Portuguese 22nd Serpa Regiment

For the sake of a bit of variety I purchased a couple of battalions' worth of the Front Rank firing and loading figures, and painted them as the 22nd Serpa Regiment:

As another regiment from the Central Division they carried a white regimental flag and had white piping. I chose the 22nd primarily because of their light blue facings to provide something a little different from the usual reds and whites, and it was only after having completed them that I found they were not that heavily engaged at all during the Peninsular War. No matter, as that won't stop me putting them on the table if required:

The nice thing about the loading figure is that given the way it is posed it exposes all of the right-hand side turnback which meant that I could add the triangular strip of blue cloth, which was a feature of the Portuguese uniform but is obscured on most of the other figures:

Apart from those on the command stand. I managed to spill paint on the flags for this regiment and would have replaced them if I had any spare Central Division flags left (as opposed to the four I seem to have over-ordered for the Northern Division). I touched them up as best I could and believe it will pass all but the closest of inspections:

That's eighteen battalions completed which was originally going to be the total but, as usual, I found enough figures left over to complete two more, after ordering an additional seven marching figures from Front Rank.

It never ceases to amaze me that, no matter how careful I think I am being, I always end up with at least a spare battalion or two. I'll paint that regiment as the 17th/2nd Elvas, which I do know was extensively engaged throughout the war, and then on to either the Cacadores or some cavalry...

Portuguese 16th Viera Tellas Regiment

The last unit I managed to complete in 2015, on the morning of December 31st, but which I didn't have a chance to photograph and prepare a quick post on until today. One too many Gin and Tonics put paid to that I'm afraid.

The 16th Viera Tellas Regiment fought at Bussaco, Salamanca and Vittoria in Pack's brigade, and were under Campbell at the battle of the Nive:

I purchased Front Rank Portuguese "advancing" figures for this regiment as I knew my motivation would be starting to flag after having painted 280 or so of the marching figures, and am a little annoyed with myself that I didn't order a few more as I very much like the pose of these figures:

As another regiment which formed part of the Central Division they carried a white regimental standard and had white piping:

This makes sixteen Portuguese line battalions completed with, what I had originally thought, were only two more to go:

And so it was with a strange feeling of simultaneous delight and disappointment that I found I have enough figures for another two battalions beyond this.

When I think I'll ever get the chance to deploy twenty Portuguese line battalions I don't know, and I was quite looking forward to getting stuck into the Cacadores (where I also found enough figures for an additional battalion beyond the six I had originally planned), but I know I'll have to paint the line figures before I allow myself to move on.

Which just leaves me to say a big thank you to those who have read these thoughts during 2015 and left such kind comments, and to wish everyone a happy and fulfilling 2016.

Crescent Root 15mm World War II Buildings

I always think one of the nicest things in life is when reality surpasses all expectation, and this was the case with the purchase of Crescent Root's Series 3 15mm WWII buildings which arrived this morning.

I had been eyeing their products several years ago, when they were manufacturing in resin, but never managed to get around to purchasing any at the time. After an interlude of what must have been a year or two, they have now returned with rendered mdf models.

I have to admit that mdf terrain has never been my thing as I much prefer the feel of a resin building, and I have an absolute pile of Grand Manner and Hovels which I hope to get to in the next couple of years, but these are beautifully executed and I now have to consider myself a total convert.

Of course, like a kid at Christmas (or the week before at least) I couldn't help but unpack the lot to see how they looked:

The set comes with a mat, which I had to touch to double-check was actually flat and without flocking. The three-dimensional effect is very convincing:

Each building is multi-layered and, while I'm not a huge fan of laser-cut interiors generally, these look great.




Best of all, if one purchases the entire set, every house comes with an additional section which allows the roof and top floor to be removed, and a damaged one to be substituted:

The other nice thing is that every building has a base with paving stones and, in some cases, a garden:

The detail is great:

And, possibly one of the most important points, they arrive pre-painted and beautifully packed.

All things considered, one of my best purchases of 2015.

Portuguese 14th Tavira Regiment

The 14th Tavira Regiment was present at many of the major battles in the Peninsular War, and suffered casualties in most of them with the exception of Albuera where they were not heavily committed.

They formed part of Fonseca's brigade in Hamilton's division at Bussaco and again at Albuera, and were in Bradford's Independent Brigade at Salamanca, They were then attached to Da Costa's brigade in Silveira's division at Vittoria, and then Buchan's brigade in Hamilton's division again at the Battle of the Nivelle as the Allied army crossed into France.

Finally, they were transferred back to Da Costa's brigade in Le Cor's division for the battles of St Pierre D'Irrube and Orthez, Again, with the red piping and regimental flag, they identify themselves as belonging to the Southern Grand Division:

These two battalions represent the last of the Front Rank march attack poses I have for the line. They are my usually favoured Napoleonic pose, but after fourteen Portuguese line battalions it starts to wear a little thin.

Only two regiments of four line battalions to complete now, with two in an advancing pose and the last two in firing line positions, so that should give me enough variety before I move on to the Cacadores.

Portuguese 10th/2nd of Lisbon Regiment

A quick post on the latest regiment to join my Portuguese project, the 10th Regiment were quite heavily engaged during the Peninsular War and saw action at Bussaco and a number of actions in the crossing of the Pyrenees including St. Pierre d'Irrube, Orthez and the Battle of the Nivelle:

They were also engaged at the battle of Albuera where they were under the command of the rather grandly named Colonel Don Luiz Benedicto de Castro, Conde de Rezende.

They were another regiment forming part of the Central Division, and therefore carried a white regimental flag with white piping on the uniforms:

Aside from the above, I have to confess that I really wanted to include them as the sky blue cuffs made a nice change from the usual red, white and dark blue, and gave me an excuse to break out one of my favourite Foundry paint sets:

That's twelve line battalions done with six more to go, and I finally feel as though I am getting there with this project.

As an aside, I have switched from my usual Winsor and Newton Series 7 brushes to the Rosemary brand of sable brushes based on a recommendation I read on-line (and I wish I could remember where so I could thank them):

Aside from the fact that were they around half the cost of the Winsor and Newtons, I also find that they are lasting twice as long and hold their point just as well as the Series 7. To be fair, I do tend to use one brush for everything apart from basing and dry-brushing (or large areas on horses etc.) which means they get a hammering, but I have found that even with this sort of exclusive use I am getting close to a hundred 28mm figures done before they give up. My favoured brush size for the detail work is the Rosemary Series 33 size 10/0 (while the larger sizes are great for block painting larger areas):

Here is a link to the Rosemary website for anyone interested:
http://www.rosemaryandco.com/watercolour-brushes/pure-kolinsky-sable/pure-kolinsky-pointed

Portuguese 5th/1st Elvas Regiment

I got a little stuck halfway through this one. Not through a lack of motivation, but rather a lack of time. Still, it was nice to see it completed to keep the project moving:

The 5th/1st Elvas were engaged at Albuera, suffering losses of around 60 officers and men from a total complement of 925, which is quite light in comparison to losses elsewhere on the field that day. As part of the Southern Grand Division they had red piping and carried a regimental standard of the same colour:

It does seem strange that they don't feature prominently in later battles, such as Salamanca and the Battle of the Nivelle, especially given that a large proportion of the Portuguese army was engaged in the latter.

Since I am roughly modelling my Portuguese on Albuera however, I wanted to include them. Aside from anything else, it also means that, numerically speaking, I have now completed the first five regiments of the Portuguese.

I have also managed to complete the first battalion of the 10th/2nd of Lisbon and hope to complete the second battalion over the next week or two, work and home life permitting.

Portuguese 3rd/1st Olivenza Regiment

I was a little worried about painting this regiment as, being part of the Portuguese Northern Division, it has yellow piping:

(along with the yellow regimental flag carried by the second battalion):

This is because I have not yet found a yellow that I am completely happy with. I usually use the Foundry triad sets for most of my figures, and their yellow is not a problem if there is a large area to be block painted as it is quite easy to build up a fairly solid yellow with successive coats, but I wasn't looking forward to potentially having to go over the piping four times to obtain a bit of depth. In the end I managed to get away with a brown undercoat and a single layer of GW Yellow for most of it, with an additional layer on the more exposed or highlighted bits:

The 3rd Regiment were pretty much a constant throughout the Peninsular War and were in Spry's brigade at the key battles of Fuentes d'Onoro, Salamanca and Vittoria. Again, I chose to do the bulk of the figures in the white summer campaign trousers, rather than the dark blue regulation or winter issue:

That is eight line battalions completed to date, with another ten from a further five regiments to go.