Napoleon and his staff: work so far

  I've been busy painting Napoleonic figures for the Wargame that I'm hopefully going to run next week using the General de Brigade rules. I've decided to make up a command vignette for Napoleon inspired by the one on Tarleton's Quarter, although mine lacks his personal escort. Apart from Marengo (Napoleon's horse) the figures are virtually complete, it's just a matter of finishing off the terrain on the base which, due to its size, is going to take a while. In the meantime, here are some more pictures of the command set at the moment.

Marshall Ney and Drouet, Comte d'Erlon, looking at a map of the situation

Colonel Gourgaud and an officer from the 7th Hussars

From the Allied army, the Prince of Orange and a British staff officer from the 1st Foot Guards.

The 1st Regiment of Grenadiers of the Guard

Some Beja tribesmen for the Sudan 1881-1885

The Beja from another angle. I have some Naval Brigade and British infantry on order

Major General Sir Edward Packenham

    I have finally managed to complete the figure for Major General Sir Edward Packenham (1778-1815). The man himself had a fairly distinguished career, serving in Ireland, Denmark, the Caribbean, the Peninsular (where he was made a general) and, most famously, in America. After his death at the battle of New Orleans in January 1815, his brother-in-law, the Duke of Wellington, wrote that "We have but one consolation, that he fell as he lived, in the honourable discharge of his duty and distinguished as a soldier and a man".

  I've finally got a new camera (my old one has died after about six years of service) so forgive me for any blurriness as I'm still trying it out. The figures of Packenham and his ADC are from Front Rank; I love the style of them and they were a joy to paint. I've never been very good at horses but I think these ones have come out better that previous attempts.
  I've gone for the Peninsular look on the bases (lighter grass and more desert looking soil than my other figures) although I'm not sure about the trousers as grey trousers were normally worn in Northern Europe as opposed to the warmer climates of Spain, but Packenham will suffice and can be used to represent any General that I need for the time being.

  Also presented here is the colour party of the 92nd (Gordon) Highlanders. They are yet to receive their new colours (the old ones that came with theses Victrix figures needed replacing) and the drummer needs a new drum but at least it is a beginning! I need to paint a battalion of the 92nd and 42nd Highlanders (30 figures each) as well as the rest of my army. Along with exams in June, I think I'll be kept busy!

Richard III found!

  Certainly a major day today as the remains found in a car park in Leicester in September of last year have been formally identified as those of King Richard III. A part of me does feel a little sorry for Richard; true he most likely had his two nephews, King Edward V (12) and Richard, Duke of York (10) murdered in the Tower of London and did eliminate other opponents to his position (most notably Lord Hastings) but in an era of instability was this necessarily a bad thing given the circumstances? From a modern perspective it is without a doubt a crime but it can be argued that Richard was merely serving the interests of his country.
  History, as has been constantly said, has been unkind to Richard III, Shakespeare vilified him as a hunchback who plotted and murdered his way to the throne, but in reality, apart from his taking of power, he was an exemplar king who was one of his brothers, King Edward IV, most loyal subjects back when he was Duke of Gloucester.
  Due to the shortness of his reign, we will never know entirely how good a king he would have been, but hints do come across in his donations to the church and his prowess as a battlefield commander. History is written by the winners and had he won the Battle of Bosworth in 1485, then English history would have been remarkably different (no Tudors, potentially no reformation etc. although this is all conjecture). I may be sounding like a bit of a massive supporter of Richard. I not an ardent supporter, I just like to see a bit of balance and today's news means that he can, quite literally, finally be laid to rest. True, there hasn't been any new evidence come to light in regards to his murdering of the two princes but the crime happened so long ago that it will, in my opinion, be impossible to find out what happened. In the meantime, we can at least bury the last Plantagenet monarch of England in peace.