Polish Off

I have finished the 7th Lancers at last. They've only taken me nine months. The varnish has yet to completely dry on the last three, which makes them particularly shiny, but I suppose that's only to be expected from French Polish.

The figures are:

Der Kriegspielers 39: French Line chevau-légers lanciers (Regiments 7-9) x 8;
Der Kriegspielers 49: French Guard Lancers (Polish and Dutch) x 1, converted to a trumpeter;
Der Kriegspielers 49: French Guard Lancers (Polish and Dutch) x 1, coverted to a DK 39;
Hinton Hunt  FN 43: Guard Lancer, charging, x 1, converted to a standard bearer; and
Hinton Hunt FN 41: Guard Lancer Trumpeter, x 1, converted to an officer!

Many thanks indeed to all those who encouraged me to keep going when I was flagging a bit. Special thanks are also due, of course, to Steve for supplying the missing castings; and Richard, my neighbour, who found me the perfect piece of brass.

Have a splendid weekend everyone.

WM

Poles Apart

It's been a very busy weekend on the domestic front, but I found just enough time to complete my 7th Lancers command group.

The figures this time are proper Hinton Hunt one-piece-castings, FN 43 Guard Lancer, charging, courtesy of Steve C.

Both had the benefit of partial conversion by Steve. The flag-bearer just needed his flag added. The officer, on the other hand, was a bit more complex. In his case I've added a new forearm and sword; swapped his epaulette and aiguillette to the opposite shoulders, and replaced his horse's front left leg!

I decided to repaint the hoist on the flag dark red as I noticed that this is the colour on the surviving second squadron guidon. It may simply have faded from blue, of course.

The final two shots show them next to the trumpeter. Only three more troopers to go and I'll have a regiment.

Salut maintenant

WM

Opposite Pole

The Magnificent 7th

When Steve C heard about my lancer shortage he came to the rescue with the few Hinton Hunt and DK castings needed to complete the 7th (1st Vistula) Regiment of chevau-légers lanciers.

Bold as brass

The first to be painted is my trumpeter conversion of one of Steve's figures, in this case a DK 49: Guard Lancers (Polish and Dutch).





To make the trumpet arm the simplest thing to do was to remove the original lance arm altogether and replace it with a recast lancer arm supplied by John Cunningham, modified to hold one of my soldered trumpets.

My trumpeter's reversed-facings yellow coat was a bit of a challenge as I've not been very successful with yellow uniforms in the past. I tried a thin wash of brown over the yellow base coat to create a bit of contrast. It sort of worked!

As every one of my remaining lancers has required either conversion, repair or a bit of both, they've been very slow to get started. All things being equal they should start to appear over the next few posts.

WM

Pole Position 2

I am pleased to present the first squadron of the 7th Chevau-Légers Lanciers.

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

Pole Position

The weather has been glorious in Wellington this week, so I've spent much of the last three days out in the front garden, stripping, repairing and repainting the front gate. However, I've also found a little time to do some painting indoors. As French light cavalry are on my official to-do list, I thought I'd make a start on some lancers.

Pink Poles!

Now some figures require a little more faith than others, and so it was when I came across these chappies. Decked out in a delightful pink, they certainly didn't look very promising. However, vintage Polish lancers are hard to come by, so I took the plunge.

The figures are Der Kriegspielers DK 39: French Line chevau-légers lanciers (Regiments 7-9). They are identical in almost every respect to the Hinton Hunt figure FN 43: French Guard Lancer, Charging, apart from one small detail: the lance pennants have been turned upside down!

Pictured is my first test figure, a trooper of the crack 7th Regiment, formerly the 1st Vistulan Lancers, fresh from the battlefields of Spain where they had virtually destroyed Colborne's Brigade at the Battle of Albuera in 1811.

He was not the simplest of figures, but I'm really pleased with the way he's turned out.


I should really be working on the rest of my Prussian cavalry, of course. However, a French squadron seemed like more fun, which is what the project is really all about!

 Happy New Year

WM

Prussian Lancers 2

I am very pleased to present, at long last, the second squadron of the 3rd (Brandenburg) Uhlans.

The figures are Hinton Hunt PN 89: Prussian Guard Lancers, and very aggressive looking chappies they are too. I wouldn't like to have been a Frenchman standing in the way of this lot!

It remains to be seen whether or not they can make it back to blighty in time for vintage waterloo....

WM

UPDATE: They are finally on their way to the Front!

Prussian Lancers 1

DK 139: Prussian Landwehr Lancers

The varnish was still too wet to paint the bases!

It's cavalry time at last here at the Hinton Spieler, in the form of six DK 139: Prussian Landwehr Lancers. DK 139s are almost identical to their Hinton Hunt equivalents, PN 39: Landwehr Lancers, Charging. An example of the latter can be seen on the indispensable Hinton Hunter blog here.

These particular lancers, however, are not intended to be landwehr cavalry but are painted to represent a regular regiment, the 3rd (Brandenburg) Uhlans. This was not difficult to do as until early 1815 most of the Prussian regular and landwehr lancer regiments, with the exception of the Guard Lancers, were dressed identically. The only way to tell them apart was from the colour of their lance pennants, buttons and shoulder straps. At Waterloo the 3rd Uhlans formed part of the 1st Cavalry Brigade of von Zeiten's I Corps.

In 1815 all the regular lancer regiments were ordered to adopt white and black lance pennants, but at Ian's request this particular squadron has retained their attractive yellow and blue pattern. Much of the Prussian Army was in transition in the period leading up to the 100 Days and the supply situation was chaotic, so it was not only lance pennants that were a problem. Indeed, squadrons of the same regiment took the field wearing radically different kit, as will be demonstrated in the next post!

Salut maintenant

WM