Haitian revolution project (fort pics added 30Dec)

[WillieB]

Busy converting the Victrix 1804 Napoleonic plastic figures with again Victrix British marine heads to portray the earlier Colonial infantry.

Thing is the figures are all meant to have a backpack and as such the strap(s) on the back isn't/aren't there.
Adding these straps is quite a bit of work but do-able, but is it necessary?
Of course it would be much easier to just glue on the backpack but somehow it strikes me as odd to see colonial troops that way.
What's your ideas about this guys?

[Schogun]

It probably makes sense that troops wouldn't carry their packs unless they expected a prolonged foray. But I don't think people would mind if the figs had backpacks.

Just my 2 cents.

[Schogun]

Haitian military police -- the marechaussee. Any idea if they wore a uniform? And were they mostly foot infantry with a mounted officer?

[oxiana]

Busy converting the Victrix 1804 Napoleonic plastic figures with again Victrix British marine heads to portray the earlier Colonial infantry.

Thing is the figures are all meant to have a backpack and as such the strap(s) on the back isn't/aren't there.
Adding these straps is quite a bit of work but do-able, but is it necessary?
Of course it would be much easier to just glue on the backpack but somehow it strikes me as odd to see colonial troops that way.
What's your ideas about this guys?

Do one with and one without, and see which you prefer! I'm not one to be a slave to the minutiae of uniforms personally – as long as things are roughly right, I'd opt for tabletop aesthetics any time!

Haven't had much time for painting recently, but will try to get some more stuff finished in the next week...

[Will Bailie]

I'm painting against a deadline, because in the second half of September I'm packing up all my worldly goods and moving for six months to – well, Haiti actually!

How 'bout that - I'm in Port-au-Prince right now (well, Carrefour this week, but I get moved around a bit).  I'm here with Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors without Borders).  However, I'll be leaving at the end of September, and frankly, it isn't that easy to get around or to meet anyone other than co-workers.  Where will you be located, and what will you be doing?

[oxiana]

How 'bout that - I'm in Port-au-Prince right now (well, Carrefour this week, but I get moved around a bit).  I'm here with Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors without Borders).  However, I'll be leaving at the end of September, and frankly, it isn't that easy to get around or to meet anyone other than co-workers.  Where will you be located, and what will you be doing?

How peculiar! I'm wondering now if we can get a LAF meet-up in PaP? 

 I'm arriving in the last week of September, but dates not quite finalised yet. I'm renting a place in Pelerin just up from the centre of Pelerin, so a bit of a way from Carrefour... I'm a freelance travel writer, so I'm coming to work on a book project. I'll send you a DM though. 

[Will Bailie]

Cheers, Paul, I'll reply to your PM tonight!
W

[oxiana]

Haven't had much of a chance to paint recently, but I've just managed to finish a few more minis.







All figures by Trent. Not sure what's up with the photography on the second batch – it looks like the fog of war has intervened! If I get a couple more minis finished, I'll do a group shot of what I've painted so far.

Cheers.

[Svennn]

Keep 'em coming. Splendid

[Malamute]

Lovely stuff. I particularly like the chap cocking his pistol and as old Svennn says, keep 'Em comin.

[oxiana]

Thought I'd raise this thread from the grave, appropriately enough for something with more than hint of Vodou...

I'm away from my paint and brushes right now as I'm currently based in Haiti, where I'm writing a guidebook. This means frustration at not being able to paint, but joy in that I've been able to visit lots of historical sites associated with the Haitian revolutionary war and its immediate aftermath. In case anyone is still interested in gaming the period I thought I'd post some pics from a recent side trip to a town called Marchand Dessalines, where there's a string of old forts. This one is called Fort Decidé:








The fort commands the view over the town, which is in a rich agricultural area. There are six forts in total: in the penultimate photo you should just be able to make out four rising on the hills above (the final one is rather charmingly called 'Fort Fin du Monde' (End of the World Fort). The final fort is in the town itself, built around a spring. Sadly it wasn't possible to take any pics here as it was full of people doing their laundry; it would have been fun to have some shots of washing draped out to dry over old cannons!

For more info on the forts in this area (including plans), the best sources are a couple of bulletins put out by ISPAN, who are the Haitian body that look after historical monuments. You can find them here:

http://www.haiti.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=121&Itemid=90

Issues 3 and 5 cover these particular forts. Another useful one for gamers is issue 22, covering the fort at Crete-a-Pierrot, where there was a famous battle against the French. Note: they're in French, so you'll need to run these through Google Translate if necessary. Of course, an even more more detailed account of them will be in the book I'm writing! 

Hope you enjoy the pics! 

[cdr]

French tv (A2) currently (14/02 and 15/02) runs a two part tv film on Toussaint L'Ouverture. Looks ok (uniforms for the Spanish seem way off)

Carl

[The Gray Ghost]

I wonder if some of Eureka's Portuguese conquistadors could not be used.

[carlos marighela]

I think they could, the mamelucos at least. Foundry's maroons would be another good choice.

[Schogun]

Trent Miniatures just released a pack of Maroons.