ALYS TOY SOLDIERS: April 2022

Tuesday, 26 April 2022

Shiny Napoleonics… French High Command and ADC’s

Greetings…

Here we have a selection of various French High and Lower Command figures…

I’ve been painting these up one or sometimes two at a time when I am not really in the mood to tackle a full unit… I’m finding them quite therapeutic to do … They don’t take too long and they are fun.

Young Captain Malchanceux Bourde…

Berthier…

An Infantry Officer…

This is the first Hinchliffe figure in my collection…

A dismounted 2nd Hussar Office…

A dismounted 5th Hussar Officer…

General Rapp…

General Rapp’s ADC’s…

I’m not sure if he had both at the same time… But I couldn’t make my mind up which one I liked best…

They were converted from a Polish Lancer Officer and a Trumpeter…

Junot…

A Minifigs figure on a converted Garrison horse…

Another first… A Hinton Hunt ADC on an early Garrison horse…

Joachim Murat…

An Officer d’Ordonnance…

I think he started out as a French General…

Napoleon…

I have a few more command types in the shiny lead mountain… So there will be more at sometime in the future…. Of course I still need some for Prussia and Britain…

I am not going to list all the colours that I used for these as it would probably take a couple of weeks to remember and then write out…

But if you have any specific questions…I will try my best to answer them.

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/

I have actually started making progress with the War of 1812 unit I have been very slowly painting…So hopefully that will get posted soon.

All the best. Aly

Wednesday, 13 April 2022

New Books… Napoleonic Delights.

Greetings…

To celebrate the fact that I have managed to pay off my my mortgage… I decided to give myself a treat.

So I bought myself these delightful books…

I personally think that these are some of the best books on French Napoleonic uniforms that I have seen for a long while.

Paul L Dawson has done a marvellous job with these books….they are positively dense with information…

The illustrations and photos are splendid…

Photos of original uniforms and equipment plus reproductions of period illustrations by the likes of Martinet and Nicolas Hoffmann along with plates by Keith Rocco…

I particularly like the photos of original swatches of period cloth that show that the uniform colours are not quite what we are used to seeing on toy soldiers.

They were certainly not the cheapest books I have bought… but it was my treat to me…and I think I deserved it 😁.

All the best Aly

Saturday, 9 April 2022

Shiny Napoleonics… The New Neuchatel Battalion.

Greetings…

Some of you may remember my first shot at this unit…

https://alystoysoldiers.blogspot.com/2020/08/shiny-napoleonics-neuchatel

These chaps are now living on the other side of the world… In the care of Wellington Man in New Zealand…

If you would like to see their somewhat unfortunate introduction to their new commander I would suggest that you have a look here

https://thehintonspieler.blogspot.com/2021/11/newcastle-united.html

Here are a couple of pictures of these tragic events to whet your appetite…

These have been used with the kind permission of Wellington Man.

As Berthier studies his notes he realises he may need some assistance with these new recruits.

Berthier has employed the services of a new and enthusiastic personal trainer…The young Malchanceux Bourde… Chosen because of his relationship to the great General Malchanceux… Whose autobiography “My Glory My Emperor “ is much in favour with Berthier and France.

( Unfortunately modern historians will discover that Malchanceux’s account of his career and the truth are even more distant than the relationship between the General and Bourde )…