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

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

The Grand Review

At very long last I have finished the 8th Cuirassiers. It took two whole days to complete the final touches, which made me feel a little guilty yesterday as the weather was glorious. It was rubbish today though, so it was time well spent.

Marbot: General Nansouty has arrived with the cuirassiers, Sire.
Napoleon: He took his time! Very well, start the parade.

Nansouty: Cuirassiers! Let's show them what proper cavalry look like!

The 8th Cuirassiers defile past the assembled throng....

Nansouty: Nice one lads!

...and take up position on the right of the line.

Napoleon: Right then, time to thrash those Prussians!

The cuirassier figures are all vintage Hinton Hunt FN 102: Cuirassier Trooper, charging, with one converted into an officer and another as a trumpeter.

Lining them all up like that reminds me that I really need some more line regiments...

WM

Cuirassiers Coming Closer.....

I can scarcely believe that another week has shot by. Nevertheless, time was somehow found for painting and I'm pleased to report that the dreaded cuirassiers are finally nearing  completion.

Once again, it's really only the metallics and a few gauntlets and what not left to do, so I'm full of confidence that they'll be finished by next week.

Mind you, these have been an absolute curse so far, so anything could happen....

Yours, fingers crossed,

WM

The Light Fantastic

Progress on my cuiraassiers is inching along, but there's not much to show yet. To make up for this I have some pictures of Rob G's recently completed 20th Light Dragoons.

Rob has made a magnificent job of these. They make my cuirassiers look simple in comparison. The figures, I believe, are all vintage Hinton Hunt BN 50 British Light Dragoon in Shako charging, with one very nicely converted by Rob into an officer.

If it's not cuirassiers next week it'll be something else rather special that's recently come my way....

All the best

WM

Edit: In other news, David C has posted the last installment of our epic refight of Rolica. This was the best fun I've had in ages, and it was an honour and a pleasure getting to know David. He really is a smashing bloke.

Clonk

That being the sound of my pious painting intentions shattering against reality. I've made virtually zero progress this weekend due to a cascading series of domestic issues, each trivial in nature but sufficient in aggregate to keep me away from the painting table.

Herewith one from the archives to serve as a teasing foretaste of the grand French cavalry review that will eventually...er...eventuate:

Yours, thoroughly browned off

WM

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