Dabbling with the 1840s

Poor quality photo courtesy of HTC mobile.

After a long hiatus and a good deal of personal problems, I suddenly got the urge to do something mid C19!

I bought some of Ebor Miniatures' Crimean Russians as they looked different and were very cheap.   The figures arrived (along with some of their lovely early C18 offerings) and unfortunately I got quite a few breakages.  The proprietor was a real gentleman and sent out replacements telling me to keep the "deaders".

Last weekend, during a rare moment of mental composure, I decided to cobble together a model to represent His Majesty König Ferdinand II in all his martial glory.

I had a dig about in the boxes of lead and decided on an Essex body (Russian Nap. Officer) with an Ebor head.  This figure will be mounted upon an heavily butchered Foundry (British) horse and given a Perry pelisse as "icing".  In true mid-C19 form I added an outlandish caterpillar crest (in three stages) and bulked up his face-fungus.

I think he looks suitably "OTT" and he will be improved when the pelisse is fitted, collar properly finished  and furry horse furniture is sculpted.  I intend to finish him soon and perhaps even paint him too!  Ferdy and nag will be mounted upon a 40mm steel washer with sculpted groundwork and his hound running alongside.

I would be interested to hear what people make of him and indeed if there are any other mid-1800s ImagiNation projects out there.

Leibgarde Uhlanen-Regiment

Whilst waiting for the plastic bits and pieces to arrive (they have now - more of which later) I had a think about the cavalry component of a "Napoleonic" era B-S army.

By this time the State had expanded eastward and the main enemy remained the perfidious Turk.  Added to this foe are the various petty warlords in the colonies.  Considering the near-Medieval nature of Oriental armies, it seemed only natural that armoured lancers would be desirable.  Such troopers would have a degree of protection from missile fire plus the extra reach to hit the enemy first - well that's the idea anyway!

The components.

Trawling around for figures I realised I would have a limited choice, namely Cuirassier standard/guidon bearers.  I didn't want to go French as the geographical location and politics of my ImagiNation do not suggest Francophilia.  The choice was further simplified by a trip to Leigh-on-Sea (to collect a parrot - bizarre I know) which is pretty close to the Essex Miniatures factory...

I made a shortlist and went into the showroom for a browse.  I decided that the best figures for the project were the later Russian Cuirassiers.  The only downside was that they sport the "brush" type crest rather than the caterpillar I wanted.  Yes Essex do the earlier style but the standard bearer does not have quite the right look for use as a lancer.

I have tentatively selected a Dixon horse as it is a great little figure and there was one in the spares box.  Yes the shabraque may need work but this will be determined as I go.

Working on the plume re-sculpting has been most frustrating as my usual putty mix didn't work well - this will be the subject of a future posting.  I want to simplify the conversions as I need 10 of these (plus command) for the Regiment so the work will be kept as minimal as is possible.

More to follow...

You know what they say...

Does this look too crazy?

Men with over-large plumes must be compensating for a deficiency elsewhere!  Anyhow, I really like the "bottle brush" style of the mid-Napoleonic Russian Grenadiers.  Preposterous but good fun and creating an ImagiNation should be FUN!.

The obvious choice for this would be the forthcoming Warlord Games' "Russian Infantry 1809" plastic set (32 figures £18.00)  However, the cheapskate in me is drawn toward Victrix's various Austrian sets each containing enough figures for two 24  man regiments (plus spares) and all for a measly £22.00.

Now of course these sets do not contain any "bottle brush" plumes but I could certainly make a simple push-mould to fabricate these for the Grenadier compliment.  With this in mind I created a couple of crude mock-ups showing the figures with such plumes but I am stumped as to which looks better.

Shakos with bottle brush - more plausible?

The shako wearers are certainly less "outre" but the Landwehr guys are great fun.   Some opinions would be welcome.  Does the "corsehut" with bottle brush look too ridiculous?

Please remember the painting in these pictures is immaterial as these troops would be in the traditional B-S yellow.

As a footnote, the final plume may be a tad larger as these look a little insipid.

Warlord Games' Russian Infantry

After a long hiatus I am back!  Apologies for the absence but other projects interfered with the ImagiNation work.  Hopefully I will now be able to devote some of my time to the occasional article here.

I was at Colours today and got my mitts on a couple of the trial sprues for the upcoming Russian Napoleonic sets.

PAinted examples from Warlord's website.

First impressions were/are very favourable.  The sculpting is clean and the proportions are an improvement over the earlier Prussian Landwehr – although the hands are still large!

Each figure comes in three parts (head, backpack and body) and will therefore prove easy to assemble with some liquid poly.

Both the early and late sprues sport covered, uncovered and grenadier shako heads.  These are rendered nicely.  The only odd point is that the Grenadier heads are split down the centre by the mould.  I imagine this was in order to be able to mould the plume integrally.  That said, it is never a favourite option for me as one slip during clean-up and your figure is deformed!

Anyway – they look good and apparently should be out end Sept/ Early Oct.

I will snap up a box or two of the "early" option for Beimbach-Schönau's very late C18 army.  All we need now are those damn Austrians from Victrix!

Resting

I would like to apologise to my readers for the lack of posts over the last week or so.  The reasons are three-fold:

Relaxing at the tavern.

• I have been preoccupied with vacation plans - Athens beckons in August and logistics are complicated.
• My new World War Two blog has taken up quite a bit of my spare time.  A case of robbing B-S to feed FK!
• Thanks to three small children, the house is a mess and I have little room to do what I want.

Anyway, I have the oasis structure ready for painting and my new uniform plates are near completion.  The Wargames Factory Marlburians are ready for assembly and the process will be documented.

In addition I chanced upon a long-forgotten (and very cheap) C18 miniature that may be of interest.

All of this to come in the very near future.

Thanks for your patience.

Review: Blaze Away Miniatures' "Marlborough's Wars" Infantry

Like many collectors, I want to obtain figures that look a little "different"  Additionally, as recruiting funds are limited, I like to find items that are good value.  When I chanced upon Blaze Away Miniatures & Models early C18 range, my interest was piqued.

MAL2,3 & 5 with venerable Foundry "Marlburian"

Marketed under the generic "Malborough's Wars" legend, on offer are 13 packs (7 Infantry, 5 Cavalry and 1 High Command) priced fairly competitively at AUD$10.00 / £6.40 - your money buys you 6 foot or 3 cavalry.  Additionally, they offer a sample service for a very low sum - details at the site.  All very well but are the little chaps any good?  My opinion is a solid "Yes" - they are well worth a look.

I obtained three Infantry samples.  All wear a tricorn and have hair hanging loose rather than the later "cue".  The three poses I sampled are MAL2 Marching, MAL3 March Attack & MAL5 Advancing.  These are shown, along with an old Foundry Marlburian, in the photo to the right  .

As can be seen the figures stand 28mm foot to eye, though the thick bases make them appear a little taller.  The level of detail is good and the anatomy is decent. Figures display heavy lacing on the coat front and cuffs.  The coat itself is of "full" cut.  They sport a small satchel on the right hip and carry muskets without bayonet.  Supplied as a loose part is the sabre, ready for the buyer to attach to the left side of the model.   I am aware some people will dislike this feature but I do not.  Clearly it has been decided that it is prudent to cast the figures in two parts and thus eliminate a common miscasting area.

Earlier C18 in gaiters? Great!

I am not particularly keen on "advancing" poses as I prefer my units to march for all eternity.  However MAL5 is a perfectly acceptable miniature.  I think he would be well suited to a skirmishing unit - perhaps in the Colonies?  The marching poses are particularly attractive and can (in my opinion) be used mixed within the same unit.  To my delight they are modeled in gaiters rather than the more usual stockings and breeches.  The mixture of earlier C18 coat and gaiters makes these fellows pretty unusual in 28mm and ideal for my 1740 project.

The sabres ready for attachment.

Criticism is limited, MAL2's right arm may be a little short and the heads a little large but the latter affliction is near universal in 28mm.  That said, overall the figures look good.  They have bland facial features and to me this is a plus (character figures look great once but in every Regiment? No thanks!)  Well painted they would present a splendid appearance.

It should be noted that at present BAM do not offer any Grenadiers or Artillerists and I have no idea if they plan to rectify this.  I imagine Dixons' gunners would work well in concert with these chaps.  The cavalry options are limited but Dragoons & Cuirassiers are certainly there.  As mentioned earlier, there is a pack of bewigged Generals that look interesting.

From the quality of the samples and shipping time (under 1 week from Australia - UK) I recommend anyone interested in these obtains some samples pronto.

Scores out of 10 - thoroughly personal ratings explained:

Sculpting - Quality of detail and accuracy

Casting - Mismoulds and flashing

Variety - How comprehensive is the range

Service - Was the seller easy to reach, polite and helpful

Delivery - How long did they take to get to me

Value - Are they a good deal overall

Delivery time based upon my experience - Australia to UK delivery.

Sculpting:                  7/10 

Casting:                    9/10 A few pinholes but excellent overall.

Variety of Subject:    5/10  No Artillery or Grenadiers.

Customer Service:    */10  Dealings automated, therefore no rating.

Delivery Time:          10/10 Less than a week from the other side of the World!

Value:                      8/10