15mm Napoleonics: AB Napoleon & Staff, pt. III

Boney and Staff, AB Miniatures.

Some years ago I decided that I'd treat myself to certain things by Anthony Barton, from his 15/18mm Napoleonic AB range. As a kid I'd had some of his Battle Honours figures, and loved them.  Even though I'm building my major forces in smaller scales - 6mm and 10mm - I wanted some command bases, and perhaps even some display bases, of 15mm.

In part this is something I've always thought would be good. But I think I might also have been influenced by having seen such ideas manifested in reality. Doesn't Callan fight wargames with Schneider in the Callan feature film A Magnum for Schneider using Peter Gilder's armies which have larger scale commander figures?

Slightly closer view...

In the end I might wind up with smaller 15mm armies anyway, as a by-product, which'd be good. But at present all I have is a rather motley selection: Napoleon and sundry staff; a load of Guard Lancers (my putative 'display' unit or units); and some non-AB oddments (one mini-battalion each of French and English Peninsular Naps by AW Miniatures). I also have a similarly ragbag assortment of 25/28mm stuff: Boney and staff (again!); a whole load of the Perry's Retreat from Russia series, and sundry random boxes of 28mm Nap plastics, mostly unassembled, never mind painted!

... after basic Milliput basing.

Having been mega-sidetracked now for several years by building 1/72 (mostly German) WWII stuff, and constant reading,  I've been determined to get back into painting minis. I'm getting there in a roundabout way. First I built and painted some Airfix 54mm Nap plastic figs, and then I started painting some 20mm WWII vehicles and figures. But, dang it, I was still avoiding the 6/10mm stuff!

I figured maybe if I finished the Boney and Staff 15mm stuff, all of which was already started, this might help edge me back towards my original goals? All of this has been very slow in happening. But today I finally got to the stage where I felt happy enough to start basing these command group figures. The painting part is, I'd guess, about 90% done.

Bases painted with Vallejo flat earth.

Pictured above is how they're all looking at close of play today: Milliput 'soil' on MDF bases, somewhat texturised, painted in Vallejo 'flat earth'. Tomorrow I'll detail the soil a bit with washes and dry brushing. Then I'll give the whole lot a dull-coat lacquering, before doing some final washes and highlights (on the figures/horses). Then it'll be time for final earth and grass basing, a last layer of lacquering, and they should be done.

Duxford Dioramas Pt I - 1/76 Normandy 1944

Duxford Dioramas Pt I - AB/MAFVA Normandy 1944 Diorama, Duxford IWM Land Warfare Hall.

Mobile, HQ: officers gather round a map on the bonnet of a jeep, as

tanks, armoured cars and artillery head west, for the Front and Berlin.

I think this is what they called the bocage.

I love this tank model. I think it's a Churchill AVRE with a fascine [1] bundle. It's a pity about the reflections from the glass case housing the model.

I'm no expert on Allied tanks. Is this a Churchill AVRE with Petard mortar?

I doctored the above pic, for the banner pic of this post (see very top of post), substituting some (genuine) Normandy 1944 sky for the innards of the Duxford IWM Land warfare hall. Does it work?

Like I already said... I'm not so au fait with Allied materiél of WWII: is this

a British vehicle, or a bit of lend-lease from FDR and Uncle Sam?

Old news this, for me, really...

But... back in October 2012 my wife and I visited Duxford Imperial War Museum. I took tons of pics of (almost) everything that caught my eye. But one of the things I was most keen to photograph was a Normandy 1944 diorama, built by members of the London branch of the MAFVA (Miniature Armoured Fighting Vehicles Association), using AB figures, many sculpted especially for the diorama, by one of my figure-sculpting heroes, Anthony Barton.

I believe this is a Morris C8 Quad and 25 pdr artillery

team. Stopping for a well-earned lunch break.

Tony Barton's figures are just fabulous. So naturalistic!

One reason I haven't posted this until now was that I've been meaning to contact Duxford and see if I can arrange a visit to take some much better pictures. My pics were taken with a selection of devices, none of which (our digital camera, a Canon IXUS something-or-other, and my iPad, chiefly) are that good. I also took the pics of the model as it is, under glass and poorly lit.

Looking East, from the formerly German-held end.

Looking west, towards the ruined building on the high ground.

A watercolour sketch, by Dan Taylor and Malcom Mayes,

used in preparing the layout of diorama. [2]

But when I started researching the model, I discovered this very interesting article:

http://www.militarymodelling.com/news/article/normandy-diorama/3299#

... which tells a lot about the building of this excellent diorama. And the pictures of the finished model in that article, clearly taken using flash are (no offence to the photographer), even worse than mine! So I thought what the heck, I'll post and be damned. Though I have to confess, I do still harbour a deep desire to go back and get some much better pics. This fab diorama definitely deserves better! The pictures directly above and below this section of text are from the Military Modelling website, and are offer a wonderful glimpse into how the model was designed and executed.

MAFVA member Bruce Harron

works on the terrain, in situ! [2]

Thanks to the Military Modelling article I learned that the scenario depicts an imaginary scene from the Normandy campaign, set in 'a period of post D-Day, but just before Operation Goodwood, the theme being 'Components of an Army'. In this case for 'components' read vehicles.' It's also fascinating to learn about the planning and time-frame involved. I've always loved dioramas, and long harboured the desire of building one. But the closest I've ever got, so far at any rate, was owning an Esci diorama kit (never finished) and the Airfix Hougoumont set, as a kid!

This project was conceptualised in 2002, and commissioned with a brief to be finished by 2004, for the 60th anniversary of the Normandy campaign. Given the general eastward thrust of the Allied movements against the Germans I'd assumed that this would also be, excuse the inevitable pun, the axis of the action on this model. But it turns out it's actually a north/south alignment, shown lengthwise. If you like the pics here, you really must read the Military Modelling article, which is highly enlightening.

The hub of the action: what a great diorama! So much

going on. And the real feel of a campaign underway.

The foot soldiers slog slowly past vehicles that are

starting to pile up in a picturesque bocage traffic jam.

It ain't all fun and games. Here we get a

glimpse of the cost of combat.

Since returning to model-making I've begun to go back to those youthful dreams of occasionally doing it as a possible source of income. Idle speculation, perhaps? Well, it looks and sounds like a dream job to me, although I expect for most who do it supplements other and better more reliable incomes. Still, I smiled when I read this, in John Rulton's article: 'With a need to achieve a realistic view a short holiday in Normandy proved beneficial.' [3]

Due to the nature of the commission, which was designed in part to contextualise some of the vehicles that the Duxford IWM collection has in the Land Warfare Hall, within a scene of British troops behind the front line, the Germans aren't so well represented on this diorama (whilst they are in the collection of real vehicles). What little German content there is is limited to some abandoned materiél and a few hapless prisoners, all that remains of the once triumphant Whermacht in this part of northern France.

Not so much 'Achtung, Panzer!' as 'Kaput, Sonderkraftfahrzeug!'

An abandoned 88mm Flak gun, with the bogies detached,

and a nice mess of empty shell cases lying strewn around.

The 'master race' subjugated. The indignity

of it: even my pic of them is crap!

It's fascinating to read the scenario that's envisaged by the team that built this superb model, and the various processes involved in realising it. I discovered that most of the vehicles were made using commercially available kits, almost all of which were souped up considerably. But there were also some scratch built elements, from the beautiful farmhouse, by Dan Taylor, to a Fremch farmers cart, and even some of the vehicles; for example John Rulton did the Morris C8 Quads, which were then cast in resin by Milicast. 

I didn't know this initially, as I thought all the figures were AB, but the MM article says there are also a good number by Milicast. There are about 400 figures on the diorama in total. I haven't counted the number or listed the types of vehicles. But I think I might try and do so on my next visit! The model itself is 8 feet by 4 feet, and was made in four 4' x 2' modules. When time allows I'd like to fill in a bit more detail about the model and the scene it depicts. But for now I hope you might enjoy the pics.

An MP directs another artillery team into a field.

A close up of the beautiful figures in the officers area, 

a couple of dispatch riders chat to an MP.

Loading the ambulance. Are those the dead on

stretchers at rear, respectfully covered?

The beautifully built destroyed farm.

Damn those reflections!

----------

NOTES:

[1] It's from this same Latin term for 'bundle of sticks' that we also ultimately derive the word fascist.

[2] Thanks to Robin Buckland and Military Modelling for permission to use these pics (and one or two helpful pieces of information about the content of some of them as well!).

[3] Destinations in current 'research' itinerary: Waterloo (Ligny, Quatre Bras, etc.), Smolensk, Maloyaroslavets, most of Austria... and now New Zealand, so see the Peter Jackson / Perry Twins Chunuk Bair diorama!

Painting Progress: AB Napoleon, Generals & Staff - Pt. III

I'm just not getting enough time to work on these AB generals, it's sooo frustrating! Anyway, here's how things stand: Poniatowski and ADC, pretty much done:

Another pic of Poniatowski and his ADC (a different one from those I used in previous posts!)

Next up are these three: Roustam, Boney, and Ney:

After that, it'll either be Duroc and the other guys in blue, or the page/equerry, and the two Chausseur bodyguards:

So, essentially I'm trying to work in groups of three now. In the current batch Roustam is perhaps the most demanding, and he's looking like this at present:

I looked at quite a lot of imagery for Roustam, including watching some bits of the Clavier Napoléon movie (or rather TV mini-series, to be strictly accurate), in which he's played by an almost mute Jacky Nercessian. In the end I decided, rather than follow Funcken, or what I've seen others do elsewhere on the web, I'd do my own hybrid. As can also be seen from these two images, taken from two different wiki pages, there's a degree of latitude available.

The base-coat colours for Boney and Ney are all blocked in, so it's just a matter of getting in there with the fine detail, shading, etc. Just need to try and find or make some time!!!

Painting Progress: AB Napoleon, Generals & Staff - Pt. II

Poniatowski & ADC

Poniatowski & ADC, by AB.

Painting these AB generals and their staff is proving to be a very mixed affair for me, psychologically, inasmuch as I oscillate between exaltation and despair! The downside of these fantastic sculpts, and the great paint jobs one sees on the web, inc. meister Antony Barton's own superb work, is that they demand a lot of one. Anyroad, as they used to say hup-north, here's how two of the eleven figures currently on the painting bench are looking:

These are, of course, prince Poniatowski and his hussar-style ADC. I used the image below, amongst others, as reference. But as close study of that pic and my mini will show, I also diverged from that pic as well. My version is a kind of hybrid, as is the ADC, of numerous sources, also constrained by my own preferences and limitations.

A nice bit of ref.

Whilst painting these I've been reading the fairly short but hugey enjoyable memoirs of Charles Parquin, a cavalryman who worked his way up from a fairly lowly rank in the Chasseurs of the line to a moderately high-ish one in the Imperial Guard Chasseurs. 

Short but sweet.

Parquin's character and life experiences give one a sense of the kind of man that Poniatowki's ADC might've been: ambitious, brave, having seen numerous theatres of war and accrued numerous wounds, and possibly also, as with Parquin, something of a duellist and a ladies man! Indeed, he's exactly the sort of beau sabreur one imagines Arthur Conan Doyle basing his Brigadier Gerard character on.

Most of Parquin's 20th Chaussers went to Russia, but his troop was in Spain. This is the first of the large and ever-growing pile of Napoleonic books I'm acquiring that I've read that spends a good deal of the narrative time in Spain. I don't quite know why, though I have my theories, but I've always consciously avoided the whole Peninsular imbroglio. This was the first time I felt drawn into it, thanks to Parquin's charming and exciting account.

So what's next?

I think I'll work on Ney next, the legendarily brave Marshal who appears, begrimed and dishevelled, unrecognisable to his comrades in arms, boasting that he was the very last man out of Russia. AB's lovely sculpt shows this charismatic commander sans chapeau, all the better to show off his jalapeño-head 'barnet', sword arm raised, as he no doubt inspires his cohorts to action. At some point I really must get the Eureka Miniatures 'retreat from Moscow' Ney, which is modelled on the famous painting by Adolphe Yvon, for my 28mm collection.

Ney with the rearguard, Russia 1813, by Adolphe Yvon.

Eureka's 28mm Ney figure, modelled on Yvon's painting. [1]

My 'wargamers piles' have only gotten worse, thanks in no small part to the Perry Twins and their recent and very fabulous Retreat From Moscow releases: once I found out about these I simply had to have them. So far I've got all the foot figures. I'm trying to hold off buying the cavalry or any further releases (or similar stuff, like the  Murawski Miniatures Poles) until I've painted the foot figures. It's clear to me that the Perrys have been using the superb works of Faber du Faur as reference and inspiration for some of these brilliant miniatures.

Faber du Faur's superb book. [2]

Perry Miniatures workbench retreat from Russia 'stragglers'.

It's interesting for me, as an Art School graduate and occasional artist/illustrator, as well as a collector and painter of miniatures, etc, to see the process designers might go through. For example, as the Perry themselves say, in a TMP post on the subject, they're making their Retreat From Moscow figures from a combination of influences, primarily faber du Faur, but also Albrecht Adam and Carle Vernet. 

In the images below one can see that the 3rd figure from the left in their TMP 'hobby news' press-release pic (the 'stragglers' shown above), combines elements from several figures in the Faber du Faur picture, entitled 'Near Smorgoni, 3rd December', reproduced below. It's interesting how they've added the belt, from the grenadier with bearskin, to the guy in the shako.

NOTES:

[1] This pic comes from an excellent post you ca find here, on the dux-homunculorum blog.

[2] An essential reference work for those interested in the Russian campaign of 1812 (and, like Parquin's memoirs, published by Greenhill).

Painting Progress: AB Napoleon, Generals & Staff - Pt. I

More Work In (Very Slow) Progress

Mounting the horses on lolly sticks, and starting to undercoat.

Riders also undercoated.

As mentioned in a previous post, I intend to have command stands for the generals in my Russia 1812 wargaming, where my armies will be in 6mm & 10mm, in larger scales as well, as Callan and Schneider do in the Callan movie. To this end I have recently purchased a bunch of figures from the AB range, in 18mm, as well as some Perry/Foundry 28mm.

Blocking in base colours on the horses.

Barton can certainly sculpt horse-flesh!

As already detailed in several prior posts, I worked on an Allan Perry Napoleon Crossing The Alps figure, based on the famous and iconic David painting, in 28mm. That was my first proper venture into this area. Well, actually... I did also buy and paint up the Warmodelling 15/18mm Borodino Nap, some time back, which minis I may return to (at some point!). Anyway, putting to one side concerns over strict chronologies of past activities, I'm currently painting the 18mm AB figures, which are fabulous little masterpieces, sculpt-wise. I got Napoleon and staff (8 figures), Ney as an individual, plus Poniatowski with an ADC, all mounted.

The next three individual close-up pics demonstrate the beauty of the AB figures, I think (please make allowances for the unfinished state of my paint-job!).

Marshal Ney, sans chapeau! At this point I've superglued the riders to their horses.

Poniatowski (a one-piece casting).

Poniatowski's ADC (another one-piece).

I decided to do Anthony Barton homage in my approach to painting his little wonders, and undercoated them in Humbrol matt white enamel. As he rightly points out in a painting tutorial he did for Eureka Miniatures (which you can find here: Painting Small Figures by Tony Barton), the current fashion for undercoating in black isn't an approach many (if any) self-respecting fine artists might employ, as a dark undercoat kills the luminosity of any brighter colours layered over the top.

There's also what he refers to as the 'scale/distance effect', or some similar term, whereby small objects, which by their size appear farther off, need to be brighter than normal in order not to appear dull, etc. The guide is an entertaining as well as informative read, as for example, when, having lambasted black undercoat ('I realise it’s one shortcut to lining out the various parts, but I think it produces a very coarse effect') he goes on to damn drybrushing as 'another unrealistic abomination'!

Boney & bodyguard.

Roustam & another bodyguard.

Given his prowess as both a figure sculptor and painter, it's got to be worth reading this guide, although whether Barton's ideas will suit dyed-in-the-wool abominators conditioned by years of black undercoating and drybrushing is a moot point. Certainly I have seen for myself how much brighter colours are on miniatures when painting over a white base coat (but as a Fine Art graduate I knew about this anyway), but I have to say that in other respects - chiefly the fact I often felt I needed to do more to achieve darker under-painted areas (e.g. behind detail like fancy lace or braid) - I'm not sure if his approach isn't a bit too labour intensive for my purposes. 

With thousands of miniatures to paint, I can only contemplate this approach for these few showcase command stands.

More blocking in of base colours... slowly but Shirley...

I intend over this and the next however many posts to document the work on these minis. This might be a bit piecemeal, as I can't find the camera on which I took the first few pics, so (as things stand at the time of posting this) the pics showing now represent the second or third stage. Stage one was basing and undercoating in white. Stage two was blocking in the main colours.

I eventually decided to remount the figures individually, as the paint was rubbing off in various places when I was working with multiple figures glued to lolly sticks. I've re-based them, using UHU, on wine bottle corks, cut into two or three pieces. This means each mini can now be handled separately, and will hopefully therefore require less of the repeated touching up I was doing before.

They're such gorgeous figures they really do deserve the individual approach!

Lolly-sticks abandoned in favour of individual wine-cork mounts.