These are "Horse attached series" FN114, I think mostly original, but some are a bit smaller and have less detail, so possibly 2nd gen castings?
I must say, I prefer painting the "Dismountable" series, these OPC's were a bit fiddly.
When I was deciding which regiment to paint, I considered the "Hussars of Conflans" as featured in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's "Brigadier Gerard" stories, but minimal research was enough to show that they were an ancien régime unit, recruited in the Rhine Palatinate from German speakers, and they switched sides early on in the French revolutionary wars, so they were ruled out. ACD was a great story-teller but not a first-rate historical source.
I then thought, why not go with the 3rd Hussars, as featured in the Ridley Scott film "The Duellists"? The hero, Armand d'Hubert is an officer in the 3rd at the start of the story. Funckens describes the uniform as Sky Blue, but the illustration looks like a darker hue. In the movie d'Hubert (played by Keith Carradine) is shown wearing a uniform more closely resembling silver grey, so I was now getting confused.
But having got the idea of a sky-blue uniform in my head I decided to go with the 1st Hussars, as depicted in Funckens.
Lovely work Dave.
ReplyDeleteFrench hussars are difficult, aren't they, not least because there are too many gorgeous uniforms to choose from.
I'd love to get some more French hussars and paint them as different regiments, but the leadpile is still huge!
DeleteVery nice - OPC’s are a right fiddle and you’ve done these lads proud!
ReplyDeleteThanks!
Delete1st Hussars are a nice choice as they were attached to Dupont's Division in 1805 and it's not often cavalry were portioned out like that despite what many wargamers do.
ReplyDeleteAs for the 3rd Hussars, they are in grey - a nice restrained palette which looks really elegant in that film - surely the best Napoleonic big screen adventure.
Apologies, that wasn't meant to be anonymous.
DeleteI have a similar problem, posts from my phone come up as anonymous, I probably just need to sign in to my Google account on my iPhone.
DeleteVery nice indeed…
ReplyDeleteWhat’s not to like about a sky blue hussar hussar uniform…
Although I quite fancy having the 3rd and the 7th in my collection…
All the best. Aly
Thanks Aly, I’d also like some more hussar regiments but it took me several years to acquire these 12 figures and the leadplle is big enough as it is
DeleteYour post is yet another reminder that the 1st Hussars that Dick Tennant painted still have yet to get the shiny treatment and make an appearance on my blog. They are definitely on my to do list soon. Dick was able to do his unit with figures from the dismountable series, and while the pose is a bit more static, I do agree that Marcus seems to have come into his own with the dismountable series.
ReplyDeleteI look forward to seeing the shiny finished project on your blog!
DeleteDespite having all sorts of uniform guides and the internet i also always seem to refer to my Funcken books as the main guide for most projects. Certainly in keeping with the HH figures.
ReplyDeleteHi Matt,
DeleteVintage figures and vintage reference material just sort of go together!
Cheers
Dave