Saturday 1 December 2018

The Toledo Regiment

I always like this time of year in Auckland. The weather is still variable, but the cold days have gone and the high humidity hasn't yet arrived. Best of all for me is that the Pohutukawa trees (often called the New Zealand Christmas Tree) are coming into bloom.  In front of my office window I can see maybe thirty of these trees and their blazing, bright red flowers are glorious sight. In a week or two the flowering will be over, this spash of colour will be gone and my weekday view will be dull for another twelve months, but for now I shall enjoy.


This week has seen the completion of the first full Spanish Napoleonic infantry regiment - all three battalions of the Toledo Regiment, still waiting for their flags. 



Above and below, the third battalion


When I ordered the first batch of figures I forgot to order the grenadiers so I simply ordered the equivalent of another three battalions (including command) to make up the difference. No sooner had the new batch arrived when I realised that I had ordered too many grenadiers and I thought I would need to place another order to balance everything out. Then I re-read René Chartrand's text in the Osprey book that said that the grenadiers were all assigned to the first battalion of the regiment and that gave the battalion a structure for the first of two grenadier and two fusilier companies. The second and third battalions were all fusilier companies. With that in mind I decide that my first battalion of the regiments would consist of one command stand and two grenadiers. The nearest I could get to a fifty-fifty mix. I could have gone to two stands with four grenadier and two fusilier figures, but that would have looked a little silly. Besides this way uses up all my grenadiers without the need to buy more figures.


The first battalion



Along with the Toledo Regiment I have completed three infantry colonels that will see service as senior commanders my Spanish collection.


Also completed this week are two items that have been on the painting table for several weeks, but the last components have finally been painted and the item based. These are the last two limbers for the British in Egypt and mark a quiet end to that project - the fourth project completed during the year.



14 comments:

  1. Nic work on the navvies and Spanish! Enjoy your spring...we are headed into winter right now.

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    1. Thanks. i really enjoyed doing both...even though those striped trousers were a cause of pain..

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  2. Great Spanish! Lovely grenadiers with their distinctive headgear and nice to see the last of your Egyptian project roll off the production line!
    Best Iain

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    1. Thank you Iain. The Spanish are particularly nice and fun to work with. There is a certain satisfaction completing a project and this Egyptian project has been an interesting one.

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  3. Very nice start to the Spanish project Mark - who many units are planned in this force?

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    1. Well the original plan was six battalions a regiment of cavalry and two guns for the 1805-1808 period then the same for the 1808-1810. But my mistake with the grenadiers has changed that and there has been a bit of creep. Now there will be 18 battalions maybe three cavalry units and four guns across both periods.

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  4. Beautiful flora and beautiful figures! I love your work on the very difficult grenadier bags. That is really a smart looking job! I have some Spanish grenadier bags to tackle myself and you have given me great inspiration.

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    1. Thank you Jonathan. The flora will be taking a bashing today...the official first day of summer and we have had strong wind and scattered rain all day! Actually the grenadier bags were a breeze, because the pattern is moulded on the casting...just paint in gold then aplly a wash...all done.

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  5. Impressive limbers and fantastic SPanish troops, a fantastic job, especially on the grenadiers...👍👍

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  6. Splendid stuff as always Mark...
    We are currently moving from dull grey and windy into dull grey wet and windy... with a promise of dull grey wet windy and bloody cold...roll on spring...

    All the best. Aly

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    1. Thanks Aly. Pretty grey and wet here too, but at least its not cold.

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  7. Very nicely done again. I went 50/50 grenadiers and fusiliers on the first battalions as per Chartrand, with the other battalions all fusiliers and, like you, found I had quite a few left over. I ended up just putting them into a coupl f converged grenadier battalions, which soaked them up quite nicely.

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    1. Thanks Lawrence. I am making good headway with the Spanish...I may even have all nine battalions finished by the end of next week.

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