Take the High Road

 We've been working on the high road at the southern end of Plancenoit.  This long ribbon of houses was fought up by the 25th Line, previously known as the Lutzow Freikorps.  In defence, elements of the 1st Chasseurs of the Old Guard, hitherto held at Le Caillou desperately tried to defend this end of the village.

The troops are in production so not yet visible, but it has been fun to set the scene with the buildings, all constructed by my father, and to build the scenery.

Looking North

I decided that the road was too pristine so I've mucked it up in subsequent photos

Rubble and other detritus

Prussian Landwehr advancing towards the Young Guard

Church in the background

These will be good defending positions for the Old Guard

It's a long road but I need to fit all three battalions of the 25th Lutzowers - the judgment is whether they 'run the gauntlet' down its length or whether there is a forward edge of the battle area.

The natural light in my shed sometimes sometimes does some nice things

Prussian Landwehr either side of the Lasne brook tributary.  Today, there is no trace of this tributary.

Overview.  The light through the roof window creates different effects across the diorama, as if a cloud is moving across the sky, as no doubt they did on 18th June 1815.

25th Prussian Line - Lutzow Freikorps

 In this age of plenty there are still the occasional units that are badly catered for in 1/72.  The Lutzow Freikorps is one such.  While the Fusilier battalion wore a conventional line uniform, the two musketeer battalions were dressed in black - not dissimilar from the Peninsular Brunswickers, who by 1815 had dispensed with their litewkas.

The only plastic firm to make some Lutzows is Hat, and it's only half a set with four rather limited poses.  

Why does this matter?  We are now building the row of houses on the high road at the southern end of Plancenoit.  If anywhere was the inspiration for Adolf North's famous painting of the battle it is here:

Close up images of the Siborne model (courtesy of the National Army Museum) mean that it is easy enough to plot out the buildings:

Plotting them out is one thing, but building them was an all together greater challenge and my father has done an heroic job in constructing so many.  Not only has he perfected his building technique, he has now added electrically initiated smoke and light.  Because this will be the edge of the diorama, we have built a slimmer strip of scenery to accommodate this road:

Down this road will come the Lutzow Freikorps.  

So what figures could be used to create this unit? I've ordered some of these and will get going with the necessary head swaps.  

This could take a while!