King & Country
Captain
- Joined
- May 23, 2005
- Messages
- 5,136
Earlier this year one of our leading King & Country collectors in Asia commissioned K&C to design and produce a large (8’ x 4’) diorama of a Napoleonic battlefield for a very good friend of his.
This particular friend had visited our collector’s house and had seen a very similar battlefield diorama based around the farm at ‘Hougoumont’ and been very impressed by it.
Our collector, on his next visit to Hong Kong spoke to me about constructing one more 8’ x 4’ ‘Hougoumont’ for his very good friend.
As some of you may know, here at K&C we never like to construct or produce the same diorama / display twice. We like to make each one a unique piece of work plus its more fun to design and make something new and, for us, original.
I suggested therefore… why not do a different farmhouse complex that saw a lot of action at the same Battle of Waterloo…?
After doing a wee bit of research in our copy of the massive ‘The Waterloo Companion’ book which is a complete guide to history's most famous land battle (at least during the Napoleonic Wars) we found a great alternative… LA HAIE SAINTE.
On June 18, 1815, during the famous battle, La Haie Sainte farm and its buildings complex was the defensive centre of three strongpoints of the Duke of Wellington’s army alongwith Hongoumout and La Papelotte Farm.
Napoleon tasked one of his Infantry divisions flanked by a heavy Cuirassier brigade to capture La Haie Sainte which was defended by, among others, riflemen of the King’s German Legion.
After a heroic resistance throughout the day, the position fell about 6:30 in the evening when a final French assault forced the few dozen remaining British soldiers out.
For Wellington the loss of La Haie Sainte was one of the most critical moments of the battle.
ONTO THE DIORAMA
Now, after doing my research, I always prepare a detailed sketch to present to the client / collector as well as consult my diorama collaborator / builder on the specifics…
‘How long will it take to construct and what will it cost?’
Once I had all of the necessary information I present the client with the full proposal including production time, cost and shipping details.
Included here is my original sketch proposal for the diorama which as you can see measures 6’ x 4’. On seeing this the collector requested we enlarge the dio to 8’ x 4’ to allow for some more landscape and extra space for more soldiers… most important!
After the client agreed to the cost and delivery schedule work began immediately in the late summer of 2025 with a completion date set for November of this same year.
By late November this major project once completed moved from the workshop to K&C Head Quarters for final inspection and photography.
This was undertaken during the last week of the month and just prior to me departing for Europe and a pair of special toy soldier events in Paris and London.
Here, for your delight and inspection is the first of three major ‘Set-Ups’ we put together to show off the skills and talents of our design collaborator and diorama builder, David and the amazing variety of K&C’s own Napoleonic Era soldiers, guns and cavalry over the years.
During the following weeks we will show you the next two historic ‘Set-Ups’. Look out for ‘em!
In the meantime here’s wishing all of you a very Merry Christmas and… A happy, healthy and prosperous New Year in 2026.
Andy C. Neilson This particular friend had visited our collector’s house and had seen a very similar battlefield diorama based around the farm at ‘Hougoumont’ and been very impressed by it.
Our collector, on his next visit to Hong Kong spoke to me about constructing one more 8’ x 4’ ‘Hougoumont’ for his very good friend.
As some of you may know, here at K&C we never like to construct or produce the same diorama / display twice. We like to make each one a unique piece of work plus its more fun to design and make something new and, for us, original.
I suggested therefore… why not do a different farmhouse complex that saw a lot of action at the same Battle of Waterloo…?
After doing a wee bit of research in our copy of the massive ‘The Waterloo Companion’ book which is a complete guide to history's most famous land battle (at least during the Napoleonic Wars) we found a great alternative… LA HAIE SAINTE.
On June 18, 1815, during the famous battle, La Haie Sainte farm and its buildings complex was the defensive centre of three strongpoints of the Duke of Wellington’s army alongwith Hongoumout and La Papelotte Farm.
Napoleon tasked one of his Infantry divisions flanked by a heavy Cuirassier brigade to capture La Haie Sainte which was defended by, among others, riflemen of the King’s German Legion.
After a heroic resistance throughout the day, the position fell about 6:30 in the evening when a final French assault forced the few dozen remaining British soldiers out.
For Wellington the loss of La Haie Sainte was one of the most critical moments of the battle.
ONTO THE DIORAMA
Now, after doing my research, I always prepare a detailed sketch to present to the client / collector as well as consult my diorama collaborator / builder on the specifics…
‘How long will it take to construct and what will it cost?’
Once I had all of the necessary information I present the client with the full proposal including production time, cost and shipping details.
Included here is my original sketch proposal for the diorama which as you can see measures 6’ x 4’. On seeing this the collector requested we enlarge the dio to 8’ x 4’ to allow for some more landscape and extra space for more soldiers… most important!
After the client agreed to the cost and delivery schedule work began immediately in the late summer of 2025 with a completion date set for November of this same year.
By late November this major project once completed moved from the workshop to K&C Head Quarters for final inspection and photography.
This was undertaken during the last week of the month and just prior to me departing for Europe and a pair of special toy soldier events in Paris and London.
Here, for your delight and inspection is the first of three major ‘Set-Ups’ we put together to show off the skills and talents of our design collaborator and diorama builder, David and the amazing variety of K&C’s own Napoleonic Era soldiers, guns and cavalry over the years.
During the following weeks we will show you the next two historic ‘Set-Ups’. Look out for ‘em!
In the meantime here’s wishing all of you a very Merry Christmas and… A happy, healthy and prosperous New Year in 2026.
Co-founder & Creative Director
King & Country Ltd.
