ALY MORRISON'S "BUTTERFLY" ADVENTURES IN THE WORLD OF WARGAMES AND TOY SOLDIERS

Tuesday 5 October 2021

Shiny Napoleonics… French 9th Hussars.

Greetings…

Hurrah!… or should I say Hussar!… more shininess.

Another new unit for the shiny Napoleonic collection… this time it’s the French 9th Hussars.







It took me a while to decide which unit to paint… there are so many pretty French Hussar Uniforms.
Looking at the list of favourites I have, I could end up with half a dozen Hussar units in my French army.
The 9th won out this time… It was the brightly coloured Trumpeter that did it for me.

I have however thrown my self imposed period restraints out of the window… I had thought that I was going to stick to a period covering the dates 1812-1815… 
But with these 1808 uniformed Hussars this now makes three units that are outside these limits… 
Well… it’s more about what’s pretty isn’t it… and they are very pretty…

This unit is made up from second generation Garrison Hussars for the rank and file…
The command are a converted Garrison figure for the Standard Bearer.. A Minifigs Officer on a Garrison horse…And a Minifigs Trumpeter also on a Garrison horse… both the horses had to have their saddles removed so that the figures could fit.
The Elite Company are Lamming Miniatures… I was going to put the Lamming heads on some Garrison bodies that I acquired from the very nice Rob Young but in the end I couldn’t bring myself to decapitate the lovely little fellows…
I think they fit in well enough as they are…

I am delighted with these…they are everything I look for in a Hussar unit… yes that lace and braid take forever but the end results are …I think we’ll worth it.

The Dolmans are… Citadel… Evil Sunz Scarlet.
The Pelisse and Breeches are… Foundry… Sky Blue 21B.
The Braid is… Foundry… Yellow Ochre 4B.
The White bits are… Citadel… Pallid Wych Flesh.
The Trumpeter Dolman is… Foundry… Ochre 4B.
The Trumpeter Pelisse and Breeches are… Citadel… Evil Sunz Scarlet.
The Trumpeter Shako is… Foundry… Sky Blue 21B.

As always everything was given a coat of Aly’s Brown Liquid and highlighted with the original colours.

The paints are Wargames Foundry and Citadel...

https://www.wargamesfoundry.com/collections/paint
https://www.games-workshop.com/en-GB/Painting-Modelling

The bases are as always...

https://warbases.co.uk/product-category/bases/round-cornered-bases/

The Flag is GMB Designs...


There is a fresh Neuchatel Battalion in the works but before that I should have something of interest for those of you that prefer Matte or even Soft-Sheen finished figures…


All the best    Aly












54 comments:

  1. They look great Aly - good to see the Garrison and Lamming figures as well as the more usual Minifigs - you must be getting through the varnish though. What's the background you're using for the pics - works very well for these small unit shots.

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    1. Thank you Rick…
      As long as we don’t have a varnish shortage crisis I think I will have enough…😁

      For the background I did a Google image search for grey photographic backgrounds and saved one I liked then printed it out on A3 paper…
      Most of the backgrounds you can buy are about six foot tall and are for portrait shots and the like so you really have to knock something up yourself… and this was the easiest way.

      All the best. Aly

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    2. Thanks for the info. Yes I am finding the same with photo-backgrounds - trying to photograph raw metal at the moment and experimenting with backgrounds.

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    3. When doing photos of bare metal figures for the Garrison website I used to give them a wash of brown ink to bring out the highlights - worked quite well.

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    4. Hi Rob - yes we did something similar at Citadel back in the day - we used black boot polish through - the liquid kind that you dab on with a little sponge applicator.

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  2. Low key looking unit. Proper old school shiny.

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    1. I might do a more extravagant one next time…

      All the best. Aly

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  3. Outstanding figures and a beautiful job. This is a magnificent project.

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    1. Thank you Mark…

      I am really enjoying it.

      All the best. Aly

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  4. Ooh! Those are nice, enough to tempt one to the shiny side and no mistake.

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    1. Thank you Phil…

      Go on you know you want to… I would love to see your version of shininess…

      All the best. Aly

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  5. Personally I'm always chopping heads off Garrison figures and replacing them with heads from other Garrison figures. I don't mind.

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    1. Ah!…the joys of having an endless supply of victims.😁

      All the best. Aly

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  6. Absolutely marvellous! Shiny soldiers at their best!

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    1. Thank you very much Matt…

      All the best. Aly

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  7. Lovely stuff, hurrah for the hussars.
    I'm also considering a pre 1812 digression myself, and when I say considering, I mean starting painting the 2Kg box of Poles & Saxons on top of the pile o' shame.

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    1. Thank you Paul…
      Ooo! They sound nice and at the rate you’ve been painting at recently… it shouldn’t take you that long 😁

      All the best. Aly

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  8. Gorgeously glossy and colourful. They also look indestructible. Not that you would but I imagine you'd feel safer with grand-kids handling them? I really am enjoying your trend-setting project.

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    1. Thank you Greg…
      I have set up games for the youngsters in the past using my 42mm Shiny Toy Soldiers and I found that they tend to treat them more carefully than some of the grownups I know 😁
      Im glad you are enjoying the shininess…

      All the best. Aly

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  9. Just lovely Aly. The Hussars look the part brandishing their flashy sabres. Just a question on your colours for the bases please. Foundry or Citadel?
    If I was a toy soldier on the table I would be scared of these fine chaps.

    Take care and stay safe please.

    Cheers,
    Helen

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    1. Thank you Helen.
      They do have a certain dash about them…

      The figures stand is painted Citadel Loren Forest… it’s pretty close the the old Humbrol Grass Green.
      And the movement stand is painted an own brand emulation from a hardware and general store in the U.K. called Wilko’s, the colour is called Urban Jungle.

      You take care as well…

      All the best. Aly

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    2. Thanks very much Aly for the base colours.

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  10. Wonderfully done and dashing! Great work.

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  11. Nice, and definitely shiny! Don't encourage Phil to wander off though.

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    1. Thank you David.
      I wouldn’t encourage Phil to do anything he didn’t want to do himself 😈

      All the best. Aly

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  12. As everyone else has said, they are really lovely. I am not too familiar with Garrison Napoleonics or indeed Lamming always ignored them, tending to stick to other manufacturers - maybe I should look again!

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    1. Thank you Bob…
      Lamming and Garrison are nice figures my local model shop stocked them when I was just getting into wargaming/toy soldiers so I have a bit of a soft spot for them…

      All the best. Aly

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  13. Little shiny masterpeieces, Aly!

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  14. The 9th, indeed one of the best looking, thanks Aly! :)

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    1. Thank you…
      They are indeed very pretty.

      All the best. Aly

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  15. Nice uniform Aly and certainly up to the usual standard of shininess...!

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    1. Thank you Keith…
      I try my best…
      You are really spoilt for choice when you start looking at French Hussars.

      All the best. Aly

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  16. Garrison do have a panache suitable for hussars and painted up, this lot are a treat to see.

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    1. Thank you Ross…
      Let’s hope it’s not a case of style over content 😁

      All the best. Aly

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  17. Lovely shiny brushwork, they look very coherent as a unit given the mixed nature of the figures 👍

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    1. Thank you Matt…
      I was pleased how they look… I think the shininess and and the bases help tie them all together…

      All the best. Aly

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  18. This unit makes a great (and shiny) impression! The glossy finish, which in general is not our favorite, instead gives your toy soldiers such a classic air.
    And, although we confess that we are not experts in historical miniatures and even less Napoleonic, looking at the photos before reading the text we did not realize that they were soldiers from different manufacturers: all thanks to your painting work!

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    1. Thank you…
      There is a time and place for shininess and I thing with these figures it is the right time and the right place 😁
      The gloss finish really helps tie all three makes of figures together.

      All the best. Aly

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  19. Splendid, shiny hussars! I am painting the same unit myself, it's taking a long time but fun,all the different manufacturers work well together!
    Best Iain

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    1. Thank you Iain…
      They certainly take a bit of time… but they are well worth it.

      All the best. Aly

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  20. Nice hussars Aly! I love the look of cavalry on the tabletop and your's look great!
    It's strange that despite I'm a "cavalryman" myself, I don't fancy painting the horses (though I finished some Austrian Chevaulegres recently).

    Best wishes,
    Jan

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    1. Thank you Jan…
      I don’t mind painting the horses… I use Citadel Contrast Colours over a brown base coat…
      It’s the harness that drives me up the wall.. all that fuss and brass 😁

      All the best. Aly

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  21. The sabretaches! The lace work! Oh my goodness Aly, these are spectacular. Love the supremely toy soldier look of the Garrisons and Lammings working together. Really nicely done.

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    1. Thank you very much David…

      I think I may wait a while before I paint another regiment… all that folderol and la-di-da takes it out of you 😁.

      All the best. Aly

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  22. Wonderful figures Aly, I do think napoleonics look so much better with a coat of gloss!

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    1. Thank you Andy…
      I think that Minifigs were certainly made for gloss…

      All the best. Aly

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  23. Just a test comment to see if I have overcome the Google Account trials and tribulations.

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  24. Huzzah! It worked.
    Have you ever posted a guide to your shiny Napoleonic painting technique?

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    1. I don’t think I have done a specific ‘shiny’ tutorial…
      I was actually considering putting one together… maybe when I paint my next command figure…

      All the best. Aly

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