Ancient Ancients

 I have a small drawer full of really old Minifigs ancient figures, including Romans, Persians and Assyrians and a handful of Greeks.  Every once in a while I dig some out and for a change paint them.  On this occasion I have completed some AA 4s Assyrian Heavy Archer Firing Bow and AA 7s, Assyrian Light Spearman with Shield Advancing.  Although, they don't look like light spears to me, more telegraph poles.  

I did consider replacing the spears but thought that would diminish the charm of these early wargame figures:

I have a few more Assyrian types to paint while the mood holds!

Project Completed.

 Last night I finished the remaining figures needed to complete my Quatre Bras Project.  The planned battle will take place this weekend so painting all of the figures in time has been a 'near run thing!'.

This batch consists of a battalion of Scots:

Another British Line battalion:

A second Brunswick battalion:

Some Brunswick Lancers (converted from Minifigs S range Austrians):

And a Brunswick battery (converted from really old figures):

It will be good to take a break from painting and get some figures onto the table.

Nassau Grenadiers 25mm Minifigs S Range

The final napoleonic unit from my recent painting spree takes to the field.  These are Minifigs S Range Nassau infantry, in the form of Grenadiers.  They were originally from the late Eric Knowles collection and were quite nicely painted.  I have touched them up a little and added a bit more detail, before mounting them on new bases.  

I am not sure Nassau had Grenadier battalions, probably just companies, but I will use a little wargamers license here.  

I have some Nassau line infantry on the work bench made up from French figures.  These along with some Dutch and Belgians will form a Netherlands division

25mm Russian Napoleonic Infantry

With the continuing wet weather and the COVID restrictions the weekend provided a perfect opportunity to finish off a number of painting projects. In all I managed to clear over 100 figures off the workbench.

First off are these splendid vintage Minifigs S Range Russian infantry, made up from ebay purchases and some figures from the lead mountain.  They will join my slowly expanding Russian napoleonic army:

Next up will be an American Civil War Union artllery piece with crew, followed by some Bavarian infantry and a unit of Nassau grenadiers.  Finally ther are some Airfix WW2 French.

Russian Napoleonic Foot Artillery

I recently purchased these figures along with some infantry.  They were well painted and just required some touching up and new bases.  They will make a useful addition to my growing Russian army.  The figures are Minifigs S range, 25mm:

Something Brighter

Having spent the last month more or less painting Prussian blue, grey and black, I thought it would be fun to try something more colourful.  I have had these French Guard Chasseurs a Cheval for some years and they were worn and faded and needed a face lift and rebasing.  In the end I almost completely repainted them but now they certainly add a splash of colour:

the figures are 25mm Miniature Figurines S range and they now take pride of place alongside my S Range French army.

More Prussians

The last few days has seen me painting the final Prussian Line battalion consisting of Ros Figures and revamping four Minifigs S range Landwehr battalions.

First off we have the Ros line infantry, painted as 1813 -15 regular infantry, representing a West Prussian unit:

Next, I have four Prussian Landwehr battalions. Two are from the Elbe Province with light blue facings and the other two are Westphalian, with green facings:

I bought these on eBay many months (maybe years) ago and they have been sitting in a drawer waiting their turn.  The original artist had done a very good job, but they were scratched and some of the paint had yellowed.  So, I rebased them and touched them up.  Four very useful additions to the Prussian army.

African Alliance

I have been thinking about creating an enemy for my Roman army, using what I have in 'stock'.  I have a mixture of figures, most of which have undergone conversions in the past, but they all look as though, with a bit of painting, they could become ancient North African forces. 

I have already painted some Egyptians and some Libyans and the latest lot are generic North Africans:

I also have a pile of Picts and this latest unit I have dubbed as Pictish Mercenary Warband:

The figures are all Minifigs S range, apart from the drummer - a current Minifig offering. I will keep producing units as when my mojo dictates in the coming months

First off for 2020

The first unit to take to the field is this batch of Minifigs S Range Carabiniers.  This unit has been cobbled together over several years by picking up these figures as they have turned up for sale from a variety of sources:

Austrian Cuirassiers - 25mm Minifigs S range

I have been working on these figures for several weeks and over the weekend I finally finished them.  These are Austrian Napoleonic Cuirassiers, with some clever conversions to create command figures, kindly carried out by a friend.

I enjoyed painting these, although I am not sure that I have done them justice and I might go back and tidy up one or two aspects:

Minifigs S Range - French Hussars

Another refurbishment; this time Napoleonic French Hussars.  These are not all my work, although, as with other recent posts. I have repainted parts, tidied them up and re-based them:

I have made good progress this year so far by going through my boxes and selecting units for repainting or refurbishment - something I have promised I would do for several years and not got around to doing it.

25mm S Range Austrian Hussars

I bought these a couple of months ago as part of an Austrian 'army' lot. These hussars were quite well painted, but not entirely to my liking.  I have stripped them down and repainted them in my usual glossy style to represent the 5th Hussars:

It was nice to be able to splash out a bit with the colours!

Russian Jaegers - Minifigs S Range (Refurbished)

As part of the process of re-basing and smarten up my old Minifigs collection, here we have three units of Jaegers ready to take to the field:

Not all my work, these were aquired painted, all I did was to add some details and re-base them.

Mining The Lead Mountain - Russian Grenadiers

For a change, I thought I would refurbish and re-base some old figures that have been lying in the lead pile.  These are Minifigs S Range Napoleonic Russian Grenadiers, that were painted, but were scuffed and untidy.  They have been touched up, based and varnished, with a new flag. Ready to join the ranks:

Mystery Figure Stripped

I have managed to strip most of the paint from the figure, which revealed some interesting features:

 Looks like a tassel on the right side of the shako:

Closer view:

Is this a skull badge?

Rear view:

I still can't make up my mind - he could be a Brunswicker with some inaccuracies thrown in!