En Avant les Cuirassiers!

In my attempts to get my Grand Alliance armies on the table, my Napoleonic collection has rather taken a back seat recently. Although my Russian army contains a respectable 12 battalions (with 4 more part painted) and 4 regiments of cavalry, my French have lagged behind, with only 7 battalions of infantry completed so far. I thought it was about time I added some cavalry to the Napoleonic ranks and what better than a brigade of cuirassiers. I suppose chasseurs a cheval would have been a more logical starting point, as the real work horses of the mounted arm, but the Perry cuirassier figures are some of the nicest in the range in my view and I just couldn't help myself. Rather than paint a single regiment, I thought I would tackle an entire brigade (2 regiments of 16 figures each) - hard work at the time, but a solid addition to the collection at the end of it all. I have painted both with yellow distinctions, which allows me to mix them up if needed - 2 regiments of 16, or 20 and 12, or a single regiment of up to 30 (leaving out the extra command base).

Next up is another 30 man French  battalion for my Grand Alliance collection. Strictly speaking they are German mercenaries of the La Marck regiment - light blue with yellow cuffs and typically pretty flags. They should hopefully be done in the next week or so. This is the perennial problem of having several periods on the go at once - variety of painting, but it takes an age to get them to the table!

The buildings are also coming along well, although I am delaying posting pictures of them until I have done a reasonable number. At the moment I am working on a couple of rather nice chateaux. More anon.....

Dulce et decorum est

With so many figures to paint (and so little time!!), it is all too easy to overlook those  extras that make a game look that little bit special.  For me, the visual appeal of any wargame is, along with the enjoyabilty of the game itself, the most important thing. Terrain obviously plays a vital role here and I try to put a lot of effort into that area. Next up, is obviously the quality of the units on the table - I prefer fewer big units personally - a line of 36 British infantry clad in scarlet takes some beating. Another good way of tarting up a battlefield is by adding the occasional piece of redundant eye candy. I say redundant as they usually have no function in the game, other than to look pretty, but what is life without a little whimsy every now and then?

The man with the spade is a Dixon miniature from their Grand Alliance pioneer group. The attendant cleric is a Foundry figure. The subject is, it is true a little ghoulish, but a common enough sight over the centuries.

In truth, this post is a bit of a filler - it has been a while since my last one and I have been busy with some bigger jobs. I am just putting the finishing touches to a brigade of Napoleonic French cuirassiers and should be able to post them shortly. I am also working hard on a range of scratch built 20mm buildings for WWII, which are looking quite nice; again more to follow. Until then happy gaming.