It's rather a special day today: exactly 200 years ago the Battle of Salamanca took place! I'm a bit sorry that the diorama is not ready to commemorate this feat but hey you can't have it all!
Cheers Sander
zondag 22 juli 2012
200 years!
Hoi,
It's rather a special day today: exactly 200 years ago the Battle of Salamanca took place! I'm a bit sorry that the diorama is not ready to commemorate this feat but hey you can't have it all!
Cheers Sander
It's rather a special day today: exactly 200 years ago the Battle of Salamanca took place! I'm a bit sorry that the diorama is not ready to commemorate this feat but hey you can't have it all!
Cheers Sander
dinsdag 3 juli 2012
An update: finally!
Hoi,
As usual progress on the "Big Project" has been tiresomely slow! But I did find time to finish some of the 60th Rifles awaiting on my desk. Since my last post I have realised I do not need quite that much figures as I'd intended at first so I decided these to be the last Rifles I'd paint for the dio, excepting the officer which I still have to do. The remaining 10 or so Rifles I've prepared will be painted as Cazadores.
Here are the pictures of the lads. The other batch had grey trousers these rankers wear brown ones.
Here they're still mounted on sticks for ease of painting. I'll cut them off soon, but leave a little wire attached to the feet in order to secure them to the modules firmly.
Cheers Sander
As usual progress on the "Big Project" has been tiresomely slow! But I did find time to finish some of the 60th Rifles awaiting on my desk. Since my last post I have realised I do not need quite that much figures as I'd intended at first so I decided these to be the last Rifles I'd paint for the dio, excepting the officer which I still have to do. The remaining 10 or so Rifles I've prepared will be painted as Cazadores.
Here are the pictures of the lads. The other batch had grey trousers these rankers wear brown ones.
Here they're still mounted on sticks for ease of painting. I'll cut them off soon, but leave a little wire attached to the feet in order to secure them to the modules firmly.
Cheers Sander
zondag 4 maart 2012
Doing the numbers...
Hoi,
A while ago I laid out the modules in my table again, and just to try out how it looked I took some HäT Peninsular British and set them on the board where they will end up in time for real. This made me realise that I have made a startling mistake in the first place: my ground-scale and figure-ratio are not compatible! I had planned the first British brigade to have regiments of about 250 figures each, after putting figures on the board this showed that I can have regiments of about 40 figures instead!
This means I will have to do the numbers all over again. But on the bright side is the notion that I will be able to finish earlier since I have to do less figures.
Cheers Sander
A while ago I laid out the modules in my table again, and just to try out how it looked I took some HäT Peninsular British and set them on the board where they will end up in time for real. This made me realise that I have made a startling mistake in the first place: my ground-scale and figure-ratio are not compatible! I had planned the first British brigade to have regiments of about 250 figures each, after putting figures on the board this showed that I can have regiments of about 40 figures instead!
This means I will have to do the numbers all over again. But on the bright side is the notion that I will be able to finish earlier since I have to do less figures.
Cheers Sander
maandag 23 januari 2012
2012 and all that!
Hoi,
Yes yes I know: I have been neglecting this blog immensely last year! This came to be because I hold the opinion that it is better not to overflow a blog with nonsense posts (like this one) and rather update it with real news. So 2012, the 200 year Jubilee of the Battle of Los Arapiles has come round and I should at least get something done on the diorama before the year's end. Some friends suggested I'd get the entire work done this year to celebrate but that won't work since I'd rather have quality then a job done too fast and therefore badly. Besides there's the problem regarding the French- and Portuguese infantry miniatures or rather the lack there of as described elsewhere in this blog. At least HäT have announced they have picked up work on the British Peninsular Light- and Heavy Cavalry which is great in any case.
So we come upon my New Years Resolutions for 2012. I'd like to divide this in two types of resolutions: first the goals I really have set myself to actually fulfil for this year:
- painting the remaining skirmishers of the 60th Rifles still sitting on my workbench.
- creating the groundwork/ terrain on the modules so as to make them ready for the placement of the figures.
second up are the resolutions I would like to finish but I realise I might not actually get them done.
- paint up some of the first line British regiments
- paint up some of the French train of equipage that I want to accompany the marching columns including the artillery that supported Thomiéres Division.
Oh well we'll see how much I'll get done in real life :-)
As always I'll keep you posted and in the meantime you're invited to see what's distracting me on the other blog!
Cheers Sander
Yes yes I know: I have been neglecting this blog immensely last year! This came to be because I hold the opinion that it is better not to overflow a blog with nonsense posts (like this one) and rather update it with real news. So 2012, the 200 year Jubilee of the Battle of Los Arapiles has come round and I should at least get something done on the diorama before the year's end. Some friends suggested I'd get the entire work done this year to celebrate but that won't work since I'd rather have quality then a job done too fast and therefore badly. Besides there's the problem regarding the French- and Portuguese infantry miniatures or rather the lack there of as described elsewhere in this blog. At least HäT have announced they have picked up work on the British Peninsular Light- and Heavy Cavalry which is great in any case.
So we come upon my New Years Resolutions for 2012. I'd like to divide this in two types of resolutions: first the goals I really have set myself to actually fulfil for this year:
- painting the remaining skirmishers of the 60th Rifles still sitting on my workbench.
- creating the groundwork/ terrain on the modules so as to make them ready for the placement of the figures.
second up are the resolutions I would like to finish but I realise I might not actually get them done.
- paint up some of the first line British regiments
- paint up some of the French train of equipage that I want to accompany the marching columns including the artillery that supported Thomiéres Division.
Oh well we'll see how much I'll get done in real life :-)
As always I'll keep you posted and in the meantime you're invited to see what's distracting me on the other blog!
Cheers Sander
zaterdag 2 juli 2011
French Fantasies
Hoi,
It's a bit of a sketchy title to this topic, I admit it, but bear with me and all will be revealed in due course. Anyone checking the HäT website has discovered that their 1:72 scale French Napoleonics have gotten a separate page all to themselves
http://www.hat.com/currentF.html
On this page masters and drawings of the new French MAC infantry sets are show:
French 1815:
http://www.hat.com/Prev/NFrench/Bx8294Mast.html
http://www.hat.com/Prev/NFrench/Bx8295Mast.html
and French pre-1812
http://www.hat.com/Prev/NFrench/Bx8296Mast.html
http://www.hat.com/Prev/NFrench/Bx8297Mast.html
It's about the latter two sets I'm thinking a lot lately. For the diorama I will need heaps of pre-1812 Frenchies of course, and while it is perfectly possible to make such a force of combining all kinds of existing plastic and metal figure sets, I really want my figures to have an overall same-ish look. The new HäT British Peninsular Infantry will set the benchmark (with some converted Revell Brits mixed in for diversity) and this is no problem as most other troops I have for the project will mix with those nicely: Italeri Hussars and Revell Chasseurs of the Guard as the 3rd French Hussars, Revell Life Guards as Portuguese Dragoons and Revell and HäT British artillery as... well RHA and RFA obviously.
The real problem at the moment is the French infantry as stated above. The present HäT 1812 Big Box is not a bad set at all but the figures are pretty chunky and very different in style to the newer Brits and French Légère MAC sets and while I could opt to alter several sets of the latter into regular infantry it would take a lot of work.
Seeing these shots of the pre-1812 masters has convinced me to wait for them and start with the Brits already lying around here. The drawings clearly show the panoply of separate head-options were gonna get with the French sets and these are superb for my purposes because I want to depict the rigours of campaigning in Spain at the time and have a big diversity in headgear and colours of clothing.
Other opportunities arise as well with the spare heads in these sets like using the Tarletons provided for AWI light troops. Or converting Dutch Light cavalry into British Peninsular LD's since the announced HäT set on Peninsular cavalry has been a little slow in progressing so far. The shako's included will be great for loads of conversions: i.e. I want to make several wargames units of French Artillery with shako's rather then the horrible Italeri busby's or the bicornes on the latest HäT set because I don't do the very early Napoleonic Wars.
Still the problem with all this is: we'll have to wait for a while yet before these figures become available. Argh! I want it all and I want it NOW! as the popular saying goes...
While I got a grip on myself again, let's talk about the MAC system. HäT has come up with, in my eyes, one of the best ways to sell plastic troops in current production by dividing the sets in 3 boxes: a box with Marching figures, a box of Action poses and a Command set. Now we can buy just as many boxes as we need figures and so will not have poses lying around which we have no use for and do not need to buy even more boxes to fill out our units with enough troopers that we do need.This system does have an Achilles heel: it will save us money because we need to buy less boxes but will leave HäT with lower sales... Hopefully we will all buy more of these sets in total then we are buying sets that leave us with spare poses but all the same it's a humongous gamble HäT is willing to take for the convenience of us customers; thanks heaps guys!
For my Salamanca project this just works out great indeed, since I need but a few action posed French and quite a lot of marching ones. So I will keep my fingers crossed the progress on these sets is speedy and without much of the trouble which happens during the production process.
Well that's my ramblings for today,
Cheers Sander
It's a bit of a sketchy title to this topic, I admit it, but bear with me and all will be revealed in due course. Anyone checking the HäT website has discovered that their 1:72 scale French Napoleonics have gotten a separate page all to themselves
http://www.hat.com/currentF.html
On this page masters and drawings of the new French MAC infantry sets are show:
French 1815:
http://www.hat.com/Prev/NFrench/Bx8294Mast.html
http://www.hat.com/Prev/NFrench/Bx8295Mast.html
and French pre-1812
http://www.hat.com/Prev/NFrench/Bx8296Mast.html
http://www.hat.com/Prev/NFrench/Bx8297Mast.html
It's about the latter two sets I'm thinking a lot lately. For the diorama I will need heaps of pre-1812 Frenchies of course, and while it is perfectly possible to make such a force of combining all kinds of existing plastic and metal figure sets, I really want my figures to have an overall same-ish look. The new HäT British Peninsular Infantry will set the benchmark (with some converted Revell Brits mixed in for diversity) and this is no problem as most other troops I have for the project will mix with those nicely: Italeri Hussars and Revell Chasseurs of the Guard as the 3rd French Hussars, Revell Life Guards as Portuguese Dragoons and Revell and HäT British artillery as... well RHA and RFA obviously.
The real problem at the moment is the French infantry as stated above. The present HäT 1812 Big Box is not a bad set at all but the figures are pretty chunky and very different in style to the newer Brits and French Légère MAC sets and while I could opt to alter several sets of the latter into regular infantry it would take a lot of work.
Seeing these shots of the pre-1812 masters has convinced me to wait for them and start with the Brits already lying around here. The drawings clearly show the panoply of separate head-options were gonna get with the French sets and these are superb for my purposes because I want to depict the rigours of campaigning in Spain at the time and have a big diversity in headgear and colours of clothing.
Other opportunities arise as well with the spare heads in these sets like using the Tarletons provided for AWI light troops. Or converting Dutch Light cavalry into British Peninsular LD's since the announced HäT set on Peninsular cavalry has been a little slow in progressing so far. The shako's included will be great for loads of conversions: i.e. I want to make several wargames units of French Artillery with shako's rather then the horrible Italeri busby's or the bicornes on the latest HäT set because I don't do the very early Napoleonic Wars.
Still the problem with all this is: we'll have to wait for a while yet before these figures become available. Argh! I want it all and I want it NOW! as the popular saying goes...
While I got a grip on myself again, let's talk about the MAC system. HäT has come up with, in my eyes, one of the best ways to sell plastic troops in current production by dividing the sets in 3 boxes: a box with Marching figures, a box of Action poses and a Command set. Now we can buy just as many boxes as we need figures and so will not have poses lying around which we have no use for and do not need to buy even more boxes to fill out our units with enough troopers that we do need.This system does have an Achilles heel: it will save us money because we need to buy less boxes but will leave HäT with lower sales... Hopefully we will all buy more of these sets in total then we are buying sets that leave us with spare poses but all the same it's a humongous gamble HäT is willing to take for the convenience of us customers; thanks heaps guys!
For my Salamanca project this just works out great indeed, since I need but a few action posed French and quite a lot of marching ones. So I will keep my fingers crossed the progress on these sets is speedy and without much of the trouble which happens during the production process.
Well that's my ramblings for today,
Cheers Sander
zaterdag 18 juni 2011
They have arrived!
Huzzah!
As I posted earlier today, on the 196th birthday of the Battle of Waterloo, the diorama modules for my Salamanca Project have arrived at my home.
Hans Slaager of Waterloo and Cambrai fame delivered them this morning and together we unpacked them into my purpose build table. Without further ado I hereby present you some pictures of the occasion:
Hans showing the modules in their excellent cassettes.
Of course I had the honour to put in place the first plate in the table...
...and the final one!
Enjoying Hans' handiwork together.
If you have never seen any of Hans' work up close and personal you cannot begin to perceive how excellent and with just how much eye for detail he makes his masterpieces. This isn't only true for his landscapes but also for the cassettes they come in. It all fits like a glove.
At first we were a little afraid the modules wouldn't fit in the table, but as we put them in place we discovered we actually have about 2 cm's to spare, which is no problem since it makes retrieving the modules from the table easier by far.
I'll make some detail shots later on, and leave this with just one more really big THANK YOU to Hans.
Cheers Sander
As I posted earlier today, on the 196th birthday of the Battle of Waterloo, the diorama modules for my Salamanca Project have arrived at my home.
Hans Slaager of Waterloo and Cambrai fame delivered them this morning and together we unpacked them into my purpose build table. Without further ado I hereby present you some pictures of the occasion:
Hans showing the modules in their excellent cassettes.
Of course I had the honour to put in place the first plate in the table...
...and the final one!
Enjoying Hans' handiwork together.
If you have never seen any of Hans' work up close and personal you cannot begin to perceive how excellent and with just how much eye for detail he makes his masterpieces. This isn't only true for his landscapes but also for the cassettes they come in. It all fits like a glove.
At first we were a little afraid the modules wouldn't fit in the table, but as we put them in place we discovered we actually have about 2 cm's to spare, which is no problem since it makes retrieving the modules from the table easier by far.
I'll make some detail shots later on, and leave this with just one more really big THANK YOU to Hans.
Cheers Sander
donderdag 16 juni 2011
***Newsflash!***
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,
Breaking news this afternoon: on the historic day of 18th June 2011 the long expected Diorama Modules will arrive here at home-base!
Huzzah!
Cheers Sander
Breaking news this afternoon: on the historic day of 18th June 2011 the long expected Diorama Modules will arrive here at home-base!
Huzzah!
Cheers Sander
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