28mm French Generals Junot, Lannes, Grouchy, Fournier.

28mm French generals from Gringo40s.

I was just lazily browsing the web when I came across these minis, really neat 28mm Napoleonics, so I bought a few from Ged at  http://www.gringo40s.com
hidden amongst Gringos 40mm stuff (way too expensive for my wallet, unless I want to keep eating baked beans for Breakfast, Lunch & Tea) is a range of superb 28mm specials namely French Napoleonic personalities, so here are a few after I've splashed some paint on them:

General Jean-Andoche Junot

Marshal Lannes

General Fournier-Sarloveze 1812

General Grouchy 1809

In conclusion: 

I had a lot of fun painting these minis, I'll try to acquire some of Ged's mamelukes sometime in the near future. I've floated the 'Junot' mini on ebay item code: 123796739523 just in case anyone is interested.

>>>attention deficit warning<<<

Okies I'm supposed to be finishing off my English Civil War figures namely 'The Earl of Essex's Regiment' over the last few weeks, but got a bit distracted by these new shiny figures and some World War Two minis and some old fantasy Goblins, so I've got to knuckle down and get those finished next.

All the Best and Happy Painting,
Peter.

Baron Larrey's Ambulance

28mm Baron Larrey's Ambulance and French medical corps vignette.

This project had been started and interrupted and continued for quite a few weeks now. A Perry miniatures set, this is my favourite wagon at the moment as I start to muster vehicles for a baggage  train for my French Napoleonic Army 1812-1815.

The Ambulance volantes Invented by Baron Dominique Jean Larrey (French 8 July 1766 – 25 July 1842) he was a French surgeon in Napoleon's Grande Armée and an important innovator in battlefield medicine and triage. He is often considered the first modern military surgeon. Despite being exposed to danger, he worked tirelessly to rescue soldiers, sometimes participating in combat, seeing four wounded soldiers being stripped of valuables by the Prussians, Larrey led a charge of his dragoon escort against the Prussians and rescued the soldiers. The wounded were loaded into his ambulances and escorted to the rear, where he operated on them and saved all their lives.

This is quite a substantial vignette for me, I managed to paint in detail the interior of the cabin also  the wounded inside, then realised that when the roof and doors were attached I could barely see any of the interior, ho hum :p

Anyhow here's a few pictures.

The ambulance itself was airbrushed in an attempt to achieve a flat coat of colour, plasticard basing with dirt terrain effects, there are horses hoof marks on the base but impossible to photograph though. The grass tufts, nettles and bush I'd made earlier.

The surgeons, medical orderlies and drivers all have distinctly different uniforms, I tend to use the following website for most of my Napoleonic reference:
 http://centjours.mont-saint-jean.com/detail_uniteFR.php?rubrique=U&unite=125

Anyhow, off now to paint loads more stuff.
All the Best,
Peter.

28mm English Civil War Regiments - Newcastle's Foot

28mm The Earl of Newcastle's Regiment of Foot.

And so back to the painting bench after a sojourn of 16 weeks travelling around the countryside culminating in my moving to a new house.

I'm now restocking my First English Civil War Armies starting with one of the more famous Royalist foot regiments, one of The Earl of Newcastle's Foot Regiments. Present during the campaigns of the First English Civil War in the North it was destroyed almost to a man at the battle of Marston Moor 2nd July 1644, this is one of the regiments I haven't tackled until now.

Famously waring the traditional English traditional white coats equipping the English armies since medieval times, until replaced by the Red coats introduced by the Parliamentarian New Model Army.
I'll have to add some blue bonnets later with green stuff cos the Earl ordered several thousand blue bonnets for his army in the Scottish manner, I'm guessing that means over sized soft woollen bonnets.

The miniatures are produced by 'Bicorne Miniatures' and painted by yours truly in Humbrol matt enamels, artists oils and acrylics, and finished off with matt varnish. I just managed to acquire a batch of Testors dullcote matt varnish, huzzar; flipping hard to get over here in the U.K. sometimes.

The Flags are GMB designs, folded and glued together with PVA with the folds wrapped around a handful of spare paint brushes to give the flowing in the breeze effect. Tassles, cords and flag tops acquired from Front Rank, I'm going to try Bicorne flags points next to see what they're like in comparison.

Seeing that this will be an early war army, most of the wealthier officers and volunteer folk will wear as much blackened armour as they could afford, having not realized how much of a burden tassets and a back & breastplate together with a helmet are on campaigning yet.

A few notes on the colour scheme.
Firstly my Royalist ECW regiments have crimson sashes so they don't clash with any red uniforms in the rest of the Royalist army under construction. I tend to have muted breeches grey being a adequate neutral colour which won't clash with the colour of the coats, outer stockings grey, inner stockings where shown a clean white colour. The coats are undyed white wool a bit of a creamy colour. The coat lining, cuffs and collars cotton white in colour, the shadows of which show as very light greys.

Basing plasticard 2mm thick (80 thou), textured with filler and small grit, tea applied with PVA glue then flooded in greens and dirt colours, after various drybrushing tones applied, finally having 2mm grass tufts added.

Anyhow, The Earl of Essex's Foot Regiment will be next, I'm just waiting for some 100mm pikes to arrive from North Star miniatures. I have some buildings on the construction/painting bench and I have a inclination to paint some ancients up.

All the Best,
Peter.

English Civil War in the Marches: The Siege of Hopton Castle 1644

I'm on the move again, whilst stumbling through Shropshire today I had a chance to visit Hopton Castle on the border of Powys and Shropshire. One of five publicly accessible castles and eight on private land within 16 miles (25km) range.

Hopton Castle was of interest to me because of the English Civil War siege carried out there in 1644 where its commander Samuel More and 31 Parliamentarian defenders fought off several hundred Royalist soldiers.

Hopton was featured in an episode of the British television series Time Team, created by television producer Tim Taylor and presented by actor Tony Robinson, each episode featured a team of specialists carrying out an archaeological dig over a period of three days, with Robinson explaining the process in lay terms (various Time Team episodes are currently available on YouTube covering prehistory to the industrial revolution.)

 Hopton Castle, during the siege of 1644 had a number of outbuildings around it fortified for its defence against a detachment of Royalist forces under Sir Michael Woodhouse, Prince Rupert's forces based in Shrewsbury held most of Shrophire at that time.

 The small brook that runs passed the castle grounds

 The castles stone structure dates to the c14th century standing on a Norman motte

 I think this is the outlet for the guarderobe since it has a shaft running upward to a room above. Renovators discovered a hole where the besieging Royalists eventually gained access to the tower during the siege apparently via this aperture on the outer wall of the keep, the ascent is approximately 12 feet vertically.

Small grassy mounds are all that is left of the oubuildings.The remains of Gregory the steward's lodgings and the manor house which featured in the early stages of the assault on the castle during the siege.

 Inside restoration work has been done to stop the building decaying any further.

 small ruins under the grassy mounds left of the tree

 The Royalists had brought 3 cannon comprising culverin and demi-culverin to convince the Parliamentarians to surrender.

 The carpark and access to the castle and leaflets are free, any donations will go towards Hoptons upkeep.

 view over the small bridge.

The site of infamy due to the bloody massacre of the 31 defenders, who twice refused to surrender. Only at the third request the garrison commander thought it prudent to surrender to avoid being blown up after Royalist engineers had dug a breach under the walls ready to fill with gun powder.

Apparently the Royalist intention was to reduce this small castle at Hopton and use it as a base to attack the Earl of Oxford's castle of Brampton (on private grounds). Castle Brampton was held against a Royalist siege by the Earl of Oxford's wife Brilliana in 1643 while her husband and son were away fighting for the Parliamentarian  cause.

Hopton castle is obviously going to be in the shadow of its more popular castles such as Stokesay and Ludlow castle. But it could make a small interesting skirmish wargame with 31 defenders and 1 commander Samuel More fighting for Parliament against several hundred Royalist foot armed with muskets pike and supported by 3 cannon culverin and dei culverin commanded by Sir Michael Woodhouse, fighting through the outhouses and enclosures on one side of the castle and trying to support a breaching party digging at the base of the tower in the hopes of planting some barrels of gunpowder to demolish the keep.

Anyhow, until next time.
All the Best, Peter.