British & French General Officers - Vimeiro

As part of finishing off the forces for Vimeiro, I've needed to put together a few extra command figures. Probably the most important one was General Junot himself. As far as I am aware there are no 18mm or 28mm models of Junot, which is surprising, as the General is often depicted in his General Officer of Hussars uniform and is very much the epitome of the Napoleonic beau sabre.

General Jean-Androche Junot

One of Napoleon's most colourful subordinates, General Jean-Androche Junot, Duc d'Abrantes was a law student at the beginning of the Revolution. He joined a volunteer battalion, was twice wounded and owed his first advancement to an incident at Toulon when, as a sergeant, his cool courage under fire while taking dictation from Napoleon impressed the young officer.

He served as Napoleon's ADC in Italy, receiving a head wound at Lonato which may have contributed to his later mental problems.

General de brigade from January 1799, he survived the Egyptian campaign but was wounded in a duel and was captured by the British as he tried to return home. On that return, he was appointed commandant of Paris and General de division in November 1801.

One version of General Junot's appearance

After serving as ambassador to Portugal and as Napoleon's aide in the 1805 campaign, as governor of Parma and Piacenza and of Paris, Junot lead the invasion of Portugal in 1807. early success was rewarded with a dukedom of Abrantes, though Junot greatly resented not being appointed as a Marshal; and it was followed by defeat at Vimiero.

The inspiration for my interpretation came from the excellent showcase of large scale models one of which shoes General Junot.
http://www.leforumlafigurine.com/t6910-vitrine-du-duc-de-abrantes

My figure is based on one of the AB French ADC's that I picked up from Ian Marsh of  Fighting 15's  at Colours a week ago. It required a head transplant from a French hussar and a few additions of Milliput, and overall I am quite pleased with the look.

I have modelled the general with an Imperial ADC and an officer from the 1st Hussars, Junot's regiment, when he joined the cavalry.

In addition, although Junot "side-lined" his divisional commanders at Vimiero, I will need four French Divisional commanders just in case our Junot stand in chooses not to, and these three gentlemen bring the French army up to strength. Again these are from AB and really look the part.

Next up was Sir Arthur Wellesley himself plus some extra Brigade commanders

The model of Wellesley and his ADC's are Warmodelling figures from Warmodelling uk. The model depicts Wellesley as he would have looked as Duke of Wellington with his ostrich feather bedecked bicorne. At Vimiero as a junior Lieutenant General, I imagine he may well have been dressed in full dress uniform, as above, after his meeting the evening before with his recently arrived boss, General Sir Harry Burrard.

I, however, plan to use this figure in future games where the "Duke" will need to be more appropriately dressed as the supreme allied commander.

One particular brigade commander I wanted to model, was Lt Colonel Taylor of the 20th Light Dragoons who effectively commanded the Allied cavalry of British and Portuguese light dragoons.
For this commander I adapted the AB Royal Horse Artillery officer.

New Xan British - Peninsular War

Presenting the new Xan Peninsular War British Line infantry, available in the UK from Empress Miniatures

I was really excited about this range of figures when I saw them at Salute this year. So imagine my joy when they recently launched the new British infantry figures. I have been very keen to paint these guys, and have been working on this first unit in recent days.

Xan miniatures, 7th KGL with AB mounted colonel, Colours from GMB Flags

These models are a very welcome addition to the ranges of 18mm Napoleonic figures now available for us Peninsular War fans. They are very well proportioned with plenty of detail to pick out and a good variety of poses to form a complete unit. I really like them and I can see myself using a lot of these guys to complete my British collection.

Not only that but I also have some of their lovely French Legere on the painting desk so will aim to have some pictures of them with some comparison shots next to my ABs.

If you are thinking about collecting in 18mm then I would strongly recommend looking at Xan as a range to have in your collection.

As part of helping to illustrate how well various ranges compliment each other I have pictured the new Xan battalion next to my AB, CGM and Fantassin units. I think they all work well together and I am happy to have all the ranges together on the table adding variety to the overall look of my army.



Xan on left, CGM on right with AB Colonel, Colours from GMB Flags

Xan on left, CGM on right with AB Colonel, Colours from GMB Flags

Xan on left, CGM on right with AB Colonel, Colours from GMB Flags

Xan on left, AB on right with Fantassin skirmishers and AB colonel, Colours from GMB Flags

Xan on left, AB on right with Fantassin skirmishers and AB colonel, Colours from GMB Flags

Xan on left, AB on right with Fantassin skirmishers and AB colonel, Colours from GMB Flags

Xan on left, Fantassin on right with AB colonel, Colours from GMB Flags

Xan on left, Fantassin on right with AB colonel, Colours from GMB Flags

Xan on left, Fantassin on right with AB colonel, Colours from GMB Flags

All the manufacturers links can be found on my Links section

5th Battalion, King's German Legion

As mentioned in the previous post I have managed to get some painting done in a very busy week. So, just in time for Waterloo Day tomorrow, 18th June, may I introduce, standing in for His Majesty's 4th King's Own foot in my forthcoming Corunna scenario, His Majesty's 5th battalion, King's German Legion, which will be making regular appearances in future scenarios

The battalion is composed of an AB mounted Colonel, fusilier company men and skirmishing flank company from Campaign Game Miniatures, and flank company men and command party group from Fantassin. I think 18mm Napoleonic collecting has never been so blessed, with the ability to mix and match manufacturers in collections, as I hope I've shown.

The Colours are from the superb range of 15mm Napoleonic colours supplied by GMB. I think they are excellent. The importance of good colours and flags cannot be overlooked, as they can really make the final look of the unit and in my opinion should not be considered as something to be saved on.

The links to all the manufacturers mentioned can be found on my "Links" bar.

42nd Royal Highland Foot Regiment

No British Napoleonic collection should be without the 42nd Highland Foot, and certainly no Peninsular War collection. Having completed my series of games looking at the Vimiero campaign, I am now thinking about the army commanded by Sir John Moore and the battle of Corunna.

The 42nd Highlanders made their debut in this battle and were heavily involved in the fighting about the town of Elvina, after being encouraged by the General to remember their feats at the battle of Alexandria. It was members of the regiment who carried the mortally wounded Sir John from the field of battle.

For more information on the history of the regiment during the Napoleonic wars follow the link
http://www.napoleon-series.org/military/organization/Britain/Infantry/Regiments/c_42ndFoot.html



My battalion in composed of figures from Campaign Games Miniatures, with the mounted Colonel from AB and the skirmishers from Fantassin. I really like the CGM figures, giving a burly highlander ready to close with the bayonet. My only criticism is their bayonets, not quite long enough for my taste, but I think, in 18mm, I can live with them. The flags are from the superb GMB range.