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