Chasseurs d' Patio.

As I mentioned a couple of posts ago I've come into the possession of some old metal molds and castings . I found I had six of the above figure which is a ACW General (?) - not the most useful figure so I decided I would do a conversion and an alternative paint job .

I give you the Chasseurs d' Patio ! , as you know the Army 'Kepi Rouge' was not involved with the 'Great Patio War' in a large way sending only a few units one of which were the famed Chasseurs d' Africa , who in honour of their part in the struggle were given the honorary title  Chasseurs d' Patio ., here we see them on patrol on a rare sunny day .

Contemporary photos of 'The Great Patio War' are rare and ones that show the Army 'Kepi Rouge' even rarer . This is one of the few , it shows a Chasseure d' Patio Officer with a Patiogonian Indian Chief , who it is thought to be Tueur d' Escargots by some authorities . This photo is taken from the Almark series book 'The Great Patio War' published in 1970 but sadly long out of print and hard and expensive to find .

Whilst researching for this blog I came across the above badly damaged photo which seems to show a Patiogonian Indian who looks very like  d' Escargots in the other photo and may have been taken at the same time . More interestingly is the supposed presence of H.G. Wells , it bears a striking resemblance to the great man and he was known to have briefly visited the Patio * ,, however this photo is a source of great controversy amongst scholars of the era .

*Dispatches from the Patio by R. Kipling