French Grenadier

This is my test figure for the next infantry unit in the painting queue. It’s a vintage casting of FN2 French Grenadier Charging. I only noticed while taking the photo that it looks as if a round shot has gone clean through this poor chap just below his left shoulder – perhaps I need to get a smaller rat-tailed file.

In the very last order I made to Hinton Hunt in 1973 I ordered 72 of these figures along with a few other types. I think I have explained before that back in those days I had very little knowledge about unit organisation and had no idea about the correct ratio of grenadiers to fusiliers etc. I simply made all infantry units up of 24 of the same figures so three battalions of grenadiers was no problem.

I was going to follow this same principle with my new armies but I ran into a snag because I didn’t have quite enough fusilier figures to complete a full unit and had to double up on command groups to make up the numbers (click here for a reminder). However, this has bugged me ever since so my solution will be to spilt the fusilier unit in two and add 12 grenadier figures to each. This isn’t quite as crazy as it seems as I will paint half of the grenadiers as voltigeurs so I’ll end up with two more balanced looking infantry battalions. This is the plan but I still have 23 more of these figures to paint before I get there.

RHA Limber updated

This is the revised and very definitely final version of my Royal Horse Artillery limber. Actually I’m quite impressed with it, as somehow I seem to have accumulated a full set with four horses, two limber horse riders and both limber-box riders. I found the left-side limber rider in my lead pile along with an extra horse rider. This was quite a surprise to me and confirms that I really do need to go through and reorganise the way I store my Hinton Hunt stash.

This is the full line up:

1 x AL2 British Limber (vintage HH)
2 x H1 Allied draughthorse, nearside (vintage HH)
2 x H2 Allied draughthorse, offside (vintage HH)
1 x BN26 Gunner riding on limber (right side – vintage HH)
1 x BN27 Gunner riding on limber (left side – vintage HH)
1 x BN28 Driver positioned for riding gun horse (vintage HH)
1 x Driver positioned for riding gun horse (Der Kriegspielers)

I particularly like the two limber-box riders clinging on for dear life. It must have been quite an experience charging into action on one of those things. It’s also interesting to see the comparison between the Hinton Hunt horse rider (nearest the limber) and the Der Kreigspielers one (at the front). The DK model is again a bit thin and weedy but a nice figure all the same.

I think the finished item is far less pony and trap like (forgive my cockney rhyming slang) than it was before, being a more substantial representation of an RHA limber. Captain Mercer has certainly given it his full approval.