Gnicer?

I’m not really sure because its previous owner had already very nicely painted this one. However, my OCD compelled me to repaint my figure of Gneisenau (last glimpsed here) because it just seemed right to do so. I figured that, although it’s clear that I won’t be able to paint every casting in my collection by myself, I should at least attempt all of the command figures.

Major-General Gneisenau was Blucher’s quartermaster-general during the Wars of Liberation and chief-of-staff during the Waterloo campaign. He took command of the Prussian army when Blucher was temporarily put out of action during the battle of Ligny and subsequently took up the pursuit of the French after Waterloo, capturing Napoleon’s coach and making sure that the Prussians were the first of the Allies to enter Paris.

This figure is listed in the Hinton Hunt catalogue as PN.61 General GNEISENAU (Dismountable Series), Approp.horse PNH/1.

One Man’s Lead Mountain…

…is another man’s, er, lead mountain. Tony has just put up an interesting and thought provoking post over at Prometheus in Aspic on the topic of excess lead. Luckily for me his desire to have a bit of a clear out resulted in the arrival of this rather nice casting of FN86 French Light Infantry Voltigeur Bugler.

In the picture the new arrival is stood next to my existing painted example of the figure type. Tony makes the point that a large proportion of wargame figures never get to see the wet end of a paint brush, this chap on the other hand has been painted three times (click here for a reminder).

My thanks to Tony.

Desert Rats (Off Topic #21)

You’ve probably noticed the odd Desert Rat creeping into one or two of my pictures in the last few posts. To put an end to their rather unsubtle attempts to muscle in, I thought it best to post a proper picture of the completed infantry section.

The figures are Airfix ones from the WWII British 8^th Army set, and I have to say that I’ve really enjoyed painting them. I’m also rather proud of my efforts to convert the advancing rifleman pose into an advancing bren-gunner (that’s the figure on the left of the line-up).

Next up on the Hinton Hunt front will be another personality figure followed shortly by some more Prussian Jagers.

Christmas Comes Early

I’m not just referring to the snow. When we got back home from work yesterday there was a parcel waiting for me from Douglas. Now he told me he was going to send a few old 20mm soldiers that were lurking in his attic but I certainly wasn’t expecting this!

After a very enjoyable hour or so sorting through the castings it turns out that there are in excess of 150 Hinton Hunt figures – a mixture of vintage and Clayton ones. There are also some other types, possibly Minifigs S Range but I’m not so well up on identifying those.

It would seem that Napoleon is the biggest winner in this haul of new recruits, as he will gain another unit of French Fusiliers, a unit each of Line and Elite Voltigeurs, half a unit of Polish infantry and a unit of dismounted Dragoons. The Duke acquires another unit of Nassau Grenadiers (although their loyalty has been questionable of late), a Company of British Light Infantry and several Austrian Artillery crews.

All I can say is roll on my Birthday…

A Flashy A.D.C.

Mrs S finally handed over today’s post to me at 8.15pm (must get her better trained) and there was a package for me from Iain. This was exciting because inside was this very flashy Hinton Hunt British A.D.C – BN/261 A.D.C in cocked hat, holding letter on Horse BNH/4, together with a lovely Minifigs rendition of General Picton.

I like seeing flash metal on my Hinton Hunt castings not just because it confirms that the models are genuine vintage ones (modern copies are much too pristine) but also because it reminds me of the hours I spent in my youth filing away at the misshapen castings supplied direct from Marcus Hinton. Back then I used to hate this chore but now perversely I really enjoy it, perhaps in part because I have a decent set of files and a metal clipper rather than the single blunt file appropriated from my Dad’s tool set.

The British A.D.C figure was one of the ones missing from my collection of General Staff figures and I’m very pleased to have him - I’m thinking that I may paint him up to represent De Lancey. The Duke could certainly do with a reliable Staff Officer after his recent run of bad luck on the battlefield.

The model of General Picton, whilst being outside the scope of this project, is an excellent little figure as well. I’m not sure if this is “S” range or the later range but it is one of the older Minifigs where the rider has the saddle attached to him. This was a clever idea at the time as it meant you had a choice of horses when you ordered (sadly he is currently on foot). The casting must date from before 1972 as I remember ordering ECW cavalry from Minifigs around this time and they were changing to having the saddle with the horse. I would be interested to hear more on this subject if anyone has more precise info - please feel free to leave a comment.

My thanks to Iain for making my day.

Bulow – Take Two

Earlier today I had cause to peruse Clive’s excellent Hinton Hunter Blog when quite by chance I came across the Hinton Hunt painting instructions for the Prussian General I have just completed (click here to see what I mean). Regular readers of this Blog will know that Marcus Hinton produced a typed sheet of painting instructions for each figure he produced – and his research was meticulous.

Now of course I was pretty annoyed with myself for not checking before I painted this one to see if the painting instructions were available, because I got quite a few things wrong. A normal person might have just shrugged and said “so what” it’s painted now, move on - but not me of course. So here’s a picture of him re-touched to conform to the Hinton Hunt guidelines.

In the tradition of those “before and after” pictures they used to have in comics when I was a kid, I thought we could have a little contest. Can you spot five differences between the figure as it appears here and as it appears in the picture in my previous post? Answers on a postcard please, or perhaps just leave a comment.

Prussian General

Continuing with the theme of all things Prussian, I have just painted this one-piece casting of a Prussian General PN64 General (mounted) looking through spy-glass. I know I’ve said it before, but I really do like the Hinton Hunt one-piece mounted figures and I enjoyed painting this one.

I’m thinking of using him to represent General Bulow because it was Bulow’s Corps that were the first of the Prussians to arrive on the scene at Waterloo – reason enough I’d say. He will join Blucher and Gneisenau as representatives of the Prussian High Command in my armies.

Just sneaking into the picture is an Airfix 8^th Army Desert Rat. I think you will agree that I am pretty good at sticking to my Hinton Hunt project but I do have the occasional dabble in other periods. These are amongst the very best of the Airfix figures (that’s my excuse anyway) and yes I may have a tank or two to build but I won’t let that get in the way of finishing off those Prussian Jagers.