Urban Sprawl

Construction at Plancenoit continues unabated and the south side of the village is beginning to take shape.  This part of the village sits astride the road that runs parallel with the tributary of the Lasne that runs towards the south-east, joining the main Lasne brook on the other side of the hill.

The buildings have been bedded in to the ground, but the scenery itself still needs a lot of work to get to the right tone.  I've included some comparative pictures from the Siborne model by kind permission of the National Army Museum.

The first picture shows the buildings before they are glued on.  The cascading building was sitting too low in the ground.

The white line will become the Lasne tributary, but much narrower.

The view from the church looking south.  The casualty figures are not yet bedded in.

The ground has a deliberately dark surface which will be lightened and form the basis for back gardens

The road needs to be toned in.

This is the Presbytery, or in English, the Rectory.

The cadastral map showing the Presbytery

The Presbytery today.  A roof window has been added.

The view up the hill to the church. 

The sharp contrast between the sections will obviously be removed.

The Lasne Brook needs a slight alteration to reflect its true course.

This should be able to absorb a few troops!

Siborne, from the west, looking east.

From the east looking west

The village today

And finally, some figures to go on the model - some of the Old and Young Guard that will garrison Plancenoit

Progress report

With a project like this, I struggle to keep up with the daily blog entries that some manage and I also travel a lot with my work.  There is also a lot of progress that can't be visualised, largely because the figures have to await the completion of scenery.

Nevertheless, a huge amount is going on, and here's what:

First of all, large numbers of Prussians are in production.  The challenge will be working out the exact layout of Prussian units at 1800hrs.  Here are various infantry produced by members of the team.  I don't name names on the blog but they know how much their work is appreciated.

Secondly, the model is coming along

This building cascades down the hill from the centre of Plancenoit and has therefore been a challenge.

Here are the new sections - the bright green grass will be toned in with the effect on the left.

These images, courtesy of the National Army Museum, show the area in question.

One major area of work is Prussian cavalry.  These are an incredibly fine record of the myriad Prussian cavalry regiments at Waterloo.

Casualties are a major issue for a project of this kind.  They need to be all too numerous to give an accurate portrayal, but the stock in trade Airfix figures are too repetitive and variety is essential.  Here's some of the imaginative work under way.

This project doesn't lack for scale.  I've recently brought together the equipment necessary to show a complete Prussian Horse battery - it will take a lot of space.