British Napoleonic Field Artillery Book

 Hello There! I am continuing with the Maida project which has brought me to painting some 28mm Front Rank British Foot Artillery. After looking at the uniform research sources I had I found myself with a number of unanswered questions about their uniform so after a quick search found the companion volume to this here. 

I found it to be the 'one stop shop' for British Foot artillery, Royal Horse artillery and drivers with many useful illustrations of uniforms, artillery pieces and equipment.

It includes adequate information so I can also build a Royal Horse Artillery limber team complete with the traces and reins rather than just have the models of the horses just standing infront of the limber with no visible means of attachment.

This edition is a soft back and is £10 off the cover price. This is common deal with Paul and he stocks both new and second hand books in his collection which constantly changes. It is definitely worth visiting his website regularly.

This book was promptly sent to me from here.  Paul Meekins books have been a very helpful and a well priced resource for military books. I have used his services for over 16 years now. With the lack of wargaming shows I have not made purchases in person but he did regularly attend 'Salute' and the 'War & Peace' show at Beltring in Kent.

I would recommend both this book and Paul Meekins Books to you.

My 'Helper'

 Hello There! Although it is not an excuse I have had some extra 'help' to do the posts on my blog, and here he is:

Fred does look in a very grumpy mood and this is usually closely linked to the amount of food I decide to feed him. If I gave him the amount of food he wants he would probably cover the computer screen completely!

Access to the keyboard and screen can be problematical during these times!

42nd French Line Infantry Regiment

 Hello There! The latest unit to be completed for the 'Maida project is the French 42nd Line infantry.

The battalions I paint are 18 figures strong and are intended for use with Shako II rules. Here the flag is from GMB and the figures are mainly Wargames Foundry with some Front Rank and Perrys in there too.

I liked the officer in the great coat so he was a first choice to put in the central  or command base.

I wanted the unit to look a bit more spectacular and decided to add the grenadiers in bearskins.  

The voltigeurs are in more 'standard' yellow and green distinctions with a few tufts to add to the base.

I have prepped some artillery for the British and chasseur a cheval for the French to be completed next. 

Wargames, Soldiers and Strategy Issue 111

Hello There! I received my complimentary copy of issue 111 of Wargames, Soldiers and Strategy magazine today. In it I have had a feature published in it which goes into painting some of the more difficult colours that wargamers like to avoid. 

Reds and yellows can be hard to shade and highlight and here is a few pointers to help you out.

The idea for this feature came about while painting figures for my 'Maida' project. This started with the Watteville Regiment then a battalion of Swiss in French service. When looking into the sources of red dye and the shades of red that were used in uniforms, it became apparent that, as the Illustrious editor of WSS would say, 'There is a feature in that!'

I also included white, in the original feature, however it was lost in the editing but that will be rewritten and shall make an appearance in a future edition.

Steve Barber Models 28mm American Civil War Skirmish Figures

 Hello There! Among the many projects I have running similtaneously, (yes I know, just don't go there!), I bought some Union troops for the Horse and Musket period skirmish rules I have been working on

The rules are being cobbled together from a number of sources and are intended for a game I hope to play round a wargaming friends, when this coronavirus silliness is over and done.

I have some cavalry, for both sides based singularly, more suitable for skirmish gaming but I still required some infantry. While looking at the Steve Barber website I came across his ACW range and these figures fitted the bill perfectly!

The botton right hand figure is the only figure that came as a two piece casting but it was an easy and clean fit. I did use a brass wire as a pin just to be sure but with the pose of this figure it must have been impossible to do as a single casting.

The faces are full of character but are not over exagerrated, like Dixon or Redoubt. They are clean and with enough detail so it is easy to paint the faces by following the detail on the casting. You did not have to add painted feature which you have to do with some poor castings or older figures.

There is adequate creases on the jacket and trousers to shade the creases along the arms of the jacket and creases on the egs of the trousers. This detail is not a pronounced as a Perry figure but is still enough to assist you painting shading on them.

They are based on two pence pieces with a circle of magnabase below that. The grey stones are road chippings which the council uses to resurface roads. This has led to a number of bald' roads around where I live but this is a small sacrifice for decent basing material besides I do pay my Council Tax! No not really. When the road is resurfaced the layer of bitumen which is used to  stick these stones down does not 'catch all' the stones. As traffic uses the newly 'layered' road the loose stones get kicked to the side of the road near the kerb or across any entrances and exits to the road. You just pop along one day with a dustpan and brush. If the Police see you mdoing this they do detain you for a while as they obviously believe you are totally mad!

The stones are painted and dry brushed but they are very effective. The rest of the basing is simply flock and static grass with tufts.

There are more figures in the pipeline which will be appearing on here soon but I must really get on with the rules!

Maverick Models

Hello There! Among the many projects I have been working on is a Spanish force in 28mm to refight the Battle of Medina de Rioseco.

One of the problems with this project is that the flags available for the Spanish Army of the Peninsuar War is limited. While there are a few suppliers that supply some flags, (Flags of War and GMB). The scope of units covered is small. Many cavalry units are not covered and many of the 'Provisional Militias' are not covered at all.

This situation is not helped by the fact that many of these flags have not survived from the Napoleonic Wars and we are reliant on many accounts to vague eye witness accounts which are often unclear or 'best guesses' which are hypothetical.  

After some searching on the internet I came across Maverick models who had a small list of examples but I saw a comment saying that if he did not have what I was looking for I should contact him.

The owner of Maverick Models, Stuart, was very helpful and kept in e mail contact often. I supplied sources and pictures for the flags I required and after a few weeks they flags arrived.

Here is the order and a copy, bottom right, of a similar item I obtained from another supplier. The flags were printed on a high quality paper and there was the option of what size I required and a choice of paper or cloth. Also if I wanted a 'plain' or a  'effect' print which has a 'ripple' effect on the finished print.

The units are the La Reina Dragoons, Guardias du Corps and Queens Carabiniers. These are not supplied anywhere that I could find. These are a print and not a photograph of an existing picture or illustration and include a surrounding fringe which I can cut into strips for realism. 

I was very impressed with the service and communication from Stuart and the prices were very reasonable. I also sent some extra money due to the amount of Stuart put in to this project.

Here is the flag fitted to the figure.

Apologies for the white background not covering by painting table. These are Eagle Miniatures Spanish Dragoons painted as the La Reina Regiment. These are also the figures which will be appearing in issue 111 in the painting 'Red and Yellow' feature.

New source of Information for the Peninsular War

Hello there! With the second lock down starting I have turned to the painting table again after spending a long while on some wargaming admin.

I have been translating, from Spanish, a book on the Battles of Alcaniz, Maria and Belchite.I have completed the translation of another book from the 'Guerreros Y Batallas' series of books on the Battle of 'Medina de Rioseco' the layout of which is reminicent of the Osprey Campaign series of books however the coloured uniform plates are more 'clinical' as opposed to the more 'artistic' illustrations we have coome to expect from Osprey. Also there are far more details in the form of  buttons, city/town crests present on various flags and musicians on each plate.

These do provide an alternative view to the Peninsular War, other that a solely British perspective, and is well balanced. It acknowledge that there were deficiencies in the Spanish Army but explains why they existed and what they did to try and overcome them. 

The text is, (or seems), well researched, which in the case of the Rioseco book includes details of the battlefield based on visits to the battlefield by the author. There is also relevant photographs of the battlefield and comments on parts of the battlefield which are significant to key points during the battle. The text also refers to deductions and judgements from other works in English, notably Oman, but also to some more modern reference, (Micheal Oliver).

I sourced these books from the internet, particularly Amazon and Abe books, the latter which has many links to overseas bookshops which is very helpful.

I use 'Deep L' for my translation, (here.) which does not require any payment to use and I have found it much better able to translate the context of Spanish as opposed to English. As you type the words in you can see the resulting text being switched around which saves a lot of time later.

Also if there is a word that seems out of place in the english translation you can click on that word and a drop down menu lists a number of alternative words that can be fitted into the translated text if you click on it. 

It does take a while to translate but if I am waiting to something to dry or set on the painting table it is a welcome break to do this and make available an alternative piece of research material for my hobby.