Airfix – 04738 – Battle of Waterloo FarmHouse (Le Haye Sainte)

Description:

Unassembled plastic model kit in 1/76 scale of the famous Le Haye Sainte farmhouse, placed in the mid of Wellington’s line during the Battle of Waterloo in 1815.

Airfix released this model for first time in early 70s, once they had released the first figure sets for the Napoleonic period, depicting the famous farmhouse which played a crucial role during the 3 days of the Battle of Waterloo. The farm, in the middle of Wellington’s line, was subject of intense French attacks and fierce allied defense, changing hands several times before the end of the battle with a decisive allied victory over Napoleon.

The model itself, in the line of the other buildings released by Airfix in the 60s and 70s is more close to HO-OO scale (as the box cover itself says) than to later 1/72 standards, which is one of the odds of the set as for war games use. No matter of this, the set is a remarkable achievement in the Airfix history and in the hobby history and a milestone in one of the periods more important in the 1/72 scale, the Napoleonic period.

Model consists of around 30 parts, with a snap-fit system, though glue is desirable for a tight finish of the model, and builds into a farm complex much like the one depicting in the different box covers, and though not 100% accurate to the real farm, it’s a not bad depiction at all.

In later years the model was included in the several times released and changed Waterloo 1815 Battle gift sets. including also the figures released by Airfix for the period as well as an exclusive set of accessories for the farm life, but not included in the standalone version of the farmhouse covered in this page.