Thursday, 28 September 2023

Down but not out 🤕 : French Peninsular Army Parade

Sorry all for the recent radio silence I have been struck down with one of the worst chest infections I think I can remember, this laid me low for the last two weeks. Unable even to paint soldiers which is very unusual. However, the second set of medication seems to have calmed things down and I am starting to recover although I expect at least a couple of weeks yet.

The good news is I managed a couple of hours of painting last night which allowed me to finish the bases on my next French Napoleonic infantry unit.

A 36 man Warlord unit, with some different command figures added for variety. I went for the six man bases, splitting the command which means for larger battles the unit can be split down to two smaller battalions.

Having been poorly and very fed up I needed to cheer myself up so what better way than a French army parade. Also a chance to see what else I need to balance things out…..
So here they are at the moment, three solid infantry brigades, a light cavalry brigade and some supporting artillery. I have managed to keep pace with commanders. As mentioned above the larger infantry units can be split down bulking the force out and splitting out a small fourth brigade.

Happy with these so far and they are taking shape. Already purchased another five or so infantry Battalions to bulk out a fourth brigade and start a Guard Brigade. I also have more cavalry and artillery in the cupboard. Focus in the short term may be to get some more command stands completed and the British are falling slightly behind. I have spent a lot of time thinking about artillery limbers in the last couple of weeks ?

That’s it for now I do have a Sicily battle to blog from before my illness and I will try and catch up on other blogs during the day 🤓

Thanks Matt



37 comments:

  1. Sorry to hear your illness, glad you are on the mend. Beautiful troops and impressive ranked up.

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    1. Thanks Joe the parade brought me some solace 👍

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  2. Oh, best wishes for you!
    Agree, lovely looking miniatures .

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  3. Impressive looking troops and glad you are on the road to recovery

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    1. Thanks Neil slow recovery has started at least

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  4. Some fine looking fellows, and glad that you are on the mend.

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  5. Sorry to read you've been poorly but glad you are on the mend! Your Frogs are looking very resplendent, just ready to be walloped by your Brits no doubt.

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    1. Thanks David….I’ll need to paint a few more Brits first !

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  6. When you are too sick to paint, you are very sick, indeed! Frenchmen look fab. Get well soon!

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    1. Way too sick for my liking…recovery has at least started 🤔

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  7. Sounds like the chest infection from Hell! It’s all that cycling and keeping fit ….. that’s why I don’t do it :-)

    36 French is a big batch, they look splendid, I like the mounted officer included in the line and the parade shows great progress in the project. I like the idea of 6 bases being able to serve different sized battles with 3 base units for bigger battles … though does 3 bases cause problems for conveying the various types of formation (assault column / square)?

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    1. Thanks Norm, yes 36 is about my maximum size for painting in 28mm. The majority of units in the french are 24 but it is nice to have a few larger ones for variety etc..you are right when split down to 18 man units the three bases won’t form square very nicely, a compromise as always. But I have an idea that with 16/18 man units I can represent some slightly larger engagements. Dropping the cavalry down to six men units. It is the same as we have done a couple of the ACW battles. At a real pinch you could push the infantry down to 12 man units but the aesthetic drops off in my view.

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  8. Glad you are on the mend Matt, looking forward to a game at some point.

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  9. Glad to hear you are getting better, splendid looking force of Imperial French, looks a bit light on cavalry to me?😆 I've just bought some 3d printed limbers with six horses, three drivers and a gun with three barrel options, the horses, riders and limbers are excellent, the gun barrels ( three options) are good but the carriage is a bit small and the wheels a little large, still a bargain at £13 delivered from etsy!
    Best Iain

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    1. Spot on need more cavalry….I’m interested by the limbers you’ve found but I’m not keen on 3d printed figures as they are too fragile in my view. I may just splash out in the next couple of months ?

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    2. More robust than I expected to be honest, I've also bought some warbase mdf ones as I have spare teams, Perry metals are nice but expensive, especially if you soend enough to get free postage like I always do!
      Best Iain

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    3. Thanks Iain I think I found the Etsy ones and they don’t seem to have too many little spiky bits to break off, interested to see how they paint up. It’s a bit of a luxury really but it does look nice when you can field limbers on the table.

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  10. "Too sick to paint" sounds like some sort of nerdy Punk song title. Glad you are on the mend tho sir.

    New unit looks splendid and I always enjoy a good parade. Your collection is growing fast!

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    1. Thanks Dai…….I have a good mate who liked bands just like the one you suggest. Very happy with the progress so far on the French 👍

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  11. Sorry to hear you have been so poorly… At least the drugs are starting to work….
    You will need to paint a lot of toys and look at castles to get you equilibrium back…

    All the best. Aly

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    1. Thank Aly….painting and castles sounds good to me 👍

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  12. The French army is coming together beautifully and the latest battalion looks terrific. Glad to hear you are on the mend, and motivated enough to get back to painting. Any less than 80 or 90% fit and I can't concentrate enough to do it.

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    1. Thanks Lawrence ….I’m happy with the progress. Normally I can paint even when feeling rough but this was just too bad

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  13. Sorry to read you have been so sorely afflicted Matt. I was a bit ill last Friday to Monday...even had Monday off work which is unusual for me, but it more or less cleared up by Tuesday...still not 100% but about 90 I would say! I also had a bit of a break from painting for a few days, but back in the saddle now!
    Your new French collection looks great, BTW 👍

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    1. I’m certainly fed up with it now, and returning to the doctor for the third time this afternoon. Feeling well enough for some soldiers though 🙂

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  14. Good to hear you are on the mend Matt. You are amassing a fine Peninsular collection.

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    1. Thanks Phil…..have I missed you painting any Naps yet ?

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    2. No not yet, I am just finishing off some Paraguayan infantry so we can have a game then I shall make a start on the Nappies🙂

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  15. Good to hear you are on the mend, the French look great shaping up to be quite the collection.

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    1. Thanks Stu….good progress but the British need some attention now.

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  16. Great looking French Line, Matt! I really like this set of Warlord Games French - they have the classic uniform wearing gaiters.

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  17. Glad you are on the mend. French look great, reckon a pretty Christmas battle against my Russians is on the cards

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  18. Nothing like a parade of the troops to make you feel better- especially such a magnificent collection.

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  19. Sorry to hear you've been a bit off colour old chap! We've had lots of the new Covid variant around here, but luckily it's felt just like a bad cold for 3 days then it's gone. Lovely work on those Frenchies:).

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