Wargaming The Napoleonic Wars and Franco-Prussian War

I have always been interested in the FPW of 1870, more than any other period or war of the 19th Century.

But now there is a new period on the horizon for me and that is the Napoleonic Wars.

A good friend of mine-Dick Caldwell- gave me this starter force of Austrians circa 1809.
These are "old school" miniatures from Hinchliffe and Minifig 25mm. Much slimmer looking than todays miniatures. The figures you see in the first photo are Austrian Grenadiers and a 4pdr Artillery piece.

In this view you see a Regiment of Hungarian Hussars. I am attracted to the Austrian Army for a couple of reasons.
First; they usually are the underdog in most battles with the French during this time.

Second, my two boys have Hungarian heritage in them, and I thought it would be neat to teach them a little bit about this time period.

To the right with the Green jackets are my Chevauxleger Cavalry. They are very similar to the more well known Dragoon Cavalry and it seems that they were interchangable in that regard. I have named this Regiment the 4th Vincet Chevauxlegers, as that was one of the more famous and better led Regiments in the Austrian Army of 1809.

Here is my "starter" army of Austrians drawn up on the parade ground.

I am supposed to get a lot more infantry from another friend-Leslie Mansir- pretty soon.

It's great to have friends isn't it.

Of course their goal is to get someone Brave Hardy or foolish enough to field an Austrian Army for them to beat on. lol

We'll see who has the last laugh.

When I begin to collect my own Austrian force of miniatures sculpted in the last decade, I will go with Sash and Sabre, Old Glory, Foundry and The Assault Group brands. Old Glory and Sash and Sabre look to be the best value, with decent quality. I would rank Sash and Sabre better than O.G..

I posted a question on The Miniatures Page forum about what manufacturer I should go with and I got several different answers.

So; it's a very subjective decision.

Lets see what I get from Les Mansir first.

Next post will be about my 10mm Franco-Prussian War miniatures, I am collecting, painting and basing for Volley and Bayonet.

Good Gaming;

Mr. Joe