Napoleon and Company grassed and done...

Hi all!

Okay, the tray is just about done.

There is a bit more left, actually... I am going to do some stacked drums in the back behind the table, along with some cased flags, maybe a musket leaning on them, and a drummer (the duty drummer) hanging out.  But otherwise, just about it!  I am pretty happy with how it turned out.  I do sort of wish I hadn't used citadel bases so I could have made ones that fit a bit better without a gap, but I did want them to match the rest of my French army.

So... that's it, for now:)

Just about done with all the Napoleonic officers!

Hey all!

Well, just about done!  Got the three officers above done up this morning, and the adjunct pictured below (being handed the order) done yesterday.

I am pretty happy with how they look so far, although there is a little touching up to do...

This has been a lot of fun; lots of different uniforms, very few he same... good times!

I do have a problem, though; I'll elaborate in another post.

More WIP, including the big guy himself

Work started this week, so I haven't had any time or energy, but here is the latest... been working on Napoleon and his servant, and got an adjunct done to go with the guys at the table... still have another adjunct, and then three last figures... and of course finishing Napoleon himself and his servant... but I am getting there!

More Napoleonic WIP

A bit more WIP... a pair of Imperial Guard officers jotting down orders (they have a bit more work to go) and an Imperial Orderly... no idea if the uniform is totally spot on, but I think it is close enough!:)

One Marshal done, one WIP, and an issue

Well, I finished up the first large stand for Napoleon's set... a Marshal, clearly irritated, with a few aides.  I stuck him next to my finished guard just for the appearance.

And then I started in on the next marshal, along with an ADC, pictured to the right.

I have, however, run into a problem.

When I look at my old bases, they are done in a certain style... static grass and mud.  Here is a shot.

However, I am not really a fan of that anymore, so I was going with a different basing... but I can't.  If I am going to do Napoleon for this army, I have to base them the same.

So I am stuck a bit... I sort of want to go back to the whole old army and add a bunch more flock to their bases, but that is a lot of work.  So do I base the new thing in a style I don't particularly like, so it matches?

It is irritating.

French General and ADCs WIP

Here is the first set of figures, WIP... still a bit more to go, but you can at least get the idea.  And yes, I am aware there are probably mistakes, but at this point, given how damn hard it is to find info on this stuff, I am not sure I care!:D

Anyway... more to come!

Napoleon stand planned out... take a look!

Hey all!

Well, I've got the basic layout, I think, of my scene for Napoleon himself!

You can see it above... and I included close ups below!

This is a pair of generals reviewing an order of some sort, as an ADC looks at some distant soldiers and tries to ID them.

Officers write out orders, as orderlies prepare to take them.

One particularly cranky looking general is approached by an adjunct, while his hangers-on watch.

A marshal has arrived and is waiting for Napoleon.

Napoleon himself sits, checking a map, while he is brought a beverage.

There are two possible changes/additions... first, if I can find another horse that is standing still, I'll add it to the stand, maybe for an adjunct.

Second, I am not sure where to put my tray of wine and cheese!  Considering balancing it on a bench and sticking it on a stand.

So... there you go!

Just because I like the photo...

_

 Some of my French light infantry open fire on the chateau from an old rock wall.

Some shelves of Napoleonic French

 Because it is always fun to look at shelves of miniatures with mirrors behind them!:)

1:1 10mm Napoleonic French Battalion

I have always been a big fan of this site;

The Voltigeurs of the Guard

It is a fantastic website that shows the organization of a French Napoleonic infantry unit at the ratio of 1:1. This is an incredibly rare thing to see; most wargamers collect on a 1:10, 1:20, or some other scale.

So, inspired by that, and my recent additions to my collection, I thought I would do the same! This infantry battalion is of the 1808-1815 variety, and consists of 6 companies; 1 voltigeur, 1 grenadier, and 4 fusilier, with the entire lead by a Chef d'battalion. While at full strength such companies would consist of 140 men, they would usually have fewer; I went with a hundred men per, which is maybe a bit more authentically accurate. To see a regiment as it would actually appear is a rare treat indeed! I might take a few more shots of the regiment in a few of the proper formations as well.

25mm Napoleonic French Army Part 2

Following up on PART ONE, here are a few more shots of the 25mm Napoleonic French on display, before they go back in their cabinets and I start working on the setup for Fall In 2008!

Above you can see the French cavalry; a unit of Chassuers, and unit of Cuirassiers, and a unit of Lancers.

To the left is all of my artillery grouped up; foot artillery on the left, Guard artillery on the right. Fire!

And below? My French command; the Marshal, his adjuncts, his servant, and his foot officers, all at the head of the Imperial Guard. I do enjoy these guys!

Figures all from Old Glory.

25mm Napoleonic French Army

Well, the Warhammer army is gone... so I had some room on the table! I am going to be clearing and setting up a few possible 15mm ACW tables to prepare for Fall In and the game we are doing there, but before I did, I thought it was a good chance to get a few photos of the entire 25mm Napoleonic French collection up!

The collection is a good size; eight units of 24 infantry, three units of 12 cavalry, two units of 2 artillery pieces and limbers, three stands of officers, and two centerpieces. Most of the infantry is Perry, although the Guard is Old Glory. The cavalry is also Old Glory, as is the artillery, the limbers, and some of the officers. While I don't love the Old Glory figures, they fill the army out nicely and, more importantly, cheaply.

I do love this army; the movement trays are all custom made from balsa, and the men fit into their specific spots. All stands are labeled on the underside, so they are easy to get into the right spot, but when all else fails, just line the grass up!

I call the shot to the left "The Advance of the Eagles;" if you count there are like five or six in this one shot!:) Good stuff from Rick "The Flag Dude" O'Brien.

My Russian collection will basically match in many ways, although with fewer infantry units (of more men.) However, the same basic structure will run throughout, with mounted officers commanding foot officers, and centerpieces in both armies.

Anyway... hope everyone enjoys the photos! Let me ask... is there anything people want closer photos of?

25mm Nap. French - Lancers

We finally get to the last 25mm Napoleonic French regiment; my Lancers!

First off, let me apologize for the quality of the photos; for some reason today they are not coming out very good!

This unit of 12 lancers is broken down the same as my other two French cavalry regiments, with a troopers squad and a command squad. The colors on these guys are pretty unique, and they really stand out in the French army. I tried to get some consistency to the cavalry for the sake of looking good; the cuirassiers are on black horses, the chasseurs a cheval are on dark brown horses, and these guys are largely on bays.

The entire regiment is from Old Glory.

And coming next, now that my 25mm Napoleonic French army is done, by popular demand... my 15mm ACW Confederate force!

25mm Nap. French - 43e Ligne

And so we come to the last unit of infantry, and the second to last unit overall, of my 25mm Napoleonic French Collection!

This unit of line is similar to the others in my army. The men are dressed in a wide array of coats and covers and such, to try to make the unit look a little battle-worn. The standard bearer, sappeur, and two guards of the Eagle are all mounted on a single four man stand. The commander (the only regular infantry officer not in a shako) has a flintlock pistol at his side and is pointing the way, while an NCO points out some enemy cavalry to the flank that might be of concern...

As with all my regular French line regiments, these figures are all Perry Miniatures, with the exception of the sappeur, who is Front Rank.

25mm Nap. French - 25e Legere

While I realize I put up an update rather recently, I thought I would continue today with another new regiment from my 25mm French Napoleonic army; my second unit of light infantry!

Like my other unit of light infantry, this unit can be put into one of two movement trays; in this case again I chose to showcase them in their skirmish trays, rather than their unit tray.

A note about all of my light infantry in my Napoleonic collections. The skirmish trays are actually exactly the width of a regular unit of infantry. This is true of my French, my Russians, and will be the same for my Austrians. The idea is that a single tray of light infantry can successfully screen a single tray of regular infantry. I like this regularity!

The first two trays worth of lights are the officers and a tray of men defending a stone wall. I have a similar tray in my other unit of light infantry, and I like being able to link the two up to form a single wall. This particular wall is crumbling in a spot, and the men are starting to rush through the gap to advance!

The second set of light infantry are similar. One is a blank tray; originally I was going to have a dead Frenchman on the tray, but I found after I had painted him that I liked him better with the surgeon; a good surgeon and hospital needs a generous smattering of dead and dying men! The second tray actually has a sacrificed left-over piece of a second surgeons wagon... no one needs TWO surgeons in an army this size, and I wanted to use the piece. It is painted the same color as my French artillery and other wagons, and I enjoy having this tray of lights near the artillery; it gives the feeling of men advancing over a devastated part of the field.

To the right is a close-up of a few figures. I very much enjoy the Perry figures and wish I had Perry commands for these guys, but the Old Glory guys work fine.

The majority of the light infantry is from Perry Miniatures, with the officer, standard, and musician from Old Glory and the sappeur, like always, from Front Rank... nice beefy sappeurs!

25mm Nap. French - Foot Artillery

Welcome to the latest edition of my 25mm Napoleonic French army features!

This time I am showing the foot artillery. This is my second artillery unit (the other is my guard artillery.) The foot artillery has slightly smaller pieces than the guard. Honestly all of the Old Glory pieces are tiny; I hate that. Having stood next to my fair share of artillery pieces, they are BIG. Anyway, I have five crew per piece and two pieces. Each piece has its own limber, and the two pieces share a caisson. I particularly like the guy kneeling getting the fuse out of the case; a neat position and two man stand.

As previously mentioned, the entire unit is made up of 25mm Old Glory.

25mm Nap French - 32e Ligne

It has been awhile since I put up a unit for inspection, so I thought I would remedy that with another unit of 25mm Napoleonic French!

This time it is the third of my regular units of line infantry. This was the latest unit of ligne that I had painted for the French. The pom poms are a bit more correct than the rest of the force. Also, I wanted them to be a little different, so if you notice they are all in their proper uniforms; no coats! I wanted to represent a unit that had only recently reached the field and were still thinking of things like "looking nice." Ahh, that won't last long.

I particularly like their officer. He is a snappy looking fellow, although with a wicked stare and an equally wicked sabre. The NCO with the flag is also pretty cool; the red is a VERY deep color and I am rather happy with it.

The whole unit with the exception (as always) of the sappeur is Perry.