Ten years (surely some mistake?)

Apparently, and rather incredibly, it is ten years since I started this blog. I never for a moment thought I would still be plugging away collecting and painting Hinton Hunt figures in 2017 but here I am and the collection continues to grow.

I wanted to take a photo of all my figures for this post but unfortunately most of them are still packed away following our recent move, instead here are some of the highlights from the blog year by year.

2007 - my little stash of Hinton Hunt figures that started this project. Looking at the contents of the box now I can see that nearly all of these figures have been painted with the exception of the marching Old Guard, probably time I got on with them (zoom in to take a look).

2008 - this photo of the great man himself was sent to me by his daughter Tanya.

2009 - I completed my unit of Silesian Landwehr. I have fond memories of this particular figure type as it was the first Hinton Hunt figure I ever painted back in 1970 (or thereabouts).

2010 - the Battle of the Crossroads, a fun little solo game that was the first outing of my Swiss unit. The Swiss, as you know have been in the thick of the fighting ever since. The castings are wonderful original ones that came from Mark D and were most ably painted by Matt G.

2011 - one of the first games I played with Roy (back when we were still thrashing out the details of the rules) involved this charge of the Scots Greys against the 45th ligne. The French kept their eagle on this occasion.

2012 - I painted the 9th legere. This is one of my favourite figures, showing Marcus Hinton at his very best. The 9th legere haven't had much table time as they are based individually as skirmishers so I am in the process of adding another 6 figures to their ranks so they can serve as a close order battalion.

2013 - Roy's splendid Russian army. Apart from being a huge inspiration to me, Roy is the most enthusiastic and prodigious assembler of Hinton Hunt armies that has ever lived!

2014 - I completed the 2nd Regiment de Grenadiers-a-Pied de la Garde Imperiale. Finally the emperor had a unit truly worthy to serve him on the field of mars. They've taken a few knocks since but have never routed (possibly because the rules are stacked in their favour).

2015 - a boyhood dream come true, refighting the battle of Waterloo (in the 200th anniversary year) using Hinton Hunt figures. I can still say this is the best wargame I've ever played, truly stunning looking table, great bunch of chaps and the right result!

2016 - the ultimate game, Vintage Leipzig. I doubt if so many Hinton Hunt figures have ever been assembled for a game since the 1970's. Roy excelled himself and hosted another spectacular event having built a huge Austrian army in less than six months - go Roy!

Thanks to everybody who has supported this project over the years with figures, encouragement, comments and information, without you my enthusiasm would doubtless have fizzled out long ago.