As I have said often on this blog (perhaps ad nauseum?), we are focussing our current wargaming efforts on the 'bicentennial years'. Our big project for this year is a game based on Borodino, which is scheduled for early September. We'll do the game at a figure scale of about 1:50, using 1/72nd figures on a 4.8 m x 2 m table. Naturally we’ll be using our favoured Shako ANF rules; these are the Shako rules with selected parts of Shako II plus our edits and some of our own rules thrown in.
It's gonna be a BIG game. Based on the army lists we have put together, we are going to have:
French-Allied: 1 782 infantry figures, 492 cavalry figures, 29 model guns & crew,
Russian: 1 962 infantry figures , 588 cavalry cavalry, 31 model guns & crew.
We are busily painting extra units and gathering items for the terrain. First cab off the rank for me is more French-Allied heavy cavalry. Now THAT is what I call a lovely “chore” to have; a labour of love! Here they are prepared ready for undercoating.
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Three of the six French-Allied heavy cavalry regiments awaiting undercoating and painting. The Italeri carabinier will become the 1st Westphalian cuirassiers while the Legio cuirassiers will be the 14th cuirassiers and 14th Polish cuirassiers
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Hopefully they will be nearly as inspiring as these beauties when I have finished!
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Is this everyone's favourite painting of the period? Les Cuirassiers de 1805, Avant le Combat by Jean-Louis-Ernest Meissonier (Wikipedia Commons)
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Looks like a big task ahead of you. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteWhat are the 2 figures in the centre of the first picture? They look like Italeri, but I don't recognise them.
Rosbif,
ReplyDeleteYeah, nothing like a challenge for the 'spare time'!
I think you are referring to the A Call to Arms French carabiniers, but I'll do a left to right for you (and anyone else reading this—if there is anyone else!).
Top photo, front row, L to R:
Strelets horse from Napoleon's General Staff (2), carabinier officer from same (although I have changed it from sword down to sword up), officer figure from the outstanding Zvezda cuirassier set (I plan to do him as a cuirassier general), two A Call to Arms French carabiniers, three Italeri French carabiniers. In the second row are more A Call to Arms and Italeri French carabiniere (the yellow plastic ones—one with a flag from the Hat Bavarian cav. set) and the cuirassier officer (which Strelets suggest is Ney?) from the Strelets Napoleon's General Staff (2) set. The grey plastic ones are all from the Legio French cuirassiers, which were fiddly to put together, but a bit of fun and something that creates almost endless variety.
Bottom photo, as I am sure you are aware, is the same from a different angle.
The A Call to Arms figures are smallish, but I think are great, will blend in well with the others and will paint really well. The horses are more like half-starved animals from the Peninsular or 1812 campaign than the 'big horses' of 'big men on big horses' ilk. I have put an extra level of plastic card underneath them to 'pump them up' and I think they too will paint up well. They also make French cuirassiers, which are great too (same poses in fact).
James
Addendum:
ReplyDeleteI forgot about the other cuirassier officer from the Strelets set ('hiding' at the back with arm raised), which they suggest is Gouvion Saint-Cyr. Also, there is an Italeri cuirassier 'hiding' amongst the Legio figures!