28mm 1st Carlist War-Carlists: 1st Guipuzcoan

 

Here is the first of four battalions for this brigade. They wear the frockcoat and red boina although I have mixed them up with civilian type dress for variety. I have given them a cleric too for added fervour! I plan to do the 1st (red boina), 2nd (blue boina), 4th (red boina) and 5th (white boina).

Eighteen figures in the battalion plus 3 skirmishers. I think that Carlist battalions were likely to be larger than Liberal ones so I may well add an extra 6 figures in due course. My Libereal battalions will be 20 figures strong and 2 skirmishers.

28mm 1st Carlist War-Carlists: 2 x 3pdrs Mountain guns.

 

This represents a small 2 gun battery as might have been attached to a Carlist Infantry brigade. These guns were carried on the backs of mules to get them over the mountains quickly. The Carlists were very short of artillery at the start of the war but, as it progressed, they managed to make their own, capture others from the Liberals as well as smuggle pieces over the porus Pyrenean border.

I have painted the mule as per the attached illustration. I also attach a very atmospheric picture I took off the web which looks like it might be of re-enactors. But I have no idea of where or when this photograph was taken. I have used the gun colour shown to paint mine a pale blue-grey.

Next up will be Guipuzcoan infantry.

28mm Wars of the Roses: Archers

A new project has started – Wars of the Roses. These are Perry plastic Archers – six bases of 6 figures. The bases are from Charlie Foxtrot Figures in the UK and all figures are on circular bases so can be removed to record casualties. The livery colour is red/white.

 

28mm 1st Carlist War-Carlists: Guipuzcoan Lancers

 

The last Carlist post on my blog was back in 2018 and I showed two infantry units. But I was never totally happy with them and I sold them. With this post I return to the subject and there will be a number of new units over the following weeks as I aim to assemble my first Carlist Guipuzcoan brigade which will have 4 battalions of infantry, one cavalry regiment (here) and a single mountain battery.

Looking at various sources, the Guipuzcoan lancers appear to have had two uniforms. The Perry website shows this uniform with a green coat while another source shows a red coat. For the purposes of variety I have gone for the green.

28mm Palatinate: Infantry Regiment Prinz Karl von Zweibrücken 1st and 2nd battalions

 

Another Palatine regiment to join the division I will paint (5/8ths finished) which will be allied with a French division to fight the Hessians.

This regiment was part of the Subsidienkorps, the Palatine auxillary corps that served with the French in the SYW.

Flags were very generously sent to me by Frederic Aubert and they are very pretty.

28mm Palatinate: Infantry Regiment Osten 1st and 2nd battalions

Sorry I have posted very little recently but I have been busy with other projects and now I am back in my prefered period.

This regiment was part of the Subsidienkorps, the Palatine auxillary corps that served with the French in the SYW. I plan to paint a full division of eight or nine battalions to serve with my French. Figures are from Black Hussar although a Crusader has snook into the ranks.

Flags were very generously sent to me by Frederic Aubert and they are very pretty.

These troops, largely formed from Protestants, were uneasy allies of their paymasters. 

 

1:700 Napoleonic Ships: HMS Goliath, HMS Elephant and HMS Bellerophon

 

Back in a post here on 3^rd March 2009 I wrote about a French 74 SOL I had completed using Skytrex metal ships. Since then WarlordGames has come out with their range of plastic ships which are a great deal cheaper. Here are three plastics from their range (specifically the box of three British 3^rd raters) which I have painted ready to be based.

These ships are great and a good deal easier to put together than the Skytrex (now Meridian) ones, available here

https://navymodelsandbooks.co.uk/product-category/meridian-1700-scale-trafalgar-ships/

A squadron of three ships from Meridian costs £74. The same squadron of three ships from WLG costs 39 euros (their website sells to me in euros) or about £33.

The WLG ones come in plastic with some extra metal bits for variety. Ratlines are in acetate which looks best varnished when the model is finished and are, I think, easier to use than etched brass ratlines that Meridian supply.

I have done as much rigging as I plan to do – just sufficient to my eye to be representational rather than an accurate reproduction.

For rules I plan to use “Fire as She Bears II” from the guys over at Little Wars TV. What I like about their rules is the basing on octagonal bases making movement easy. They have used Langton ships so, as these are 1:700, I will need to double the size of the octagon bases. Mine, when they arrive, will be 6” wide. Have a look at this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-wb3Akqqz4&list=PLEWca2QgjqPQalf1KbZjkCaMoI8HTg8Pr&index=15

I started my wargaming with Wooden Ships and Iron Men using Airfix plastic ships of the line.