Colours 2008

After some late juggling of the social diary, I was able to make it along the A4 to Newbury Racecourse to attend Colours 2008 last Sunday. Compared to previous years, it was a quiet show and I spoke to a couple of traders (it isn’t fair to name names) who’s takings were way down. Nobody seemed quite sure why. Perhaps the economic downturn is having an effect, perhaps it’s because the sun actually shone last weekend and people were taking their last chance to get out before Autumn sets in or perhaps (as in one case) there were difficulties with allotted stand space.

As usual, I met up with Peter F. and, as we strolled round, I got the latest news on the vulcanizer and preparations for the Saxon range. At this stage, I don’t think I should go into details but the struggle continues. With luck, though, there might be some good news about at least one aspect of the trials and tribulations that have afflicted Calpe Towers this year.

There was little to admire on the Napoleonic demo games front. The only exception being a demo participation game using the new Sharpe Practice rules. The set-up looked good with some well constructed scenery and a good smattering of enthusiastic young players. Dave Thomas had some of the new Crusader French Napoleonic infantry and they look really good in the flesh. I reckon they would fit well with late-Foundry figures and possibly even the Perrys output. The sculpting is in a smooth, flowing style that usually lends itself well to easy painting.

The other item that really impressed me was a new book about Dutch-Belgian cavalry. Now, I’m not particularly obsessed by the Hundred Days campaign but if there were a whole set of books of this quality on the market, I might get tempted. The book is simply entitled Dutch-Belgian Cavalry at Waterloo and is published by a Belgian company called De Cavalerie, written by a Dutch author André Dellevoet with a German illustrator Marius Niemietz. It’s a luxurious work of over 200 pages in hardback, beautifully produced and terrifically illustrated. This PDF of a promotional leaflet gives you some idea of the quality of this title. If only these chaps would turn their attention to Prussians or Saxons or Wurttemburgers…

I resisted the tempatation and settled instead for my first pack of Perry French cuirassiers. At some point I need to construct a single squadron of the 13th Cuirassiers, so I thought I’d try out pack of the “at rest” figures. There are some interesting painting challenges on these little chaps – mainly the regimental numbers on the end of the valises and the flaming grenade insignia in the corners of the saddlecloths. Hmmm, more candidates for my mythic wishlist of Napoleonic decals.

September already!

And, for me, that brings thoughts of Autumn evenings and picking up the paint brushes after a Summer of family activities. With that in mind I’ve resumed watching wargaming related happenings on the Web and preparing for a couple of forthcoming hobby-related outings.

First on the list of things I’ve noticed is a relatively new company’s plans to make Napoleonic decals. The idea of making Napoleonic decals is something I’ve mused about here before but a couple of obstacles prevented me progressing any further. Now Alban Miniatures has dipped its toes in the water with some decals for Peninsular War British starting with the 95th Rifles. Each pack contains 51 back pack decals and 48 canteen decals. And, according to the announcement on TMP, they have plans to add further decals for more British regiments and French campaign dress. I wonder if these nice people can be convinced to produce some Prussian decals? It’s always worth asking, the worst they can do is say no…

Next I’ve noticed that Crusader Miniatures has ventured into the increasing crowded market for 28mm French Napoleonics. At present, the first packs in the range look set to tackle the stalwart march/attack pose for French line infantry. So far, five packs have been announced:

• RFH021 – Napoleonic French – Centre Company (eight figures)
• RFH022 – Napoleonic French – Flank Company (eight figures)
• RFH023 – Napoleonic French – Grenadier Company in Bearskins (eight figures)
• RFH024 – Napoleonic French – Command in Shako (four figures)
• RFH025 – Napoleonic French – Command in Bicorne (four figures)

It’ll be interesting to see how these figures turn out in the flesh. I know plenty of people like sculptor Mark Simms’ Seven Years Wars range.

Moving on, I’m in the throes some three-cornered post-holiday e-mail correspondence with Peter F. at Calpe Towers and Grahame at GMB Flags. With the forthcoming Calpe Saxons in mind, Grahame has been working on flags to match and he’s nearly finished the artwork. I’m hoping to persaude him to let me post some preview pictures of the flags here (but they’d obviously be fritzed in some way so naughty people can’t download and use them).

And I’ll leave you with a couple of great examples of the 28mm Napoleonic figure painters art from recent threads on Steven Dean’s forum: check out this Perry French officer painted by Carl Robson (brother of Martin) and this is Sascha Herm’s first ever complete painted Napoleonic unit (hard to believe, isn’t it?). Enjoy the artistry.