I have now managed to varnish and base the British Guards in my collection of Del Prado pre-painted 25/28mm-scale Napoleonic figures.
There are six bases of a British Guards, each base having three figures.
There are six bases of a British Guards, each base having three figures.
This is an absolutely wonderful series of postings you're doing on this minis Bob. Thoroughly enjoying them and looking forward to a few BatReps featuring them :-)
ReplyDeleteBob,
ReplyDeleteI guess these are portraying the Duke's order, according to some sources, of 'Stand up, Guards. Fire!'
The Robert Dighton paintings of Waterloo show the Guards in white trousers, as here, but I understand that he may have mistakenly copied their parade dress from the occupation of Paris and that they wore grey overalls - like the line - in the battle itself.
I'm sure this won't concern you unduly or have you reaching for your paintbrush...
Regards,
Arthur
Blaxkleric,
ReplyDeleteI am very pleased that you have enjoyed this series of blog entries. I am about halfway through this project, and hope to have it completed in time for the 200th anniversary on the Battle of Waterloo. With luck I hope to manage a few play-tests of the rules I intend to use beforehand.
All the best,
Bob
Arthur1815,
ReplyDeleteAlmost all the figures in the collection are in some form of firing pose, either standing or kneeling. This would not have been my first choice of pose, but beggars can't be choosers,
The figures came with white trousers and so I decided to stick with them rather than re-painting them blue-grey. It also makes them easier to spot on the tabletop.
All the best,
Bob
A big vote for the Guards in white pants, and for the same reasons - they look good, and it makes them stand out on the tabletop!
ReplyDeleteGonsalvo,
ReplyDeleteThey might not be 100% historically accurate, but I agree with you; I hink that the white trousers look good. After all, they are going to be used in a wargame, not a diorama ... and the trousers do make it easy to identify them.
All the best,
Bob
Bob,
ReplyDeleteIf one accepts the view of the anonymous British soldier whose account of Waterloo begins "I was all day trodden in the mud..." brown trousers might be the most appropriate for all units on foot!
I agree that the white trousers look good, and are a simple way to identify Guards units. And why shouldn't one recreate the contemporary, albeit slightly inaccurate, portrayal of troops?
If I were painting Peninsular War armies, I would be very tempted to follow the style of the William Heath aqatints in Jenkins' Martial Achievements, which frequently portray French infantry in red trousers long before les pantalons rouges became standard issue...
Regards,
Arthur
Arthur1815,
ReplyDeleteThe figures had what I thought were badly painted white trousers; now I realise that they may have been painted to represent dirty, muddied white trousers ... and I overpainted them to look freshly laundered! Oops!
I have quite a few French Infantry to paint ... and I am thinking about repainting the trousers/breeches on some of them in various shades of cream/light grey/brown (all colours I have seen them wearing in illustrations) just to make them easier to differentiate them on the tabletop.
All the best,
Bob