Spanish 28mm Army

I couldn't resist putting the whole army together as a group before they get stored away whilst they await the advent of their French protagonists:

This was a fun project, although I am not sorry that it is over especially as it was on the back of around seventy or eighty 15mm Essex Spanish units which I am also in the process of finalising. I have probably now painted enough Spanish to last me a life-time:

I like this picture as I believe it conveys some of the diversity of colour that can be found in a Spanish Napoleonic army, in this case the Irlanda, Ultonia, and Swiss regiments, a light battalion and an artillery battery.

All up, the army includes the following:

• 19 line battalions (including the 1st and 2nd Irlanda and 1st Ultonia battalions)
• 2 composite grenadier battalions
• 3 Swiss battalions
• 1 Guard battalion
• 2 light battalions
• 4 militia battalions
• 7 cavalry regiments
• 2 artillery batteries
• 1 guerrilla unit

Which is around 709 infantry and cavalry figures, with 98 horses and 6 cannon.

My next project is to put the finishing touches on some 15mm Spanish, and then move on to Portuguese in both 15mm and 28mm.

Spanish Generals

I managed to complete the last of my 28mm Spanish figures over the Easter weekend, in the form of half a dozen Spanish generals and aides-de-camp:

I decided to put them on circular bases, mainly for stability but am quite pleased with the contrast between these and the rectangular bases which I have used for the rest of the army.

I particularly like the way the figure on the right turned out. He just seemed to "emerge" and ended up looking like a Guard or Swiss officer, which wasn't actually planned when work commenced on him:

I am probably a little less happy with the way figure on the left (below) turned out however, in that I accidentally used some very Christmassy-looking colours. I started to give him gold lace, but it began to feel too much like adding tinsel to a Christmas tree so I ended up giving him plain white piping:

That said, I found it rather amusing to position him in such a way as to appear that he is trying to ignore the orders being handed to him by the ADC. Unfortunately, Front Rank don't have a Spanish officer figure which is looking toward their left, so it was inevitable I suppose...

That's my Spanish 28mm project completed. I'll probably try to put together one final post on these as a fully assembled army (before I move on to some 15mm Portuguese) - mainly for my own amusement but also, hopefully, that of others who may be interested.

Spanish Artillery

I am a big fan of Front Rank, and these are the first of their artillery models that I have managed to complete. They were a lot of fun,not only due to the detail but also the lack of flash in areas such as wheel spokes which has annoyed me with some other manufacturers in the past, so preparation was particularly easy.

I tried hard to find a colour for the artillery pieces themselves that I was happy with. Some sources suggested that Spanish artillery should be grey, and I have read others that indicate that the paint they used was cobalt-based (thank you Stephen Summerfield), and should therefore have been more of a blueish tinge which may ultimately fade to grey with continued exposure to sunlight.

In the end I settled for the Foundry British blue-grey triad, which probably suggests Spanish artillery that has recently rolled off the production line, but I am reasonably happy with the result.

The main thing I did have some doubt over was the base size. I am aware that if a crew was to try to fire a gun in these positions, most of them would end up concussed or permanently maimed, and was tempted to put them on 60mm x 80mm bases to provide a bit more scope for positioning and to create more of a mini-diorama appearence. That said, I decided to stick with my 60mm x 40mm convention to keep them consistent with my old Minifigs and Hinchcliffe armies, but it really served to underline to me how much figures have "grown" over the years.

My particular basing issues aside, if anyone else is looking to put together Napoleonic Spanish artillery, I can thoroughly recommend the Front Rank models for consideration.

Spanish Guerrillas

I managed to complete a battalion pack's worth of the Front Rank Spanish guerrillas over the past couple of weeks, comprising twenty-four figures in all. I am not quite sure when I will get to use them alongside my Spanish regulars, but they form such an iconic part of the Spanish resistance against the French that I felt the army would be incomplete without them.

The majority have been based singly anyway, with the vague notion that I might want to use them for skirmish gaming at some stage as well. I have a copy of Sharp Practice from Too Fat Lardies, and will probably base some 95th Rifles and French Voltigeurs the same way, to round things out.

There is a fair bit of variety in the pack, including a few that probably wouldn't look out of place as pirates.

:

I made a conscious effort to try not to go too overboard with colour, and stuck mainly to rustic-looking browns for the majority in an effort to make them look more like peasant clothing. I did allow myself a bit more license with some of the blankets they were carrying however, in order to lighten things up a little:

All things considered, with the combination of poses and variety of clothing and equipment, these were fun to paint.

Spanish Militia

It felt a bit strange going back to Front Rank after a few battalions of Eagle miniatures, as the figures are arguably at opposite ends of the 28mm spectrum and these Front Rank definitely feel quite hefty in comparison.

I was also a bit wary about brown as a theme as well, but half-way through I was really starting to enjoy the experience and reminded myself how much I love the Front Rank style.

The first of these is my interpretation of a couple of the tercios of the Catalonia militia:

While these figures were most likely initially intended for use as regulars for the Spanish army of 1811 and thereafter, I think they work quite well as urban militia:

I have relied upon the dependable Rene Chartrand and his second Osprey to try and interpret the uniform for these:

The second couple of units are based upon Chartrand's description of the Galicia militia, and I think the yellow facings work quite well with the brown uniforms:

The top hats and brown uniforms remind me a little of Victorian chimney sweeps, but they make a nice contrast to the rest of the Spanish:

The flags are GMB, and in this case I have used some from the Voluntarios de Barcelona. Not strictly a militia unit, and the flags could more probably have been home-grown rather than standard issue, but I decided to use these in case I wish to double them up as brown-uniformed regulars at some stage.

Walloon Guards

The Walloon Guards, or Guardias de Infanteria Walonna, are the last of my projected Spanish regular units and one of my favourites. Originally raised in 1704 from the area of what is now Belgium at a time when that region was under the Spanish Crown, they were assimilated into the royal household alongside the then recently established Spanish Guards. I went with Eagle Miniatures for these figures which, like their Swiss, have the longer tails on the coats but also have the paired buttonhole lace which was apparently a distinctive feature of the regiment's uniform:

The only downside is that there aren't any matching grenadiers available, but the figures themselves are nicely detailed if a lot slighter than my usual Front Rank:

The flags are by Adolfo Ramos which I think look great and are well and truly up there with GMB's, although I have found that they are a little more absorbent and one has to ensure that they are lined up first time as they don't "slide" around as much as what I am used to with the GMB designs:

Now it's back to Front Rank, and the four militia battalions which I am hoping to have completed by the end of the month.

Swiss in Spanish Service

I have managed to complete three more battalions for my Spanish project, representing three of the Swiss regiments in Spanish service at the time of the French invasion in 1808. The three battalions are from the Preux, Reding and Betschart regiments:

They distinguished themselves at Bailen, even coming up against fellow Swiss who had been pressed into service as part of Dupont's army, which caused the latter to defect from the French back to the Spanish side:

The figures are from Eagle Miniatures, and represent quite well the longer tails of the Swiss coats. Unfortunately there were no grenadier figures available, so I decided to pad the units out with fusiliers:

The rather distinctive-looking Swiss flags are from Adolfo Ramos in Spain, and I think they really serve to give the units a unique appearance:

The Eagle figures are quite nicely detailed, although they are a lot slimmer than my usual Front Rank and would not mix well in the same unit. They are around the same height however, and to my eye do not look out of place as a separate unit:

They also carry the French-style backpacks, which I believe also adds to the overall appearance:



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.

Voluntarios de Espana

Another unit from Eagle Miniatures, I like these Spanish Chasseurs as they add a bit more colour to my Talavera project:

As with the Hussars and Dragoons, I have reversed the trumpeter and put him on a grey horse.

There is certainly enough variety of colour in the Spanish cavalry to avoid the potential for monotony. As with Eagle's Spanish Hussars, these are very finely detailed figures and also represent part of their (as I understand it) reworked range.

The tops of the shakos are not actually blue, but caught a bit of the early morning sun from somewhere.

All things considered, nicely proportioned figures and I was pleased to add them to Talavera project.

Maria Luisa Hussars

I decided to add a couple of light cavalry regiments to my Spanish project, with the first of these being the Maria Luisa Hussars:

I purchased them from Eagle Miniatures who have a nice range of Napoleonic Spanish figures including many, such as the Hussars, which have not to date been addressed by other manufacturers.

The figures are slighter than my usual Front Rank, but in the case of the Hussars and others of their newer and reworked figures, are very finely detailed. Size-wise they are closer to Perry, although the riders are probably around 1.5mm to 2mm shorter eye-to-eye. When I get time I'll probably post another of those size comparisons in case anyone is interested, but I don't think they will look out of place alongside my other units.

The only criticism is that I found the metal to be slightly softer than what I am used to with other manufacturers and I managed to snap off a couple of the plumes, which I will have to address with some Green Stuff. They also have separate arms, pelisses and muskets which I initially found to be a bit off-putting, but in the final analysis I enjoyed the freedom to be able to glue things on at slightly different angles in order to provide some variety.

Ian McCullough is the new owner of Eagle Miniatures and seems keen to provide a high level of service which is great, and I hope that he manages to further expand the range. I should also say that these figures were purchased before Ian bought the company.