Basing

I have a bit of a problem when it comes to basing. Quite simply I can never decide what looks best and when I do decide I tend to change my mind. Some of my wargame figures have been re-based many times over to which my long suffering wife can testify “Do you think the dry brushed sand with the pale green flock or the grey boulders with lichen?”

When I started this project I initially thought I should mount the infantry figures on scenic bases in groups of six and I tried this with my first batch of figures. They did actually look pretty good but I had a problem. One of the appealing characteristics of Hinton Hunt Figures is their unique square base with rounded corners. Apart from the aesthetics, the base on the figures is the best way to tell if they are genuine vintage castings or not and I didn’t want this feature to be hidden away.

The solution was to go back to basics and use simple plasti-card bases which was exactly what I ended up doing with my 1970’s army (after trying plywood cut with a blunt hacksaw!). The figures are mounted in threes with a two and a one in each unit for casualty removal. The frontage per three-figure base is 40mm with a depth of 15mm and the whole stand is painted with Humbrol matt green 80. I have gone a few steps further into the realms of the sad anorak by adding a label under each base with the figure code.

Apart from the “Old School” look achieved this system has a practical function to help me with my problem – it makes the figures very easy to remove for re-basing!

Eagle Guard

And here they are - the Eagle Guard of the French 45th Regiment of the Line. Historically the Colour Guard was made up of the Porte-Aigle, a veteran of 10 years service, and two sergeants with similarly impressive credentials. As I have no sergeants I have substituted 2 Officer figures. The picture shows:

FN4 Colour Bearer Charging
FN1 Officer Charging

The Eagle Bearer figure has a flag cast on the pole. Hinton Hunt Figures only produced 2 Flag Bearer figures in their entire Napoleonic range, this French one and a British infantry bearer (both Regimental and Kings Colours). The flag on this model actually has the battle honours of the 45th engraved on it - Austerlitz, Friedland, Essling, Jena & Wagram. Hinton must have had darn good eyesight because I struggled to follow this incredible detail with my paintbrush.

The Guard’s job was to defend the Eagle from all comers. The Scots Greys captured this one at Waterloo but as I don’t have any Hinton Hunt Greys I recon it should be safe. Anyway, as already noted, my 45th have two Eagles due to a lack of infantrymen so they have a better than usual chance of preserving their honour.

Half way there

This is the first half of my unit of French Fusiliers - the 45th Regiment of the Line if you remember. The 45th had their eagle captured at Waterloo but these clever fellows have obviously left theirs back at barracks to avoid such a disgrace.

I confess that I have found it hard going painting this lot but having reached the halfway point I hope it will speed up. I have tried many times over the years to paint with production line methods in the hope of achieving a quicker turn around but in the end I always tend to paint just 3 figures at a time. More than this and I start to feel that painting has become a chore rather than an enjoyment.

These models deserve the attention however as they are all vintage Hinton Hunt castings that have turned out to be surprisingly rare considering that Fusilier figures should be the core of any French wargame army. Like many of the Hintons they have a very distinctive quirky stance. Perhaps not one of the best examples of Marcus Hinton’s work but when the command groups are added I still expect the Regiment to pass muster.

Berry Head

Now what has this got to do with Hinton Hunt Figures? Well, strictly speaking nothing. It’s more to do with history and the Napoleonic Wars in particular. Most days we take our dogs to Berry Head where they scamper about in and out of the ruins of the Napoleonic Fort and bark in an unruly manner at tourists.

On a really wet and windy day it’s not hard to imagine being a poor sentry stuck outside in the teeth of a howling gale scanning the horizon for a sight of Boney’s invasion fleet. The fascinating thing is though that eventually the soldiers manning the fort did get to lay eyes upon the Emperor although not as a conqueror but as a prisoner.

In 1815 Napoleon was brought to Tor Bay aboard HMS Bellerophon which anchored off Berry Head. The Emperor was convinced that the British were going to let him come ashore and live out his days on a country estate. He must have been pretty peeved when he sailed instead to St Helena.

Well, I find it all thought provoking but the dogs just treat the place like a park…

On Manoeuvres

The men were getting restless stuck in the wargame cabinet so I ordered them out on manoeuvres to blow away the cobwebs.

Once in the field I noticed that there seemed to be an awful lot of Swedes about, perhaps because I can paint them faster than the other types as they are refurbished rather than painted from scratch. Taking a leaf from the imaginary SYW camp I decided therefore to form the "Federation of the North" consisting of Swedes, Russians and Austrians. The picture shows a brigade going through their drill - click on the image for a closer look.

An unusual aspect of building armies from vintage figures is that you can only create units from what you can find. This has resulted in some odd hybrid units such as the Anglo-Austrian battalion made up of renegade British sailors and Hungarian Grenadiers, but more of that some other time.

French Fusiliers

These ghostly looking fellows are Hinton Hunt French Line Fusiliers. They look battle weary, perhaps veterans of many a hard fight or maybe they have just been kept in a loft for 30 years? Either way they have been a bit problematic for me. I only have 18 of the advancing figures plus a command group of 3 figures and have been looking for the missing 3 men to make up the unit for nearly a year and a half. Finally I have decided to wait no longer and have inserted a second command group to make up the numbers.

This is a last look at them before they enter a jar of bleach to be reborn as sparkling new castings. These ones have actually been painted up as light infantry but they will soon be parading in new uniforms as a battalion of the 45th Regiment of the Line. The figures here are:

FN5 Fusilier Charging
FN4 Colour Bearer Charging

In keeping with the Old School theme of this project I will be fielding separate units of French Fusiliers and Grenadiers rather than a more historical mix of companies. When I first started wargaming I had no idea about unit organisation so a French battalion has to be all of one figure type to create the authentic feel.

Guard Horse Artillery

At last I have finished my French Imperial Guard Horse Artillery crew. These figures are all vintage Hinton Hunt castings that I stripped and repainted. The gun is a plastic one from the Revell set.

I am really pleased with the way they turned out. Many years ago I painted this exact set of figures (in fact they were the last HH I painted back in the 1970’s) and I was disappointed with my effort then. I didn’t have the right colour blue and I made a bit of a pigs ear of them. These ones on the other hand look darn good even if I do say so myself. The figures are:

FN180 Officer pointing, holding map
FN181 Gunner with porte-fire
FN182 Gunner with rammer

FN183 Gunner holding cannon ball

Original HH artillery models are pretty rare but even if I had one I probably wouldn’t use it as they are under sized for the figures. It would be undignified for these fine Guardsmen to have to stoop down to fire so I am not too bothered about the plastic substitute.