Thank You World On Another Year

Today I celebrate nine years of blogging and hasn’t time flown by. But although I have not done any painting for nearly two years now, this blog has turned out more as a history lesson than a war-gaming blog.  This is not what I wanted to do but a general progress on how my armies are being collected and painted for the Waterloo campaign.

Still I am grateful for my eight followers although I have lost one over the last year or so and I have now had over 10, 000 hits in the last year and 31,000 over the nine years.

Looking over my posts I have frighten myself in that over the last nine years I have only painted a total of 472 figures. I have yet to pick up the paint brush but I hope that I will do soon. I take my hat off to other war-gaming bloggers who seem to have endless time to paint, make terrain and war game and visit shows around the country how they do this I will never know. But as we say good-by to the first month of 2017, I hope that this year is going well for you all and let’s hope that I can turn the corner in this fantastic hobby and start to enjoy myself when I started painting my little men all those years ago.

More News From The Front

WATERLOO 1815 have announced that they are in production of a new set, number 041 titled “Napoleonic French Foot Dragoons”

The set is going to be a full box of dismounted dragoons and the set looks very promising. To see the masters of this set go to their Facebook Page. The set contains Marching and Action figures plus an officer, drummer with their colours. Although Waterloo 1815 boxes are a bit expensive, I think that they will be a great set for those of you who battle Napoleonic’s. I am not sure but I think that I read somewhere that a regiment of Dragoons did in fact march to Waterloo as there was not enough horses to go around the French army at that time.

These are far more better than the Strelets set 009 “French Foot Dragoons and Polish Grenadiers” which contains half dragoons and half Polish Grenadiers.

News From The Front

Over the weekend on the HaT forum, there has been talk about figures that are on the "INCOMPLETE LIST OF MASTER FIGURES".

HaT are saying that the figures that are on their list for future release will be produced some time in the near future. Although I have been waiting for so long for the figures that I need for the Waterloo campaign, it’s good news for me at long last and they say that there will be more to come on this list.

Here is the list that I would like HaT to produce ASAP.

8234 – French Light Infantry in Greatcoats = These will be just the marching figures and are in the queue ready for dispatch.

8294 – 1815 French Line Infantry - Marching = In queue ready for dispatch.

8295 – 1815 French Line Infantry - Command = Moulds Lost? BOTHER!

Prussian Landwehr Infantry mixed set with Marching, Action and Command figures. These are now for Crowdfunding. The masters look really good but I am at the moment sticking with my humble Airfix sets that I have already painted.

The Prussian Limbers/caissons/wagons and the Brunswick Infantry are still in development.

There is another French Elites in Greatcoats set to come and the Dutch/Belgium Carabiners both are at unfinished stages. Lets hope that there are going to be a few more surprises in the coming week.

French "AN IX" Cavalry Pistol 1801

In 1800, Napoleon was concerned about order and organization of his army and appointed a Commission composed of artillery officers and arms inspectors, whose task was to define a weapon system that could replace that of  the 1777 model. The work of these specialists reflected in the regulation of 21 Pluviôse AN IX (February 11, 1801), signed by General Saint-Germain, an artillery officer who served as general manager of the arms-manufactures since AN VII (1799). Inspired in part from the 1763-1766 model, but based on the other weapons manufactured during the Revolution, this pistol is shorter than its predecessor and was produced by four manufactures, those of Charleville, Saint-Etienne, Maubeuge and Versailles.

The “AN IX” cavalry pistol was introduced from 1801 until 1807 and it replaced the disappointing 1777 model pistol. It gave rise to a remarkable weapon, intended for the light cavalry – like the Hussars and Chasseurs, each of the troopers having two pistols in holsters on each side of their saddles.

The muzzle loading single shot flintlock pistol weight was 1.290 kg and the length was 352 mm including the barrel of 207 mm. The pistol had brass furniture which includes the buttcap, barrel band, triggerguard and sideplate with the stock made from walnut. It had a tapered 8 ¼ inch round barrel smoothbore in .690 diameter which would fire a .69 caliber lead ball which must have given the rider quite a jolt when it was fired. A small steel ramrod was fitted onto the bottom of the stock with brass fittings. The rate of fire was between two and three rounds per minute with the effective range of 5 to 10 metres. By 1807 approximately 33,000 pairs had been produced. The “AN IX” pistol continued to be used in Napoleon’s cavalry as he made sure his army had the best firearms of the day until the end of his reign in 1815.

The Function of the flintlock pistol: the cartridge made of paper filled with gunpowder and a lead ball is taken from the ammo pouch. The cock is placed in the half cock position and the frizzen opened. The cartridge is then bitten tearing off the end, a small amount of the powder is placed in the pan, the frizzen is then closed. The lead ball, along with the rest of the powder is placed in the barrel, followed by the paper. This is then rammed firmly down the barrel. The rammer is then placed back in its receiver. The cock is pulled into the full cock position and the weapon is then ready to fire. On pulling the trigger, the cock holding the flint forward striking the frizzen and exposing the powder in the pan. At the same time the flint strikes the metal of the frizzen a spark is caused setting off the powder in the pan which in turn sets off the powder in the barrel causing an explosion which them forces out the lead ball and paper wad from the barrel.

The Ageing French Elites

After waiting nearly seven years for the “French Elites in Greatcoats” which are going to be produced by HaT Industries, it looks more likely that I will have to wait another year or so.

Back in January 2009 HaT announced that they were going to bring out the French Elites in Greatcoats in 1/32^nd, 1/72^nd scale and even in 28mm. Much joy there was when they announced them as no other company has produced such a set, other than Revell’s set 02570 French Grenadiers in Greatcoats. The first masters were shown in Jan 2009 box number 9310 French Light Infantry/Elites in Greatcoats which had marching and action figures and set 9311 Elites in Greatcoat Command which had an officer on foot a drummer and four NCO’s. Great so far?

These 1/32^nd sets came available at the end of 2009/ early 2010 but then there was no news on the other two sizes that they were going to produce and they were dropped from their listings. But good news in March 2016 the 1/72^nd sets are back on but there was no sign of the action or command sets. Box number 8234 is now Elites in Greatcoats but only in marching possess.  Oh well but I still want them and they should be out some time this year.

Now in 2017 the set is still being produced but it has now been taken over by the new crowdfunding idea for three 1/72^nd Prussian Landwehr sets one marching (8309) one in action (8310) and a command set (8311).  Don’t get me wrong they are very good sets but I want my Elites more than more Prussians.

Hat have slowed right down on production over the last couple of years but all the other plastic companies are doing the same in this economic crises that we are in. Still I hope that the Elites will be in my army soon and another set that has been on Hat’s list for a while are the Brunswick Infantry. Now that’s another story.

Wagons Roll

While I have talked about using wagons on the battlefield table, I thought that I would show you my only two of the four wagons that have been painted way back in the 70s. These are the Atlantic ‘Pioniers Wagons’ set number 1052. This set is very hard to find as the company went out of business in 1984 and they are very expensive if you wish to purchase some on the Internet.

As I have said that these are my main wagon supplies for my army back then and even now. The set contained four covered wagons made in brown plastic each pulled by two oxen. These were then a great set to have which also included barrels shovels and pick-axes and a little lantern which could be attached to the back end of the wagons which I think was a nice touch as shown in the pictures. 

The other two wagons in the set have yet to be painted and with some spare Airfix French Line Artillery horses I am going to change the oxen for horses. As you can see that they could be for any army as there are civilians from the set driving them.