Sunday 26 November 2017

Papelotte Updated



Papelotte from the south looking north.

And from the north looking south.
My La Haye Sainte and Hougoumont were built from scratch, but I decided to use an existing model for Papelotte and then to make substantial changes to it.

The building is based on the Sarissa Precision model, which suffers from a number of flaws:
  • First, the tower over the main gate doesn't look like the present day Belvedere, which in any event didn't exist in 1815.
  • Secondly, the west and east range of buildings is too short - the overall shape of the farmyard should be rectangular not square.
  • Thirdly, the roofing isn't very satisfactory.
  • Fourthly, there is no kitchen garden to the south of the farm and no walled area to its north
  • Other details such as the well are missing
Despite these flaws, the building does have its merits, with a well-made farm house and a great barn.




My farmhouse has therefore been extended somewhat and then re-roofed.  A well has been added and the farmyard has been given more of an agricultural feel.  A kitchen garden has been added, which contains both an annex and a small garden shed.  To the north of the farm, a small walled field has been added and, above that, the ground is covered in the tall rye that predominated over so much of the battlefield (albeit in a much beaten down condition).


Nassauers in the north walled field.

Nassauers counter attack from the Great Barn east door. The figures are mostly Hat Austrians.

Nassau Grenadiers at the other door on the east side

Mostly Hat with a converted Esci pair of wounded.

Camera shot through into the farm courtyard.


French attacking north on the outside of the east wall.






The external southeast corner of the garden wall.

View into the garden, south end.  The French captured the garden, but despite General Durutte's claims to the contrary, they did not capture the farm itself.

French skirmishing through the kitchen garden.

Nassauers withdraw to the farm.



Southeast corner



Medics provide First Aid.  These were WW2 US Marines before conversion.

Over the wall.



The lane from the annex looking north.

Garden looking north.

French colonel encourages his men up the lane on the west side.

Annex window.

The farmhouse






Garden looking south.


Farmhouse


The fruit trees try to show how they looked in the Victorian photos.




French infantry pass the window of the farmhouse on the west side lane.

The fight at the front gate.  The gatehouse was burnt and later rebuilt.



Nassau Grenadiers held in reserve in the field to the north of the farm.


The farmyard.

My lights make the render look yellow, but it's really a paler colour.

Lunch

Regimental Aid Post

Gate into the Great Barn.











Stables with the well to the right.

Front gate.













Nassau Grenadiers looking south along the west side lane



















8 comments:

  1. What a fantastic dynamic diorama! I knew nothing about the fight for Papelotte but you have now educated me in pictures. It looks every bit as fierce as the fight for Hougoumont but presumably not so well reported as there were no British troops present?

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  2. Hi Stryker, many thanks! Actually the fight was fierce for a while and not the whole day; the French only captured the garden. Durutte's problem was that he had three implied tasks: to maintain contact on his left with the rest of D'Erlon's corps, to seize the farms of Papelotte, La Haye and Frischermont (so not just Papelotte) and to maintain contact with Lobau on his right as the Prussians began to advance.

    This was just too much for one division, so the battle degenerated into a stalemate until the end of the day when there was a 'Blue on Blue' between Prussians and Nassauers. Some controversy accompanied this incident: Prince Bernhard wrote to his father after the battle complaining that the Nassauers had run away. His father unwisely allowed the letter to be published and Prince Bernhard had to issue a disclaimer.

    So in sum, the fighting had some of the intensity of Hougoumont, but for a much shorter period.

    Finally, Durutte claimed to have captured Papelotte, but there is no strong evidence that he did - he may have confused it with La Haye.

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  3. Unbelievable - what a fabulous show to brighten a Monday morning. Thanks for this - mesmerising stuff!

    I thought it would be good, but this is even better than I expected. I shall get my books out and have a more leisurely perusal of the pics.

    I'm still interested in the coffee granules - I see they have now been sealed and painted, but i wonder if an intruder is still regarded as "in the grounds"? I'll get me coat.

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  4. Many thanks Foy, it's been fun to do and not finished yet as I'm planning on putting a half battery of Dutch artillery on the high ground in the rye.

    With regard to the coffee, I'm quite pleased with the way it has worked out, and you'll be pleased to hear that the ashtray smell that accompanies stale coffee granules has now gone away under the varnish. You are welcome to have a wander round the grounds any time and I promise the coffee will be fresh!!

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  5. Magnificent. Can't find appropriate words to express the admiration. Dare I ask how long this masterpiece was in the making?

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  6. Dear Archduke, you are too kind, thank you! It has actually taken less time than you might think, mainly because the building was semi-built and needed only some adjustments. I had already painted many of the French and only had to paint the Nassauers - I wish the Hat set was not OOP as they would have been a useful part of the Garrison - perhaps one day Hat will re-issue them, but I live in hope.

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  7. Another extraordinary tour de force, and as Stryker says, very educational! Will La Haye also be making an appearance?
    Best wishes
    WM

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  8. Thanks WM, I'd love to do La Haye, which was only 500 metres further east, but the farm burnt down in 1910 and while there is one Victorian photograp, it isn't quite enough to work off. And then the parameter of my model is already large: Plancenoit to La Belle Alliance, La Belle Alliance to Hougoumont, Hougoumont to the crossroads (leaving out Mont St Jean) and the crossroads to Papelotte. If I spread East to La Haye, I ask myself why not Frischermont and Smohain? So I think I must draw a line somewhere or I will need an aircraft hanger!

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