Inside the Hinton Hut

The Hinton Hut is finally finished, and I have taken up residence. Some may question the wisdom of occupying the hut at the start of the Scottish winter, but I was keen to get all my stuff moved in even if it is a bit chilly.

The view across the length of the cabin from the door. My desk
is at the far end. The wargame table is 6'x4' but looks smaller
in this shot.

The desk area is big enough for my paints and accessories with
adjacent desk space for the laptop. The display cabinet is
central on the wall so I can view it from wherever I am sitting.

The view from the desk back towards the door (on the left).
I have used Ikea Billys for storage and the configuration works
well. If I turn the table the other way it can be extended to 8'x4'.

The storage area - soldiers and 'stuff'' on the wall, I'll get some
more storage boxes when funds allow. Most of my books are
on the unit to the right with a bit of overflow to the left (click
the image to zoom in).

I've managed to find space for all my pictures including this
article about the founders wife given to me by Roy on my
60th birthday!

It’s great to have a dedicated space for my toy soldiers, terrain, painting desk, books, pictures etc and a permanent wargame table. This is something I’ve dreamed of having since I was 12 years old, hopefully I’ll get some time to enjoy it.

Cannon fodder for the Czar

The Russian infantry unit is finished and ready to take up it’s place in my rather slim Russian battle-line. This unit is nameless (although it carries the flag of the Moscow regiment) but represents a line unit as the grenadier plumes had been docked by the previous owner. Hinton Hunt never produced any line troops so I guess Marcus Hinton always intended that the plumes should be discarded if not required.

In the best tradition of this project this unit came together using figures from different sources but surprisingly they are all vintage Hinton Hunt castings except for the Clayton drummer and DK flag-bearer. The marching figures in greatcoats were a recent eBay purchase while the Crimean War figures are originals I have had for a few years.

RN.18 Private in great-coat marching x 18
RC/17 Russian private, marching x 3
FN/11 Officer, charging (with head swap) x 1
Clayton Pavlov drummer (with head swap) x1
DK colour-bearer (painted by Goya) x1

I’m going to try to keep focussed and complete my Russian force so next up will be the Hussars.

Commands & Colors – La Rothiere

Yesterday Goya hosted a C&CN game of the Battle of La Rothiere which we played using Tony’s Ramekin rules variant of the original rules. The allies were played by Goya and Nigel whilst Tony and I took command of the French. The figures used were mostly vintage ones from our various collections.

Finding myself on the French left flank brought back uncomfortable memories of the last time I took part in a re-fight of this battle (click HERE). That game ended in humiliating defeat for the French when Roy’s Bavarians rolled up our flank whilst a massive Russian battery decimated our centre, surely history would not repeat itself?

The initial set-up, allies on the left and French on the right. The
Bavarians are nearest to the camera on the flank of the French.

The view from the other end of the table. La Rothiere is
represented by the rather splendid church model in the centre.

The Bavarians are Tony's. I believe the infantry are DK
whilst the cavalry are Hinton Hunt.

The right wing of the allied line was made up of Austrians
and Russians from Goya's collection. These are mostly early
Minifigs. The unit on the hill is my own Hinton Hunt
Russian Grenadiers.

The French centre. Two units of Young Guard occupy the
woods with Guard Light cavalry to their front.

Our men at La Rothiere are starting to take casualties from a
very strong Russian artillery battery on the high ground. The
town was to change hands three times during the course of play. 

Concerned by the Bavarians on our flank, Tony and I started
to shift troops to the left. However this turned out to be a clever
feint by the allies who actually made their attack in the centre.

By now the Russians had taken La Rothiere and we had no
option but to call up the Young Guard for a counter-attack.

These are lovely Hinton Hunt Russian Chasseurs from Nigel's
collection. I believe they are painted as mounted Jaegers.

Fighting rages around the town. These Russians were eventually
expelled by the Young Guard who in turn fell back under the
deadly fire of the Russian guns.

The Guard Heavy cavalry taking on the entire Russian cavalry
force on a do-or-die mission. They did do but they did die as
well.

The situation at the end of play. The allies amassed 9 victory
banners (8 needed for a win) while the French had only 4.

It was an excellent game that was evenly balanced until the last turn although the eventual allied victory was a resounding one. My thanks to Goya and my fellow generals for a most enjoyable day.

Another Hussar

RN38 Russian Hussar - finished except for varnishing

I was trying to finish the Russian infantry in time for a game at Goya’s next week, but various distractions have meant that’s no longer achievable. So, to distract myself completely, I’ve jumped ahead and painted a test figure for the next unit which will be the Pavlograd Hussars.

The figures for this unit came from two different sources and I can’t remember what they were. It’s clear however that these are not original figures and they have all had their plumes removed but are nice castings nonetheless.

I went for the Pavlograds purely because they had such a nice blue pelisse which will certainly stand out against the brown-coated infantry.

Russian update

I’m making progress with the Russian infantry and am now at the halfway point of the unit. I had optimistically thought that painting figures in great-coats would be quicker than painting them in full uniform but somehow this doesn’t seem to be the case. I’m trying to get them finished for a game to be hosted by Goya next month, but I’m not sure if I’ll make the deadline.

I’ve also finally got around to making some minor changes to my rules Muskets & Marshals. I’ve changed the initiative rule as it seemed that too often cavalry was failing to counter-charge which seemed unrealistic. I’ve also updated the rules for fighting in buildings to reflect the system we’ve used in the last few games.

Russian recruits

A couple of weeks ago several lots of Hinton Hunt Russians came up for sale on eBay so I took a punt and bought one lot of 17 figures in great-coats (RN18). The figures turned out to be vintage ones in good condition with no broken bayonets although there was some pitting on the metal, but it was an easy enough job to fill these.

The Hinton Hunt painting instructions specify 'fawn' as the
colour for the great-coat. I tried a lighter shade first but didn't
like it so have used the same brown I used recently for the
Silesian Hussars.

For the command group I carried out a couple of head swops putting Russian infantry heads on a Clayton Pavlov drummer and a French officer in greatcoat (FN11). I was planning on doing something similar for a standard bearer however Goya pipped me to the post by presenting me with a fully painted conversion of a DK Pavlov as a ‘hut warming’ present.

This is Goya's handiwork. The flag is for the Moscow regiment
which by chance is the same flag design WM painted for my
Grenadier regiment.

My drummer and officer conversions.

Here's one I prepared earlier - Crimean Russian in cap painted
a few years ago. These mix in well with the Napoleonic figures.

Goya also rustled up another headless Russian infantryman which brought the total to 18 following more surgery. I’m making up the ranks to a full 24 figures by adding 3 vintage Russian Crimea figures in cap (RC17), which is a good use for these as I don’t intend to raise any Crimean forces.

Battle of Ligny

Yesterday we played my Ligny scenario for Muskets & Marshals. The game went well, and we managed to complete the required eight turns. I commanded the Prussians whilst Tony and Goya played team French, this is what happened.

View of the table at the start of play. St Amand-La-Haye is the
white building nearest the camera, St Amand is the cottage to
the right and the church model at the far end of the table
represents Ligny. Prussians to the left, French to the right.

The French got off to a spirited start with Goya attacking
St Amand-La-Haye and Tony attacking Ligny.

The two French units on the large bases are from Tony's
collection. He brought these along as they are mostly Hinton
Hunt figures and they performed annoying well.

As the French close in on St Amand-La-Haye the 1st Silesian
Hussars rush forward to intercept - well, they had to didn't they?

The same scene from slightly further back shows the solid
French infantry columns pressing forward. However there are
Silesian Landwehr holding the village so I'm not worried!

This shows the centre of my position. The gun on the hill has
taken a few casualties but otherwise we're in good shape. The
2nd Silesian Landwehr are being moved to the right to help
shore up the flank.

This is from behind the French left showing that Goya's
infantry are starting to take some casualties as they advance.

My hussars mix it with French lancers whilst the dragoons move
up in support. This is the first ever action for these hussars so
they're bound to do well.

A close-up of the intense fighting for St Amand-La-Haye.

Pretty much the same scene but I like the photo.

Meanwhile over at Ligny, Tony has just captured the town.
This was a bit of a shock and I only had a unit of Landwehr
on hand to plug the gap (S-range from Goya's collection).

Fortunately reserves are on the way. I managed to release all
three of my reserve units in a single turn and sent the Guard
and the Silesian Musketeers to counter-attack. Blucher himself
accompanied them - "Vorwarts!"

The centre of my line held firm as the French were having
problems getting their Guard units to activate, the Grumblers
finding it hard to believe Napoleon actually wanted them
to fight rather than just look pretty.

Over on my right things were not looking so good. My hussars
were following the time honoured tradition for new units by
legging it to the rear, and St Amand-La-Haye had fallen.

This was the do-or-die moment at Ligny as the counter-attack
goes in. Sadly as you can see from the markers it was not a
huge success and very soon I had 3 units streaming to the rear.

"Rally, mein kinder, rally!"
Well they did but it was too late.

At the 11th hour (turn 8 actually) the Brandenburg infantry managed
to retake St Amand-La-Haye denying the French a decisive
victory.

Finally the Young Guard arrive but it's all over now. The Old
Guard (top left) appear to be having a picnic but roll on June 18
I say...

The final result was a marginal victory for the French with a win of 8 points. It was a hard-fought affair with a fairly historical outcome. My thanks to Tony and Goya for a most enjoyable day.