Rifle Brigade

I bet you thought this project had ground to a halt eh? Well, I guess it sort of has but I did manage to knock out this unit to represent part of the Light Division.

This is the same Pendraken figure as used for the previous unit but as they are representing rifles I didn't fiddle around adding bayonets.

I also painted a Divisional Command stand. I thought two mounted figures on a base would work well for this and it's also the way these are represent in the 6mm ACW armies.

These figures are from the Napoleonic Austrian range. I had to change the hat to the fore and aft position but otherwise it is a simple paint job conversion.

I do have more units in mind but it all comes down to available time whether they will get compeleted.

Off on a tangent

So first up, this has nothing to do with the American Civil War but it's a period I have always wanted to have a go at - the Crimean War. In some ways I guess I could claim there is a bit of crossover as the two wars were fought only a few years apart.

These 10mm figures are nice little sculpts although for some reason this pose was modelled without bayonets so I had to add some using staples.

For instance, George McClellan was present at the siege of Sebastopol as an observer and this experience was said to have influenced his decision to lay on a full scale siege of Yorktown in 1862. The minnie rifle (used with deadly effect in the Civil War) made it's first battlefield appearance in the Crimea with British troops being issued with it just a few weeks before the Battle of The Alma. Also, it doesn't take much of a stretch of imagination to think that at least some British troops in action in the Crimea may have later taken part in the ACW, especially in the Irish brigade.

The idea is to have a unit represent a brigade just as with the ACW armies. The British only has 9 infantry brigades at The Battle of the Alma so this is doable.

The troops I intend to use for this project are 10mm figures by Pendraken Miniatures. I've looked on and off for years for a decent range of 20mm figures but they don't exist, not with a sufficiently wide range anyway. This scale does at least make it feasible to collect and paint enough troops without breaking the bank and I already have plenty of useful scenery.

My last attempt at this period only got as far as this 1/72 plastic version of the Light Brigade before lack of figures coupled with a lack of enthusiasm caused it to peter out.

We'll see how far I get this time.