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Monday 22 August 2022

New Grenz Mould

 A couple of weeks ago I got my greasy mitts on the new Grenz mould containing the advancing figure and drummer.

I am in the middle of another project at the moment (20mm WW2 Normandy - I went there earlier this year), so it could be a while before I get around to painting up a unit. However, I was interested to see how the figures have turned out, so spent a few hours casting up enough the figures for a couple of 16 man units.


My current casting set up is in my garage/wargames room - pretty simple and easy to pack up:
  • The base board is just an offcut of kitchen unit shelving, it is fine under hot figures and small spillages, but would blister if a large lump of melted/hot metal was left in the same place for too long.
  • A 300W solder pot (a bit bigger than the one PA sell) - and PA ladle.
  • There is also a cheap digital thermometer (the thin twisted black wire on the right).
  • Moulds (usually in pairs) are normally just held by 3 elastic bands, but this one needed a bit of extra pressure in the middle to prevent flash, so there is an additional PA clamp.
  • I have a pin vice handy to push 1mm holes through the mould sides in difficult areas, in this case  it needed vents in the lower tips of both sword scabbards.
  • Pliers for getting the figures from the moulds and snips for cutting off the ingates etc.
Below are photos of the new Grenz figures 'as cast' using Model Metal, I have cut off the ingates etc. but not cleaned them up any further - the head is 'as cast' and just pushed in. (You can see the marks on the scabbards where I have drilled vents.)





They are pretty clean and should not take a lot of preparation and I think will paint up well.

I intend to make 16 man 'close order' units, with 13 advancing, the drummer plus an officer and standard bearer from the Hungarian range. I will base them on single bases so that they can also act in open order.

I have also cast up a unit using 'scrap metal', they also cast easily, detail is not as crisp, but should also paint up well.

I hope someone buys them - as I had to twist PA's arm to get them made😟.

14 comments:

  1. I once saw my casting area that tidy....maybe twice..

    They went on my shopping list as soon as I saw the announcement. Not that I have plans for any Austrian battles but I think that with a little work, they can be a good source of recruits for my 1790's Balkan light troops in Turkish service, and for some 1750's/60's British/Provincial infantry with cut down coats in the woods in North America.

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    1. It's usually a lot messier than that, with perhaps 8 moulds in use and a big pile of casting across in the area to the left. Behind me out of shot there is also a table full of all the moulds etc.

      However I do generally pack up after each session as this is also my gaming room, so it does not get too bad. In this particular case I was just casting from the one mould so pretty tidy.

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  2. Great to see real life examples of the cast figures. Due to postage costs etc, I'll buy this once the new hussar moulds are released later in the year.

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  3. I pre ordered them as soon as I saw them :)
    Looking forward to the hussars too

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    1. I think the hussars are pretty well advanced - I will see if I can get any pictures.
      Could you give yourself a name rather than 'Anonymous'.

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    2. Not sure why it came up as anonymous - I've posted many times
      Hussar pics would be amazing :)

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  4. I have also ordered the new grenz-mould and wait to get it. Your pictures give me even more appetite. Thank you Steve for having fought with PA to get another mould. Do you know how many moulds must be sold approximately in order to cover the cost of PA?

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    1. Stefan
      I wanted to make an advancing unit myself - sometimes PA do not really appreciate what gamers want.
      I don't know how moulds PA sell - I work on the assumption that they must be selling enough otherwise they would not make more.

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  5. I bought the Grenz/Pandur Moulds and I like them a lot. Thank you very much for your efforts to persuade PA to make them. Do you happen to know if Russian Pandurs served in the SYW?

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    Replies
    1. Jan
      Sorry for delay in reply, as you will have noticed I have not added much to the blog it recently (I am playing other periods).
      According to the Greenwood and Ball book there are no records of the Russian pandours in the SYW, and that they were probably engaged in 'small wars'. However these are toy soldiers, so they deserve their place on the wargames table.

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