Garrison Troops

It rained buckets in Wellington yesterday, so our traditional Boxing Day hike up a lump in the landscape was postponed. What I did instead, of course, was finish my Garrison infantry. Pictured below is the result.

The figures, which are nearly all from the 1972 Garrison French Napoleonic range, are:

FN 1: Old Guard Grenadier Officer, converted into a Line Officer, x 1;
FN 2: Old Guard Grenadier advancing, x 6;
FN 4: Line Officer, converted into an eagle-bearer, x 1;
FN 7: Line Fusilier advancing, x 9; and, for the Voltigeurs,
FN 9: Line Grenadier advancing, x 6.

The only non-Garrison figure is the drummer, who was converted from a Lamming FI/6: Imperial Guard Grenadier drummer.

The last shot shows the new battalion besides my Der Kriegspielers Swiss, with Soult as the proud Brigadier. I wasn't really sure how they were going to fit in with the rest of my French army when I started them, but I think I've just about got away with it.

Seeing them together like this suggests that another pre-Bardin line battalion is needed in order to give Soult his division.

There's a bit more artillery required first, however, and another battle to fight on New Year's Day.

Happy New Year everyone.

WM

A Wargaming Classic

One of the reasons I've wanted to paint Garrisons for so long is that masses of them appeared in the war games books I read when I was a lad. A lot of the photos in these books, of course, were of Peter Gilder's amazing collections. I didn't know they were Garrisons back then, but I thought they were magnificent all the same.

The all-time classic photo of Peter's troops, as far as I was concerned, was the one that appeared on the dust jacket of Bruce Quarrie's Napoleon's Campaigns in Miniature, published in 1977. The whole cover can be seen here. I spent hours staring at this picture and wondering where the figures came from.

A lot of the soldiers shown marching to their doom at Waterloo in this photo, I now realise, are Garrisons. The detail from the dust jacket I've posted below ought to show what I mean. Those are definitely Garrisons in the back two rows of the column in the foreground, and I think they make up most of the third and fourth rows in the other column as well.

Also depicted, of course, are zillions of Hinton Hunts and Hinchliffes. I'm almost sure that the chaps sporting the red and yellow plumes and marching beside them, however, are Lamming French line voltiguers, although what they're doing in company with the Imperial Guard is anybody's guess. The British on the ridge, by the way, look like S-Range Minifigs and Lammings to me, but if anyone knows better please don't hesitate to say so in the comments.

My own Garrison guardsmen, painted to represent line infantry grenadiers, are shown below. The figures are all Garrison FN 2: Old Guard Grenadier Advancing.

The last two fusilier and voltigeur companies are now on the painting table, but it remains to be seen whether or not I can get them finished before Christmas. Just in case I don't, here's the first half battalion to be going on with:

That's it for now,

WM

Edit: I've added in an extra photo to show how the FN 7 Fusilier and the FN 2 Grenadier compare. I hope it illustrates what I was trying to get at in my comment to 'Lee. The fusilier has a slightly quizzical look somehow - I think it's something to do with the deft little side step he's making, and the slight tilt of his head - like he's trying to decide whether to charge or bolt!