Collecting a Wargames Army 101... Again

Ok. Here we go again. After somehow managing to focus on the ECW for most of 2005, I have decided that in 2006 I will devote my energies to the Napoleonic period... at least until something else catches my eye... The Napoleonic period has always been my favorite, but the prospect of painting hundreds of highly detailed and fiddly models seemed like an impossible task. I favor brigade level games where infantry battalions number 30-40 models each and cavalry regiments can be anywhere from 24-32 models depending on how many men are in a squadron. After having read Bernard Cornwell's entire Sharpe series (for maybe the third time) I resolved to tackle a project that will hopefully launch me into piles of painted Napoleonics. I intend to build small forces for the British and French initially, designed for skirmish games, and go on from there. I have a goal of a dozen Riflemen and maybe twice that number of Light Infantry. I am also going to paint a troop of KGL Hussars and a detachment of Portuguese Cazadores to add some strength and variety to my little force. On the French side, I intend to paint a force maybe 150% of the size of the British so I'm looking at 50-60 infantry (I'll need seventy-two for two battalions when I go for full armies) and detachments of dragoons and lancers. As I mentioned in my ECW articles, I normally fight fictional encounters, but I like to base my collection on historical formations. Yes, I know the South Essex is a fictional unit (works out great for fictional battles), but painting the South Essex Light Company will give me a head start towards the historical formation I've picked to model my initial British collection after... Crauford's Light Division! The Light Division is a wargamer's dream. It was an elite formation full of colorful personalities and varied uniforms (no having to paint six identical units). The composition of the Light Division, as with most Peninsular formations, changed from battle to battle so I have chosen the units that fought at Crauford's famous rearguard action at the Coa. This consists of the following:

The Light Division 1st brigade - 43rd Light Regiment (30 figures), 4 companies of the 95th Rifles (16 figures), and the 1st Portuguese Cazadores (24 figures). 2nd brigade - 52nd Light Regiment (30 figures), 4 companies of the 95th Rifles (16 figures), and the 3rd Portuguese Cazadores (24 figures) Cavalry Detachment - 16th Light Dragoons (24 figures), 1st KGL Hussars (24 figures), and a battery of the Royal Horse Artillery (3 guns) There will be some differences between my collection and the historical model. For one thing, because of my initial project representing the South Essex, my 52nd Regiment will have yellow facings instead of the buff that distinguished the historical formation. Another glaring inaccuracy that will surely bug Napoleonic purists (but makes no difference to me) is that all of my Frontrank figures carry the Waterloo era backpack rather than the sack style that was worn in the Peninsula campaign. I'm sure other errors will be made or willfully created, but again I am only using the Light Division as a model. Despite railing against figure removal and figure based combat in my ECW project and the fact that I love the vignette look of the multi-figure stands, I intend to produce this entire force on single stands. The reason for this is two-fold. First and foremost, I want to be able to play skirmish games with my collection and be able to get some actual games in as soon as possible. Actually getting the models on the tabletop and pushing them around for an hour or two always fuels my desire to add more models to the force! Second, there are several rulesets that I'd like to be able to use and basing the figures individually will let me reorganize units at will. Although it can be time consuming to move large units of individual figures, I can always construct movement trays to form temporary stands and more convenient ways of moving the figures. Anyway, I am really excited about this project. I have wanted to do it for years. I have found painting the models is quicker than I anticipated. Although not as fast as the ECW units, I have found I can easily paint three infantry per day. More photos of the South Essex will be coming soon and my next article will detail my plans for the French.