Wednesday 28 December 2011

Peninsular early war cavalry





A long time following the last post, here is my completed Peninsular early war cavalry division (minus artillery and command, yet to be assigned - the Heavies will be Ponsonby's, I'm undecided about the lights - probably it will have to be Stapleton Cotton.

The Heavies are missing plumes, which seems right for campaigning, and the Spanish Dragoons are I think a conversion of the Austrian Chevauleger with a bicorned head, which have then been cast up.

I have always wondered why the rule for British Napoleonic ranges has been for them almost always to be in Belgic shakoes for the infantry and foot gunners, bell topped shakoes for light dragoons, and helmets for heavy cavalry. This tends to mean even where earlier war figures were produced, they have far fewer poses or variations, and are far harder to come by.

Stovepipe infantry, tarletoned light dragoons and bicorned heavies are far more versatile, so I am glad to have been able to add these early cavalry. I have two and a half battalions of stovepipe infantry which are the next in line for painting - that will give me 6 battalions in stovepipe, plus a battalion of marines and a naval landing party, supported by four battalions of sepoys, for my early war expeditionary forces. they also have access to vast numbers of horse artillery plus

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