Friday 22 January 2010

Fauntleroy and Friends


More Hinchliffe AWI figures - a troop of the 1st Continental Light Dragoons c.1781. The officer is a conversion of the bugler figure, and as usual i've replaced the sword blades with pins, but otherwise they are standard castings.


The standard (i.e. Gilder designed) AWI range cavalry are all one piece castings. Given the choice (as some Hinchliffe cavalry were available as either one piece or separate castings) i'd always go for one piece castings - what you lose in flexibility, you gain in convenience and durability. I usually found that my favourite horses and riders never quite fitted together properly anyway - resulting in tedious work with file and Miliput, or unsightly gaps between saddle and horse. And don't get me started on getting the reins to line up with the rider's hands. The usual criticism of the one piece cavalry is that the horses are too small - there's some merit in that point although i think we tend to forget that armies on campaign would usually be grateful of any old nag they could get their hands on.


Until being mortally wounded at the Battle of Guilford Courthouse the small 1st CLD detachment serving in the Carolinas was commanded by a certain Captain Griffin Fauntleroy - a quite splendid name that just cries out to be recreated in miniature.


Only one more troop of cavalry to go and i'll have finally finished Wm Washington's adhoc Legion that i started a mere 5 years ago....

2 comments:

Stryker said...

A fantastic paint job sir - I am truly in awe!

Ian

DC said...

Ian,

You are too kind (and the cheque is in the post).

I must admit i found these figures hard going - which was probably more due to being ill for a month and suffering a major down-turn in enthusiasm than the figures themselves. I seem to have got out of it though, this time without the need for my usual 'enthusiasm restorer' (a re-read of Harry P's 'Achtung Schweinehund!'). Maybe i should just read it again anyway.

Cheers.