Saturday, May 31, 2014

Summer Break Painting Marathon Begins! Part 1-VIII Corps

I've been working on several projects during the school year. Been slogging through painting Junot's VIII Corps for Napoleon at War. This is has been a rather frustrating project as I've had to size-match these weird sized Man at War figures with other manufacturers.

I've had an VIII Corps for years in both 25mm (real 25 before it became 28/30mm) and in 15mm. It was the only Corps the guys running a campaign when I was an eager newbie could remember no one would paint. Everyone paints "The Guard" or generic "French".  What war gamers tend to forget is that Napoleon just didn't take a load of wine swilling Frenchmen to Russia, or Spain when he went on his Grand Tour.  The Corsican Brother made sure the German princes he supported and maintained plus his immediate familial 'kings' sent an allotted and REQUIRED number of troops for Napoleon's soirees in Europe and Russia.

I've used Nafziger's OB as a foundation source. Please feel free to flame on on using it. I won't care. The Corps is almost done. Here's what I've got left to paint to finish the Corps: 2 Chevaux Leger Lancer regiments (using New Line Miniatures), Garde Grenadier Battalion (New Line Miniatures), Garde Jagers (New Line Miniatures), Voltigeurs of the Garde Battalion plus a box set of Man at War French infantry to paint up as Westfalian Line Infantry.  I'm adding a French Heavy Cavalry Brigade because I can and an additional Light Cavalry Brigade because the figures have languished way too long in the "Steve paint this stuff" drawer in my painting room.   I decided to use New Line 20mm Napoleonics as a relatively similar (nice fit) fit for the huge Men at War figures.   I'm alternating painting these guys with 28mm ECW for Black Powder Pike and Shotte, 54mm AWI and Napoleonics from All the King's Men.  Anyway, here's the work in progress:
ADC Painted as an officer of King Jerome's Hussars (the Crabs)

Foot Artillery Batteries-Still need another...

Four Feet of Ham Eaters! Work in Progress!

Horse Artillery and Westfalian 1st and 2nd Hussars
(artillery are Men at War, cavalry are New Line Miniatures)

Another picture of the Horse Artillery. They were fun to paint (sorta')

Light Battalions for each brigade of VIII Corps (New Line Miniatures) 

Ham Eater Line Infantry (Man at War)

More Hussar pics..geez I like them already....

Close up of New Line French Light Infantry
Painted as Westfalian Line Light Infantry

Four Feet of Westfalian Ham Eaters!

Foot Artillery deployed (Man at War miniatures)

Foot Arty Again

Westfalian Brain Trust (oxymoron?)
Men at War miniatures from box set



Line Light Infantry closer up
(New Line Miniatures)


4 comments:

  1. Great work, Steve. I have the Westphalian division in my 15mm French Army of Spain. Too bad they are at 60:1 and don't convert to NaW...

    Oh, and about the drawing at top? Acck, phhppt!

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  2. Thanks...that drawing was taken from the old Empires, Eagles and Lions newsletter from the distant past. Those characters are the guys who wrote the newsletter. Mike Gilbert was the artist. I always liked his "poor General Junot" op-ed column. The Westfalians are fun and at my age, I need to be able to SEE the damned figures. White uniforms does the trick for my old lard arse! We need to play ATKM!!!
    I'm putting on a game at Texicon. It's usually a pretty empty game. Come on up and let's roll dice and drink some beers!

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  3. Yes, I recognized the artwork, hence the Acck Pfft from Bill the Cat. I loved how he always depicted the Austrians in white sheets and chasing livestock. I had a subscription to the last 4 or 5 years of the original EE&L, then the glossy one after that. They are around here, somewhere.

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