look extremely awkward.