Guards Brigade at Busaco: Part 3 of 3 'The Jocks'

It's a double-post day as I've finished both Guards battalions simultaneously. I present my version of the 1/3rd Scots Guards regiment - otherwise affectionately named 'The Jocks'. This is also a 40 figure battalion at 1:20 representative troop scale - finishing an 80 figure brigade and it is a relief I can tell you.

Another mixture of Elite Miniatures with Offensive Miniatures command, sergeants, drummers and casualties.

Elite poses continuing to give life to that expression from the Movie Waterloo - 'damn forward fellows with the bayonet'. You can notice in the above image also the different colours I use to represent fading and weathered uniforms.
 

The sergeant at the rear of the above shot has the distinctive tricolour NCO sash sported in the Scots guards. The khaki colour I use for all of my base edges I mix myself from artists acrylics - green, brown and a drop or two of yellow.

 

After I glue the unit labels onto them, I coat the edges with matt varnish. The undersides have magnetic vinyl glued to them for transport security - in metal tool boxes.

Given the casual way the ensigns are holding the colours, it was extra appropriate I made the half-wrapped flags. Funny how things make themself seen when you finish a project in a way you never see them before. I have really grown to love the Offensive Miniatures figures and I particularly dig the crazy plumes - fuller than a Brush-tail Possum.

As you can see, the Elite and Offensive figures match very well - as they also do with Perry Miniatures (absent in this unit). Oh, and let's not forget the finials: Front Rank.

As I type, I have a command group and a Portuguese battalion prepped for undercoating and the last two squadrons of my 3rd Dragoon Guards are more than half finished. These Jocks represent my last battalion of British foot in terms of my bare metal holdings. They are the 16th battalion of infantry I have painted for my 1810 Peninsular army and the 6th I have painted this year - I truly can't say what's come over me.

I have to seriously revisit my Brigade and higher echelon command bases and have received some much needed command figures. Grant 'Th Frog' and I have also taken inspiration from the Napoleonic Wargamer (Youtube) and are developing Black Powder rules for vignettes including point costs to support those final 'flourishing' purchases such as supply wagons, vivandiers or Drum Majors.

My next certain purchase for this army will be a further two Portuguese battalions to make a whole brigade and enough British to complete the last battalion for the first brigade, second 'Hill's division.

Whenever I return to this army into the future (which I surely will in time) then I will expand it with a supporting Spanish brigade which I've already researched for Talavera. As far as any army ever is (or should be) complete, the final Spanish touch should just about do it. One day.