Lieutenant Paul von Hindenburg, 1866

I built this figure while working on Berthier and completed painting before the MHMC Show.

I've been wanting to build this figure for a long time. It's based on the photo of Hindenburg when a leutnant in the 3rd Guards Regiment during the Austro-Prussian War of 1866.

The photo appealed to me because of his "on campaign" look. He's wearing a great coat in a roll. His sword scabbard is dented and beat up and his jacket has a field worn appearance. He's also devoid of an officer sash, which may be a practice to be less conspicuous to those Austrian jeagers!

Berthier-Painted

Here's the finished Berthier. I would like to thank Gary Dombrowski and Luis Rodriguez Haro for uniform information. If it was not for their help, I would not have finished this figure.

Berthier- The American Connection

Here's a short bio on Berthier and his involvement in the American Revolution. Louis-Alexandre was born in 1753 at Versailles. His father was in charge of the Royal Map Service. At the age of 24 the young Berthier entered the army in 1777. He attained the rank of Captain. This is where he develops his talents in map making, no doubt inherited from his father.

In 1780, he is asked to be assigned to Rochambeau's Army which is preparing to leave for the America's. He's assigned to the army staff and takes part in the siege of Yorktown. From there he makes several maps on the return march to Boston.

As for the figure, he is 80% complete and going slowly. I've been working long hours and it's been difficult to get motivated and pick up a brush. I hope to make more progress this weekend.

Berthier- Napoleon's "Indispensable Marshal"

Louis-Alexandre Berthier. I was at first inspired to do a figure based on the illustration of him in a fanciful, caricature pose. The more I read about him I found a very interesting character. From what I found, Berthier in reality, was a short, portly man who had a habit of biting his nails. But he impressed a young Napoleon enough with his organizational skills to be named one of eighteen Marshals of France at the beginning of Napoleon's reign. (More on Berthier the man later).

The Figure: From the illustrations of him, he a had a noticable cleft in his chin. Along with wavy, curly hair he will make a neat figure. I started by carving away on a Hornet head. I added a new forehead, eyes, nose and a chin with cleft.
Good ingredients for a fanciful study. The uniform was a bigger challenge. More on that later too.

Thanks for following. Stay tuned.