Friday 25 October 2013

Garrochistas

Another unit which doesn't really fit in with my Talavera project, but one which I felt compelled to purchase. This unit of irregulars were composed of Spanish cattle herders, and distinguished themselves at Bailen:


















The Front Rank figures certainly look the part, with the characteristic "Franciscan" straw hat:


















I also replaced the standard Front Rank lance with some from North Star, which I think look a bit more in line with the Spanish "garrocha":


















There were apparently between two to five hundred of them there, so a dozen figures at a ratio of 1:40 is probably at the higher end, but at least they provide something a little different:

La Mancha Lancers

This is a unit I hadn't planned on incorporating within my Spanish 28mm Talavera project, mainly because they weren't there. A combination of what little I have read about them and the fact that they were available through Eagle Miniatures at the same time as I was placing an order for Spanish hussars and chasseurs, meant I couldn't resist.


















These are markedly different figures from the newly remodelled Eagle range which are very nicely done, and I am not sure that they are to everyone's taste, including my own when I first saw them. To my mind they looked slightly more Hinchcliffe than Perry on the notional continuum. That said, I quite like the result when they are painted, and they do make for a unique-looking unit:


















One thing to mention about the Eagle customer service is that they are now under a new owner, Ian McCullough. When I came to paint these figures a year and a half after ordering, I realised that I had inadvertently been provided with incorrect arms (these are three-part pieces, or four by the time you add the lance). Ian kindly sent out the replacements that day, with a few extras thrown in.

The lances are from North Star, and the pennants from GMB flags:


One thing I really like about these figures is the raised insignia on the shabraque. It makes them much easier to paint and is a good idea which I wish more manufacturers would incorporate in their designs.