3rd Westphalian Regiment in Spain

[Bill Slavin]

The newest addition to my French forces in Spain is infantry of the 3rd Westphalian Line Regiment. I had originally started painting these up as part of Morlot's Division at Tudela, and then read in Oman that the Westphalians were left behind on garrison duty in northern Spain. And I'm now suspicious that these may have been the light battalion that I believe preceded the others to the Peninsula, rather than line.
Ah well... Still fun to paint!
More pictures and information can be found here on my blog: http://tinywarsplayedindoors.blogspot.ca/2017/07/westphalian-infantry.html

[Rosbif]

Excellent work, Bill! It's a wargamer's prerogative to re-write history, IMHO.

One of my all-time favourite sets, too; good old HaT 8095!

[Beano Boy]

Seeing those old Hat figures on TV,was what brought me back into the hobby many years ago.
Yours look Super Cool.
Alas most of the muskets on hundreds of my Hat figures broke off due to the rubber used in China. It rotted into brittleness. I am thinking of buying a laser printer around the £400 price mark, and one resounding job will be to copy in tough plastic the last remaining ones that are still in whole condition. BB

[C M Dodson]

Fantastic work again. The pictures are a bit dark, I suspect due to the brown cloth background which has absorbed the light.

Nevertheless you have brought these figures to life.

Incidentally I have had the same rot problem with whole figures breaking up not just muskets.

Handle your fellows with care.

Best wishes,

Chris

[Bill Slavin]

Aaargh! I had some of my very old Airfix figures become brittle and break but wasn't aware the rubbery HaT had the same propensity.
Ah well, maybe not in my lifetime and it will make it easier for my partner to take it all to the dump...

[Siegfried]

Excellent work, really like the somewhat subdued colours!

[Wiking]

Beano Boy wrote:
Alas most of the muskets on hundreds of my Hat figures broke off due to the rubber used in China. It rotted into brittleness.

CM Dodson wrote:
Incidentally I have had the same rot problem with whole figures breaking up not just muskets.

Bill Slavin wrote:
I had some of my very old Airfix figures become brittle and break but wasn't aware the rubbery HaT had the same propensity.



Bobby McFerrin ?

[Bluefalchion]

Priming and painting those rubber HäT guys is actually supposed to give them a protective coating and help them last longer, so get to it boys!

I really like your Westphalians, Bill. Especially the hats and chinstraps and faces.

[Paul]

Priming and painting those rubber HäT guys is actually supposed to give them a protective coating and help them last longer, so get to it boys!
.

Not entirely. I´ve had Problems with painted rubber HäT bods snapping off at the ankles..the set is only8 years old

[Beano Boy]

I used enamel paints on my Hat figures,as I am a traditional toy soldier painter,but i must add here not a very good one. A few months on after painting ,parts started falling to pieces.



Out of a regiment of 680 French Napoleonic Infantry shown above,plus Officers painted in the year 2005,I am down to less than a hundred marching men now. Everytime I handle them muskets break off easily____________ so into landfill they go. I treat them now as if they were made of fine china.
" well they were made in china bb." ______Very true little button.
"Time marches on, but not BB`s Hat soldiers."_________ Very true. BB

[Roland_Kupski]

Didn't the westphalian wore the later so called Bardin-type of uniform up to the beginning? The HATs are wearing the old frock-coat style. Or was there any modification in Spain?

[Bill Slavin]

Hi Roland,
You may well be right. If you check my blog (link top) I posted some reference that had the 3rd (and only the third) in the frock coat which is why I went with this regiment. I've seen other reference with the 3rd in the Bardin style, including the second image I posted, but because this specifically had the third in this I thought I may be on safe ground!
Thanks for not telling me more horror stories about HaT rubber.

[Bill Slavin]

Beano Boy,
Maybe it's a reaction to the enamels? (He asks hopefully...)
I've taken to test spraying my primers these days as, after hard experience, I learned that my go-to plastic primer NEVER dried on Caesar miniatures and imperfectly on some of the Zvezda. It seems every plastic has it's idiosyncrasies.

[Bluefalchion]

Bill--

I had that problem with Caesar guys at first, too. I talked to a master modeler and he said it's the oily stuff they coat the steel molds with. His solution? (Get it?) Mix hot water, dish soap, and a bit of bleach and soak the soldiers for a week or two. After that, primer and paint will stick to them far better.