Increase the Stockpile

I remember the days when having just three figure variants constituted a range of infantry, marching, advancing and standing firing. These days the variants are endless. But more than this is the relentless number of new sculpts coming to fruition on a monthly basis. Only this week coming to the market I have seen a wonderful Ottoman range, and I have been informed of more SYW Russians and Saxons soon to hit the shelves. Some would say it is feast or famine in this hobby, I would argue more feast.

It must be difficult to choose what to buy, just like being in a sweet shop with sixpence to spend and being surrounded by jars of delightful goodies.

 

Unfortunately, buying metal figures is not cheap, add to that in some cases customs charges, so I am not surprised that plastics have become popular.

 

It must be difficult for hobbyists to stay focused with such a variety of figures available and next month more additions. For those who paint large units the chase is a dead cause and must remain focused. If the hobbyist outsources there is a chance. And for those who are patient then there is always tomorrow. So with so many new products it maybe worth stockpiling for the future. That is what I do when I have a mould made. Rather than have a few run off I usually purchase 700-1000 castings. Not cheap but as it worked out not a bad investment.

 

My photograph shows my Saxons. These were cast not for 2018, nor 19 but probably for 2020. When you have got the castings and the flags, when it comes to their turn you are ready. For the Saxons and French I went for the swinging right arm rather than the right arm over the chest holding musket. All my marching figures are based on the two concepts.

John

 

The Grenadiers Await

The grenadiers for Prussian regiment IR26 await their comrades. DJ on Monday starts the musketeers for IR26. This will give me a Zillion Prussian infantry, painted by DJ since about 2008. He has maintained the highest standard and retained the same paint colours. The two biggest problems with having an army painted over a decade is consistency of brush and the paint colours. Fortunately DJ remains the top brush man but he also had the foresight to stock enough of the paints, some of which are no longer available. Enough to finish the Prussians for yours truly.

Having found a bag of Prussian fusiliers it would be a shame not to have them painted, so they will be added to the painting queue with the other 1000 or so castings.

I have mentioned this before but if I was a little younger I would have asked DJ to paint all regiments 1-49. Remember this is where I came into the hobby, and Frank Hinchliffe had my original Prussian army. I will have to reconcile myself having fallen a little short of the number........

The second photo shows the converged grenadier battalion 13/26.
Before I receive emails asking how many Prussians are in the collection, think of a number and double it and add.........

John

 

 

 

 

 

 

That wide berth look

If you own the Engelmann and Dorn book on the SYW, then you will, like me be enchanted by the wonderful artwork. There are some figure poses that would be a delight to make in 30mm. The difficulty is that the artwork poses would better fit 40-54mm. Often it is the wide stride that I find difficult to emulate in smaller figures.

The officer in the photo is for Baden-Durlach, and is 29mm to eye.

John

 

 

 

 

A little more Research

Reveals that Major General Emmanuel von Schoning was from IR46, so it is only right that a figure replacement is required. Now dressed correctly in the uniform of IR46.

John

 

The Day Before....More photos added

April 20th 1757. Village of Ullersdorf, Major-General Schoning in command of the Prussian vanguard and the Prince of Liechtenstein cross swords. The Prince is heavily outnumbered but holds his ground, well for the moment!

 

I have had a number of conversations with close friends regarding the engagement at Reichenberg. I have never been convinced that General Bevern, a relatively cautious officer would attack the Austrians who were in prepared positions, without a numerically superior force. Most battle write-ups indicate would have the two armies, Austrians circa 15-17000, Prussian circa 14-15000.

 

The odd comments/diagrams had me thinking:

 

1. Before sunrise the Prussians received a reinforcement which brought their strength to 22000, this seems to have been ignored?

2. 22nd April, day after the battle.The battalion of Waldow with the second batt. of Young-Braunschweig accompanied by 2 squadrons of hussars were obliged to retrace their steps.....................these units have been mentioned as not being present.

3. The maps in Horace ST. Paul would indicate all the battalions in Bevern's force present and not on baggage duty etc.

 

It is my view that Bevern realised the size of the task and the night before had the units supposedly not present re-united with his force:

 

Munchow Fusiliers 2 bns

Jung Braunschweig Fusiliers 2bns

Grenadier Batt. Waldau 1bn

Puttkamer Hussars, whether all 5 squadrons returned?

This would given that this was the start of the campaign take the Prussian force to circa 21-22000. My case rests

 

John

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Third Post Today

I mentioned that I had seen some artwork that really was a worthy front cover. I do not know the artist but he/she gets 10 out of 10. The book is 'The Russian Army in the Great Northern War 1700-21' by Boris Megorsky. The officer on the white charger just hit the spot for me, so today I have made my take for an Austrian colonel. I could have adjusted the head of the horse a little to achieve a better resemblance but overall I am quite happy and I think the figure will paint up nicely.

I am always looking for inspirational artwork to copy the concept, as these days I rarely see miniatures worthy of doing so, I cannot remember the last, I think it was an AWI figure from the Perry range. Mind you I did see some photos of Paul Robinson's wonderful Polish Winged Hussars (see Grimsby Wargamer blog) and they gave me the wobbles for a while, as I wondered whether I should finish my PWH's.

John