General Bagration - 28mm Command Figure.

I recently purchased a few command figures from Front Rank, which included this nicely sculpted General Pyotr Bagration. Luckily I had some extra bits knocking around to jazz up his base a bit (something I admittedly don't spend enough time on). Next wargames show I'm definitely bringing back some materials for this purpose. Anyway, I decided to paint him according to some of the portrait images I could find on Google. Obviously this isn't always entirely accurate and depends on the clarity and resolution of the image you choose. I noticed several of the same portrait images of Alexander I on there, the colouration of which in some instances makes his uniform look anything from green to blue. Bagration's jacket was done with a base coat of Vallejo Military Green, then with a slight addition of white for highlights. The sash is Vallejo Sky Blue (again with slight highlights). His horse is a Vallejo Neutral Grey then a Medium Sea Grey on top with White to highlight. The mane and such were then painted with a GW Agarax Earthshade wash.

Napoleon's Old Guard Grenadiers 28mm

These are Victrix 28mm Old Guard. Ordered from Caliver Books and arrived in rapid time (ordered on the Wednesday and got here Friday morning). I was reluctant to have another foray into plastics, but I'd worked out how much it was going to cost me to finally complete the French army I always wanted and noticed my finances would be stretched. Anyway, I was also pleasantly surprised that Caliver were offering free postage to the UK on orders over £15. Out of one box I could put two regiments together and still have some extras to mix in with some fusilier heads and bodies I head left over from ages ago to do another line infantry unit or two in greatcoats. I'm also getting used to handling the new camera phone I got for Xmas which will hopefully show in the improved photos I'm uploading on here!

King Richard III, Leicester

I watched the BBC documentary "The King in the Car Park" about the search for the remains of King Richard III, and was struck by how those things we consider historical myths are sometimes revealed to be a mixture of both fact and fiction. The archeological discovery of his final resting place in the site of the former Greyfriars Abbey in Leicester confirmed many things once given to pure speculation: firstly (and most obvious) was that his body wasn't exhumed and thrown into the River Soar after the Abbey was dismantled as some suggested, and that he did indeed have some form of spinal problem (although not necessarily in the way others had claimed). Also, the manner of his death which at least all accounts agree upon, that the wounds showed he died "fighting among the thickest press of his enemies".

Many people would offer the opinion that history is simply "open to interpretation", which I tend to see as a very lazy conclusion to make. Rather we should maybe take George Orwell's example and admit that there should always be the search for the kernal of truth in everything (and along with this admit that some of our previously held assumptions can be disproved).

The above photograph of Richard III's statue in Castle Park, Leicester was taken by my girlfriend. It was just after the identity of the remains were confirmed and as you can see someone had laid a white rose at the foot of the monument.

Napoleonic Italian Artillery 28mm

I decided to order an artillery battery to go with my brigade of 28mm Italians. I already knew that another four gun French battery was likely to cost me a considerable amount of cash, costing on average around £9.00 to £12.00 for one gun and crew. So I was looking at around fourty quid plus for the complete battery. That was until I searched the Britannia Miniatures website where I'd previously been buying my 20mm WW2 figures. It just so turns out they've got a rather small range of Waterloo figures in 28mm, and they're cheap as chips! So for £30 (including postage) I made the purchase and awaited their delivery. In conclusion I was really pleased. Great detail on the 8lb cannons and the crews match nicely with my Front Rank and Perry Models from the other sets. Check out the 'before and after' pics above, and here's the price details on the Britannia site: Britannia 28mm Napoleonics