The Pas de Charge is Sounding

There's been a lot of planning going on these past few weeks.  And there's been a lot of reorganizing of my miniatures. The good folks who make Really Useful Boxes are clearly on to a winner...

For the moment though, my attention has turned to my Napoleonic figures.  I have two projects for this period.  I've been buying boxes of figures as funds have allowed, and making a few of the miniatures here and there.

I find it difficult to get going with such large projects because of the whole chicken and egg problem caused by the interplay of rules and miniatures.  I buy the miniatures because I love them.  Sometimes its years before I see a rule set that I actually want to play them with.  And here's the rub.  because until you know the basing plans, you can't really start painting.  And since we're talking about Napoleonic uniforms which take an absolute age to paint, this period feels like it'll never get off the ground in my lifetime.

Which makes it all the more difficult to understand why I'm looking at two different projects for this period.  Did I forget to mention I'm also building two opposed armies for each project?

I've said it before, for both this and pretty much every period, you can't beat Perry Miniatures.  Period.  They are the best by far.  Victrix are very good to, though a little more 'cartoony' particulary when it comes to the faces.  So instead of humming and hawing and believing that perhaps my favourite period will never get gamed (I'm a pessimistic fortysomething!) I'm working on two parts of the Napoleonic period.  The first is Napoleon's Spanish ulcer which I will game with Too Fat Lardie's Sharpe Practice.  The second is to wargame the Hundred Days with Fletcher's Napoleon rules. The first will use some Perry and a lot of Victrix figures.  The latter will be exclusively Perry Miniatures. And as the former will come together more quickly as I already own all the miniatures I'll need, this is the one I'll be posting about most.

So after rooting about the loft in various boxes, I'm finally able to get all that I have made so far for the Peninsular into the one box.  A number of them didn't have any bases so I've just spent a wee while helping the poor people to stand up!  The box has now gone from this...

 To this...

(Btw, the Jaffa Cake Bar was mighty fine!)

And here are the souls that were in need of bases feeling a little more stable.

Of course, once you start doing this kind of thing, you remember exactly what you have painted, and how far you really need to go.  So, in the order that the photos uploaded, here's a Spanish kid and an older gent raising his hat to celebrate the arrival of the British forces.

And here's one of the excellent Perry Miniatures Dragoons, painted in the livery of the 7th Regiment.

 

Next up a Voltigeur.  This is the first Napoleonic miniature I painted a few years back.

 Two British Officers next, made from the Victrix Highlander Flank Companies and British Peninsular Infantry Centre Companies boxes respectively.

 And against them, a couple of officers from Victrix's French Napoleonic Infantry 1807-1812

 And finally, a couple of Perry Mnaitures plastic 95th Riflemen.  The one on the right is my Harper, the one on the left is my heavily converted Richard Sharpe.  He's based on the description in the earlier novels rather than a certain Sean Bean.  He's dark haired, not long blonde.  of course you can't tell this yet because I haven't painted him.

 As you can see, he's been converted to carry his rifle in the left hand.  His right hand holds the cavalryman's sword described in the novels.  In true spirit of the original tale, this has been stolen from a French Dragoon (sprue).  Don't tell anyone his head came from the same set though.  It would go against all sensibilities!

So all that's left is to make those three boxes of Vixtrix minis and the rest of the Perry Dragoons.  Only about 190 plus to make then!  Don't hold your breath folks!