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Post by bellealliance on Feb 5, 2021 3:34:33 GMT
These are the HaT 8029 French Chasseurs a Cheval. When I started these, I made two regiments totaling seven squadrons of 3 figures. As my taste toward larger units developed, more recently I supplemented each regiment to 4 squadrons of 6 figures. Here's the brigade with La Haye Sainte in the background. They were supposed to be from the 2nd Cavalry Division 1815. By then, most Chasseurs a Cheval had a coat with lapels, and the 1st Chasseurs had the crested helmet of the royal army. Not to be deterred, here they are in habite a la kinski, more appropriate to 1810-1812. In a (much) earlier post I describe making Netherlands hussars using the Revel Guard Chasseurs a Cheval with heads from HaT Line Chasseurs a Cheval. What happened to the bodies? You may ask. Well, they didn't go to waste - the 3 figure elite companies use the bodies with (you guessed it) heads from the Revel set! The bodies and the rest of the unit are wearing full dress with cords, plumes on their shakos, and I added plumes to the Colpacks using a pin built up with white glue, and red bags cut to size from paper. I might try painting on cords at some point, now I look at them. Officers and trumpeters have their carbines trimmed off, and the officers have heads from the Nassau Grenadiers. I'll dig up some pics of my lancers as soon as I find them - may be quicker to find the lancers and make new pics. Until then, be well and happy modeling! Kay Attachments:
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Post by bellealliance on Jan 16, 2021 15:31:46 GMT
Chris, So beautiful. Everything from the figures and terrain, to the effects and superb photography as well. I have Henri Lachouque's Waterloo, which is mostly a pictorial history of the battle through the eyes of artists. Your images evoke for me the feel of these artworks - even better for being photographs of 3D subjects. I can imagine myself on the battlefield dodging musket balls! Kay
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Post by bellealliance on Jan 16, 2021 3:14:18 GMT
Absolutely spectacular! The masses of all those close order troops among buildings and terrain bring out the epic battle. And then when I look at the individual soldiers I see how personal it must've been to be one of them. Ingenious conversions and great painting. Your buildings provide me inspiration for my rendition of Plancenoit. Can't wait to see all those Prussians! Kay
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Post by bellealliance on Jan 16, 2021 2:55:49 GMT
Thank you all for your encouragement. I have some pics from projects completed during the last year, and plenty of work in progress as well. I'll be posting some of these in the coming weeks. My current HaT project is 1st Nassau Infantry 1815, so I shall be back to work on those. Best regards, Kay
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Post by bellealliance on Jan 15, 2021 3:17:19 GMT
Hello Forumers, It's been nearly...three(!) years since I last posted here. A few things have changed in my life, but one thing that has remained is painting wargames figures. Although I've slowed down some, I have not stopped working on the plastic mountain. First, a battalion of 8170 French Guard Chasseurs; their command is from 8297 French Line Infantry Command. Given the presence of the Eagle presumably the 1st battalion 1st Regiment. Next up, the Staff of the Army of the Low Countries (so far). Left: I Corps staff showing in the foreground Major General Jean Victor de Constant Rebecque (with some modification such as the addition of an orange sash) from 8297 French Infantry Command. The other figures on this stand are General William Prince of Orange and an unidentified British officer. Right: 1st Division staff showing on the foreground Major General Sir George Cooke (with modification) from 8304 British Infantry Command. With him on the same base another unidentified British officer. Best of wishes to old friends and new, Kay ST
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Post by bellealliance on Mar 29, 2018 17:53:58 GMT
Hi Chris, It's looking fantastic. I look forward to witnessing the battle. Like being a civilian spectator without the risk of having one's head shot off! Kay
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Post by bellealliance on Mar 29, 2018 16:59:34 GMT
Hi Tom, Good luck on your diorama. I know dioramas are different beasts from wargames, but here are examples of my KGL infantry. These are for Waterloo, based on six-company battalions. These are mostly Revell figures, either rifles or the British infantry. The officer of my KGL Light Battalion is from HaT, however, the British Light Infantry set. The evidence over rifles and muskets for the KGL I believe comes from the weapons inventoried when they were inducted into the Hanoverian Army in 1816. At least some in the Line Battalions handed in rifles, as well as the muskets that most of them had, while the Light Battalions handed in rifles and muskets. Now, Baring asserted that his loss of La Haye Sainte, was caused by a lack of rifle ammunition. It's always possible, that, in response to this, the KGL were reorganized by exchanging/reequipping rifles and muskets to the 1816 proportions. But I haven't come across any documentation for a reorganization of this kind. In each of my Line Battalions, however, I have a base with 2 red-coated rifleman head-swapped for a "Belgic" shako. My Light Battalions have 8 riflemen (2 companies) and the remaining 4 companies musket-armed Revell British infantry head-swapped for a stovepipe shako. Works for wargaming, but maybe not the detail you want in a diorama. All the best, Kay
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Post by bellealliance on Feb 27, 2018 18:43:07 GMT
Thank you, Chris. Coming along very nicely. as well as the pics of your terrain, I enjoy the contemporary views you're working from. Kay
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Post by bellealliance on Jan 25, 2018 17:05:18 GMT
Very impressive! I'm looking for another project beyond the Waterloo Armies, and when I see troops like these I suspect Austrian Naps may well be the next project. Best regards, Kay
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Post by bellealliance on Jan 25, 2018 16:59:48 GMT
Thanks for asking.
First: Prussian Ammo Wagons (if they're Napoleonic) Second: Napoleonic Russians Third: Napoleonic Austrians
Kay
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Post by bellealliance on Jan 25, 2018 16:58:13 GMT
A work in progress along the same construction lines as my LHS. The first shot shows a well-known facade with a couple of British Infantry posing outside: Here is the reverse side view before the wall was added: And here in North Florida we occasionally have house guests from the yard especially in the current cold snap (Florida cold, that is): This one climbed the church tower and terrorized some British Infantry into forming square! Happy modelling, Kay
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Post by bellealliance on Jan 25, 2018 16:41:04 GMT
Yes, there was lots of French Light Infantry regiments at Waterloo. The proportion in Reille's Corps at Quatre Bras was particularly high: 13 battalions out of 36 total. I have painted them all from the existing HaT range by painting pointed cuffs on the French line infantry. The battalions also have greatcoated infantry among them from the Young Guard set. Conversely, I used the French Light Infantry set to provide grenadiers and voltigeurs by painting cuff flaps over round cuffs on them. The resolution might not be good enough to tell the difference in these photos, but the painting was quite straightforward. What I am missing is Eagles - so, yes, 1815 French command please. Another need for me is a set of generic Mounted French Staff Officers to lead the higher formations, brigade and above (and British/Hanoverian and Prussian and Netherlands...). Happy New Year to all, Kay
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Post by bellealliance on Dec 15, 2017 15:14:52 GMT
And more of the Union Brigade:
Photos from left to right: 6th Dragoons (yellow facings/white lace), Scots Greys (blue facings/yellow lace) and 1st Dragoons (blue facings/yellow lace). Poor light delayed the last charge of the day!
Happy modelling, Kay
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Post by bellealliance on Dec 15, 2017 15:10:38 GMT
And here they are: the British Heavies at Waterloo. First up Somerset's Household Brigade. In the foreground 4 squadrons of 1st King's Dragoon Guards, with 2 squadrons of 1st Life Guards to their left - must be a battlefield mix up - they should be on the right! Two squadrons each of 2nd Life Guards and Royal Horse Guards in support to the rear. The Dragoon Guards are Hat 8033 British Dragoons, trumpet added from French Line Chasseurs. The Household Cavalry from Revell. And next, a long view of Ponsonby's Union Brigade. In reserve the 2nd Royal North British Dragoons (Scots Greys). The other two regiments have two squadrons up and one in reserve, nearest the camera being the 6th Inniskilling Dragoons, and to their right 1st Royal Dragoons. The 1st and 6th Dragoons are Hat8033 British Dragoons. The Scots Greys are the old Esci figures. Curiously, the Esci sculptor didn't include reins on the horses, and these I have fashioned from bread twisties - laborious work, not so much for the Greys but for the 8 regiments of French cuirassiers, and 2 of British hussars. The Greys are also in a very soft plastic and the horses attach to their bases through little pegs in their hooves - much more secure than Airfix managed. The Esci figures shed their paint very easily even when "washed first in detersive before spreading the colours" as the box advised us. If I had it to do again, the Greys would have been HaT as well, firm plastic that holds its paint well.
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Post by bellealliance on Dec 14, 2017 21:04:57 GMT
Thank you, Steve. Yes, there are several years involved. However, most of the figures were painted in the last 10 years, although I have others (ahem!) years older than that. I started when Airfix were pretty much the only game in town. My first version of British Light Dragoons were Airfix French cuirassiers, boot tops cut into trousers and cuirass detail removed, with their heads swapped for Airfix French Infantry. I sold them on ebay about 11 years ago, and maybe they are still doing service in someone's collection to this day!
And in anticipation of my next photo posts, as I was unpacking the Light Dragoons of Doernberg's Brigade, I came across my British heavy cavalry brigades. They too required rebasing and the incorporation of some more recently painted recruits. This is now complete, and it's only a matter of of time before I photograph them...
Kay
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Post by bellealliance on Dec 12, 2017 15:29:58 GMT
More of Doernberg's 3rd British Brigade During the Battle of Waterloo, Doernberg threw in his light dragoons against disordered French cuirassiers penetrating the Allied infantry squares, which was the inspiration for these pictures. My battlefield here is Waterloo-esque rather than a recreation of Waterloo. I have placed Pack's battalions in square, supported by a battery of Royal Horse Artillery, attacked by Donop's brigade of cuirassiers. 1st Light Dragoons KGL go in against the disordered squadrons of 2nd Cuirassiers. Figure credits: Starring - HaT 8014 KGL Light Dragoons as Doernberg's brigade supported by: French Cuirassiers from Esci (with reins added from bread packet twisties) British Infantry from Revell Highland Infantry from Italeri Royal Horse Artillery from Airfix Happy modelling, Kay P.S. To the Twittermeister - I am thrilled to see some of the previous pics go out on Twitter. "Ms. Bellealliance" would be more appropriate.
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Post by bellealliance on Dec 12, 2017 15:04:47 GMT
Yes, Steve, even though I have already painted 100+ Nassau, I, also, need more of the 8147 - probably 2 boxes. First to complete 1st Nassau Infantry, and second to reinforcement all the battalions from 36 to 48 figures each. And now more British Light Dragoons. I did find the figures I had painted for Doernberg's 3rd British Brigade, 23rd Light Dragoons, 1st Light Dragoons, KGL, and 2nd Light Dragoons KGL. They had been painted, but were awaiting the metallic enamels and basing, which I accomplished over the weekend. (The 3/14th Regiment just had to wait).
From left to right, the 23LD, 2 LD KGL, and 1 LD KGL. I placed them on my table with some other troops to show them in action. The light dragoon figures are all HaT 8014 KGL Light Dragoons. I still have the three regiments from Vandeleur's 4th British Brigade left to paint. Kay
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Post by bellealliance on Dec 4, 2017 20:43:34 GMT
Unpacking figures and dusting off the cobwebs! Here are my 13th Light Dragoons (Buff facings, gold/yellow lace) from HaT 8014 KGL Light Dragoons. The officer and trumpeter have their carbines carved away, while the trumpeter has his sword replaced with a trumpet from the French Line Chasseurs accessories. In the Waterloo campaign Order of Battle they are brigaded with 3rd Hussars KGL; at Waterloo they were brigaded with 7th and 15th Light Dragoons (Hussars). The unit is 3 squadrons at 6 figures each. I also have somewhere 1st and 2nd Light Dragoons KGL and 23rd Light Dragoons. Happy modelling, Kay
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Post by bellealliance on Dec 1, 2017 16:00:11 GMT
Good work. I’ve been thinking about 3D printing recently. What CAD program do you use, and how is the cost per figure?
I assume that the cost per figure is high enough that for large numbers of figures buying plastic molded figures in boxes is still more economical. But for specialists like you have created, the cost and quality of 3D printing seems worthwhile. Maybe there’s a future for a manufacturer to license designs for printing at home for sets which might not sell large quantities in boxes.
Another use for 3D printing of figures – I do many head swaps onto existing bodies – would be to produce heads or accessories. For example, I’ve made a single example of an infantryman of Espana’s Division 1813, basically Dutch Infantry body with tarleton helmet, but I don’t have sufficient helmets to equip a division.
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Post by bellealliance on Nov 30, 2017 19:34:15 GMT
Hi James, I must say, those Scalescenes downloads look like great value. Bricks for the walls, slate for roofs and maybe even a cobbled Chaussee a Bruxelles. Just sketched this plan scaled from Siborne's map, the black ink here. Shows the crossroads with the northern edge of LHS about 200 yds to the south (8 inches on my tabletop at 1 inch to 25 yards), and then the outline of LHS including its orchard nearly 400 yds southwards. The sandpit is to the east of the chaussee. The green ink represents placement of my LHS on the tabletop. I think I can live with that. Kay
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Post by bellealliance on Nov 30, 2017 14:25:39 GMT
This is the last set of images for now of my representation of La Haye Sainte, although the model will probably feature in future posts. After a first round of painting, the model is acceptable on my wargames table. The color scheme is gray roof (slate), white walls (limewashed brick), and green doors. Period prints show that the limewash had mostly fallen off, so probably brick red for most of the structure would be better, but I haven't had a chance to experiment with painting a brick pattern yet. If I come up with a technique, then maybe I can do this later. Also I have in mind that there will be several more structures to represent including the Chateau Hougoumont, and the village of Smohain with its surrounding farms, La Haye, F(r)ishermont and Papelotte. Aerial view - the final structure has a footprint of about 6 by 9 inches, exclusive of the orchard. View from the west. You see the west gateway at the end of the stables, and gaping hole of the missing barn door. View from the south - what the Marshall Ney player will see from their end of the table. So there it is, La Haye Sainte represented in 6 days - about 20 hours of work, excluding the time spent looking for pictures of the prototype. Back to painting 3/14th Foot and the other buff-faced Brits. My next craft project, I think, will be to model a baseboard representing the crossroads behind LHS, the junction between Alten's 3rd Division and Picton's 5th. Happy modelling, Kay
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Post by bellealliance on Nov 30, 2017 14:06:26 GMT
To date, I've gotten my representation of La Haye Sainte to the wargames table phase. Now a couple of posts in illustration... The loft conversion goes ahead. Two chimneys and three dormer windows are added to the roof. This was incredibly fiddly, requiring some fine jewellers forceps, and some very unladylike words. But they ended up in place. Once the PVA had dried, they can only be removed by cutting them off. The prototype appears to have had a more complicated arrangement of dormer windows and three chimneys, but was of course significantly larger in scale terms. Today, there are dormer windows on the north side of the farmhouse, but period prints show only south-facing windows overlooking the farmyard. I do have windows north and south on the ground floor of the farmhouse, but few other egresses on the outward facing walls. Brabant has been the scene of war for centuries, and I presume these farmhouses were built to be defensible, at least from foraging parties. A battalion of 13me Infanterie Legere attack in column against the east wall under cover of fire given by a battalion of Infanterie de Ligne. I didn't mention it in the previous post, but the barn ended up shorter. Originally I had thought it could extend - as its prototype does today - to the outer stable wall. From what I could gather, in 1815 the barn's west wall met the inner wall of the stables. The barn was also higher than the other buildings, but didn't look right to me, possibly a result of its shortened EW dimension. Should I remove it or not? After due consideration, I decided yes. After all, I would be looking at this on the wargames table, potentially for years, and it would always bug me. So, I ever so carefully removed the roof by cutting the seams with a craft knife. Then I could cut down the gables and side walls, and replace the roof. These pics show the barn before this modification. In the next post, you will see the barn in its final size. Happy modelling, Kay
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Post by bellealliance on Nov 27, 2017 17:55:40 GMT
Once again, beautiful painting Marcin! I can't wait to see these in stores. And then on my table.
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Post by bellealliance on Nov 27, 2017 17:37:49 GMT
Up to date pics of my representation of La Haye Sainte. The stable addition goes up. The archway leads to the west gate. You can also see the west wall of the barn, with its west doorway. This was the door in the barn, apparently, that the soldiers quartered here burnt for firewood, and much regretted by the defenders the next day! The same from overhead. Before adding the roof I painted the passageway floor in earth color, the inner walls of the passage to simulate limewash, and the inside of the door green. The remainder of the barn addition is completed. Some of the openings have been painted black. The front gate is well on its way to completion, looking noext for the roof of the dovecote. The gate is not yet glued in place. This is probably going to be its location, but I have enough extra wall on each side of the gate to play around until I'm happy. The wall itself will be three layers of cardboard when finished to give it some strength and suggest the sturdiness of its prototype. This was my project for the weekend. More posts to come as I put some finishing touches on my representation of La Haye Sainte. Happy modelling, Kay
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Post by bellealliance on Nov 27, 2017 17:20:23 GMT
Another pic of the KGL lights on the cardboard floor plan. In the back row, third from the left, you might notice a HaT officer from the British Light Infantry (8036). The remain figures are rifle-armed from the Revell British Riflemen, or musket-armed from the Revell British Infantry with stovepipe shakos from the riflemen. Some of the "Belgic" shakos thus obtained were transplanted onto the now headless riflemen to provide rifle-armed skirmishers for the KGL line battalions. The aforementioned structure (prior post in thread) that would suffice as the whole complex on a tabletop standing in for the farmhouse at the north end of La Haye Sainte's farmyard. Nearest the camera you can see where the barn will go. The model's projected width is now 5-1/2 in (EW) and 8-1/2 in (NS), the linear dimensions are still some 2-1/2 times larger than groundscale would warrant. The OCD-me is just going to have to live with it! At least on the NS axis, I can make up for this by reducing the size of the orchard. The first structure goes in. Measure twice; cut once! Before gluing the walls together, I cut out doors and windows which I then backed with cardboard. I don't know that it creates much depth, other then to make painting the windows and doors easier and thus more crisply. The windows doors and heights are more like 15mm scale (1/120), the linear dimensions even more compressed but with fewer windows and doors etc. I plan on a chimney at each end and three dormer windows on the roof. To be continued, Kay
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