When I painted my RHA limber I had completely forgotten that I had a limber rider lurking in the Hinton Hunt lead pile so he missed out. Having just come across him I thought it only proper to paint him up and seat him in his rightful place. The figure is BN26 Gunner riding on limber (right side).I must admit that the overall effect is now more reminiscent of someone engaged on a pleasant pony and trap ride rather than thundering into action with the Royal Horse Artillery. I think this is due to only having a two-horse team rather than the six required for a serious bit of kit. As I’ve said before this is due primarily to a lack of HH limber horses in my collection but also because such a large model would take up too much precious room on the wargame table.
A couple of years ago I was lucky enough to see the King’s Troop RHA put on their display at the Devon County Show. It was a stunning sight (only to be equalled by seeing the Naval Gun Team at the Royal Tournament as a kid) and I was very impressed with their skill at manoeuvring the limber teams at speed. It gave me a small glimpse of what a Napoleonic battle may have looked like and it occurred to me that just watching the enemy deploying in battle must have been a very unnerving experience for the participants - no wonder the Duke of Wellington preferred his men to lie down on a reverse slope where they couldn’t see what was coming.
9 comments:
Yes, the limber rider makes the whole look odly unbalanced.
Why don't you make up a pair of horses on a separate base to go in front?? That would solve the problem for display purposes and then you could remove them for gaming?/
Roy
Hi
I agree with Roy: use an aditional pair of horses in a detachable base. I use it for wargaming purposes and the ffect is enhanced. Moreover, use two seated gunners and the martial look will be superb!
Regards
Rafa
Thanks chaps - you are of course correct that I need to add an extra 2-horse base to make the thing look balanced. I'm going to have to have a bit of a re-think on how I represent limbers in my army and as I still have French, Russian and Austrian limbers to add I need to count up those horses.
Ian
2 more thoughts, 1 is to use 4 horse for the dashing horse artillery and only 2 for the plodding foot guns. Seems to me Peter Guilder suggested using 1 full limber & gun for a battery of several guns instead of a 1:1 ratio of limbers to guns. Ross Mac
I like the way you're thinking Ross because this is exactly what I am now considering! I think 2 horses for the boring old foot artillery and 4 for the glittering horse artillery is a good compromise. I'm going to sort through my limbers, horses and riders tonight to see what I can do. Thanks for your comment.
Ian
Hi,
I also agree with Roy. I seem to remember reading an article by Peter Guilder many years ago where he advocated using a separate base for the front pair of horses of the team.
Richard
Hi there Redlancer - thanks for dropping by. On reflection I am going to make all limbers up to 4-horse ones including a detachable 2-horse base for each one. This way they will look right on the table. However they will probably remain as decorative items as I will only be fielding one per nationality.
Ian
That's a pity (fielding 1 limber each) Gun batteries have a large area of clutter behind them, limbers, caissons, spare whjeel wagons and sometimes a forge. I like to represent that with the limbers. Having just the one means that you cannot show all the kit. Mind you,, painting all the stuff is a daunting task. I'd have thought two limbers per nationality would be a minimum.
Roy
Ok then Roy, I'll tell you what - I'll try and do 2 per nationality if I can get the horses!
Ian
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