HUSSAR HUSSAR HUSSAR!

'Napoleons Hussar's 1815' are in position on the WarGameVault ready for immediate purchase & worldwide digital dispatch!

The original pencils for this unit go back to February 2016 but it was not until May 2019 that the paintings were begun.  For extra power I wanted this unit to be fully 'You-Walkerloo' so each figure is a portrait soldier.  My neighbours and their young sons modelled for the dismounted skirmishers and via Facebook I recruited participation of some old good friends for the mounted troopers.  But how was I to choose which of Napoleon's Hussar regiments to depict - they all have such fantastic colour combinations!

The exclusive decision was averted when I realised the Battle Of Walkerloo needed a new specialist army.   Wishing to achieve enhanced internet capability I have begun a fantasy-historical 'Google Army' to be formed in parallel with succeeding units.   I don't know how this new model army will lend strategic or tactical advantage but I follow poetic hunches when I feel the need - so is the Battle Of Walkerloo.

After painstaking digital manipulation of the scanned paintings a 'Provisional Google Hussar' pretend historic unit was hastily composed, printed, cut out and sent in to action.   The paper soldiers were mounted and hand made in the St.Aubin-sur-mer art gallery solo-show of longtime Walkerloo ally Artiste-Ouvrier.  This construction was witnessed by the visiting public. The photos below were taken of the top secret objective reconnaissance mission that was executed elsewhere in Normandy later that day. 

They show a Walkerloo veteran French general and British Artillery officer inspecting objectives escorted by the freshly made Provisional You-Walkerloo Google hussars.  Do you see what I see?

Making the Google troops involved time consuming digital subdivision of the scanned paintings.  But once the virtual levels are done making further use of the manipulations has gifted this Hussar Print-fantry Unit 5 historic variations to complement the 2 new pretend ones - all are ready for real pretend action!

On Maneuvers

Elite You-Walkerloo portrait soldiers  pictured on manoeuvres in the garden in training for a secret mission.  This is the first time Google Panto Horse corporate beasts have been seen tamed and ridden. If one is making obscure models of the world in the world for wider effect and your black cat wants in I believe one should prosper by it - all pictures are a kind of magic.   

These paper soldiers are hand made portrait troopers (1:27 lucky number scale).  I'm portrayed in the civi-clothed pointer. A paper soldier constructed from a painting made from the photo of me pretending to be a soldier for my real toy soldier army (used as the tone/expression model for the British General in my original [2008] and the subsequent Russian [2012] Waterloo Walkerloo paper soldier productions).   Our Davey leads the charge of  Napoleon's Polish Guard Lancer troopers which includes a niece, a nephew, a sister-in-law, an auntie and a good friend.  For realism some had to be moustached.

A FaceBook Toy Story - Walkerloo Retaliatory Strike

The Battle of Walkerloo Facebook Encampmant

In 2011 I began to make paper soldiers that were not wholly related to historic war.  These forces were conceived as participants for the contemporary real pretend war that is the Battle of Walkerloo (see Chinese coal miners and Google Panto horse corporate beasts).  I completed yet did not publish a depiction of Facebook with Mark Zuckerberg as Pharaoh Ramses II leading a chariot army at Kadesh/Qadesh.  Photos of my prototype model were published on Flickr in 2012 and have been seen over a thousand times. Why Zuckerberg as Pharaoh?  Even back then he seemed to be garnering godlike personal power over the human story - I had better get him in mine.

Just before publishing this set a professor of history e-mailed admiration for my work.  A specialist of ancient warfare he agreed to cast a critical eye over my next release.  The professors one criticism was that the skin tone of my Egyptian warriors was almost certainly too pale for Nile inhabitants of that period. ARGGGGHH - I always try to maintain an historical accuracy but there was no easy remedy to change all the warrior skin tones - especially for the complicated pdf layouts I'd spent days creating.  Apart from the Flickr image of my prototype models Pharaoh Zuck and his war chariots were shelved - until now!

In preparation for a bold new offensive in the Battle Of Walkerloo I patrol the social media site for paper soldier intelligence.  Facebook mediates a virtual turf for its own ends but the convenience of the platforms monopoly is all seductive.  With my updated model as a PDF vanguard I opened the Battle Of  Walkerloo Fb page and the Battle Of Walkerloo Fb group.   Members of this group have access to the Zuckerberg Pharaoh Printafntry model in Facebook corporate colours.  Come join 'us' deep inside the belly of the beast... Pharaoh Mark Is our protector.

CHALLENGING TOYS: Part 1- The Origins Of The Battle Of Walkerloo circa 2009.

My paper soldiers first public deployment was on the battlefield of Waterloo in Belgium,18th June 2008.  It was the 193rd anniversary of the battle and we were installed alongside re-enactors in the courtyard of  Napoleon's last battlefield HQ.  Throughout 2008-10 I presented my toy soldier army at history events, markets and fairs throughout Europe & USA.  I boasted my armies original form and notable qualities:

• The armies size  < 200,000 Soldiers & 6,000 cannon! 
• The armies strength < 'THICK BABY BOOK STRONG' 
• The armies ethical, considered creation = 'MADE IN ENGLAND & IN FRANCE WITH 80% RECYCLED MATERIAL'   

I attended these events as a 'trader'.  Successful traders bring to market a set of products which have evolved (traditional goods) or have been selected for sellability through market research.  People were surprised to see a new product presented by its creator.  Most of the toys our children encounter in shops are remote from the hands of the toy author/maker.

In 2009 I began to imagine the real pretend war that is 'The Battle Of Walkerloo'.  A fantastical romantic vision aimed at picturing and provoking the prevailing boys-action-toy-TV/movie-industrial-complex.

In autumn 2009 my poor father was approaching the end of his life due to Mesothelioma, an industrial lung cancer caused by asbestos exposure.  I moved back home for a month to spend time with him.  Organising my trip I discovered an 'Empty Shop' submissions initiative in Newcastle by Newcastle City Council and made draft a proposal.   I met with the submissions 'officer' at the council offices but the project was not realised.  My father died a few months later and I returned to Normandy.

High street shops that have formed our town centres have lost ground firstly against peripheral super stores and now against giant virtual retail forums.  What can we do to invigorate the public space at the heart of our towns?

The Battle of Walkerloo empty shop project was formulated to deliver a 'richer than retail' space in the centre of Newcastle, the need for such town centre visions grows.

These 2 PDF's comprised the synopsis for The Battle Of Walkerloo in Newcastle 2009.  They are the first documents to outline the real pretend war I continue to depict.

The Battle Of Walkerloo Newcastle HQ 2009 picture sheet.

The Battle Of Walkerloo Newcsatle HQ 2009 written pitch.

The Battle Of Walkerloo part 2 - "They Started It..."

A Global Walkerloo Print-Fantry Presence

Thank you!  I'm continually grateful for all the mailed reports on Walkerloo Print-fantry in action. They boost moral and help me understand my wider strategic position on the globe consequently informing Walkerloo's future.  Below are digital photos included in a few of those reports.  YES! that is a 1:20 scale Brunswick Lieb-Battalion firing line and Belgian Light Dragoons and French Caribiniers (- both types) and look out for 1:32 scale Polish Guard Lancers (the officer is my big brother) about to confront Russian Hussars!

Peter's Walkerloo Army Of The Rhine, near Frankfurt, Germany

Steve's Walkerloo Fusilier Columns in Australia

Leonid's Coldstreamers and Russian Infantry, St.Petersburg Russia

Howard's Walkerloo Borodino forces in the USA