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Thursday, 12 February 2009

Royal Marines

I had a little mishap with the digital camera and although it only bounced once it didn’t really want to work anymore after hitting the floor. Mrs S was surprisingly understanding (it’s her camera) and returned from a trip to the shop we bought it from with a newer better model – apparently we had a two year guarantee and she somehow managed to convince them to replace it.

This is one of my first shots with the new camera (the wrist strap was firmly attached throughout) and I haven’t quite got the hang of the settings yet, hence it’s just a tad blurry. The subject matter is the results of my painting over the last week namely a company of Royal Marines. The figures are vintage Hinton Hunt castings of:

1 x BN111 Marine Officer (charging)
5 x BN115 Marine (firing)

You may remember that I already have 6 other Marines and a Company of Seamen that I painted some time ago. They were done before I decided to go for 24 figure infantry units in my army which left me 6 figures short. My Christmas figure haul included some Clayton Seamen castings and this prompted me to get the rest of these lads painted up. The finished “Naval Battalion” will therefore be made up of 12 Marines and 12 Seamen.
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8 comments:

  1. Steve-the-Wargamer13 February 2009 at 12:25

    ...lovely crisply painted figures, and likewise a nice crisp photo...

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  2. Stryker13 February 2009 at 15:42

    Steve - thanks for that. Actually the photo looks better than I thought now it's up on Blogger (considering I took it by the light of my desk lamp}. Maybe now I should try dropping my PC to see if Mrs S can work her magic on that!

    Ian

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  3. Anonymous14 February 2009 at 00:06

    Very neat indeed...and you have an image of the man who taught me everything I know about being a father on your mousemat. Outstanding!

    Matt Simpson

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  4. Stryker14 February 2009 at 09:10

    Doh!

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  5. rpardo14 February 2009 at 10:55

    Hi
    Where in the world do fought these marine men?... Maybe in the Egyptian Napoleon's Campaign?
    Regards
    Rafa

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  6. Stryker14 February 2009 at 13:06

    Rafa - I'm not sure where they fought other than at Trafalgar (hey, didn't they take out the Spanish there?). However, my Naval Battalion is a fictonal unit of course. Anyone know of any examples of Napoleonic Royal Marines fighting in a proper land battle?

    Ian

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  7. DC14 February 2009 at 14:53

    Marines were landed in numerous locations during the Napoleonic wars - Europe, Africa, the Americas. You'll find basic details here:
    http://www.napoleon-series.org/military/organization/Britain/Marines/c_marines.html

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  8. Stryker14 February 2009 at 19:27

    Thanks to Don who emailed to let me know that it was Royal Marines that burnt down the White House in 1814:

    "At about 10:30 pm, approximately 150 Royal Marines formed up in columns and began marching westward on Pennsylvania Avenue, following the route used in modern times for inauguration day parades. The British troops moved quickly, with a particular destination in mind. Arriving at the president's mansion, Admiral Cockburn reveled in his triumph. He entered the building with his men, and the British began picking up souvenirs. Cockburn took one of Madison's hats, and a cushion from Dolley Madison's chair. The troops also drank some of Madison's wine and helped themselves to food. With the frivolity ended, the British Marines systematically set fire to the mansion by standing on the lawn and hurling torches through the windows. The house began to burn. The British troops next turned their attention to the adjacent Treasury Department building, which was also set on fire."

    http://history1800s.about.com/od/americanwars/tp/1814washingtonburns.htm

    The Treasury – now there’s an idea…

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