French Napoleonic The Old Guard

 Final post for 2025. This is 31 posts for the year which is a record for my blog and for the first time exceeds my target of 26 posts a year. My previous best number of posts was 23 in 2021. A good year for the blog.

The Old Guard Battalion rolls off the painting table.

Old Guard Battalion in Line

In column

Painted with a mix of contrast and normal acrylic paints.

Bases still need to be flocked.

10mm Figures and flags from Pendraken.

Painting Progress

240 of        300 Infantry              10 units of 30        Completed 80%  nearly there.

55 of        55 Skirmishers              5 units of 11        Completed 100%  YAY!

60 of      60 Cavalry                    4 units of 15        Completed 100%   YAY

9/36 of   9 Guns with 36 crew.                                Completed 100%    YAY

5 of        5 Command stands.                                    Completed 100% YAY

On the painting table now are two battalions of Grenadiers.

Also I have completed a lot of the base flocking for the existing French units (they look better) and will have an army on parade post in January.

Last of the French Napoleonic Line Infantry

 The final two regiments of the French Line Infantry are now completed.

First up the 19th Regiment

19th Regiment in column

19th Regiment in Line

Now the 55th regiment

55th regiment in line.
Only one photo for them. Widely known to be an ugly bunch of blokes so very few pictures taken 😂

Painted with a mix of contrast and normal acrylic paints.

Bases still need to be flocked.

10mm Figures and flags from Pendraken.

Painting Progress

210 of        300 Infantry              10 units of 30        Completed 70%  nearly there.

55 of        55 Skirmishers              5 units of 11        Completed 100%  YAY!

60 of      60 Cavalry                    4 units of 15        Completed 100%   YAY

9/36 of   9 Guns with 36 crew.                                Completed 100%    YAY

5 of        5 Command stands.                                    Completed 100% YAY

On the painting table now are the Old Guard Regiment.

Still to do are two regiments of Grenadiers.

The end is in sight!

A Western Adventure

 I have been lazier than usual and have neglected the blog.

I went on a small trip to visit my brother and his family in Perth.

While there I also visited my brother's wargame club.

First up a photo of the Indian Ocean

Unlike Sydney where all the houses are built right to the ocean, in Perth they leave a lot of space which makes it a lot more natural. Perth is a lovely city, really well planned and easy to get around. Just a long way away. 5 hours from Sydney by plane.. only 4 hours going back because of tail winds.

Off to the wargames club Napoleonic Wargaming Society

It is run in the rooms of a lawn bowling club and has lots of tables and a very welcoming group of gamers.

My brother and his friend were playing a game of König's Krieg to refresh their memory of how it works. Hence the rather bare table. 

I got the usual little brother job of rolling his dice. 😂😂I did alright until an important morale roll where he said "Anything but a 6 Ben"... you can guess what I rolled 🤣 Scratch one infantry battalion and one artillery unit.

Now something never before seen on my blog. Eye Candy.

One of the other things I discussed with my brother is Vauban Fortresses. I have always wanted to have one in my collection but have held off as they are difficult to game with as they will occupy the bulk of any table making it impossible to properly attack them. 

He has resolved this issue by proposing to build one that is on a river or sea. This means the fortress is on the side of the table and you can effectively use all of it. There were many actual forts like this. 

An example.

Anyway, back to normal programming soon.