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


Saturday 9 February 2019

Bavarians - The First of the Cavalry


I'm very pleased to welcome the first cavalry unit for the 3rd Division of the VII (Bavarian) Corps of the Grande Armee of 1809. These are freshly painted by my friend Goya, for which kindness I am deeply grateful; he and I agree that painting Hinton Hunt figures is challenging because some of the detail on the old castings is implied rather than in your face - thus the exact location of the piping around the lapels on these chaps (for example) is partly a matter of guesswork.

We are also agreed, however, that the figures really do look very good if they are well painted. I bow to his efforts on this lot! Thank you again, Count G.

This is the 4th Regiment of Chevauxlegers Bubenhofen, all ready to fight on the Danube. This regiment also fought in Russia and in the 1813 unpleasantness, but by that time they had become the 6th Ch-Leg for reasons which are too fiddly to go into.

Anyway, here they are, and very welcome. The officer and trumpeter are both conversions, for which thanks are due to Wellington Man.


The number of new painted units here recently has finally outstripped my stock of bases and sabots, so I have had to order some more from Uncle Tony at ERM. In the meantime I am very pleased to have dug out some pre-used bases which were previously attached to a unit of Brunswick Hussars (now departed). Considering that wargames collections (well, mine, anyway) are a veritable hymn to self-indulgence and waste, I can't understand why re-cycling a few penceworth of old bases would give me any pleasure at all - very strange.

They'll be provided with a smart new sabot of the correct size as soon as Uncle Tony sends some along.

16 comments:

  1. As fine a body of horsemen as could be wished for. Well done all around.

    If you figure out how to get past recycling used bases let me know. I find removing glue etc a pain but can't stand the waves of guilt over wasting "good money" not to mention contributing to the destruction of Mother Earth. Is amazing how marvellously selective our minds can be over these sorts of things.

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    1. Most of the bases used for this unit are old plywood jobs I made myself before my conversion to MDF. The MDF looks better, but it doesn't stand up well to having soldiers removed from it - even with friendly adhesives like PVA, it tends to shred, I find, while with the old plywood it used to snap off fairly cleanly. My real interest in recycling the old bases (not very successfully, but then I very rarely get rid of old figures) is the magnetic sheet underneath, which is a lot more expensive than the wood! Anyway, I suppose saving the planet is worthwhile, as a useful spin-off.

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    1. I agree with you Ivan - my camera doesn't understand lighting colours. It occurs to me that references to flash are a bit unkind when discussing old HH figures :)

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  3. My congratulation to the Count, who has painted these really nicely.

    I've found that these little men need as much light as possible when it comes to photographing them.

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    1. The Count done exceptional, as they say in footballing circles here in the UK. Lots of light, for photography and also for painting - that's for sure. Thanks, WM.

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  4. A fine looking regiment of Chevau-legers indeed!

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    1. Thanks Peter - I'm under some pressure now to get the dragoons finished to go with them, but that requires some head-swaps and fiddly stuff first!

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  5. I do have a fondness for Hinton Hunt one piece casting cavalry figures.

    These are very nicely done.

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    1. Hi Mark - I find it doesn't do to make any comment on HH which may be somehow construed as critical, so I shall express myself carefully here...

      I think my bad experiences with HH separable cavalry are mostly due to the age of teh moulds when they were made, but short legs have been a regular problem (I mean the toy soldiers', not my own) - the proportions of the OPC jobs are more pleasing, and that charging horse pose is good. The sword blades do look a bit like silvered French loaves, but they are satisfyingly strong.

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  6. Tony these look great! We'll done to Goya, painting such detail on HH figures is no mean achievement.

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    1. Very pleased with them, Ian. I have become very fond of the Bavarian uniforms now, though the HR Giger-designed helmet was a bit of a shock at first. The detail on the shabraques, of course, was a deliberate act of malice on the part of King Maximilien, just to annoy the guys on TMP 200 years later.

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  7. Lovely miniatures beautifully painted...
    I look forward to seeing them in action.

    All the best. Aly

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    1. Thanks Aly - yes - we'll have to set something up soon!

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    1. Hi Ray - thanks very much - I'm pleased with them! Dragoons, artillery and a couple of generals still to come, and that will be the first phase done.

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