Glossing over

I had a pot of Humbrol Satin Cote that lasted for years and years. I used it to varnish everything from WWII tanks through to ACW and of course my Hintons. It dried to just the right sheen for my liking – not too matt, not too glossy, satin in fact (exactly as it said on the tin). Having drained every last drop I had to buy a new one a few months ago but everything I coat with this one ends up glossy. I’ve tried stirring, shaking and yelling but it makes no difference to the result. If I were starting this project again from scratch I probably would have used gloss varnish anyway so it’s not really a problem that things are drifting in that direction – it just would have been nice to be asked!

This latest shiny offering is listed in the Hinton Hunt Catalogue as General Baraguay d’Hilliers, Colonel General of Dragoons - FN362 on Horse FNH10. I’m slightly baffled as to why Marcus Hinton included d’Hilliers in his range of personality figures whilst leaving off more deserving characters like Marshal Lannes. The only thing of real note I can find on d’Hilliers is that he commanded the French Reserve Cavalry at Austerlitz and that he later surrendered his Division during the retreat from Moscow (this didn’t go down too well with the Emperor). He died in early 1813 presumably from the ill effects of campaigning through a Russian winter.

This figures is one of the “factory painted” vintage ones I bought via eBay a couple of years ago. The previous owner – Tony – told me that he ordered a batch of painted personality figures from Hinton Hunt in the seventies as a treat. They apparently took months to turn up and he was so disappointed with them that they had to be re-touched to the point of being almost entirely repainted. I’m glad Tony told me this as otherwise I would have felt bad about stripping the paint from such a rarity. Anyway, into the bleach he went and this is my version faithfully following Tony’s colour scheme, which I have assumed followed the original factory paint scheme.

General d’Hilliers will have the honour of commanding the French Heavy Cavalry in my army.