Pages

Monday 13 March 2023

Grenz - advancing.

Back in August (post 22/08/22) I cast some of the advancing Grenz figures - I have finally got around to painting up a unit.


The figures are individually based so they can be used either as a close order unit as shown or singularly as skirmishers.


The rank and file and drummer are from the new mould, and the officer and standard bearer from the Hungarian moulds, which are close enough - I gave the officer a musket as it looks better when skirmishing (I think it is from the Russian officer).


I also painted up a couple of spare figures to replace the standard bearer and drummer when used as skirmishers. One of these was an NCO using the Hungarian NCO, again with a musket; however the coat tails are way too long, so he will probably stay in the box.

On the 40mm semi-flats figures I generally stick with block painting and don't use any washes or highlighting. The exception to this is a localised wash of Winsor and Newton 'Peat Brown' ink on the hands and faces to bring out the detail, I do this after a first coat of spray gloss varnish so that it does not stain, then tidy up with flesh prior to a final brushed gloss coat of Tamiya clear gloss.

On these I also dry brushed the hats a little to bring out the texture. Initially I dry brushed white which looked way to harsh, so I went over it with a dry brush in black - so I suppose it is like doing it in grey. On the subject of heads, I struggled getting decent castings in my 'scrap metal', so these are mostly cast in model metal (the bodies are about 50/50).

16 comments:

  1. Well done. Did you use Winsor & Newton "Drawing Ink" for the washes? Do you dilute it or use at as it is?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, I use W&N Peat Brown drawing ink - I am sure there are plenty of other more modern options out there, but it is what I have always used and see no reason to change.
      I dilute it, but not very precisely, I dip the brush in clean water, then in the ink, then swish it around in the bottle top - so really trial and error.

      Delete
    2. Thanks. Very helpful.

      Delete
  2. Stefan Wegmueller15 March 2023 at 14:47

    I envy you Steve for the Grenzers. I love these a little exotic and colorful uniforms and you bring out the best of the moulds with this typical lovely toy soldier style. I must first finish a unit of prussians frei-infantery before I can start with a grenz regiment. I had the same "problem" of the missing grenz NCO and have converted the same figure you have used and made a mould with silicone. If you wish, I send you some figures. You find me on facebook with the name written above - live in Murten.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Stefan - thanks for the offer, however I am not likely to cast many other Grenz, so will not need any more NCOs.

      Delete
  3. Very flashy looking Grenxer (not in the casting sense of flash!).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Why were SYW light troops some of the most colourful?

      Delete
  4. Looking good Steve…
    A nice colourful unit.

    All the best. Aly

    ReplyDelete
  5. Lovely figures as usual.
    How likely do you think it was that there was a mix of headgear within the units? I've painted my ranks with different coloured bags, hair and boots, but would it be too much if a stretch to mix the Grenz headwear up a little?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sorry for delay.
      With respect to the headgear, this is something I have been trying to figure out as most modern illustrations show the Klobuck wider at the top, whereas the illustrations in the Bautzener Bilderhandschrift (1761) show them narrower at the top.
      There is also a comment in the Osprey book which states "The headgear was now officially a tall felt Klobuk, although its poor resistance to rain prompted many to keep the sheepskin versions."
      That's the most I have come across so far.

      Delete
  6. Hey Steve, two questions: are you still painting up infantry units two battalions per? Just curious. I know you started out doing so and I may follow suit. This would enable me to use these with BAR rules if I want. Second, could you share the dimensions of the standards and guidons that you use? I have scalable , printable flags I will use and I would like to take the guesswork out of sizing them. No pictures to share yet, as I am still casting and assembling.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I am still painting up my battalions in pairs, although it is a long while since I used the larger units, all my recent games use the 16 figure units.
      My infantry flags are all printed 40mm high on the pole, this is too big historically, but I think it looks good!

      Delete
  7. Excellent, many thanks. Reading through your blog, I notice you’ve used a goodly variety of rulesets. Which, if any, do you favor?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We use lots of different sets of rules as we find it more fun.
      It really depends what you are looking for, particularly the number of players and length of game?

      Delete