Sheikh Abdallah

My final figure painted in February is the leader of the Red Hawk Clan, Sheikh Abdallah.  This mighty warrior is also a Falcon Miniatures figure, but this time mounted on a Falcon horse.

 

I tried a new technique with this figure, using a three layer paint scheme on the horse's caprison and a two layer scheme on Abdallah's robe and headdress.  To my eye, it turned out much better than I thought it would.  I probably won't use it for "ordinary soldiers" but will probably use it again for senior officers.  It makes them stand out a little better from the rank and file. The base will get a terrain treatment similar to the camelry unit's bases (see previous post) once I get the second cavalry unit painted and mounted.

Campbell's Highlanders

As the Markgraf and his entourage watch, the first wing of Campbell's Highlander Battalion marches onto the army drill field just outside the walls of Potzdorf. They have been raised as part of Major General Seamus Campbell's contract for service with the Margraviate of Carpania.

Parading past the royal party outside their marquee.

The Highlanders will be brigaded with the Carpanian converged grenadiers, a battalion of which is drawn up to receive them.

General Baron von Stuppe, the army commander, and Major General Campbell watch as the Highlanders make a complicated maneuver that puts them in front of the Markgraf.

A close-up of the 1st wing of Campbell's Highlander Battalion. They carry the simple St. Andrew's flag and are accompanied wherever they go by the stirring pipes.

The Highlanders are from the Front Rank Jacobite line. The second wing is still being equipped (i.e., being painted).

Highlanders in Progress

For several weeks, I have been slowly painting the next unit for my imagi-nations. This will be the mercenary Campbell's Highland Battalion, currently in the service of the Markgraf of Carpania.


Composed of 24 Front Rank Highlanders from their Jacobite line, they will be uniformed in a mid-smokey blue with buff facings. The kilts are a representation of the Campbell tartan of blue and green. This picture shows the first company carrying the inhaber's color, a white St. Andrew's cross saltire on a blue field. In the background is the second company. It may take a little longer to finish them (the tartans are time consuming!), especially since our group's theme for 2009 is Colonial Adventuring and I will be adding to my Colonial armies, starting with some Beja tribesmen (AKA Fuzzy-Wuzzies) for a mini-campaign in the Sudan.

Additions to Carpania and Courland

Toward the end of September, I made several small additions to the forces of the Margraviate of Carpania and the Duchy of Courland in preparation for the Big Battalions game at MilleniumCon next month.

For the Carpanian jagers, I added a battalion commander and battalion sergeant, both Front Rank figures. The officer, Major von Staffeldunkel, is center front. He is actually a dismounted Brunswick dragoon officer from Front Rank's AWI line. The sergeant is just off the officer's pointing finger and is a Prussian jager from Front Rank's SYW line. Neither one looks much out of place with the Old Glory Prussian jagers who make up the rest of the unit.

To command the light forces of the Duchy of Courland, I've added a mounted officer from Front Rank's Austrian SYW line. Dressed as a hussar and carrying his busby in the crook of his right arm, this figure gives every impression of being a resolute commander of light troops. I've named him Colonel Ignace Alleshazy, a Hungarian in the employ of the Duchy of Courland. He will command the Tamnii Narod Pandur battalion and the Timofievich Cossack pulk for the Duchy.
And for the Tamnii Narod Pandurs, each of the three companies has added a company officer and senior sergeant, also Front Rank figures. The officer is waving his sword and the sergeant is to his left (your right). As with the Carpanian jagers leaders, these figures seem to blend well with the Old Glory SYW Austrian figures I'm using for the pandurs. The only glitch is that the sergeants hat is shaped differently and has a cast-on emblem. But I rationalize the discrepancy with the fact that he is a senior NCO.

As the previous post shows, I am now working on my Eureka Saxon figures, which are very nicely cast and a joy to paint.

Carpanian Reinforcements

This month has seen the Margraviate of Carpania add to its little army. First up is that very capable Scottish mercenary commander, Major General Seamus Campbell.

He and his dismounted alter ego are both Front Rank figures from their Jacobite line. They are painted in a stylized blue and green Campbell tartan. Seamus will eventually lead Campbell's Mercenary Legion in the service of the Markgraf of Carpania.

Last month I unveiled the 1st (Leib) Squadron of the Hapnich Dragoons. This month I added Colonel (Oberst) Ritter Jochen von Valkenhayn, the regimental commander.

Von Valkenhayn is a Front Rank Prussian dragoon officer and cuts a dashing figure in his regimentals that are patterned after the Prussian 10th Dragoon Regiment.

Joining Von Valkenhayn and the Leib Squadron is the 2nd Squadron of the Hapnich Dragoons.

As is the Leib Squadron, they are also Old Glory Prussian dragoons. Unlike the Leib Squadron which has all very dark colored horses, this squadron has a mix of browns and a gray for the squadron drummer.

And finally, we have the converged Teutonica/Paulaner Grenadier Battalion, composed of the grenadiers from the Teutonica Musketeer Battalion and the Paulaner Fusilier Battalion.

These fine examples of the elite grenadiers of the Carpanian army are Crusader figures and feature an officer and five grenadiers from the Teutonica musketeers and a sergeant, drummer, and four grenadiers from the Paulaner Fusiliers. They will be brigaded with the converged Grenadier Battalion Zweibieren/von Stuppe as the army reserve.

I'm still working on some more figures for this month as I prepare for the Big Battalions in Texas game at MilleniumCon in November. I'll be adding a battalion commander and sergeant to the Carpanian Staffeldunkel Jagers and a battalion commander, three company commanders, and three company sergeants to the Courlandian Tamnii Narod Pandurs, as well as additional gunners for the Courland position and battalion guns.

Next month I will be painting the 3rd Squadron of the Hapnich Dragoons, Campbell's Highland battalion (in all their kilted glory), and a second company for the Staffeldunkel Jagers, plus limbers for the Carpanian and Courland position artillery.

I hope you enjoyed these additions to my imagi-nation forces.

July 2008 Painting, Part 2

Well, here are the pictures of some of the figures I painted during the month of July.

First, we have the royal family of the Margraviate of Carpania. The Markgraf, Friedrich Hapnich, is seated in the center. It seems his gout is acting up and he can't stand for long periods. His faithful wife, the Margravine Ruth, and her African body servant stand to the Markgraf's left. To the Markgraf's right is his African body servant ready with a goblet of medicinal brandy for the Markgraf's gout. While on the far left of the picture is General Kuhster, the Markgraf's Minister for War. They stand in front of the Royal Pavillion ready to review the troops of the Margraviate. These figures are from the Old Glory pack - "Fat Governor and Creepy Assistants" in their Pirate range.

Then there is the ruling family of the Duchy of Courland. The Duke, Yakov Alexandrovitch Pavlov, stands in the middle, flanked by his wife, Duchess Jamie and her pet spaniel, and his Minister of War, General Count Pavel Ivanovitch Alexandrovski. The Duke and the General are Old Glory figures from the Governor pack while the Duchess is one of the Old Glory Army pirate figures.

Joining the Carpanian army is the first of two companies of the Jager Corps Staffeldünkel. These valiant hunters were recruited from the forest preserves of the Markgraf and will be excellent fighters in the kleine krieg portions of the Markgraf's battles. They are also Old Glory figures - Hessian jagers from the American Revolution line.

And finally, I applied the terrain effects to the bases of all the artillery pieces and gunners I currently have painted and mounted. Seven Carpanian guns with 31 crewmen and six Courland guns with 11 crewmen (more are needed) were prepared.

This example is the Carpanian 12-lbr with Crusader Prussian gunners.

The Courland artillery is also represented by a 12-lbr but with Front Rank artillery figures, including their gunnery officer wearing his cloak and two of their excellent artillery fusiliers.

Coming later will be a picture of the Courland Pandur Regiment Tamnii Narod.

March 2008 Painting

It seems like I didn't do much painting in March, but when I add it all together, I did 2 mounted officers, 16 cossacks, and 6 mounted knights, for a total of 24 mounted figures or 48 points.

Above are Yakov Alexandrovich Pavlov, the Duke of Courland, and his son, Colonel Pavlov. These are both Front Rank figures from their Russian SYW line.

Above are 16 cossacks of the Timofievich Pulk (regiment) of the army of the Duchy of Courland. I bought these from a gaming friend named Tim Broome (hence the name). I'm not sure what manufacturer these are, but at least two of them were two piece rider castings. They will provide a light cavalry screening and raiding force for the Duchy in its wars against the Markgraviate of Carpania.

Finally to get ready for a medieval game on March 29, I painted six mounted knights. Three of them are shown above (along with the High King from last month). The other three were figures to fill-in existing units. In the above picture, the High King (John de Bullion, who always wears black) and his banner bearer are on the left and William Worthington, Duke of Bentwood, and his banner bearer are on the right.

The Courland officers and the knights are mounted on Litko bases while the cossacks are on home-cut masonite (hard-board) bases.

Next month should see some more imagi-nation cavalry (especially a unit of Spenser-Smith figures), so stay tuned.

An Infantry Figure Option

As part of a recent order of Front Rank figures, I included three Russian artillery fusiliers. After painting them, I realized that they could easily be used as musketeers in a unit depicted as standing in reserve or as guards in front of an army headquarters. This picture shows the three of them along with the Russian artillery officer, all from Front Rank.

February Painting - With Pictures

Finally I was able to take some pictures. Here we have the Margrave of Carpania's Baron Trask of Eisenmuhlen (left) and an aide de camp to Generalleutnant Baron von Stuppe (right). Both are RSM figures. Baron Trask is the Margraviate's armaments expert and a master gunner in his own right. Because he is related by marriage to the Britannian royal family, he is also a Major General in that army and wears the Britannian uniform most of the time.


Carpania also added the Teutonica Musketeer Regiment to their army in February. These are Sash and Saber castings. I was short officer castings so they will have to be painted and mounted later.

Meanwhile, the Duchy of Courland has been recruiting as well, adding the Severinski Grenadier Battalion. The figures are Foundry and the battalion was purchased from Mark "Extra Crispy" Severin, hence its name.

Courland was also busy with its artillery arm. Here is a 12-lb field gun (MiniFig) with its gun crew of Front Rank gunners and artillery fusiliers.

And here is a licorne howitzer (Newline) with its crew of bombardiers and artillery fusiliers from Front Rank.

And for March, I'll be finishing the Courland 12-lbr (still have to put the matte glaze on it) and two mounted officers (the Duke himself and his son, who will command all the grenadiers) as well as some Courland cavalry.

SYW Figure Comparison

A recent post on the Miniatures Page asking about figures to use as Spanish troops in the War of Austrian Succession and the Seven Years War has led me to post these figure comparisons to highlight a figure range that doesn't appear well known. Vince Clyant ran the London War Room in Petal, Miss. He sculpted a range of Spanish troops that are very usable for these two wars. I hope that the pictures below will broaden their exposure. I guess that I should add here that I have no financial interest in Vince's business, just trying to help get the figures a wider audience. [NOTE: The London Warroom is, as of Spring 2009, out of business. But the Spanish figure line was bought by the Dayton Painting Consortium, maker of RSM-95 figures.  They have the line on their web site.]

From left to right, these figures are: Eureka Saxon, Front Rank Prussian, TLWR Spaniard, RSM British, Sash & Saber Prussian, and Crusade Prussian. As you can see, their heights and overall designs are compatible on the war game table. I don't think that I would necessarily use them in the same unit, but that is not necessary as every one of these ranges has all the appropriate command figures required. All but the Front Rank are just black washed bare metal. The Front Rank figure has been primed with gray Gesso and then washed with black paint.


A closer look at the Eureka, Front Rank, and London War Room figures.

A closer look at the RSM, Sash & Saber, and Crusade figures.

So if you are looking for Spanish figures for WAS or SYW armies or as opponents for pirates in the New World in the 18th Century, if believe that you can't go far wrong right now with the London War Room Spaniards. Vince has line infantry, grenadiers, command figures, and mounted and dismounted dragoons that are usable in in the European and various Colonial troops that are more specific for the Americas.