Box Blight

I've been abroad this week with work so progress has slowed on the project, but I managed to fit in a bit on the formal garden, mostly on the parterre and the north walk, which was constructed as a berceau.

Here are some pictures:

The berceau

Hougoumont - the bigger picture

Having worked on the Gardener's house, I've now opened the aperture to look at the broader estate.  This is very much a work in progress and, while the whole model is quite large in its present form, it is still missing the southern end of the wood, the covered way to the north, the kitchen garden to the west and most of the great orchard to the east.

Here are some photos:

My diorama shows the battlefield at 1800 - by this stage the Chateau had burnt.

It's been said my model doesn't show enough of the wood where much of the fight took place - well here it is.

I've created this diagram of the formal garden

And then marked it out on the diorama

The view through the north gate

You can see how large an area must be filled by the formal garden.

View of the balustrade, with diagram 

The killing zone

View down the west side

The track looking north

The killing zone from the west - the troops stop at the edge of the section.

The whole building complex

The chapel

The track leading to La Belle Alliance

Looking east

The burnt west barn

I've made some of my trees from dead bonsai trees from a local bonsai club

Wounded conversions

The formal garden from the west looking east.

The star at the east end of the formal garden.  This was planted with ornamental trees and hedged .

View down the killing zone.

I can't seem to reply to messages, so just to say thank you to everyone for their kind comments.

If you look carefully, there is a Classical statue at the centre of the star. based on this HYTTY figure.

Kitchen Garden update

I've had a few days to concentrate on the Hougoumont model - I've also received plenty of helpful advice on TMP and Benno's about subjects as diverse as brassicas and trouser colours.  One chap feels my model is too narrowly defined but I've politely pointed out that Rome wasn't built in a day and the rest of Hougoumont will follow in due course.  He also wants more casualties - happy to oblige but it all takes time.

Here are some updated photographs:

Frank Ziegler figures from Hagen - with bicornes removed 

These voltigeurs are all conversions

Casualties

The Grenadiers are mostly Qualicast

Early stages of the north-south track through the wood.  This was scene of the most intense fighting.

More of the Qualicast

Another view of the kitchen garden.  The Coldstream Sergeant Major threatened the Cat for anyone who walked on the vegetables

Haystack

I'm turning my mind to the haystack at Hougoumont.  On line research shows the following examples of 19th Century haystacks:

This Fox Talbot photograph shops an extraordinary level of craftsmanship but given it's English probably wouldn't be appropriate.

This Monet painting obviously shows a French haystack

And here's an experimental haystack, not yet attached or set alight

And since it caught fire, it'll need some careful modelling