Whilst waiting for the plastic bits and pieces to arrive (they have now - more of which later) I had a think about the cavalry component of a "Napoleonic" era B-S army.
By this time the State had expanded eastward and the main enemy remained the perfidious Turk. Added to this foe are the various petty warlords in the colonies. Considering the near-Medieval nature of Oriental armies, it seemed only natural that armoured lancers would be desirable. Such troopers would have a degree of protection from missile fire plus the extra reach to hit the enemy first - well that's the idea anyway!
 |
| The components. |
Trawling around for figures I realised I would have a limited choice, namely Cuirassier standard/guidon bearers. I didn't want to go French as the geographical location and politics of my ImagiNation do not suggest Francophilia. The choice was further simplified by a trip to Leigh-on-Sea (to collect a parrot - bizarre I know) which is pretty close to the Essex Miniatures factory...
I made a shortlist and went into the showroom for a browse. I decided that the best figures for the project were the later Russian Cuirassiers. The only downside was that they sport the "brush" type crest rather than the caterpillar I wanted. Yes Essex do the earlier style but the standard bearer does not have quite the right look for use as a lancer.
I have tentatively selected a Dixon horse as it is a great little figure and there was one in the spares box. Yes the shabraque may need work but this will be determined as I go.
Working on the plume re-sculpting has been most frustrating as my usual putty mix didn't work well - this will be the subject of a future posting. I want to simplify the conversions as I need 10 of these (plus command) for the Regiment so the work will be kept as minimal as is possible.
More to follow...
Promising!
ReplyDeleteAn Austrian 'brother', the creator of Herrschaden -unfortunately 'off the wargaming loop' for more than a year now- similarly intended to build whole units of standard-bearers minis to have lancers in 18th C. dress (cuirassiers du Roi, Mousquetaires, British and French Grenadiers a cheval) as cavalry of the Knight Order successor state of Langdouc. It was even decided to give the 4 regiments horses corresponding the 4 Horsemen of the Apocalypse, by order of 'seniority'!
Please don't forget 18th C. B-S!
Hello Abdul!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the support. As always a positive response.
My true love remains the C18 but I just got a new appetite for the Napoleonic era recently.
Now that all three children are at school I am hoping that I will have the time to devote to the whole wargames thing.