French 4th Provisional Dragoon regiment napoleonic 64

 This unit is my interpretation of the 4th provisional Dragoon regiment, made up of the 3rd and 4th squadrons of the 14th Dragoon regiment that were in depots in France and hastily combined into a unit and sent to the front in 1809 as Napoleon was forced to fight a war on two fronts and of necessity had to raise forces in whatever way he could.  These chaps have a campaign look about them , inspired by an Angus McBride Osprey illustration of a  Dragoon trumpeter in overalls.

There is also a Mike Chappell illustration in a Blandford book I've got at home of a Dragoon officer in overalls instead of boots, reading about how badly supplied even the French cuirassiers sometimes were , and let's face it they'd have been top of the food chain outside the Guard, I'm pretty sure most units resembled our rag tag and bob tail unit here! I also liked the greatcoats wrapped around the body campaign look which I was able to achieve courtesy of Perry plastic chasseurs a cheval set, the overall legs from a variety of Perry sets, the officer is a promoted elite torso with tails from the plastic French line infantry officer torso, interestingly this campaign was where Napoleon started to run short of his revolutionary officers, hard campaigning had reduced their numbers and officers were sourced from NCOs, it had always happened since the revolution but was accelerated during this campaign as he sought to build up provisional units from depot units and  new recruits. The trumpeter is from the cuirassiers kit where you get lots of spare trumpeters and the horses are a mixture of Perry and Warlord light cavalry horses and some British light dragoon horses to make up the numbers, the Perry  ones all needed head swaps ( as they had light cavalry  bridles) and I've tried to replicate the heavy cavalry saddle, squaring up the portmanteau and freehand painting the saddle cloth, I think I've got away with it, just! Helmets, busbys, swords and carbines came from the dragoon set I  had just about enough sword sheaths!

 Optimistically there's a few Austrian cavalry helmets on the bases of the Warlord horses, they don't come with a base, so I've added a Perry one, it also helps raise the horse up as they are noticeably slighter than the Perry ones, the officer is on a Perry British light dragoon officers horse , painted up I don't think it's beyond the realms of the possible? Alright James, just call me Ridley!  The unit served in the Aspern campaign, Napoleon's first defeat but I think we can give them  one or two trophies !

So much like the actual 4th provisional Dragoon regiment I've scrapped the barrel and put together something of a dogs dinner of a unit but I'm happy with them, it also means that as they started off as members of the 14th regiment I get to have a unit with pink facings.  I know I'm pushing it a bit with the eagle but all my other French heavy cavalry units have one so it feels churlish not to include it, plus I can of course invoke the rule of cool ! It will like the basing have to wait until I get back home.

I know that the elite riders are clearly in Bardin tunics and like all my other dragoons incorrect for 1809 but that's something I  will just have to live with! The greatcoat clad chaps are in a mixture of kinski and Bardin tunics, but difficult to tell with the greatcoat covering most of the tunic up.

I also need a provisional dragoon unit to go with my( as yet unprimed!) 1809 Westphalians as I thought an 1809 campaign with Brunswickers would be fun and not too big, my nephew has Brunswickers in the later British style uniform but I fancy doing three battalions in the 1809 uniform or the nearest plastic equivalent and I'm sure I can use them as some sort of Prussian landwehr unit for 1813, I know heresy! 

These chaps are on temporary bases as I don't paint cavalry based and I wouldn't have room to take them home if I did but the size and spacing is right.

Last unit of French for now, Austrian and Hungarians to take me through to Easter.

All the best 

Iain

Perry French line infantry again Napoleonic 63

 Here we go again! After last week's Rhinebund unit, it's back to normal,you know the drill, Napoleonic French line infantry, entirely Perry plastic, advancing not march attack so that at least is different. 

Pleasant diversion, there's a unit at home that just needs the white to finish them off, then there's two more Victrix units, another Guard unit then that will be all the French infantry done, the end is in sight!  There's a fair bit of Austro-Hungarian infantry to do, some needs to be assembled and apart from the  cavalry unit I'm working on now there is I think four more French cavalry units, a hussar unit associated with Lasalle, a unit of chasseurs a cheval , a unit of lancers I got from secret santa a couple of years ago( I know, wrong for 1809 but nice to be given Napoleonic figures! ) and Polish lancers of the Guard, once more they didn't get lances until after the 1809 campaign but I'm not going to build a unit of Polish Guard cavalry without lances am I? Other than that I've got a wagon park to paint up and then it's parade time, I'm hoping for the summer but probably it'll be Christmas!

 

Just to prove to Keith I am in Jamaica here's a couple of beaches, not up to Keith's standard but there you go!
 In the meantime Perry have announced since my last post that they are releasing early peninsular war Spanish infantry in plastic, perfect for the siege of Girona, so I have literally no choice in the matter, I'll have to get some Spanish!

  My wife's coming out now, so it'll be a couple of weeks till my next post.

All the best 

Iain 

Confederation of the Rhine regiment no 6 Reuss Napoleonic 62

 Slight change of pace, still Napoleonic, still on the French side but just for a change , here is Rhinebund regiment no 6 Reuss, a principality in Germany that contributed to this regiment but did not fill it all. It did take part in the danube campaign of 1809 to an extent, and I can brigade them with one of my Nassau units , although they weren't at Wagram or Aspern. They could well be pressed into standing in for Saxons , I do quite fancy a Saxon force, I just don't know if I can make a bicorne wearing, essentially 18th century force, even if it's correct for Wagram as they will have limited use unless I went for revolutionary armies too and while my helmet wearing  Austrian infantry and grenadiers are probably alright, I would have to redo all my French infantry in bicornes, now I like painting French line infantry but there are limits! So maybe Saxon 1810 and onwards? But that's for another time.

A while ago I spent some time working in Girona in Catalonia, which endured three sieges during the war of Independence/ peninsular war the sixth regiment arrived just after the third siege, so I'll need  Westphalians and Italians for that and a characterful Spanish force built around regiment Ultonia (Ulster) and various less uniformed forces, I've already earmarked some Wargames Atlantic Prussian reserve to give me a start and of course I have a medieval town wall and some French artillery! 

 These chaps are mostly Perry plastic Austrian infantry with plastic  voltigeur and hussar heads plus three metal Perry Reuss command, the Waldeck command that came with these chaps have been press ganged into a Westphalian unit that will be along      ( with it's two companions) in due course. I've mainly used Pinterest as my reference, together with the Perry site, the drummer is based on a knotel illustration as is the officer. The metals were, it has to be said nicer to paint than the plastics, they're slightly more exaggerated but you can't argue with either the cost or the easy conversion possibilities of plastic, or indeed the weight taking them back and forth across the Atlantic! 

It's a rather light operatic uniform I think? Nothing wrong with that, nice and colourful in full dress and a nice change from French blue!

The flagbearer is a Victrix figure with the slightly longer jacket than the Perry with Confederate flag arms, I haven't got a flag for this unit yet, there doesn't seem to be an historical one but I've seen a coat of arms so I think I'll just adapt that, I  was inspired by the drum trim on the knotel illustration to treat the flag pole in the Reuss colours which are of course the colours of present day Germany (almost said West Germany, old habits die hard!) Primed in Halfords grey, agrax earthshade wash (except where I wanted black) the black is liquatex artists acrylic ink, good quality and much cheaper than miniatures paint, bit of a sheen sometimes but that's okay for shako,cartridge case and gaiters. I'm pretty happy with my economy Rhinebund regiment and good practice for white uniform jackets, blue breeches and freehand knotwork for my Hungarian and also the Grenzers still to come, probably have the final ( for now) French line unit next, bit worried I'm going to run out of figures out here! 

All the best 

Iain