Pictures: The Battle of Waterloo cut down to size by Bridgnorth grandfather

But, not perhaps, quite like this.

For amateur model-maker Gerry West has spent seven months painstakingly recreating a scene from the battle, which took place on 18 June, 1815.

The one-to-72 scale model depicts a counter-attack on the d'Erlon French infantry by Netherlands infantry and the British Inniskilling dragoons. It features 400 figures, each 25mm tall, and every one took around three hours to complete.

"I've tried to make every figure unique," says the 63-year-old grandfather-of-two, from Bridgnorth. "For example, very few soldiers come with water bottles. They had to be added. I know it's a minor thing but I try to get it historically right."

Mr West, a retired railway commercial manager, continued: "Each soldier and horse started as a commercial figure but was converted with a knife, plasticine and nail varnish. Less than half the figures used are Napoleonic in origin and some were even sailors.

"The aim was to make every figure unique in pose, height, action, thus giving a feeling of reality."

This is the second model that Mr West, from Bridgnorth, has made - although, to be fair, his first, a recreation of the Battle of Borodino, which was immortalised in Tolstoy's War & Peace, took 38 years to finish. This one was started last June, and was finally completed on Wednesday when Mr West put it on display in Spartan Trophies, in Whitburn Street, Bridgnorth, where it currently resides.

"For the last four days I spent 15 hours a day finishing it off," said Mr West, who had to get the model into the shop on Wednesday in time for yesterday's commemoration events.

"I was up at 5am to get it ready," he added. "I finished it Tuesday night. A couple of the heads had fallen off so I reconnected them on Wednesday."

His wife, Sandra, has been supportive of his hobby, although Mr West says she has no interest in the subject. "It keeps me off the streets," he adds with a laugh. "I'm just interested in military history full stop and especially the Napoleonic period."

The scene he has depicted took place during an intense day of fighting that went on for 10 hours.

It depicts what happened when the the leading French battalions pushed back the numerical fewer Belgian and Dutch troops, only to find themselves opposed by the regrouping Belgian, Dutch and British infantry.

Mr West says he has visited the Waterloo battlefield and also went to Russia to see the site of the Battle of Borodino.

However, now that he has met, and conquered, his mini-Waterloo, the next project he is considering will be somewhat easier to research.

For Mr West is considering making a model of the siege of Bridgnorth, which took place in 1646 during the Civil War.

"It's just something that came to me over the past couple of days," he says.

"I'm considering it."