Napoleonic & ECW wargaming, with a load of old Hooptedoodle on this & that


Wednesday 18 April 2012

Nationality Transplants


Yesterday I got a package from Art Miniaturen - always a pleasant experience. There were various items in the pack, including some of Herr Schmaeling's excellent French Line Artillery limber horses and drivers, which I have finally got around to ordering and which will no doubt make an appearance here in the fullness of days.

The things I was most anxious to get hold of were a couple of packets of set no JS 72/0224, the (Waterloo period) Dutch-Belgian Command set - five officers on foot plus two mounted. I've used these before, with head or hat transplants, to provide 1812-style Spanish infantry officers. Conversions are a strange area of activity for me - I do not rate my talents very highly in this area, and yet I've had surprisingly few disasters over the years. There is something very pleasing about creating a unique figure - especially if it is something which I could not have got elsewhere. It feels, admittedly, like something of a cheat - superglueing together bits of someone else's art is an easy way to get good results, and Schmaeling's figures are particularly fine. Now that I have a little more confidence I find it a little easier, but it still requires a very deep breath to bring a razor saw into contact with one of these little jewels.

The picture shows the contents of one of the Dutch-Belgian packs, ready for the surgeon. On the right you see a Minifigs S-Range SN1s (top), whch figures provide all my Spanish rank-&-file, and a Les Higgins British light infantryman (bottom), which makes an excellent hat/head donor with appropriate mods. When the bandages come off - assuming the results are presentable - the world will hear of these guys again.

A Bit of Previous - here's one I did earlier (1st Sevilla) - colonel is one of these same Art Miniaturen Belgians, with a Les Higgins head

4 comments:

  1. Chopping the heads of little lead masterpieces gives me the heebie-jeebies....

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  2. Very nice! I'm quite partial to a bit of surgery when its needed. These Dutch-Belgians seem quite handy, my pal Postie's is looking at getting into the South American Wars and I came across a site which lists units and Napoleonic figures that can be used as a substitute, nearly every unit from the period can be made up using the Dutch-Belgians.....I didn't know that!!

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    1. Hi Ray - yes - I'm not sure, but the DBs must have been on the list of foreign nations that got their uniforms run up in the same factories in England - DBs, 1812 Spaniards, Portuguese, Prussian reservists - all the same basic uniform!

      Has Postie had a look at the Isabelinos from the Carlist range on the Falcata blog?

      Check out

      http://falcataminiatures.blogspot.com.es/2012/03/catalogo-isabelinos.html

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    2. Hmm? Didn't think about Carlists, he will be pleased!!

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