Sunday 14 January 2018

French in Egypt Project Complete....Well Maybe...

This post celebrates the flattening of the lead pile that was the French in Egypt project.
 
These are the last two battalions.

First is the 2e battalion, 22e Demi-Brigade Legére.





Second is the 1re battalion, 4e Demi-Brigade Legére. There is a lot of conflicting information about the uniform for this unit. One source says the had crimson facings, another brown and a third puce. After much thought, and a couple of tests, I chose to go with brown.

 


And both battalions...


So what is the state of the French in Egypt project?
 
The original target was:
 
  6 Generals
  9 infantry battalions (6 line, 3 light)
  1 regiment of Hussars
  1 regiment of Dragoons
  1 regiment of Dromedary troops (mounted and dismounted versions with camel holders)
  2 field guns (with limbers)
  1 horse gun (with limber)
 
This has been completed.

There was a bit of scope creep. I added:
  1 field gun (with limber)
  3 line battalions
  1 regiment of Chasseurs á Cheval 
  3 line colonels.
 
This too has been completed.

How does the overall project plan look now? Well not too bad. The Prussian Napoleonics expansion, the War of 1812 and the French in Egypt are complete (the latter two weeks ahead of schedule). The Crimean War Heavy Brigade is delayed, but the figures are on order. The Non-Specific Plastic figure project has morphed into a  French Napoleonic army for 1812-13 and my the month’s end will have another two units added. The Egyptian ruins are done, as are the palm groves. The Egyptian buildings are started, but will be a bit of a background project, filling in between painting projects. The first order for British in Egypt will be placed sometime after the 25th of January – when the credit card rolls into the next accounting period and I don’t have to pay for them until March. I am still thinking about the Great Northern War.
 
How does that stack up against the original plan set down in August last year? Here is the plan as it stands.



Well the significant change is the addition of the British in Egypt. This is for three reasons; first, because I realised that the Ottoman Turks were not going to be adequate opposition for the French; second, because of cost – Brigade Games would be the manufacturer of choice for the Ottomans, but they are significantly dearer than other manufacturers (more than double the cost in some cases); third, Brigade Games service of late has been terrible – a month or more to ship orders. I will do some Ottomans, but as a reduced force to support the British, rather than a significant force supported by a small British force.
 
There is going to be a French in Egypt expansion project (the unkind would call it yet more scope creep). This will entail:
 3 generals
 3 colonels
 1 regiment of dragoons
 3 battalions of line infantry
 3 battalions of light infantry
 4 4lb battalions guns
 
But this expansion project will not be undertaken probably until March or April, after the British have been started.

In the meantime I will begin the assault on the plastic pile that is the French Napoleonics for 1812-13.

16 comments:

  1. Finished? No, we want more, we need more to see! SUperb...

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    1. Thank you Phil. There will be more, of that you can be certain.

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  2. This has turned out to be quite a substantial force, and especially with the planned expansion. I'll be looking forward to your Ottomans over the coming months.

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    1. Yes it is going to be double what my original intent was. In part this is because I just can't stop myself from building bigger and bigger forces and in part because the magpie in me wanted to collect a demi-brigade in each of the possible coat colours. I am still not certain about the Ottomans - if I use the Brigade Games figures (the only quality manufacturer of specifically Napoleonic Ottomans) a small force of say six battalions and three cavalry squdrons will have a landed cost of NZ$ 460, whereas my whole planned Perry British force of 12 battalions, two squadrons, four guns sets and six generals costs NZ$ 540...that is quite a margin. Having committed to a significant sum to a European trip later this year I am under pressure from Domestic Control to get some level of control on costs.

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    2. I have been informed we are off for a month in Canada at the end of the year, so also have to exercise more fiscal restraint during the course of 2018. Not that that is a bad thing as my lead pile has reached the point where there are now more projects than I'll ever be able to complete. I'd document them all if it wasn't so embarrassing.

      I purchase some Brigade Games 95th Rifles and Spanish guerrillas late last year. As it was only a handful of figures the total was not too high, but I can see how it would be expensive to put a whole army together.

      I wonder if some of the TAG renaissance figures might work? Their musket-armed Azabs and Ottoman artillery don't look that different to some of the Brigade games figures, and the Tufecis would fit in nicely. They are a hefty 28mm, but would fit in with Perry height-wise. There is also a nice additional discount you can get if you stump up the 10 pounds to join their subscription scheme, which I only realised existed after my third or fourth order with them. Black Hussar miniatures also do a range of Napoleonic Whabbis which could suit. I have purchased their Saxons and they are lovely figures, although the orders can take six to eight weeks. Gringo 40's also do some marvellous Mameluks, but then they are even more expensive than Brigade Games.

      The thing about an Ottoman force is it might be fun to put them up against Russians as well, but then it might be tempting to purchase a few brigades of figures in the early uniforms. Never-ending, isn't it?

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    3. I was beginning to wonder why we were having such a hot summer here this year (I mean 32C in Dunedin today!!!), but now I know...it is because your lead pile has shifted the Earth's centre of gravity and pushed us closer to the equator!

      You will enjoy Canada, my home country...well I was born there but lived in NZ for 55 years!

      I will have a deeper look at the TAG range.

      My plan is to use the Turks against the Russians and yes I will need to do some in the earlier uniform, which I was planning anyway to fight against the Swedes.

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  3. Brilliant Mark, you have finished a project whilst I only managed one game :-(.
    I know what you mean about the Ottomans really hard to nail a win against the French, but that's half teh fun.
    Cheers
    Stu

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    1. Ah but you are a step agead of me... I can't play a game until I have opposition. While my original intention was to pit the French chiefly against the Ottomans, the figures are really the later period uniforms that fought the Brits. My plan for the Ottomans is probably four or five units of foot and a two or three cavalry. The Brits will make up the bulk of the opposition.

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  4. Mark, you ripped through this phase of the project in record time. What a great looking collection of French you have.

    As Phil says, we want more!

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    1. Thanks Jonathan. There will be more...but we have spent a lot on the cards this month and it need to be cleared. That said the British will begin to appear in early February.

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  5. Time to lobby the Perry's for plastic Mamelukes! I'm looking forward to the British phase of the project.

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    1. Now wouldn't that be great...it would be possoble to do the Battle of the Pyramids or Heliopolis!

      The Brits should be a bit of fun, but there is an awful lot of red there.

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  6. Well done Mark...
    What we need now is a group photo... ;-)

    All the best. Aly

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    1. Thanks Aly. A parade is planned, but time has been short in the last few days. Maybe this Monday since I have the day off and the weather is not looking that flash.

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  7. Well done on, shall we say completing phase 1? Looking forward to the group shot, I'm thinking of doing earlier ottomans, 16th century and I think I'll go TAG and old glory and then I'll have to do Polish. ....!
    Best Iain

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    1. Thanks Iain. Phase two will the the British and it will commence early next month. I am still looking around at Ottoman figures.

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