Tuesday 19 August 2008

Merde!

Due to a distraction caused by another project (the unexpected decision to re-base my entire 15mm Napoleonic figure collection – don’t ask!), I have made zero progress on the Austrians. This resulted in me rummaging about in the Hinton Hunt box to find something worthy of a blog post and this is the result:

1 x FN367 General Cambronne, on foot
1 x FN27 Old Guard Officer, marching
1 x FN28 Old Guard Sergeant, marching
8 x FN29 Old Guard Grenadier, marching

General Cambronne’s last stand with the Imperial Guard is the stuff of legends. In the failing light at the climax of the Battle of Waterloo when called upon to give up, he is said to have exclaimed “La Garde meurt, elle ne se rend pas!” or “The Guard dies, it does not surrender!”. Rather less dramatically he was attributed with actually saying “Merde!” or “sh*t” which, to be honest, seems more likely given the fact that he did surrender to a British Officer after wandering too far away from the relative safety of an infantry square.

This figure of Cambronne is interesting in that the eBay seller I bought it from said it was a ‘factory painted’ one. Hinton Hunt Figures offered a painting service at prices that seemed astronomical to me as a lad. The paint job is not fabulous and I know that the previous owner (disappointed when he received it) has re-touched the figure. This leaves me in a little bit of a quandary because, as you know, I like to completely repaint my vintage figures but feel it’s disrespectful to strip the paint from this one.

The Guardsmen are also vintage figures that I bought a couple of years ago when it was still possible to get hold of them on eBay without having to consult the Bank Manager first. I have a full unit of 24 figures and they look like suitably seasoned campaigners in their faded uniforms – these chaps will definitely be re-painted, the only question is when?

14 comments:

rpardo said...

Ian
Ha ha ha... rebasing.... it sounds like a new ruleset.... isn`t it?
Tha Cambronne figure looks very fine.
Rafa

Anonymous said...

Now then, I remember when all aerosol sprays left that "lumpy" undercoat. Nowadays you have to buy special "textured" aerosols to get the same effect. Nostalgia..at a price!

Paint them now, after all, they are the Old Guard and deserve special brush strokes.

Matt

Stryker said...

Rafa,

Yes it's true! I have been seduced by "Age of Eagles" (Napoleonic Fire & Fury). Only another 3 sheets of plasti-card, 2 kilos of flock and a litre of superglue and I'm done.

Ian

Stryker said...

Matt,

How can you do that? You know I'm a sucker for your suggestions! I will start on the OG after I finish my 15 mils, after I finish the Autrians, after I return from the session with my re-basing therapist...

Ian

Anonymous said...

Hi Ian, Re-basing.......yes, tell me about it! I'll mail you some photos, but apart from the hard work, there is alot to be said for re-basing : my 1812 US figures were based on plastic card with green Basetex some twelve years ago. Now re-basing onto Litko wooden bases, and highlighting the new Basetex, makes a significant improvement. In addition, the Litko bases are thick enough to allow me to glue printed unit titles to the rear vertical face - no more squinting at faded scribbles on the underneath of the base to try and work out which unit it is.

As for Cambronne, my choice would be to leave him, but repaint the guardsmen.

Regards, Iain

Sharon said...

Ian

As a non-partial observer of your model making (being your wife), I would like say that the family cannot take any more rebasing. Be happy with what you have....

Stryker said...

Too late Sharon the old bases are already off...

Ian

Anonymous said...

Ian,

Just mailed you 'before and after' pictures with regards to re-basing.

Regards,

Iain

Vintage Wargaming said...

Hi Ian

I could find you a new Cambronne (unpainted) if you want to start from scratch.

Having now reached 680 posts on the Hinton Hunter blog covering the ACW, Colonial, ECW, and Medieval ranges as well as the Napoleonics, I have felt the need to start a companion to look at other manufacturers, starting with Alberken:

http://theoldmetaldetector.blogspot.com/

to give me something to do before getting on to the Crimeans, Ancients, Norman Conquest...

Regards

Clive

Anonymous said...

Hi Ian

Interesting collection. You started gaming about the same time as me. I used to have a Hinton Hunt collection but now only have 40 or so figures left. I will never use these again so I wanted to know if you needed any more lead. They are all originals which I bought from the shop in Camden Passage.

Mark

Stryker said...

Mark,

I would be interested to know what you have - perhaps you could email me direct (just go to my blog profile for the email link). I had promised myself not to get any more figures until I have painted at least 100 more from the lead mountain but...

Ian

ray said...

hi ihave just recieved a few hundred unpainted 54mm hinton hunt figures and wonder if anyone has any information on them. are they worth painting or is it best to try to sell them ?

Stryker said...

Hi Ray

I'm afraid I don't know anything much about the 54mm figures, perhaps someone else can enlighten us?

Ian

Anonymous said...

Re. Cambronne's famous "merde". In France in many years past this was known as "le mot de Cambronne" and used as euphemism in polite society for "merde". :)