The fourth and last of my Spanish Line regiments composed of Miniaturas Dos de Mayo figures steps off (there will be quite a few to come from other manufacturers!).
Detail of the stonewoprk in the Courtyard of the Lions; the palace itself holds a museum devoted to Guadalajara.
Red is certainly the dominant impression of this regiment, whose origins date back to 1657; the buttons are white metal
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The dynamic officer is a high point of the Regimiento de Infanteria de Linea Guadalajara!
Note the red epaulets of the sergeant; in the Spanish army, the NCO epauletes were in the facing color in the 1805 uniforms.
The white piping on the red collars is c;early seen here. Flags coming soon!
Once again, a variety of encumbrances carried by the soldiers make the figures especially interesting.
Here is the full "Division" of 4 Regiments.
On parade, awaiting their standards, which will bestowed upon them shortly, with suitable pomp!
Most Americans will think of Guadalajara in Mexico first, but it is also both a city and province of Spain, in the la Mancha region. While Gudalajara itself not a major tourist attraction, the Palacio del Infantada, constructed in the 15th century by the Mendoza family, who held the title of Duke of Infantada, is a marvel of ornate stonework. I found this statue rather interesting, poised outside the facade of the Palacio.
You are really cranking out Spaniards, Peter! Do you under coat black and then white over the top or spray white and just fill in the non-white bits? Undercoating in white never seems to work as well as black for me even on white uniforms. Reminds me of a long running joke with a friend who primered his Zulus white before painting them black!
ReplyDeleteMy Three Armies Armies Spaniards arrived on Saturday. With the free shipping and introductory offer, they were a real bargain. Thank you for the heads-up!
I prime white, always. Yes, even Nubians! :-)
Delete(I then stained them dark brown as the first step in painting them... which is almost done after that, LOL!)
For the Spanish, after the white spray primer I then paint the coats and pants white with a big sloppy brush, and then apply a heavy wash of Delta CC "Wedgewood Blue", a bluish grey color. The cross belts get painted white again after that, and I use the light version of the (black) magic wash when the figure is done.
The three armies figures are a good value for sure. I am prepping some of them now, and they are a bit heavy on flash around the muskets and bayonets, but manageable.
Peter, why no grenadiers in any of your units? Were grenadiers not integrated into a line battalion? Questions I need to resolve before I begin work on a Spanish regiment or too. For my 15mm Peninsulsr War Spanish, I integrated a company of grenadiers into each battalion. Perhaps that was a mistake?
ReplyDeleteNo, it is personal preference. In 1808, the first battalion (nominally) had 2 companies of grenadiers and 2 of Fusiliers; the second battalion had 4 companies of Fusiliers. I plan to raise 2 units of "converged" grenadiers. It looks Like I will have 10 - 12 units of Spanish line eventually. The Grenadier units will have 1 company (stand) each from each of the different Line regiments that I paint. Aside from the fact that I just like it better that way, part of the reason for that is that I got the figures for the Spanish Grenadiers long ago, maybe 2009, and they are Front Rank, which are big compared to most other manufacturers, and would look out of place with some of the other figures. Fine in their own units though. Also, these Front Rank seem smaller than some of their more recent figures. That happens to be a plus in my case.
ReplyDeleteI am just finishing two units of the Paul Hicks sculpted Brigade Games Spanish Cazadores... fantastic sculpts, and they came out looking really nice. Flags are being distributed as well. Plenty more Spanish posts will be forthcoming in November!
Make that the 2nd and 3rd companies had 4 Fusilier companies. Once the British took over, the Spanish were (nominally) organized rather like the French - six companies per battalion, one Grenadiers, one Cazadores, and 4 Fusliers. Of course, by then the magnificent Spanish grenadier bearskins were no longer to be seen!
ReplyDelete2nd and 3rd *battalions*, sheesh!
DeleteYou have solved my question regarding Spanish organization and why my 15mm Spanish contain both grenadiers and lights. When the Spanish were originally fielded, I did so explicitly for Albuera. That explains everything. I really ought to keep notes from my earlier research...
DeleteAs for half of Battalion #1 consisting of grenadiers, that may look strange to my eye.
Yes, by 1811, many of the units would have made the organizational change, most by 1812. I agree ,half grenadiers "looks funny". Hence my approach!
DeleteLovely work again Peter, and the divisional photo looks very impressive.
ReplyDeleteThe other thing about the grenadiers is that they were often taken out into converged units anyway, which could be another reason for their absence. I remember my first Front Rank purchase were some Russian Jager hornists to complete a few Minifig Russian units. That obviously didn't work out quite as planned.
Thanks, Lawrence. glad you liked them!
Deletethat's my rationalization as well for fielding the Grenadiers separately. The above organization is a bit like the Mack reforms of 1805... and we know how well that worked out for the Austrians!
Nice looking Spanish, your steaming through this lot, any particular project to go with them or are you just completing all the napoleonic theatres of war?
ReplyDeleteBest Iain
Thanks, Iain! As for any special project for the Spanish, well, yes!
DeleteFirstly, once I started my 95% completed British army, Spaniards to go with them were pretty much a must (I already have a small Portuguese contingent). My as yet unconfirmed plan is to runj a Snappy Nappy Campaign in a Day event set in Spain ? 1809 at Historicon 2017
Great progress! More! ;)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Mark - more forthcoming shortly!
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