95th Rifles

1993. I had just started university. I had been into role-playing for a very long time, and had done my share of wargaming, mostly fantasy/sci-fi, but I hadn't touched on the historical stuff. I had yet to try fencing, but to be sure, the swashbuckling gene was there. I had a very faint Idea who Wellington and Napoleon were, but my interest in the Napoleonic era was faint to non-existant.

Me and my Brother sat down to flick through the channels on the TV one evening, to see what we could find to hold our interest, not holding our breath. Then we saw Sean Bean swagger on screen, and were totally fixated for the next 2 hours (2 hours!).

The historical drama series 'Sharpe' was likely a gateway to many of my generation of historical gamers, and as such, you'll be hard pushed to find a painting blog that doesn't contain at least a few minis from the 95th rifles hidden in their galleries. Why shoudl this one be any different?

As I previously mentioned, I picked up a couple of Perry riflemen free with a magazine, then went online to buy a few more. Of course I had to find a range that would supply a version of the man himself. I though Front rank's range was consistently of good quality, and although their Rilfeman Captain with Rifle (not standard issue, for swashbuckers only) may not be in the most dynamic pose (and not carrying a heavy cavalry sabre), he fits the bill.

I went on to find myself a skirmish rules set, and settled on Ganesha Games 'Songs of Drums and Shakoes'. This seemed to have the right mix of RPG elemets and Skirmishing rules, that can easily be adapted for a more swashbuckling feel. To act as the dastardly French in my scenarios, I picked up a box of Perry Miniatures French Line infantry. As is par for the course, I have yet to play a game.

Onwards to the pictures.

Sneak Peak: 95th Rifles

I've been getting down to some proper painting over the last few weeks, at least an hour or two every week! Yes, I am fully aware this is not very much, but I've been trying to speed up my painting by going for what is essentially a dip style. Base coat - Devlan Mud - Highlight. I'm actually quite impressed with the results. A teaser of which is posted here. I'll for sure be going back to many of my uncompleted units for various games to get them completed much faster than I previously would have.

The models I chose to go with are the ubiquitous 95th. A couple of years back, Wargames Illustrated gave away a free pair of perry Riflemen with the magazine, which in turn prompted me to go online and get them some company. I chose Fronk Rank Miniatures, partly because of the figure in the centre of this picture, but more on him later.

I don't have access to all the pics I took, but I think this one's a good start to show them off. I'm particularly proud of the numbering on the back of the pack. I'll update with the rest shortly.