Confederation of the Rhine troops

some more Confederation of the Rhine troops painted for Perry miniatures website. Anhalt flank company and Lippe fusiliers in campaign dress.

Imperial fists tactical troops

The first combat squad of my new Imperial Fist force. I'll call it force rather than army because painting yellow is hard going and time consuming. So i'm not to sure if i'll ever get enough finished to call it an army....

28mm Austrian Artillery command base

Just finished this little vignette of Josef Freiherr Von Smola,giving the slacking Handlangers a good tongue lashing!
The rest of the battery to follow soon!

Gripping Beast Early Saxon Cavalry

Just been painting these Early Saxons up for Gripping Beast lovely scuplts from Soapy!


more to follow soon

Perry miniatures Saxe-Weimar command figures

If you haven't checked out Perry miniatures new Confederation of the Rhine troops then why not?
If your into your Napoleonics and have got way to many French already then here is your chance to add some very colourful and unusual  allies.

Above are the Saxe weimar and Saxe-Hildburghausen command that i painted a few weeks back.
These made up the 3rd battalion of the 4th regiment of the Confederation of the Rhine (Saxon Duchies). They were designated light infantry with the 3rd rank carrying rifles.

Perry miniatures Russian Mounted Jaegers

Now then these babies are probably my favourite Napoleonic cavalry figures i've painted and i have added a regiment to my Christmas list. Trouble is I'll probably have to add the hussars and cuirassiers to, not to mention at least 8 battalions of russian infantry to make it all worth while!

it's a hard life

Perry miniatures Retreat from moscow troops

Well chaps i've neglected my blog some what over the last month.
The good news is I have been very very busy painting, all I need to do now is update the blog with lots of new cool pics (or cold pics judging by the above).
Now these were great fun to paint and the sculpts are just fantastic, they cry out wind swept freezing cold dawn patrol.

more to come soon!

Imperial Fist Space Marine

I've never really been into garish colour schemes on miniatures. When I paint Sci Fi and fantasy I still like to make the figures look natural. So I thought I'd challenge myself by choosing a bright colour scheme and do my best to make it look believable. I also didn't want to go OTT with the battle damage, which seems to be all the rage these days. So here you go, what do you think?
 

Wargames table has grown

I've managed to increase the size of my wargames table to 12'x6', which has given me the chance to start making a few more interesting bits now I have the room.
so here is the first WIP pics

 can you see what it is yet?

As you can see it's a messy job, Dyson on hand!

Anhalt battalion, 5th Rheinbund regiment close ups

As requested a few close up of the Anhalt figures I painted for Perry Miniatures.
Have a great weekend!!

Prussian Dragoons WIP1

a WIP shot of my command figures for the 2nd Dragoons. part of the 1st cavalry brigade, I corp during the 100 days. The 2nd dragoons were heavily involved at Ligny, holding off the French on the final stages. They also clashed with the Dragoons of the Imperial Guard near the Bois de Fleurus.
figures are perry miniatures.

Saxe-coburg voltigeurs, 4th regiment of the Rhine

I've been asked more than a few times to show a few close ups of the new Perry miniatures confederation of the Rhine troops. So i'll start with the most colourful! 

The first two battalions for the 4th Rhinbund regiment included a voltigeur company comprising of men supplied by the duchies of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld.
This has to be one of the most colourful uniforms EVER!! as can be seen above. 
These are obviously part of my commission for Perry miniatures new confederation of the Rhine range.I will be painting a battalion for pleasure as soon as time allows!

For full detailed plates you can't get better than peter bundes plates

Saxe-Weimar Chasseurs, 3rd battalion 4th regiment Confederation of the Rhine

The third battalion 4th regiment Confederation of the Rhine was designated as light infantry and comprised of troops from the states of Saxe-Weimar and Saxe-Hildburghausen. The third rank were armed with rifles. These Perry miniatures are a real joy to paint, the dark green Prussian cut uniform contrasts nicely with the buff belts. If you are in a rush to get them finished you could always go for the later black belts! 

Anhalt battalion, 5th regiment confederation of the Rhine

Here is a quick shot of some of the Anhalt figures I painted for Perry miniatures new range.
Fantastic they are to!
I have these and Lippe on my desk to complete the 5th regiment. After that it is on to the 4th!

Before that I have Mongols,Saxons and Austrians to finish so I best crack on!!! 

Confederation of the Rhine

Lippe 1809

Well perry miniatures have just released what has to be the most colourful range of Napoleonic soldiers ever!

The Confederation of the Rhine in all its glory!

I have ordered the 5th to start. The 5th regimant comprises the Lippe and Anhalt battalions. As soon as I have these babies painted up I will move onto the 4th and I can't wait.

There is quite a lot of info out the on the Rhinebund but it can be quite confusing. Alan Perry has very kindly broken down the regimental organisation on the website, which will be helpful to get you going.
As i paint the regiments I will try and find the time to write a little potted history. 

Perrys Retreat from Moscow characters

 I painted these chaps up for a bit of fun, there now on eBay

 All proceeds go towards my growing Peninsular collection ;o)

Napoleonic Austrian artillery commander

   Josef, Freiherr Von Smola, Austria's greatest artillery commander during the Napoleonic wars. Smola was in the forefront of aggressive use of cavalry batteries. Widely recognised for his ability to inspire men to extraordinary eforts.
   in 1787 he graduated from bombardier school as the star pupil. He was then awarded the rank of Oberleutnant and became an instructor. After having fought in the Turkish war he went to the Netherlands as a battery commander in the First Coalition war. 1793, when serving in the advance guard. Smola's battery plus two 3pdrs blocked Miranda's French division for several hours. Eventually forced to fall back, Smola added ten 12pdrs, two 3pdrs and two howitzers to his command, this fire power managed to put the French to flight. His horse battery then joined the counter attack. His decisive actions earned him the Maria Theresia Order.
   In 1809 Smola was artillery director in III korps, distinguishing himself around Regensberg, for which he was promoted to Oberst. As interim HQ Artillery Director, he directed the guns which broke the French assaults at Aspern, before establishing a 192 gun battery which pounded the enemy positions in the closing phase of the battle. Smola also led the artillery at Wagram. 
   In 1813 he was promoted to GeneralMajor and appointed to artillery director in Italy.
   In 1815 he fought in Franc and was promoted to Feldmarschalleutnant and ennobled to Freiharr Von Smola.  


Not a bad career for a gunner. The Austrian command always seems to get a bad rep in our wargames. This chap goes to show that there was some good ones out there in the mud. So I hope I have done him justice.

It's to hot to paint!!

Well we haven't had a 'proper' summer here in the UK for what seems like YEARS.
This is obviously a good thing, the only downside is its WAY TO HOT TO PAINT!
The paint dries to quick, the sunshine beckons you outside and my youngest has fallen asleep at my desk.
So my solution is, get up early and paint before it gets to hot. Then have a siesta on the patio for a good few hours and enjoy the weather while it lasts. Then as the sun begins to fall its back to the desk!

Napoleonic Austrian caisson Ebay plug

just a quick bit of self promotion this afternoon.

This fine little vignette has found his way on to ebay, as i am now concentrating on the Peninsular for my Nap gaming
ebay link

happy bidding, knowing all the proceeds will be recycled back in to the lead mountain for my British light division. 

Llywelyn the Last

 

 Llywelyn Ein Llyw Olaf ("Llywelyn, Our Last Leader")
(c. 1223 – 11 December 1282) was the last prince of an independent Wales before its conquest by Edward I

I painted this noble chap for Dan Mersey to use whilst playtesting the medieval rules he is working on. These look like they will be great fun and i am eagerly awaiting there release.