The French Cavalry Charge, Waterloo, 1815, in 20mm................ (1 Viewer)

Warrior

Warrior

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This has been in the works ever since I laid eyes on the iconic Waterloo book, specifically the plates of the Waterloo Panorama when I was 12.............so, 49 years in the making, the French cavalry charge..............


















 
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This layout has close to 2,000 figures, British/allied squares and cavalry, highlanders on the other side of the road, french infantry attacking La Haye Sainte and last but not least, about 500 French cavalry................
















 
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I tried to make my layout as faithful as possible to the panorama; Ney and his staff leading dragoons in behind Cuirassiers, with Dutch/Guard lancers and Carabiniers to their right, horse grenadiers and Chasseurs a Cheval in behind them surging towards the Anglo/Allied squares...........

















 
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Pretty happy with how this one came out; one small issue, after I took a **** ton of photos, it dawned on me that the farmhouse in La Haye Sainte was backwards...............:mad:..............I switched it around and took a few photos with it the right side around..................:wink2:













 
The scale of this layout is mind blowing. The time and effort alone is hard to comprehend, little lone the expense. Something to be extremely proud of and hopefully very satisfying. This one deserves many views to take it all in. Certainly a labour of love. Brilliant. Robin.
 
villagehorse said:
The scale of this layout is mind blowing. The time and effort alone is hard to comprehend, little lone the expense. Something to be extremely proud of and hopefully very satisfying. This one deserves many views to take it all in. Certainly a labour of love. Brilliant. Robin.
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Thank you so much Robin for the kind words, this was indeed a true labor of love, I have always wanted to recreate the French cavalry charge, to me it's an iconic moment in military history along with the likes of Pickett's Charge and the battle of Borodino, two other moments in history represented via a panorama.

The two battles that I cannot learn enough about are Waterloo and Gettysburg, I've been to the Gettysburg battlefield a number of times, Waterloo is on my bucket list....................
 
Judging by your determination, I have no doubt you will achieve your goal to travel to this iconic spot in the not too distant future. I can also imagine what a thrill you will get, having spent so much of your life leading to that point. Your passion is inspiring. I managed to get to Arnhem in 2019, something I will never forget. Robin.
 
villagehorse said:
Judging by your determination, I have no doubt you will achieve your goal to travel to this iconic spot in the not too distant future. I can also imagine what a thrill you will get, having spent so much of your life leading to that point. Your passion is inspiring. I managed to get to Arnhem in 2019, something I will never forget. Robin.
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Robin,
The Napoleonic War has always been a passion of mine, so many epic battles, the large number of nations involved, the artwork, the books on the subject, last but not least the soldiers.

As a young boy, I loved the Airfix ho/oo figures, highlanders, Cuirassiers, Hussars and French artillery were the first 4 I bought. Then came RHA, I bought them in a hobby shop in the Cape Cod Mall while my family and I were on vacation there, then the British Infantry at Woolworths in downtown Boston, my Dad used to take me downtown every year for my birthday.

I waited ages for the French Infantry, finally got them again in the Cape Cod Mall, this time at Sears, they were my holy grail. Then the Old Guard via Squadron Shop, last but not least, Prussian Landwehr at the old Excalibur Hobbies in Arlington MA....................funny I can remember all of those moments, but can't remember what I had for lunch today..........:wink2:

The Waterloo book really tipped the scales for me, it arrived via mail order from Squadron Shop, my all time favorite book, I love to thumb through it over and over.

The other thing that I always remember is Military Modeling magazine out of the UK, so many articles about Waterloo along with dioramas, I loved that magazine as a young boy.

I have added more troops to the layout, will take a few pictures, I added French and Allied staff as well as casualties and more cavalry......................the tables are groaning under the weight of it all......................
 
Spectacular job recreating the panoramic scenes of the charge in Lachouque's book. That book was given to me for Christmas, way back in the stone age, by my father and remains one of only 4 Naploleonic books in my collection. Have had it for decades and I still love to pull it out and look at the red-headed Ney leading the cavalry up that slope. That book is a huge visual home-run, like your recreation is. Beauty of a job. -- Al
 
lancer said:
Spectacular job recreating the panoramic scenes of the charge in Lachouque's book. That book was given to me for Christmas, way back in the stone age, by my father and remains one of only 4 Naploleonic books in my collection. Have had it for decades and I still love to pull it out and look at the red-headed Ney leading the cavalry up that slope. That book is a huge visual home-run, like your recreation is. Beauty of a job. -- Al
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Thanks for the kind words Al, great to have you back, hope you are feeling better...............take good care of yourself.

And yes, that book is a keeper.
 
Fantastic display. Being able to field this many figures on such a large scale field makes all the difference.
 
2,500 Figs! Truly mind boggling. Aside from the stunning panoramic display I'm impressed with the terrain, such as the wheat fields, and the level of painting detail. I painted figs in this scale but of ACW, so not to the same detail and colors as you have here. One note George. I believe the infantry squares were offset from one another so as not to fire into each other's ranks.
Outstanding display. :salute:::salute:: Chris
 
Andanna said:
Fantastic display. Being able to field this many figures on such a large scale field makes all the difference.
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Thanks and as you saw last Summer, yes it does.................:wink2:
 
Terp152 said:
2,500 Figs! Truly mind boggling. Aside from the stunning panoramic display I'm impressed with the terrain, such as the wheat fields, and the level of painting detail. I painted figs in this scale but of ACW, so not to the same detail and colors as you have here. One note George. I believe the infantry squares were offset from one another so as not to fire into each other's ranks.
Outstanding display. :salute:::salute:: Chris
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Thanks Chris, I appreciate the feedback..............regarding the squares, I went for maximum volume, couldn't fit 10 on the layout with the checkerboard pattern, so I set it up this way to have British, Dutch, Brunswick, Hanovarian and Nassau squares like at the time of the battle.............
 
I've added a garden to La Haye Sainte, plus staff for the infantry, squares and cavalry as well as explosions..........










 
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Terp152 said:
Warrior said:
I've added a garden to La Haye Sainte, plus staff for the infantry, squares and cavalry as well as explosions..........

Just noticed the garden. Amazing detail.
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Thanks............often times with these layouts, I'll tinker with them after the fact............it looks better IMO with the French cavalry staff added as well as more staff within the squares, plus infantry staff around La Haye Sainte..............the explosions are a nice finishing touch as well.
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Another jaw-dropping, unbelievable set up George!!!

Very impressive.......

Mark
 
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