13th Division, 2nd Brigade

With the 7th and 12th regiments done, all that was left to complete the Brigade was a command stand. Here is General Travers and his aide de camp (ADC).

The ADC is a modified officer, on a trooper horse. As I had no uniform reference, I took an artistic license...

Here are some views of the completed Brigade. It is a small Brigade with only 4 squadrons. The 12th (pink facing) is to the left, the 7th (yellow) to the right.

All Perry miniatures (and all metals), painted between late May and early November 2015. Flags by GMB designs. Bases by Warbases. As in the 1st Brigade, I allowed 25mm frontage per horse.

I will base all the Division at the same time to get a uniform rendering across all units.

7th Cuirassier, part 3

And here is the 7th Cuirassier completed! In 1815 it totalled 180 men for 2 squadrons. At 1:20 ratio, that makes 9 miniatures. That is the smallest cuirassier regiment in the French army at that date.

Colonel Richardot does not seem very happy to be photographed!

7th Cuirassier, part 2

About 3 weeks into this regiment, I have completed the command stand of the 7th Cuirassier (Colonel, trumpetter and Eagle bearer) and started working on one more cuirassier. So here are some photos of the work so far.

I gave the Colonel a black horse.

The trumpetter: as usual it took ages to achieve a satisfying results on the horse grey! also, that was a lot of yellow on the uniform... a pain to paint: over a black priming it takes at least two layers!

And the Eagle bearer. Note the flag has not been glued yet.

 The last few photos are WIP, and may be the most interesting. They show how I first prime black and drybrush in grey, then paint the horse, then paint the rider (barely started here).

The experienced eye will notice that I painted a number (the 7) on the saddle cloth where we often have a grenade (as in my other three Cuirassier regiments). I thought it would add variety.

7th Cuirassier, part 1

And here comes the 7th Cuirassier. This two squadrons strong regiment only had 180 men. This makes 9 miniatures - a small regiment indeed.

It is just as well: painting yellow can be difficult, and yellow is the distinctive colour here. As usual, I added an epaulette to the officer to promote him to colonel, and I replaced the flag pole.

 

This regiment, together with the 12th, will wrap up the 2nd Brigade of the 13th Division. I have kept the smallest regiment for the end, this helps when motivation and stamina are getting lower :)

As I was preparing this miniatures, I also prepared the Brigade General stand. I converted an officer into an ADC: I am not entirely happy with the outcome: the right shoulder it slightly too high - hopefully no one will notice...

Now... to the paintbrushes!

12th Cuirassier, part 2

So I eventually got round this 12th Cuirassier. Holidays and family matters meant this regiment was painted at yet slower pace than usual. As mentioned before, these 12 horses make up two squadron.

I enjoyed painting this unit though. I gave it a bit of a 'rough' touch, with various trouser colours and missing cuirasses. I think the pink colour came up nicely (pink distinguishes the 12th regiment).

Flag by GMB as usual. The bases are magnetised. Basing will be completed at a later data, with the rest of the division, in one go.

Generic Line Infantry Brigade, 1812-1814

Painted between November 2013 and June 2014, this is a 4 battalions strong Brigade of line infantry totalling 96 miniatures - representing a 1920-strong Brigade at the usual 1:20 ratio. These are Calpe Miniatures, in 'route march' pose.

Calpe are great, great quality miniatures. Detail and historical accuracy are unbeatable. They are slightly bigger and Perrys miniatures, but well worth having in a collection. And also, what a variety of miniatures! There may be more than 50 different models in there (!!). Check the Calpe Miniatures website if you don't know this range yet.

I used washes heavily on these. I am not sure I would do it again, but it definitely helped painting faster.

One regiment (two battalions) has uncovered s hakos. Note that the 1st battalions of a regiment can be identified to the Eagle guard (two men with halberds) and plain pompoms. The 2nd battalion has a white patch in the pompom. They would be also more easily identified if the flags/fanions were not covered!

 

The other regiment has covered shakos. I thought I would keep some uniformity across the regiments - I already went for a mix of greatcoat and trousers colours.

And for views of the full brigade (as on all photos, click to enlarge):

The only downside to the Calpe range is that there are no skirmishers (yet) nor generals (yet).

Last thing to mention, the basing: 15mm frontage, 40x30mm magnetic bases (for transport). I also got movement trays from http://war-bases.co.uk, on which I should eventually stick some metallic tape.

12th Cuirassier, part 1

Next is the 12th Cuirassier -  part of the second brigade. During the hundred days, it was 2 squadrons and 258 men strong. This makes 12 miniatures - still all Perry metals.

To add a bit of variety to the overall project, I will mix in some cuirassiers without the actual cuirasse. The 11th Cuirassier was known for its lack of cuirasses, so let's suppose the 12th was not fully equiped either!

The 12 miniatures have been prepared for painting (flash removed, horse legs untwisted, blades straightened) and you will notice my few modifications (flag pole, colonel 2nd epaulette made of green stuff).

Given how real life keeps me busy, and given the summer plans, this unit may not be completed until the Autumn!

13th Division, 1st Brigade

This is it, I completed the brigade command stand recently, so this wraps up the 1st Brigade of the 13th division! The Perry heavy cavalry commanders are all very richly dressed,  not so much the look of general I was after, but I shouldn't complain, the pose is really dynamic and eye catching!

I used a 75mm round base. Quite large, but looks good to me. The general is followed by a 4th Cuirassiers NCO.

 close up on the NCO:

with the actual brigade in the background...

 

and finally the full brigade!

This project is taking time, and I only managed to complete this brigade in 8 months... the 2nd brigade is yet to be done, but real life may well get in the way and slow me down a bit further! Nevermind, who said I was in a rush?