This is mainly due too the misconception of a poor performance on the battlefield. Not only that is incorrect as the Spanish army achieved some astonishing victories over the French such as Baylen in 1808.
History aside you have one nice thing if you model this army: a pretty good looking collection of models with a great variety of uniforms and equipment that will never make you tired of painting and modelling more and more units.
I used mostly the ESCI Prussian 1806 figures for the infantry and several other ESCI boxes for the cavalry. When I use other brands I will let you know in the text.
The flags are Web prints, mainly Warflag. Some others are hand painted and others are downsized prints from photos of the real thing, like the flag of the Walloon Guards.
The flags are Web prints, mainly Warflag. Some others are hand painted and others are downsized prints from photos of the real thing, like the flag of the Walloon Guards.
The Regimento Princesa is made mainly from the Airfix AWI figures with X-Acto doing a lot of damage.
The Regimento de Guardia Walona is ESCI mainly with some Airfix French Grenadiers for the Granaderos.
Regimento Sabóia (front row), Reina and España (back row). ESCI and Airfix figures.
The Regimento Guadalajara is made of the usual Airfix AWI with Fusileros from ESCI Prussians and Italeri French 1805 infantry box.
The back of the Guadalajara Granaderos cap.
The Regimento de las Ordenes Militares, a mixed Airfix and ESCI unit.
Back of the Ordenes Militares Granaderos. Once again paper cloths on the back of the caps.
The cavalry is aproaching...
Lanceros de La Mancha. These are ESCI Polish lancers with ESCI Austrian heads with Greenstuff crests.
The Regimento Almansa are ESCI bodies from the Scots Grey box with Airfix AWI heads.
The same Almansa regiment, this time dismounted.
The Regimento de Olivenza; ESCI bodies with Tarletons from the ESCI British horse artillery.
Same idea as before for the Dragones de Granada.
The Hussares Españoles are straight-from-the-box ESCI British Hussars.
The Regimento Rey is again ESCI bodies with Airfix AWI heads.
Now for the non-line infantry: the 2º de Voluntarios de Granada are ESCI bodies with paper and plastic hats.
Two regiments of Voluntarios de Catalonia from HAT Spanish Guerillas box.
The 2º Infantaria Ligera de Aragon is an all ESCI unit.
The Artillery is Airfix French with heads from the AWI. The Ox limber is made of two metal 1/87 scale oxes stollen from my father HO train table.
And that's it...
Thanks for watching.
Thanks for watching.
Fabulous! The first Spanish army I've ever seen in plastic. Excellent job sir. My friends and I are hoping to do the Peninsular Campaign at some point in the near future and will be looking to you for more inspiration. Your ideas and techniques are fascinating. Is it possible that there may be a tutorial at some stage? Once again, bravo.
ReplyDeleteDear SRD:
DeleteThe main way about turning AWI and ESCI Prussians into Spanish 1808 is to aply some aceton on GreenStuff (or the new diluted GreenStuff) in the waist coat area, erasing all details.
Then its painting time.
The hats of the Airfix AWI also gets a lot of X-acto blade. The Grenadier cloth is paper. Other figures are united ( head to body) with a piece of string wire or the new all plastic glue (accelerator+glue). At the end, with so many changes I always apply thick varnish so these guys stick together, and generally works.
But if we wait a little longer Hat will release all this already made...
We have all been looking at your Spanish Army and agree that it must be done. To this end, are there any sites or books that you could recommend for us to get uniforms, colours, TO&E and unit histories/actions from? Our general level of ignorance about the Spanish Army is high and we need information of every kind. Any suggestions you have would be most gratefully received.
DeleteExcellent. I find the main problem with the Spanish army however is simply which uniforms. 1805 white-v not worn much after 1808-9 the Junta regiemnts with all the differing styles or the later post 1812 uniforms.
ReplyDeleteThe sheer variety of Uniform styles is fascinating. When we get around to it Bluemoon will have a large range of Spanish
What a fantastic set of figures. This must of taken you a long time to convert them all?
ReplyDeleteAbout 3 months or so for the vast majority, which were made some years ago. The most recent are the HAT figures made a few weeks ago.
DeleteA most inspiring army. Excellent conversions and painting style.
ReplyDeleteGood work! You are improving yourself my friend! :D
ReplyDeleteThe grenadier caps are out of this world!
ReplyDeleteAgree! But the voluntarios de granada are even better! :)
DeleteI just keep coming back to admire your work Joao. I've invested in some Hat Spanish Guerrillas. Hat seem to be moving along with the rest of their offerings...hope they end up doing cavalry and artillery. Again, congratulations.
ReplyDeleteLots of great ideas, thanks
ReplyDeleteBeautiful Figures!
ReplyDeleteThis is a stunning example of a 20mm plastic army and what you can do with a knife and some paint conversion. Well done.
ReplyDelete