The French Attack!

In a Franco-Prussian War battle last year between remnants of the mighty French army and the Prussian invaders, my composite French regiment saw action. Based for Larry Brom's Chassepot and Needlegun rules, this regiment has battlions of Tirailleurs Algerien, Zouaves, and Naval Infantry. The Tirailleurs and Zouaves are from Askari Miniatures and the Naval Infantry are Old Glory Boxer Rebellion French sailors. I converted one of the sailors and one of the Zouaves into flag bearers. The mounted officer is a Colonial French commander from Askari Miniatures.

Unfortunately they didn't fare very well in the battle, a report of which can be accessed here: www.angelfire.com/games3/jacksongamer/fpwar04.htm

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.

My First Painted Unit

This is part of the first wargame unit I painted, back in the Spring of 1971, while I was a junior in college. They are the old Airfix Waterloo Highlanders. I used Pactra enamels and painted with a large craft brush and toothpicks for detail. Until they became too brittle for use, they were a mainstay of my British Napoleonic army.

Figures Painted in January 2008

For 2008, I made a decision to keep track of the figures I paint. So here's what I did in January (all 25mm Medievals). The colored numbers designate the units and their morale class, in this case green for yeomen and yellow for peasants. We use a modified version of the old "Rules by Ral" which has three morale classes - blue for knights (mounted or foot), green for yeoman (mounted or foot), and yellow for peasants (foot only). You can see a copy on our group's web site (link below) by clicking on the Rules button and scrolling down.

12 axemen:

24 archers

24 pikemen
12 peasants
All these figures were primed with gray artist's gesso, painted with acrylic craft paints, sealed with full-strength Future floor wax, brush dipped with Ace brand Walnut wood stain, and varnished with Delta Ceramcoat matte indoor varnish. They are mounted on 3/4" fender washers and then grouped in sixes on a magnetized movement base. All these units were used in a medieval game we had today with our local wargames group
( www.angelfire.com/games3/jacksongamer ).

I also continued work on 26 25mm SYW Prussians and some assorted other figures, which will be finished in February.

A Rare Snow Day in Central Mississippi

Unlike our imagi-nations in Imagi-Europe, it rarely snows in my part of the deep South. But it did this morning thanks to a concantation of a slow moving low pressure system with a lot of precipitation and a fast moving cold front. Although we didn't get more than a dusting it was a pleasant surprise.
Here are two of our cars with about a 1/4" on their roofs and hoods. The white streaks are falling snowflakes.
And this is looking out from my front door about 30 minutes later as the snow fell heavier. But it stopped about 45 minutes after this picture and this afternoon it is clear, sunny, and cold, with no snow left on the ground. Pretty while it lasted without all the trouble caused by accumulation, messy roads, and days of slush left. I went through enough of that during German winters while I was in the Army.

Suspected Spencer Smith Plastic Figures

As part of the artillery and commander lots mentioned in the previous post, my seller included two painted, mounted officers (front center of below photo) that he identified as Spencer Smith figures.

He also included one gun, one howitzer, 15 gunners (in three poses), and 4 cavalrymen, examples of which are shown here. I am presuming that these are also Spencer Smith plastic figures. Confirmation from the learned readers would be appreciated.

The Barony of Eisenmühle

Part of the Margraviate of Carpania is the Barony of Eisenmühlen, ruled by Baron Traskon. This barony is centered around the excellent iron deposits and mills south of Potzdorf, Carpania’s capitol. There Baron Traskon operates armaments factories for artillery and small arms. His highly trained metallurgists and gunnery experts give the Margraviate a formidable artillery park of some 20 guns and howitzers of various calibers. Here is some of the latest production: