Thursday 4 January 2018

From GregB: Vive L'Empereur (The Second One)! (60 points)

French Imperial infantry ready to defend their country against Prussian invaders...while their senior commanders prepare to fail them utterly...
Well, no marks for originality with this next submission - why it's yet more infantry for the Franco-Prussian War! My last submission was a pile of Prussians, and here now is the completed force of French infantry to take them on. These are 28mm castings from "Eagles of Empire".  There are 31 of them in the pictures, but as with my previous submission, there is a bit of propaganda at work in the photography - a number of figures in this group shot that were painted previously or prior to the Challenge. Only 12 of the castings will count for scoring purposes this week. I just liked the group photo, so piled the whole lot in together!

Bugler figure serving as an NCO on a square base

These are based for skirmish games, with NCOs on square bases and more senior officers on hex bases.  As with the Prussians, there is a senior command base that adds a standard bearer to a senior officer that will be used to represent a higher status officer on the table. I was not able to find a proper eagle to affix to the standard unfortunately, but I still like how the fellow turned out.

NCO directs the deadly fire of his unit's Chassepot rifles

While the sculpting style of these castings is definitely a little different, something I have remarked on in previous posts, I do give full marks for the sculptor capturing the feel of the period.  Where the Prussian sculpts feature many figures charging forward, the French are in a variety of firing poses, working the deadly effect of their Chassepot rifles, holding some manner of hopeless position. I think the sculptor clearly had a good feel for the dynamics of the period.

Great selection of firing and loading sculpts

A lot of detail on the kit...different pans, canteens, tent-poles and other supplies for the march

And as before, I just LOVE the uniforms of the Imperial French infantry. Those kepis, baggy red pants and epaulettes are just SO cool. Can't wait to get these fellows on the table!

Senior command stand with a flag - from the 70th Regiment

The flag on the command base is also from "Eagles of Empire" - they offer flags for two of the French infantry regiments in the War.  This is fine for skirmish purposes, but for my larger plans involving games of "Black Powder", the lack of available flags from providers of nice flags like Flag Dude, GMB or Maverick Models is frustrating - Warflags has some for free, but you have to print those yourself, and the quality is just not the same...

An eagle would be nice for the top of the standard...oh well...

The battle honours of the 70th Regiment

Anyway, this submission will provide another 60 points for the pile, and represent the conclusion of my initial mad rush of this edition of the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge. I wanted to get enough 28mm figures painted to do a decent-sized skirmish game of some sort for the Franco-Prussian War, and between these chaps and the Prussian regulars and Jagers, I think we will be able to have a game very soon! Time to take a little bit of a break from this period and switch gears to another subject...see you next week!

 Artist: Audiomachine

Album: Magnus

These folks are from the US, and they make a wide range of symphonic and electronic scores.  I first heard their music as part of the crowd-pumping montage for Winnipeg Jets games, and the effect is excellent.  Great background for painting little soldiers and wargaming!



Ka-pow!  And the veritable avalanche of beautiful miniatures from the age of uniforms being bright and fun continues from the prolific brush den of GregB.  The colours are fantastically realised with the highlighting really making them pop (that blue is ace) and the little details on their packs are spot on.  The command stand is my favourite, especially as I've long  suspected this is what it looks like at Curt's house when he's getting ready to rally the troops for each AHPC.... That officer is a brilliant sculpt and you've really brought him to life, bellowing orders at his hommes.  I feel your pain on the flags as that one does look very nice indeed.

As a dutiful minion, I thought I'd go take a look at some details on this conflict so I could sound right knowledgeable when commenting...... And I backed slowly away from my PC given the amount of info on there!  What I did gather was things didn't seem to go too well for your boys here, so hopefully they'll fare a little better on the tabletop than in real life.  Anyway, 60 points irrespective of how well or badly the war went for them to add to your ever growing total.

24 comments:

  1. Some amazing figs here Greg, well done!

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  2. Nice additions to your French force Greg :)

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  3. Lovely work on these figures again Greg, but your counting is suspect! The emperor in question is Napoleon III not II (although one could say it's the French who cannot count). You may not be able to count,but you sure can paint. Love the shading and highlighting of those blue coats, and the red really pops.
    Who cares if your army can't win a war as long as they look good and have the right cooking equipment along with them!
    Salut, Pierre

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    1. It was Napoleon III, but I thought his Empire was the "Second Empire", and thus the "second Emperor"...

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    2. You are in fact both correct. Napoleon II held only titular rank as Emperor of the First Empire for a few days after the fall of his father. The Second Empire was created by his first cousin, Louis-Napoleon - Napoleon III. The French can count fine, it's the grand strategy that they needed a little work on. :)

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  4. Great work, this collection is coming along nicely.

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  5. Very nice Greg, those red and blue uniforms look like a lot of fun to paint and you have done a great job.

    I know very little about this war, but are the eagles the same as in the Napoleonic wars? If that is the case, I think I may have several 28mm from Front Rank. I am happy to put some in an envelope and post them to you. If interested please email me and I will have a look.

    Not sure about Black Powder though!

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    1. It will be a while before I get to a game of Black Powder, but I got there with 28mm Napoleonics, and I think I can with these fellows too...(fingers crossed)...

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    2. The eagles were quite similar, except for the silly crown that was on the Second Empire ones (and the eagle looked a bit more well-fed). Details that can be ignored at this scale or people slapped for dogmatically pointing them out. ;)

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  6. This army is going to look amazing

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  7. God I love the look of those already impractical uniforms. Great work

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  8. Sumptuously! Guys in red trousers always inspire!

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  9. More amazing looking stuff Greg! Can't wait to get them in action on the tabletop.

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  10. Superb effort there Greg they look amazing when you finally get to field an army it will look spectacular keep up the great work

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  11. It's terrible, Greg! You paint equally well and move very smoothly! It's horrible! :) What an example you are giving to us all!

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  12. Great looking second empire troops!
    Best Iain

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  13. Vive l'empereur! Very nice indeed Greg. Keep the Challenge Tunes coming mate, I'm really enjoying trying out your playlist.

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  14. Superb work, mon ami! I especially love the command stand with the shouting officer. That flag is gorgeous as well - I can see why you'd want more from this manufacturer.

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  15. Great stuff! I do like the uniforms as well.

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  16. Ah the Franco-Prussian War. For some reason this was part of my Foreign History exams at school. I don’t remember much these days about it other than Alsace-Lorraine being handed to the Prussians.

    Great painting Greg. Love a man in red trousers... um...

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  17. These look very nice indeed Greg!

    Christopher

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  18. Very nice painting indeed! Those chaps look like they come straight out of a war painting!

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  19. They do look sharp, Greg! I can see where the Zouave units of the ACW were inspired with uniforms like these!
    I hope your French fare better than history records! ;)

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