"71st HLI in line now" Topic

Finally finished the 71st, but even then the basing is nothing but mud, as yet. Perry's plastics made up the bulk of the figures but most ended up with Victrix arms. Oddly, however simian the features of the latter, the weaponry is superbly moulded and I did have lots of spare Light Infantry arms, from a Highland set that I simply could not face doing. Even here, the headbands and the pack numbers are transfers (decals in US!) from the Battle Flag range. Good luck with the waterbottles though…I gave up!

Finally indebted to a couple of postings on here which inspired this. I must now hunt and give due credit.

The skirmishers are long done and shown earlier. Front Rank and they are BIG lads for Light Infantry, next to these. Now, finish the base, paint the 52nd and start on a 95th in traditional line.

TMP link

Got them;

Three Armies showed how it could be done as here;
link
and Lord Hill did it for 52nd.
link
Footsteps of giants is what they say………

Thanks to both

Great work

Regards Dirk

Eye watering stuff. Thanks for the post.

Lovely work Deadhead!

great work, precise painting, vivid colour and good colour control, there you are a stickler for details, the muskets had browned barrels in the 71st according to an inspection report of Clinton in 1815.

and I forgot that when I did the 71st skirmishers separately (Front Rank). I could still run a brown wash over them. I imagine 52nd and 95th did the same, browning the barrels of muskets/rifles?

Thanks all for the positive feedback. If you spot an error, let me know. I do wonder about the bugler lace pattern. Franklin shows a much simpler look with some green lace. Knotel shows my look.

and no one knows whether toorie on top or plume top-front of the "cap". I prefer the former frankly.

Great work!

Thanks for that.

I had meant to ask about sashes for HLI. For my 52nd and 95th, obviously the whip sash for officers, worn around the waist, with cords hanging on the right side. I presume, for NCOs, the conventional sash, with central facing colour, around the waist and the knot on the left.

But the HLI. Worn Highland style, the officers must have used the conventional sash, anything else would have strangled them. My sergeant was similarly turned out, but my pioneer sergeant is, fortunately, in the rear rank and not easily seen here.

He has his sash around the waist. It is a little known fact (so little known that I am the only one who knows this) that Highland NCO pioneers had to wear their sash thus, in order to use their axe.

the other possibility is that I forgot………

Superb version loving the piper, i was tempted but customer wanted flags instead! Of course at some stage I will add some of these to Three armies stuff, must finish off all my other British first! I'm not sure though have Perrys not done these in metal at all?

Indeed Perrys do Light Infantry. Initially very much in an active advancing pose; lately, adding to the Peninsular range, they have released some skirmishing.

The snag for me was I did want a firing line look. But also most Perry figures have the neck protector folded up at the back of the cap. OK, lots of filing would do it, but it must be removed to fix a diced headband.

I have some metals from them for 52nd, but really was surprised by the mould quality of the plastic figures. Their first ever release I think and time usually degrades the casting….not here.

Nice, very crisp details, love them.

@deadhead

despite its title I recommend to read

Glover, Gareth : Waterloo : The Defeat of Napoleon's Imperial Guard, Henry Clinton, the 2nd Division and the End of a 200-yes.old Controversy.

I bought a kindle edition, the book starts in 1814 and gives a lot of inspection reports by Clinton, which are treasures of information and give a deep insight of the Allied units

like report 29th of September about the Quakenbrück Landwehr of Hannover

their muskets are bron and arms & packs in good order.

about the 71st at inspetion of 71st of foot in 26th of April 1815

"the packs well put on and appointments clean & well kept, being what is called a light infantry battalion, the arms are brown & advantage has been take of that cirumstance to let them be last to clean as they ought to be kept.."

On my birthday list then, that book.

Again, despite the title and the daft paranoia expressed, "The Lie at the Heart of Waterloo" was really good.

and what you tell me makes the point…browned barrels for all my Light bobs. I did these with a very old metallic paint called Tin Blitz (GW) but might next time do in gunmetal and overcoat with Vallejo transparent woodgrain effect.

Very neat and tidy painting, do love the look of the red brits so must have a go at painting some.

Deus Vult, they will drive you mad.

The real colour is brick red. Every one of my unit is wearing occifer's scarlet. I know that. I did use a different colour for NCOs and Occifers, but the photos do not show that. But they are all far too smart. Much browner would be right, but boring.

If you do start on British Regts…God help you with the research.

Infantry……OK…Guards. Light Regts. Highland Light Regts. Line Regts. Royal Line and KGL. Flank Cos of those. Then 28th. Then Fusiliers (however spelt). Anyone with Buff facings. Ah, kilted Highlanders and their plume colours. Did I mention Rifles?

Every single one had their own peculiar rig (and still do to this day).

If God did will it, He had a sense of humour…….

I would have to follow your example of scarlet as it looks so nice, I can see the difference with the officers now you've mentioned it and its both subtle and effective.

Excellent work! :)

Wow, they look great! And thanks for the name check!

I read somewhere that the 71st shako was a bit shorter than normal, and that the plume was more like a pom pom, attached to the middle of the top (rather than attached to the front). I therefore spent ages carefully cutting slivers off the top of Perry/Victrix shakos, cutting off the plumes, and painstakingly adding pompoms to the top.

End result: looked rubbish! Have now decided to just give them normal stovepipes with normal plumes, so it's good to see yours look great like this.

I strongly suspect the lower look, with the toorie, I believe it is called, may well be the more accurate. Much recent discussion here, but I agree it is less appealing.

Thanks to all for the feedback. Much appreciated. None of the images shows the pioneer, so I'll attach a close up from a line view I did not post. Even then you do not see the leather apron, but it gives the idea……and shows that waist sash. Like I said, pioneers of HLI had to etc….

Potential for confusion for which apologies, The "Lower look" referred to the cap top, as used by Lord Hill, not the picture I put below it.

Again, we all know this was not a true shako, nor even the traditional Highland bonnet shrunk over a shako, but the highland bonnet somehow stiffened into that shape. See that detachable peak below tied at the back? It would have started life with the central "toorie" for sure. In green for Lights. Maybe the style changed with time?

von Winterfeldt, I must thank you for pointing me towards Glover's Book, Clinton etc.

I found a copy in a bookshop in York today and got it at 25% of normal price. Reviews complain that, unlike its title, it indeed concentrates much on the preliminaries to the Waterloo Campaign. My view is the opposite. I have found Clinton's inspection findings fascinating.

I cheated and read the final chapter first and love how it tackles the "Lie at the Heart of" controversy. Despite its title and paranoid closing chapters, that too is a great account of "The Crisis"

My 52nd are done and based and must be photographed. Good day in York, I found a shop that had Victrix Centre Company British in a very, very, dusty old box. I have 16 sprues of Perry plastic riflemen, so Adam's Brigade may yet appear.