La Belle Alliance Build Part Three

Hello There! I have now started to emboss the foamcore with bricks. Part two of this build is here. My first mistake was rectified today. I fitted the window frames as far forward as I thought was required. Then I peeled off the paper on that side of the foamcore and realised that the frames were too far forward. I have since trimmed them back and and replaced the wood grain with the tip of the scalpel.

 I fitted the window frames as far forward as I thought was required. Then I peeled off the paper on that side of the foamcore and realised that the frames were too far forward. I have since trimmed them back and and replaced the wood grain with the tip of the scalpel.

For the door and window frames of the other side of the building I remembered what had happened with the other side and removed the paper around them before I fitted everything. I also cut the walls for the end extension and got some blank pieces to act as stiffeners for the buildings.  

I found an easier way to emboss the bricks on the end of the building. Usually I use a steel ruler to act as a guide but as the end was already glued to the end of the main building I found I had 'run out of hands' to hold the building, steel rulers and the brick embosser. 

Instead I used a pencil to mark a guide line so that I could see if I was deviating from a straight course of bricks.

After making the bars which go across the lower part of each window I had to cut the protruding bars which stuck out of the top and bottom of their frame. I had to wait for the plastic liquid glue had set and dried. This picture is purely descriptive and I used the scalpel again. I did hold the piece as I cut it!

La Belle Alliance Build Part Two

Hello There! I have made some more progress on the build. The start of the build is here.  After starting to cut out the spaces for the doors and windows I found that the width of the gaps for the doorframes and window frames were too small for the front of the building.

Using the grid on the graph paper I was able to widen them both a standard size. I use a sharp scalpel to cut the openings.

During this I made one cut which while it was 'clean' it was not square so the subsequent door and frame would not have sat correctly. In the picture below the left hand cut on the door is misaligned. You can see the mixed Miliputt on the right to correct this.

Here I have put the miliputt in place and fitted the door frame. I waited for this to set and then glued both in place with gel superglue.

I used an engineers square to get both in the right position.

Concerning the timber for the doors and windows, I used a suede brush and then a wire brush to impress a wood grain into the plastistrut. To make this deeper and more pronounced I then ran the tip of a pointed scalpel along as well. This also gave you less chance of running of the side off the plastistrut as the existing small grooves from the wire brushes provided a guide. 

The grooves along the outside edge of the door frame were made using a pointed scalpel again with the plastistrut placed flat on a cutting board and then run along the edge.

The windows are in two parts. The top part is leaded and the lower part is guarded with iron bars which are held in place by horizontal beams against the transom of the frame. I cut the upper and lower parts of the horizontal beams that the bars will fit into. I cut them the same length and held them together while I drilled holes through them so the vertical bars would be vertical. (I had to do this twice so they were parallel!).

With the window bars fitted I started on the doors. These were also made from plasticard and a wood grain finish was added as before. the uprights were added to two parallel beaks, as seen above.

I then peeled off the surface card on the foam.

With all the doors and windows fitted I began to emboss the bricks onto the surface. This was done with the shaped ferrule of an old paint brush . A six inch steel rule was used to maintain a straight line for the bricks.

In the next part I hope to start the priming and painting.

Hougoumont Gardens

Hello here! I recently saw some previous work, I had done for my local wargames club. I may have posted it on this blog, but it was a very long time ago, so I thought I would post them on here.

The model of Hougoumont is the Hovels, resin, offering. It did not come with a walled garden but does have the walls. It always looked a bit sparse, when used by the club for its regular Waterloo refight, so I decided to build one.

At the same time I made a garden for the gardeners house next to it.

There are plenty of examples of what the garden looked like, on the internet. I had to separate a wargamers 'best guess' from contemporary painting made just after the battle. Source material, for even such a well read and studied battle, can be misleading.

Here is a close up of the garden. The cabbages are white roses from Hobbycraft scrape booking accessories and painted green and dry brushed a lighter green. The taller vegetation is coconut bristles from a broom head.

The raised beds are thin plywood faced with Slaters Scenics blockwork and then filled in with layers of plaster. Doing one thick layer takes a very long time to set so many thinner layers are better. The triangular plants are a mixture of coconut bristles again and sweet chestnut casings, soaked in glycerine, to preserve them, painted and model railway ballast glued to the top and painted different colours. 

The other part of the flower beads are Woodland Scenics clump foliage soaked in PVA mixed with water, so that they go hard.

The gravel path is, again, model railway ballast.

Battle of Waterloo

Hello There! The New Buckenham Historical Wargamers put on a refight of Waterloo earlier this month. Using 28mm figures the wargaming board included the full spread of the battlefield with the Prussians entering the far right of the board, from the French perspective.

Here is the length of the battlefield, with La Haie Sainte and Hougoumont 

The Prussians are here on the left of the previous photograph

The figures came from a number of club members collection and here are some British, (KGL?), hussars, assembled, modified and painted by John Parke

And the full unit approaching the French right wing. Having visited this part of the battlefield, for real, this area has very steep banks to the roads and is impossible terrain for cavalry.

The representation of La Haie Sainte with the sand pit to the right

Here some of the 95th defend the garden of La Haie Sainte

The Gendarmerie of the Guard were inadvertently included in the advance of the French guard cavalry as they skirted La Haie Sainte 

Here are some of the defenders of the farm complex.

And a wider view of the enclosed court yard.

Over on the far French left flank these Allied troops were awaiting the French advance and attack. 

Again two more views of those KGL Hussars.

Some of the many French artillery pieces on the table.

These models composed of some of the French Grand Battery.

Here are some of the French attacks on the Allied defensive line to the French right. Smohain is to the  right and the Prussians are entering the tble to the far right. 

This a closer look at the main ridge being defended by the Allies and British.

Some of the British artillery and the rocket corps to the left.

The Prussians are getting closer and they are starting to threaten the French flank and start fighting for Plancenoit.

Here the commander of the French cuirassier looks on. 

The British view of La Haie Sainte and the French attack.

Here the French Guard Cavalry approach the Allied ridge. Also the French young guard advance on both sides of the farm complex.

Next various views of the British and Allied defenders.

There were various British divisional and brigade commanders and this is a closer view of one of the command bases. 

Here is some of the British Royal Horse Artillery which also defended the ridge.

Lastly some views of Hougoumont. The main buildings are supplied by Hovels and the gardens were made by me from a number of contemporary painting and pictures.

There are further photos of the game here, here, here,,, and here. These links are to the New Buckenham Historical Wargamers Facebook Page.

This was a great weekend with visits from many club members over the Friday, Saturday and Sunday.