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Sunday 5 April 2015

A head count.


After a couple of posts with eye candy, time for something a little duller (but I've added in some photos of Richard's painting to spice up the links from other blogs links - these are painted for the front of the packaging).

The Russians will be out in the next month or so (they have been delayed to try and squeeze in a belly box for the grenadiers), so I thought it a good time to have a look at where we have got to with the provision of heads for the Prussians, Austrians and Russians.

For my own purposes, to see what is missing from the range, I use a spreadsheet showing what headgear and hair various troop types wore. The boxes in the sheet are shaded to show what is already in the moulds, and what else is planned.


The results so far......................


Prussian Infantry


The Prussian 'close order' infantry moulds are all released - the tricorn is quite steep on the front.


As you can see most things are already covered, with just the need to add some heads for the light troops. These are planned to be included in with the moulds for skirmishing troops as discussed in posts back in September.

Austrian & Hungarian Infantry


Again the close order moulds are all released, the tricorns are moulded on a shallow slope at the front to be very distinct from the Prussians.


Again the coverage for the close order troops is pretty much complete.

German Grenadiers


Currently the heads for the grenadiers all have to come out of the Hungarian moulds, and so have their hair in plaits - from what I have read that is probably correct. 

There are however quite a few illustrations around showing German grenadiers in side curls, so it is appreciated that this option might be wanted. Chris has already produced a head with side curls. It was done ready for the 'German' infantry issue (my grenadiers in the post last April have that head), however when it was decided to just produce a single mould for these it could not sensibly be fitted in - so we decided to rely on the Hungarian heads. Austrian horse grenadiers are generally shown in side curls, so we will try and fit one in with the dragoons.

German grenadier officers possibly had side curls and no moustache, however it really is not worth a separate head for this - just trim off the mustache, or don't paint it.

Grenz & Jager

As discussed in posts back in September, it is planned to cover these in future releases.

Russian Infantry


I have listed these as if released, they are sculpted, but are waiting for some finishing touches, however I have not seen the mould listing yet, so cannot say what goes where, The tricorns are at a slope intermediate between the Austrian and Prussian moulds, and could probably be used for some of the Austrian units.


Again the close order infantry is covered pretty well, and the it is planned to put the Pandours in with the grenz when these are released.

Russian Grenadiers


After 1759 Russian grenadiers were ordered to swap the helmet for a tricorn, although I cannot see why any self respecting gamer would want to do such a trade. As present the best match is to use a musketeer head and paint a mustache (I assume they had one?), but a suitable head will soon come along somewhere in the cavalry.


Future Plans

It is good to see that with the addition of the light troops the the headdress for all infantry in these three armies will be covered - that is after all what I originally wanted from this project.

If anyone sees anything missing from, or wrong in the tables, let me know and I will change them and try and get any missing heads included in future moulds. (Please remember that these are only Prussia, Austria and Russia.)

Eventually I would like to continue this exercise to cover infantry and cavalry of all nations, and also torsos, to produce a 'parts list' to assemble all troops in the SYW - but not yet, 

(I actually find a good way of planning is to skim through the Blandord 'Uniforms of the Seven Years War' book and see what can, or cannot, be made with the moulds so far.)

As always comments welcome.


7 comments:

  1. I think you have it. The only one that might be added for the sake of completeness would be the Prussian Guard NCO with feather and mustache. This can be made from existing heads.

    You might want to chart the French since filling the gaps in the older French range has been discussed.

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  2. I will do something for the French (and British) when we get closer to making the moulds. I suspect that in general the heads for the French infantry would be very similar to the Russian tricorns, possibly with the addition of one with a mustache for the grenadiers when they wore tricorn. There is also the need for a bearskin.

    If anyone has links to good views of the rear of both infantry and cavalry bearskins they would be appreciated,

    Steve

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    Replies
    1. Hi Steve

      What's the best way for me to send you copies of the uniform plates?

      Delete
    2. You can email me on my 'spare' address steve.metheringham@googlemail.com.

      Similarly, any of you who contribute regularly, and want to be able to send files etc please drop me a line to that address.

      Steve

      Delete
  3. This might help.

    http://studio-tomahawk.forumgratuit.org/t210-armee-francaise-corps-de-cavalerie-1759-1760

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    Replies
    1. Thanks, I've looked at that and spent a fair bit of time looking through my books and information on the web and come to the following conclusions:

      French bearskins (bith infantry and cavalry) were generally very similar to the Austrian ones, with a plain front, possibly a bit more pointed.

      The bearskins usually had a hanging bag similar to the Austrians, however I am not sure about the Cuirassiers du Roi.

      The Cuirassiers du Roi do not seem to have had a bag or the 'armchair' look of the others - has anyone a good illustration of the rear? The reason I am asking is that if there is space I will ask PA to try and fit a suitable head in the Austrian cuirassier.

      Delete
  4. One major difference between the two armies would be that the French Cuirassiers had a back plate. The Austrians usually did not wear the back plate and hemet when fighting the Prussians.

    ReplyDelete