Asturias Regiment

This week sees the three battalions of the Asturias Regiment march out of the uniform store in a brief parade.

These three complete the first phase of the Spanish collection.

Next on the painting table is a return to complete an earlier collection.

The Cordoba Regiment

The second regiment of the Napoleonic Spanish collection has exited the uniform store. 

The regiment, along with the previously displayed Toledo Regiment and the Numancia Dragoons, have been presented with their colours that were beautifully drawn and supplied by Adolfo Ramos.

There remains only one regiment of three battalions left to complete this first (1805-1808) phase of the Spanish Napoleonic Army. 

The second phase that will carry the army through to 1810 by adding another nine battalions, a regiment of cavalry and maybe a couple more guns, will continue in February.

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.

The Spanish Project Kicks off in Earnest!

In the early years of the 20^thCentury its was thought human race had been saved by a medicinal compound invented by a lady called Lily the Pink. The story is captured in the words of a 1968 song that opens:

We’ll drink a drink a drink,

To Lily the Pink the Pink the Pink

The saviour of the human race

For she invented medicinal compound

Most efficacious in every case…

Supposedly a notorious raunchy version of this tune had existed in the music halls around the time of the Great War.

A little bit of searching on the web sadly showed me that the story on which the song was based was one of quackery. This is probably why the human race has been on its downward slide for some time. But in these early years of the 21^st Century there is fresh hope. A new compound has been discovered.

An alchemist called Aly Morrison has created “Aly’s Brown Liquid”. This is special blend of three and a bit ingredients (not to be confused with that other brew of 11 herbs and spices – the thought of which still turns my stomach from when I ate a bad batch of the stuff after playing an indoor cricket game in the winter of 1991 and haven’t touched it since). Fortunately for us the formula for this magical brew has not been kept secret like that of a certain brand of cola – although oddly the colour of Aly’s Brown Liquid and a glass of that sugary elixir look alarmingly similar - and can be found here.

I had been intending to mix a brew for experimentation for quite some time, but never had the right ingredients on hand. Last Saturday, when I topped up my GW paint supplies, gave me the opportunity to get those ingredients and set to brewing the stuff – which took all of a few seconds.

My first attempt to use this magical brew has been a roaring success. On the white coats of the Spanish infantry from Second Battalion of the Toledo Regiment below (whose flags are somewhere between Spain and New Zealand), it provided a much more subtle shading than I had been using.

On the yellow coats of the Numancia Dragoons (also awaiting thier standard) it also did its magic.

The white shirts and trousers of the gunners in this second gun set similarly benefitted from the application of the brew.

All of this is wonderful since white and yellow are the two colours I dislike working with the most and are the most common in the Spanish army.

I am now convinced that Lily’s compound was indeed quackery and that “Aly’s Brown Liquid”, although not medicinal and unlikely to save the human race, will preserve my sanity while I am painting the white and yellow coats of the Spanish army of 1808.

French 1812-13 Project Completed!

The weekend saw the completion of 1812-1813 project with the basing of the last 30 cavalry figures.

Started just on a year ago this army was intended as a bit of a filler in that it was to be predominantly a plastic army and I would hold a "stock" of plastic figures on hand so that when the lead pile diminished, there was something to work on. 

This batch of figures completes the light cavalry division, with two regiments of chaseurs á cheval, the 11th...

...and the 12th.

Also completed are four left over chasseurs and two hussars for use as couriers, ADCs and scouts.

And the final tally:

• 17 infantry battalions

• 4 cuirassier regiments

• 2 carabinier regiments

• 4 dragoon regiments, mounted and dismounted

• 2 hussar regiments

• 2 chasseur a cheval regiments

• 2 squadrons of line lancers

• 2 squadrons of dragoons

• 5 field batteries

• 3 light batteries

• 5 horse batteries

• 30 command figures

• 8 couriers, ADCs or scouts.

As I said the whole force was done using plastic figures from the Perrys, Victrix (the field and light batteries) and Warlord Games (the lancers), with the exception of 18 generals, 20 horse gunners and 5 horse guns from the Perry metal range.

In all the figure count is: 505 foot,  224  mounted and 13 guns.

A parade will follow as soon as it can be organised.

English Civil War Game

Today we played a fictitious English Civil War game. I have managed to lose my original briefing sheet so I will try to remember the setup as best I can.

It was set a short time after the action at Cropredy Bridge in June 1644 where Waller, played by me, was defeated and lost most of his artillery train. Waller concieved a plan not only to retrieve the guns, but also to capture the King who was enroute to Oxford. The forces were more or less equal and arrived on the table from opposite ends. 

The field of play from the Royalist end of the table

And from the Parliamentarian end 

The King and his entourage 

The arrival of the Parliamentary foot

By chance, and possibly by the umpire's design, the opposing cavalry forces quickly confronted each other along the road and an indecisive fight erupted, after which the Royalist cavalry retired.

 

In the centre of the table the dragoons of each site engaged in a fire fight in which Parliament soon gained the upperhand.

Action then centred around the hill opposite the Parliament horse

The battle see sawed for some time while the Scots swung wide out on the rught flank. 

After a prolonged struggle the Royalist were beaten and most of their troops quit the field, allowing Waller to recover his guns, but more critically capture the King 

So it was that in late June 1644 the English Civil War ended.