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
