Wednesday 18 March 2020

Crimean Completion

Well what a week. For those unaware I work in aviation and when I went home from work on Friday there were “challenges” in the aviation world - declining demand, reduced schedules, etc. Less than 24 hours later borders were closing and the industry was in a tailspin. Another 24 hours later and almost every airline on the planet was facing ruin and huge job losses. Walking into work on Monday was surreal.

Thank goodness for model soldiers! They certainly have saved my sanity in the madness of the last five days.

First off the painting table are some French cuirassiers from the Second Empire. There were two cuirassier regiments, the 6th and 9th, that went to the Crimea (although I can find no record of them actually  being engaged) and ten regiments served in the Franco-Prussian War. Again, like the recent post for the two regiments of Chasseurs d’Afrique, these are an expansion on an existing unit, up gauging the basing from two figures to three figures to a stand . Here is the before and after state of the “refurbishment”.

Before...


After...



Then comes the sixth and final battalion (the 49th Regiment) of the British Second Division in the Crimea.




My British collection now counts 17 infantry battalions, 5 light and 5 heavy cavalry units, two horse and six field artillery batteries. I think that is enough and I can now say with some certainty that this project is completed - although if my lottery numbers come up I may feel the need to retract that statement

20 comments:

  1. Lovely work. I feel for you at this time in your industry. I've been stranded in an off-shore deployment for the duration and have been tracking the airlines - dark days.

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    1. Thanks. I hope you are are stranded in a safe place with a good supply of food and wine.

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  2. Nice work on these additions Mark ...and of course, never say never when it comes to needing more of them! As you of course know, my daughter is a flight arendent with your company and looking at a 30% staff reduction...just have to hope it's not her job they axe. I alluded to being away for the next few days on my own blog but don't think that's going to happen now because my niece who we planned to visit is now in self isolation after returning from Oz on Sunday, six hours before the PM's deadline....

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    1. Thanks Keith. I really do think that will do for Crimean British. Hopefully Amy will be OK. As I said the other day I think she is in the right side of the business, but no one knows the direction all this is thing is going to take.

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  3. Wonderful figures...and sad days...Cheers,

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    1. Thank you Phil. At least we have not been placed in lockdown...yet.

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  4. Great work and I especially like the cuirassiers. Yes, what a difference a week makes. Universities shut down, everyone at home and daughter number three's hours already cut. This is one of the few times I wish I was ten years older, and retired already!

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    1. Yes the cavalry of the Second Empire has some of the best uniforms. Three years for me...but the way the superannuation funds are going kill have nothing to live on.

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  5. Beautiful figures.

    Since I also work for a airline here in the states I know exactly what you are saying a out work. Most definitely very strange times!

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    1. Thanks Mark. I think that travel will never be the same again.

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  6. Superb work, Mark! You may recall that I work in aerospace too although on the manufacturing side. These are dark days, indeed.

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    1. Thank you Jonathan. Yes your company had some problems before this started and I fear that the current situation will push demand for new equipment to the sort of low we haven’t seen for a long time.

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  7. Very nice Cuirassiers Mark...
    Nothing is ever finished... I’ve started to work... very slowly on some new Crimean War figures...
    Though at the moment I feel I should have invested in the toilet paper industry...

    All the best. Aly

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    1. Thanks Aly. Like I say if the lottery comes along...I agree that toilet paper would be a good investment, but maybe tomato sauce too...I had to visit the supermarket up the road from work to buy vital supplies - wine - and observed one woman with a trolly full of pasta, rice and ten bottles of tomato sauce!?

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  8. Mark great work as always ...and this unreal world that has come upon us is just out there .
    Take care my friend

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    1. Thank you. It all seems so false...looking out my window at a beautifully sunny day, yet there is this strange darkness lingering everywhere.

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  9. I've been enjoying looking through your Crimean Wars posts. I started along the Crimean road myself a while ago. I've managed to get together and painted six battalions of Russian infantry, a regiment of Russian Lancers, and a battery of four 12 pdrs. I still have lots more Russians to paint, but I've stopped for a moment to paint some allies. So far I've only managed to paint one British battalion and I'm working on a battalion of Zouaves. Like you I choose to use the Perry ACW Zouaves.

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    1. G’day Wayne. Its been a long time...the only thing lacking with the Perry zouaves is the packs. When I did mine I was lucky in that NorthStar had failed to ship me the packs for the French line troops and when they shipped them separately they gave me a double batch so I was able to apply them to the zouaves.

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    2. Yes, probably not since the '90s. I'm in Auckland these days, working Battlefront, writing books for Flames Of War and World War III: Team Yankee.
      I didn't know you could get the French backpacks separately, I'll investigate that, thanks. It is good to see you still have your passion for 19th Century warfare. I'm still keen on it, probably from that Franco-Prussian game you ran all those years ago at Military Miniatures. :)

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    3. Don’t get me wrong, the packs are not sold separately - they are cast as separate pieces, but they were not shipped with the original order, and when I asked for the missing packs they sent me double the quantity, so I found a use for them!

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