Sunday, September 23, 2012

New movement trays

About a month ago a friend and fellow miniature gamer from my World of Tanks clan(I'm a Deputy commander in the [CARD]1st Canadian Armoured Reconnaissance Division)  put me in touch with one of his friends.  this guy has a laser cutter, and does custom stuff for his local gaming scene.  I should probably also mention that both of these guys live in the US, and I live in Canada. I only mention that because I find many times, in situations like these, some  Americans don't like shipping internationally.

I was looking to get some pieces cut to make movement trays for my skirmish cavalry(which are on GF9 pill bases).  so i discussed the idea with him and he game up with what you see here.

Finished trays with a pair of laser cut bits as-is.

I put together an order with 3 other guys. I bought 40, and between the other 3 guns there was another 80 added.  WE picked the order up form a US PO box just over the boarder last week, and i finished off 3 by mounting them on 1.5mm(1/16") plastic.  The pill bases fit perfectly.  I'm very pleased with the final product.

In other news,  after 2 months of waiting my local hobby store(not the Local gaming store, the actual model/RC/train store) finally got in my order of O scale   Spanish roof tile.  So now I can get going on the rest of my Spanish village.  I can't yet finish the Spanish church, but the grave stones will be ordered next time J & M miniatures puts in an order to Renedra.

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Mor Peninsular Buildings

well last week I got back to college. any gaming stuff i do will probably slow a bit in pace.

 anyway, Sunday and Monday(I have most of Monday off), I finished the 3rd base of my Spanish village. these are 2 of the larger buildings in the village(only the church is bigger at the moment)







One thing I'm going to have to do is change where the roof braces are.  I usually place the braces to both reinforce the roof and make them snug with the inside edges of the end walls so that the roof does not slide around.  as you can see from the Coach house-type building the roof is lopsided.  I misjudged the braces on the one side of both buildings.

anyways, the church will be next, but I have to wait a few weeks, as i ordered a set of Renedra's Gravestones from J&M Miniatures to finish the graveyard. I'm also waiting on a local store to get in more Spanish roof tile sheets to finish off the other 4 or 5 buildings. in the meantime if i have any spare time, i may just paint a few peninsular figures.




Tuesday, September 4, 2012

The Beginnings of a Spanish Villiage

I have long been building a series of Spanish  buildings.  I posted WIP pics of a Spanish church in May 2001, and in July of this year I posted pictures of my WIP  Peninsular war Spanish village.

the Spanish church has largely been on hold until i could find a set of suitably Spanish grave stones.  as such i decided to try and get a few bases complete, and test out the texturing and colour scheme. I finished detailing and painting the small house  and yard, and the larger Spanish Hacienda.

Getting some terrain has long been a sticking point for really starting my peninsular war skirmish project. now that i have some buildings and one or 2 more bases on the way, i can realistically start thinking about getting more figures painted.

Small House  & courtyard with front rank gun team

Large hacienda, with Victrix British ambushing Victrix french.

Hacienda from the opposite angle

 I settled on a mixture of water, white glue, durabond 90 and fine balast for the texture. this is a modified recipe that i used for the rock outcroppings i made way back when i started the blog 2 years ago.  the druabond dries hard as rock, and the white glue makes it less prone to chipping. the combination is  very durable. you would not know from feeling teh courtyard walss that they were made out of foamcore.

For the large hacienda, i still need to put some plants in the planter in the courtyard.

I almost have another base ready to be textured, and if i can find some  more O-scale Spanish roof tile i can have 2 more ready to go, plus maybe a town hall.  the church will be last because i have to order some suitably Spanish graveyard accoutrements.I'm also looking at buying a nice set of doors for the front of it.



Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Ottoman reinforcements

After bolstering the ranks of the electorate army last week, i decided that i needed to do hte same for the Turks. I've had most of these miniatures kicking around for a year, I just didn't have any motivation to paint them.

Sunday night I painted the last 8 tufecis skirmishers, and another officer. These figures are of course The Assault Group miniatures. I highly recommend them for anyone doing Ottoman Turks. the price seems a little high , but the quality is second to none, and shipping is free.
The freshly painted Tufecis Skirmishers(TAG minis)
all 3 groups of tufecis with 3 officers in the lead.


Next up i decided to finish off the 3rd  group of Timarli Sipahis. these would be the feudal Sipahis. once again, these are The Assault Group miniatures.

8 new Sipahis.

all 24 Sipahis in 3 ranks, with command in the lead


I decided that I am going to field them in 3 ranks of 8 (each rank a group)  because lets the Lancers make up the entire front rank, while the other 2 ranks are  swordsmen. another interesting thing is that the musician is actually an extra TAG polish trumpeter.

I have eventual plans to expand the Turks with a unit of 24 light cavalry(haven't decided between Delhis or  Akinjis), 2 unit of 24 Levent infantry and, after all that,  unit of 12 Sipahis of the porte.




Thursday, August 23, 2012

Giving the Electorate Some Love

so starting on Monday I began working on the remainder of the Metzger Kuirassier regiment for one of my Sharp Practice Imagination armies, the Electorate of Lustigzollern - Großgesaß. I had an officer and one squadron of 8 figures.  this week I've polished off the remaining 2 squadrons of 8 figures and the remaining 3 command figures. everything but Colonel figure  are crusader Austrian cuirassier figures. the colonel figure is a Front rank Austrian Curiassier officer.

the Metzger Kuirassier regiment with command front and centre.
Colonel Metzger at the left and Rittmeister Szólát at the right.


and tehn last ngiht i decided to finish of the battallion artillery contingent. i had 2 guns and 8 crew painted already, but i needed to finish the limbers and ammo carts. the guns and crew are Crusader austrians, and the  limbers and ammo carts are Front Rank.

Battalion artillery contingent of the Kurfurst regiment



Some people might ask why the battalion gun crews are all in artillery uniforms instead of some being in the parent regiment's uniform.  In the Electorate army, battalion guns are actually from a special light artillery company in the artillery arm. This artillery company is parceled out to the regiments upon the beginning of a campaign.  during peace time, they train with both the infantry regiment they are assigned to, and with the company in batteries.  this has come in useful in the field, as the battalion guns can be detached and from a light battery of their own if need be, and still be effective. but to do so, it was decided from the start that they need to be self-sufficient, and cannot rely on additional manpower from the regiments. thus the battalion guns are manned entirely by the artillery arm.




Thursday, August 16, 2012

French Brigade and Russian Beginnings

It's been about 3 weeks since i last posted.  Ive taken up reenacting(war of 1812) this summer, with  the 21st US infantry, Treats Company.  my location is well suited to 1812, since I live right in the middle of  "1812 country".  I joined a US unit, because there aren't enough reenacters of US units  in Canada, and I have friends in the unit.

Anyway, I've had 2 weekends in a row with reenactments that soaked up a lot of my time(this last weekend being teh Seige of  Old Fort Erie, and all-weekend affair).  and  in between them i did a rush job on a trio of 40K  Baneblades for a friend.  I also got another squadron of Metzger Cuirassier mostly done along with a few more curiassier command for my imagination army.

Also I finished the french brigade. Actually I finished painting it about 2 weeks ago, I just hadn't grassed the arty and 2 infantry units until this morning.

Full Perry French Brigade

Close up on Artillery battery and Brigade commander

These are a commission for a friend.  i was paid for this(and another unit each of line and skirmish, 24 figures, to come) with 2 Warlord Russian starter armies.  unfortunately I'm going to have to wait until i can get command to start painting my Russians.  i was rather horrified to find out i had 192 Russian musketeers with no command!  In the past with other plastic sets, the command were also in plastic(like the ECW battalion starter army) so i just assumed there would be.  i mean, who would want 96 musketeers with NO command?  so I'll have to make a order direct to Perry Bros. for 18(!) command sprues. on the plus side, it does mean once i acquire the perry command,  i wil only have to add my artillery and jagers to finish off the corps.


Speaking of Russians, I did start painting a few and re-testing colours for Russian green.  to do this i painted a perry Russian high command set.   One of the first things i thought of when i heard the Perry's were doing russians was that i would finally get a good command vignette.  and to not dissappoint, the perry's scuplted a scene from  the battle of Borodino, which appears on hte back cover of the F.-G. Hourtoulle book about the same battle.

the characters pictured are as follows from the left: General Wilson(Britsh Observer) General Yermolov, General Barclay de Tolly, General Osterman-Tolstoy, General Kutuzov, General Ouverov, General Kutaissov, and Colonel Toll.


Perry command vignette picturing a scene from Borodino
These figure were spectacularly sculpted.  After having painted some french command which I though were a little rushed in their sculpting, these were an absolute joy to paint. I hope the Perrys sculpt some russian jagers in forage caps skirmishing. I need about 32...

hte next army command stand I'd like to get would be Foundry's Napoleon & staff(at Borodino).  it has Napoleon looking decidedly unhappy, with arms cross and feet up on a drum.

over teh next few weeks I'm probably going to be working mostly on imagination stuff, with perhaps a little tangent on some peninsular war British.


Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Peninsular buildings and Continental french

I haven't posted in almost 3 weeks, but that's mostly because i hadn't finished anything until late last week.

2 weeks ago I started back in on some peninsular war buildings. I'm building a Spanish town to skirmish in.

I've posted pics of my Spanish Church WIP. I haven't done any more work on this one yet. I need to get some Headstones for the grave, but until then I don't really want to put any more work into it if i can't finish it. I have leads on some nice gravestones though, so stay tuned...

in the meantime I've been working on a few bases of buildings. they are in varying states of completion.  the first is the most complete. all i really need to do it make some doors, put the texture on the walls, and paint/base it.

12x12"  Spanish courtyard & buildings.
I've added some  bits of stone brick on the walls. when i put the  texture on, it will go just over the very edge of the plastic brick, and make it looks like the stucco is cracking and falling off.

Next is the smallest base so far.  this is a small  house and yard, with a home-made lean-to.


small house with lean-to and walled yard. bases ix 8x12"
this one is almost at the same stage as the first one, except it still needs some stone brick sheet placed around the house and walls.

the last one(so far, there will be 1 or 2 more) has the buildings done but needs walls for the courtyard, and 2nd floor, as well as the aforementioned stone brick sheeting.

last base so far, on a 8x16" base.
iv have one or 2 more bases still to do, but i ran of out tile roof, so I have to wait until the local store (Dundas Valley Hobby) gets more roofing tile in.  I also have a 2nd set of pieces for the church which I think I will modify into a Town hall with a square in front.

Next, are the things I actually finished.  these are units that are part of a commission for my Friend Derek. he wanted a French army to fight his Austrians,  so here are the first few units.

1st Battalion 2nd infantry regiment, in greatcoats.  Perry figures,
with Victrix Old Guard Grenadier Command

1st Battalion, 8th  infantry Regiment, Perry figures

Skirmishers & Brigade commander, all perry, with the hornist
arm from a victrix box.
Since we generally do our armies for around 1812, i have done these with hte pre-1812 flags, since most units didn't get or use the 1812 patter standards until early 1813, after the end of the Russian campaign..

I have 2 more line units and a battery of guns, to finish the first brigade of french. I should be done by the end of the week.

Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Terrain and commanders

a few weeks ago I was in Toronto at a store called Meeplmart an I picked up a GW modular hill for about $22 CDN + tax.  so at the end of last week i got it painted up, and I flocked it yesterday.   I think it turned out nice. I'm looking forward to adding a second set to complete the hill, and adding one of the smaller 1-peice hill.   I took a few pictures with some peninsular war officers I painted several weeks ago.the french one is a perry miniature and the other 2 are Victrix Peninsular war Colonels.




 At the same time I finished the hill, I also finally finished my GW Forgeworld Warhammer Siege works.  this is a huge winding 24"  redoubt that only costs about $65-70CDN ( 41£ ). I got it during one of my friend's bi-annual Forgeworld orders. it is a lovely piece! i have yet to find  anything of comparable size and quality for that low a price.  That's quite a surprise since it's coming from GW-based company.  my only complaint is that there aren't enough gun points, but it is meant for renaissance-fantasy  so i suppose only one gunpoint makes sense. I'm probably going to get a 2nd one and scratch built a few more straight sections with firing points to do a big  Redoubt for my Russian army.

the Full Forgeworld redoubt pictured with  my Baden artillery
the Left flank of the redoubt
the gun point

And finally, a close up of the Victrix Peninsular British colonels pack, complete with  British pioneer.



Wednesday, June 20, 2012

French Gun Team


So over they weekend i got on the painting of my french gun team, which as pictured earlier, has a limber team and caisson team.  this is for my somewhat-sidelined peninsular war skirmish project, using Sharp practice.  this is the first Item I've done for it, and it's also the first time I've used tufts for basing.
Full gun team from Front Rank

The front rank  artillery equipment is really fantastic .  The horse teams even come with bendable wire to attach the horses to the limber. the wire is unfortauntely un textured, so I painted the rope texture on.






It's also the first time I've tried a more arid basing scheme, including the first attempt at using tufts.  it turned out ok, although i couldn't use as many tufts as i wanted. it gets expensive.

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

a "Little" Interlude

one of teh guys in my napoleonic gaming group was over a few weeks ago, and i was showing him some stuff, including a tray of Micro Armor USMC vehicles.

US Marines moving onto the field, escorted by a V22 osprey that my friend refused to NOT put out!
a few days later he inquired about buying them a few days alter, and we agreed on a price.  then we scheduled a game for this evening. so i pulled out some of my soviet forces, set up a 4x4 table(much too small) and tossed some dice around.

a soviet mechanized infantry company advance across a field, supported by T-80s
we used a system my friend(who just graduated from the Royal military college of Canada as an armoured lieutenant) wrote 4 years ago. he called it fireteam, and it is a 1:1 scale battalion level game. it combines the best elements of Sharp Practice, Piquet Field of Battle, and a an earlier attempt at a micro armour set of rules.  it is a card driven system, with cards like Piquet:FoB(move all, move one command group, fire cards) but  used more in a Sharp Practice-like manner( both side's cards are combined in one deck, and played in the order they are drawn. the turn ends when the 2nd "fire all card" is drawn)  the deck, along with the single combat chart that he developed for all the weapon mechanics( 14 columns, 10 rows, not too complicated) make for a system with some Fog of war but not so much that you pull your hair out(IMHO).


Soviet BMP-2s carrying mortar teams, who decided to sit the battle out
(we both forgot to deploy our mortars)



the rules are 12 pages long, and about 1/3rd of that is detailing the artillery and air strike rules. the author and his brother used their ongoing military training to tweak the rules to be both fun and moderately realistic.


two platoons of soviet infantry advance in BMPs under the watchful eye of 3 T-80s
anyways, the game is optimal for a 4x8 or 6x8(or longer) table, so a 4x4 was a complete bloodbath. we played one turn and the game was over. my opponent was a little apprehensive about the card system but really warmed up to it once he shredded my soviets.  it also doesn't help that i haven't pleyed it in a few years, and did a poor job of balancing the forces.  now doubt those Capitalist  pig-dogs will get their come-uppence next time !

HUMMWVs with TOWs preparing an ambush.
Selling the marines was a good idea, because now i have someone to play against!  and maybe I'll one day paint up my larger German force.

Sunday, June 10, 2012

1st Black Powder Battle Report.

I got in a quick game of Napoleonic Black powder today with the owner of the Austrians I'm just finishing up.

we play with the ranges from the book halved(due to smaller table) and it still gives a good fast game with a turn or 2 of maneuver. we do however leave the command ranges at 12" because of the way the figure are based.this allows brigades to be spaced out a bit.  we also allow the Overall commander(in this case divisional commander) to give orders to any unit that has not successfully been given orders(unless they were part of a blunder).

we also decided that disordering was too penalizing for us and we made is so that re-ordering a unit takes 1 move segment, instead of all turn. this change. if you roll 1 move, the result is the same as the rule as-written, but if you get more moves, you still get to do something. this also allows elite units to still use their rule special rule.

for skirmishers, we make them roll a 4+ to evade infantry, and a 5+ to evade cavalry. they get only 2 dice for shooting and 4 dice for hand to hand, but they retain thier +1 to hit modifier.

Of course, as usual, i forgot to take pictures until the end of turn 3. then i took another set of pictures when the Austrian division broke half way through turn 5.

The forces were my Baden division versus a division of Austrians.

Baden:
Division Commander-  8

1st Brigade - Cmd 8
1st Battalion, 1st Baden infantry
2nd Battalion, 1st Baden infantry
1st Battalion, 2nd Baden infantry
2nd Battalion, 2nd Baden infantry
Foot Artillery battery(2 guns)

2nd Brigade - Cmd 7
1st Battalion, 3rd Baden infantry
2nd Battalion, 3rd Baden infantry

Light infantry battalion(skirmish)

Foot Artillery battery(2 guns)

Cavalry Brigade - Cmd 8
1st/2nd sqdns, Baden Dragoons
3rd/4th sqdns, Baden Dragoons
1st/2nd sqdns, Baden Hussars
Baden Guard du Corps(2 squadrons)
1 Horse Artillery battery

Austrians
Division command - 7

1st Brigade - Cmd 7
1st Battalion, Kaiser Franz Regiment(No.1)
2nd Battalion, Kaiser Franz Regiment(No.1)
1st Battalion, Reuss-Greitz Regiment(No.18)
2nd Battalion, Reuss-Greitz Regiment(No.18)
Foot Artillery battery(2 guns)


2nd Brigade - Cmd 7
1st Battalion, Baron Preiss Regiment(No.24)
1st Battalion, Baron Preiss Regiment(No.24)
1st Battalion 2nd Szeckel (No.15 Grenz) regiment(line)
2nd Battalion 2nd Szeckel (No.15 Grenz) regiment(skirmish)
Foot Artillery battery(2 guns)

Cavalry Brigade - Cmd 7
1st/2nd sqdns, Zeschwitz Curiassier(No.5)
3rd/4th sqdns, Zeschwitz Curiassier(No.5)
1st/2nd sqdns, Hohenzollern Chevauleger(No.2)

1 Horse Artillery battery


the Austrians started deployed(mostly in attack column) along their table edge, and my forces moved on from mine.


here is the table as set up.

4x8 table i set up in my TV room.


 On the first turn, my entire cavalry refused to move despite the division commander yelling at them.
both infantry brigades got a double move.  the Austrians moved up, except the kaiser Franz regiment, who milled in the rear areas. this would end up being indicative of the regiment, as it would never move more then 10 inches form its starting point.

On the 2nd turn  the Baden cavalry brigade advanced onto the table(Finally!)  and the hussars raced up the far Austrian right flank to draw off the Chevauleger. the Cuirassier flanked the woods on either side at the crest of the hill overlooking the field in which the Baden cavalry now occupied.  the centers of both armies closed to musket ranged and exchanged ineffective fire. the  Austrian foot batter on the centre road caught the Baden artillery unawares and routed them off the table. on the Austrian left, the Kaiser Franz regiment once again refused to advanced 1 move for that one and only time they would actually do anything. In the centre the grenz infantry and Baron Priess regiment refused to move and instead reordered their lines.

troops dispositions at the end of turn 2
during the 3rd turn, the  Kaiser Franz regiment continued resumed their inaction.  the Reuss-Greitz regiment fared slightly better, making their way at last to the other side of the field.  the  Cuirassier reached the edge of the hill and saw the Baden cavalry in the distance, and decided to wait and use the hill to his advantage in the charge to come.  the  Garde du Corps and Baden dragoons advanced further across the field before them. The Baden hussars charged the Austrian chevauleger but were overwhelmed and retired, not to be seen again that day.  in the centre, the 1st Baden infantry charged in at the grenz skirmishing before them, catching them off guard and routing them. the 2nd regiment(both battalions in attack columns) charged the 2nd battalion of the Baron Preiss regiment(in line) holding the orchard wall. despite being heavily outnumbered, the Austrians held the orchard and continued to fight.  the 1st battalion of the Baron Preiss regiment charged one battalion of the 1st Baden infantry, but the Badeners held  their ground.




The 4th turn began with  remaining Baden cavalry advancing to the edge of the field by the road.  the Austrian cuirassier raced down the hill towards the Baden position, but had misjudged the distance, giving their enemies time to react. The 2nd battalion of the 1st Baden infantry charged the grenz attack column, but much to their(and the Austrian commander's) surprise the grenz held, for now. the other battalion 1st infantry battalion once again held against the Austrian onslaught and the melee continued.  the 2nd Baden infantry regiment fared much the same  with the Austrians in the orchard.  the Baden colonel remark " these Austrians must absolutely adore apples, for I've NEVER seen Austrians defend an orchard so vigorously!"


on the Austrian left flank, the Baden brigade commander, realizing the slow pace(indeed, he hadn't entirely decided if it WAS moving at all!)  of the redeployed his formations to fire as the Austrians closed.




when the 5th turn came, the Baden cavalry sprung to life. teh dragoon colonel ordered his 2IC to counter charge with the 3rd band 4th squadrons, while he enveloped the flank with the first 2. the 3rd and 4th squadrons of Austrian Cuirasser, caught totally off guard by the brilliant maneuver, retired and the  dragoon commander took shameless advantage. just after the garde du Corps charged headlong into the first 2 squadrons of cuirassier, the dragoons made a sweeping advance  past the retiring squadrons and right into the flank of the other cuirassier formation. the guard du corps morale had been shaken by the brief melee, but  it was to late for the Austrian cavalry, and they were run down.


centre and cavalry melee at the end of Baden phase in turn 5
in the center, the 1st Baden infantry regiment broke the grenz column and routed the battalion of the Baron Preiss.  the 2nd battalion after defending the walled orchard for 2 turns from the entire 2nd Baden regiment, finally retires.  beaten but not broken, they would be ordered to withdraw before they got a chance to retake the wall.



After holding for 2 turns, the 2nd battalion of the Baron Preiss
regiment retired back into the orchard
alas, before teh kaiser Franz regiment could muster enough energy to move more then 100 meters, the signal to retreat is sounded. the brigade and overall commander could be overheard mutter about how even Hungarian regiments would have done more!


the largely uneventful Austrian left flank


teh final disposition of the Austrian right flank

the game took about 2 hours to play.  genearlly derek(the austrian commander) rolled a little better then i did for shooting, and occasionally fore melee, but my morale saves and melee dice were genrally better.  derek's luck disappeared in hte 5th turn.  my cavalry got 3 moves, so it was a simple matter to maneuver the one dragoon unit into the curaissier flank before chargin home.  derek's luck really turned in hte melee rolls.

all in all it was a fun game.  hats off to the 2nd battalion of the Baron Preiss regiment.  a line battalion standing up and holding a full regiment in attack column for 2 turns, and retiring in good order on the 3rd?  I've never seen the like in an Austrian army!

And the Baden dragoons! what a spectacular finish! heroes of the battle! that roll came at a fortuitous time, and they forced one cuirassier unit to retire and outright broke the 2nd in 1 turn!!

" Extra rations for the men tonight!"




Random assortment of Austrians

I haven't done a great deal of painting over the last week, but i finished basing 3 units i finished the week before. I've been gaming a fair amount and between that, painting, and family stuff I haven;t blogged much in the last week or 2.

Anyway, i finished a unit of 16 Austrian grenadiers, a unit of 16 Green infantry in Line, and a unit of Jagers in skirmish.
Austrian Grenz infantry in line, Old Glory

Austrian jagers in skirmish order,  Old Glory

Austrian Grenadiers in line, Old Glory

I am once again  pleasantly surprised by the quality of old Glory Austrians.   Old glory get a bad rap some times. and after painting a an army of old glory Russians, i can understand where that reputation can come from, but the Austrians  just don't fit the mold.  they lack(from what i have seen) the ridiculous poses, and in most cases also the poorly sculpted faces.  they won't win any sculpting awards, but they also don't look ridiculous next to other(better sculpted) manufacturers. OG Austrians are certainly worth the money, especially with an old glory army discount.

we(the owner and I) chose to do his light infantry(both jagers and Grenz) in 1 line battalion and 2 skirmish battalions.  so with these units now finished we have a complete advance guard brigade of 4 skirmish and 2 line battalions, plus an artillery battery. we generally give the Grenz line battalion the unreliable special rule in Black powder, as the Grenz were not particularly useful in this formation(i guess they were just natural born skirmishers).  I also gave the Grenz both the liebfahne and ordinarfahne because we didn't have enough figures without it.

I have just a unit of grenadiers and a unit of Chevauleger to go and the Austrian army is done.

Sunday, May 27, 2012

A taste of things to come...

I finally started  assembling this:

17 inches of awesomeness

there are 2 complete sets, so Stay tuned.

Thursday, May 24, 2012

the Austrian Commission

about 5 years ago a friend of mine decided he wanted an Austrian army, and he wanted me to paint it.

He got the bulk of the army(all Old Glory done over the course of 4 months(10 infantry battalions, 2 cuirassier units,  2 artillery batteries).  not bad considering over the same period I painted my Russian infantry corps, half my cavalry corps, a division of Confederation of the Rhine and misc British and french brigades here and there for others. 

after that the pace slowed a little ,with him giving me maybe 1 unit to paint every few months.  i painted an additional 1 grenadier battalion, 3 skirmish battalions(1 jager 2 grenzer) and a jager line battalion. not long after i finished, napoleonics died off   he still had more units to bet painted (1 grenzer line battalion, 2 chevauleger units 2 more grenadier units, and 1 more foot battery and a wurst gun battery) but with the waning interest in napoleonics,  we decided to hold off. 


well now that I'm getting back into it and I'm getting a new group of guys into Napoleonic with Black Powder, he is having me finish off what he has in his Austrian army, and he's doing a similar sized Perry french army(which I'm painting over the summer). this will also help me French my rebuilding of my former old Glory Russian infantry corps, only with perry/warlord plastic Russians.  I never sold the cavalry corps, or my guard and militia, so it's just line infantry, jagers and grenadiers I need to rebuild.


anyway, so over the last 3 days I've painted 2 foot batteries and 1 Chevauleger regiment for the Austrians.  My friend opted to use Old Glory guns, with sash and saber artillerymen(i believe there was a S&S sale at the time).  i also talked him into avoiding old glory cavalry(which I'm not a fan of) and he bought Sash & Saber Chevauleger.


Sash & Saber Chevauleger of the Hohenzollern regiment

Austrian artillery, Wurst battery on the left, Foot battery on the right.
As i mentioned I'm not a big fan of Old Glory Cavalry. the never fit on the horses right, and  they seem tiny compared to the infantry.  I wasn't a huge fan of the Russian or British infantry either. however, i was pleasantly surprised by the Austrian infantry.  the sculpting seemed to be of better quality across the board, and the infamous awkward or downright anatomically impossible poses were almost entirely non-existant. the only real complaint I had with them was that some of the officers were rather undetailed.

It looks like this maybe the summer of napoleonics! stay tuned for more Austrians!


Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Baden Hussars finally Finished.

So after almost 2 years of kicking around my desk, I finally finished the 1st unit of Baden Hussars.  these are Perry french hussars , just painted a little differently.




I still have 8 more hussars to paint, but I have a small commission to finish for a friend first.