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).

Hussars - painted at last!

I have finally got around to casting and painting up a couple of units of hussars. I don't know how everyone else is getting on with these moulds, but I found that they needed a lot of venting before I could get decent castings - they seem to be working fine now.

As I have said in the past I tend to be pretty easy going when it comes to interpreting uniforms, opting for things I fancy rather than strict interpretations; and I used that approach with the hussars.

Prussian Hussar Regiment No.7 - von Malachowski

In assembling the unit I made one significant change; back in 2017 (see post 20/03/2017) Aly Morrison made some heads with a mirliton streamer extended, and I used these heads on my figures. It was not possible for PA to make a head with the streamer trailing due to the pressures exerted on the master figure during manufacturing process (I did ask).

In 1743 Frederick had ordered the hussars to return their standards, however I really like my units to carry flags, so I looked around for an excuse to include one (I think I would have given them one anyway). On February 23 1758 detachments of Ruesch Hussars and Malachowski hussars captured four standards of the French Polleresky Hussards at Stöcken-Drebber and also one from Royal-Cravate Cavalerie at Düffelward on June 2 1758. For these actions, Frederick granted two of the Pollaresky Hussars standards to Malachowski Hussars - so they carry a French standard.

I gave up on trying to paint the dog-tooth edging to the saddle cloth, that amount of detail in yellow on blue was too much like hard work!

Austrian Hussar Regiment No. 10 - Palatinal

Most of the Austrian hussars wore the fur kolback, however as for the Prussians I fancied using Aly Morrison's mirliton heads, so I delved into my reference material to see if I could justify it. Kronoskaff came up trumps, according to the Bautzener Bilderhandschrift, both regiment No. 8 - Dessewffy (H 34) and No. 10 Palatinal (H 36) possibly wore black mirlitons - good enough for me. 

The Austrian officers and trumpeters would probably have worn a frock coat and tricorn, however PA decided not to include that option so the unit will have to make do with the same hussar officer as the Prussians; I did however give the officer a tricorn pinched from the Hungarian infantry. 

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😟.

New hussars - what moulds are needed?

One of the next things on Prince August's 'to do' list are SYW hussars. There are already a number of hussars in the Rossbach range, however they do not fit in with the new figures, the Prussian one with carbine is actually quite nice, but a little small, whereas the poses in the French moulds are not to my liking.

I don't know when these will be done, however it is worth having a discussion about what is wanted, before the sculptor starts work?

Prussian Hussars

There is only likely to be one set of hussar moulds, so these will need to be able to cast figures for many nations; consider the Prussians as a starting point as I have some nice pictures. 

Within a cavalry units I generally like to have the following figures:

• Officer which is different to the troopers.
• Standard Bearer - hussars did not usually carry standards, but they look good so add one.
• Musician, in this case a trumpeter.
• Trooper.

Uniform and Equipment

In order to cover all 4 figures, one option would be to provide a mould for each, however as there will be separate heads, right arms and carbines this could be done with less moulds, so possibly allowing for more variety in horse poses. Initially just consider two main body types.

Equipped with a wide cross belt. If assembled with a sword arm and carbine hung alongside, this will act as a trooper, alternatively with a suitable arm and no carbine  he would make a standard bearer (as was done in the dragoons, which look fine).

If there is no belt, then with a suitable sword arm he could act as an officer, or alternatively a musician with an arm carrying trumpet.

Heads

For the Prussians there are two types of head required, the kolback and the mirliton, so clearly both of these need to be provided.

Horses

The saddlecloths and leatherwork on the horses of all ranks all look similar (with the 'dog tooth' edging), so the same horses could be used for troopers and command figures.

As the torsos will be attached to the horses we need a minimum of two horse/torso moulds, however for these flamboyant types it might be worth asking PA to produce 3 to add some variety?

For the hussars I think the horses should be in a dynamic pose such as a canter or even a gallop, whilst still trying to maintain some of that 'old school' feel of the old Holger Erikkson figures.

Austrian Hussars

Austrian hussars were very similar to the Prussians, but  with some significant differences.

There were no 'dogs teeth' around the saddlecloth, just a wide stripe, so to be a 'universal' figure it is necessary to change the edging detail.

The Austrian trumpeters had a very distinct uniform, they did not wear the pelisse and kolback/mirliton, instead they wore a long tailed coat and tricorn. 

The undress uniform of the officers was similar (he would make a nice mounted Hungarian officer I suspect).

Russian Hussars

The Russians were again similar but with a couple of differences compared with the Prussians.

The saddle cloth, like the Austrians, they just had the plain striped edging

Reading both Osprey MAA 271 and Kronoskaff it appears they may not have been issued with carbines, although image 1 has a suspension belt to support one, and Kronoskaff states that one source says they had them. On that basis I think I would add them, however if anyone feels strongly enough that they should not carry them, then the whole unit could be made using the officer horse/torso with no cross belt. 

In Conclusion - at last

So after all that waffle, what do I think PA should consider making - I'm not sure how they will sell these - it might be best as a multiple pack like the dragoons?

Horse/torso

All saddle cloths to have simple wide stripe on the edge which will serve Austrians and Russians and act as a guide for the Prussian 'dog tooth'.

1 x Officer/trumpeter horse/torso with no carbine cross belt. This figure can be used for all officers and most musicians. It can also be used for Russians with no carbine, but unit will have little variation.

2 (or perhaps just one) x Trooper/standard with wide carbine/standard belt to be used for troopers and standard bearers. If two poses can be done it will give more variety in the horses. 

1 x Austrian trumpeter/officer horse/torso with no carbine cross belt, this figure is specific for Austrians. (It would possibly also make a Hungarian mounted officer).

Heads

The general requirement is for kolbacks and mirlitons.

The 'Austrian' mould needs a tricorne.

Arms

All arms need to be interchangeable with a round socket to allow the angle to be changed, with:

• Sword pointing ahead in 'charge'.
• Arm bent for standard (to be drilled out)
• Trumpet
• Possibly bent arm with sword?
• Possibly arm with carbine like first picture above?

As always your comments would be appreciated - and listened to.

I do not know when PA will be doing the hussar moulds, however i would be useful to have your thoughts - particularly if you are likely to be wanting to buy the moulds.

More Grenz Infantry?

Prince August have agreed to produce another mould to add variety to the Grenz, and we are trying to finalise what figures to include.

Advancing

Most importantly (from my point of view anyway) is an advancing figure, which will serve two main purposes:

• 
  It can be mixed into the skirmishing line to both give variety and stop the advancing officer sticking out like a sore thumb amongst the stationary firing poses.
• It can also be used to make up units of Grenz in close order.

Sculpting is almost complete, below are come screen shots of the near complete figure, in the same stance as all the other advancing figures.

Second Figure???

If PA stick with just one more mould, then what other figure is best to occupy the second space? There was a lot of similarity between the uniforms of the Grenz and Hungarian infantry, so the range needs to make best use of the Hungarian moulds:

• Officer - the Grenz and Hungarian officers were very similar, so there is no point in making another.
• Standard Bearer - it is doubtful the Grenz carried standards in the field, however if one is wanted (I will add one), then again the Hungarian officer with standard will be fine.
• NCO - a possibility, but perhaps a luxury.
• March Attack - again a possibility, however I envisage most Grenz on the table in 'open order' a lot of the time, so march attack not really 'dual purpose'.
• Musician - I think a musician is a must for any respectable close order unit. Little seems to be known about their uniforms, however I suspect they would be similar to the rank and file,

So in conclusion, I think the musician is the best bet for the second space, allowing close order units with the new advancing and musician figures plus Hungarian officer and standard bearer.

Grenz Musicians?

I have scoured my books and the internet, and can find very little about Grenz musicians. I suspect they should be drummers uniformed similar to the rank and file, although Crusader Miniatures give them a hornist? Just after the war I have read that they had 'swallows nests' on their shoulders, and Minden figures have them so it should be OK to add them.

If any of you have any details could you please let me have them, otherwise we will go with a drummer uniformed as the line but with swallows nests. 

As always comments and suggestions welcome.

Austrian Jager

I've just completed a small unit of Austrian jager,

For these I used the following figures:

• The new infantry kneeling and standing firing
• The new hornist
• The Russian infantry officer with 'musket'
• The Prussian NCO with 'musket' from Russian officer
• The Prussian advancing infantryman
• The new jager head

My troops have gaiters rather than the high boots depicted in most illustrations. The figures have gaiters, and the information is contradictory, I did not feel it worth the effort of showing boots, which would be difficult to model on the bent legs.

The casket in the mould is not quite right, so I made a couple of modifications:

• The casting has a domed top, whereas I think it should be level - not a difficult job to file it down. (Do it before sticking on the plume, I had not spotted the need to file the top down until after I had glued on the plume, which made it more tricky).
• They are usually shown with a green plume, which is not present in the mould. I made one by cutting the bayonet off the muskets (see below), gluing it on the side, cutting to length (it is easier to cut off the top after gluing, as it gives more to hold as the glue sets (superglue and accelerator)), and then roughening up the sides using a mini-drill.

All of the figures have the musket cut down to a rifle. The Austrian jager rifle was 1120mm long. Assuming an infantryman is 5'5" (1652mm), with the figures standing 42mm high this gives a length of 28.5mm.

I quite enjoyed making these, they are a good example of what we have been trying to do with the range, making a figure which is close to the historical detail by mixing and matching other components.

Austrian command variations

I've been having a play with the mounted 'general', with a bit if filing around the arm locating lug he can be given the sword from the dragoon officer (the sword should probably be filed down to a more gentlemanly epee), With three arm options, the ability to vary the arm angle, and a variety of heads there is a fair scope for making the commanders for our metal armies.

I have also taken the dragoon officer's horse and body and fitted the bare head and arm with hat from the general. Again the arm needs a bit of filing to make it fit, I decided to have the arm/hat lowered in a sort of respectful greeting - I think it works well. (He needs another coat of varnish - fell over whilst wet!)

Moving on from the mounted officers, I painted up the new foot officer as a dismounted 'general', the new figure is modeled with gaiters, however the buttons can easily filed off to allow cavalry boots to be  painted on - again a nice figure.

With a little more effort it is possible to make a nice bare headed 'general' figure on foot. Cut off the sword and hand just above the cuff , then replace it with the cuffed hand and hat from the mounted officer's arm (I suspect it would work just as well using the hand and hat), and slot in the bare head. He should have a sword in his scabbard so glue on a hilt from a French infantry sword. I think the resulting figure is another cracking officer.

Next I need some commanders for the other armies.

Austrian Command

 The last of the recent batch of moulds - the Mounted Officers.

These are painted to represent Austrian general officers. I have made no attempt to paint the intricate gold lace on the clothing and saddle cloths, as it is beyond my ability/patience, and also would be mostly lost under the high gloss finish (that's my excuse).

I think these are rather splendid gentlemen, worthy to command anyone's armies.

The two arms in the mould allow for waving the hat or pointing with a baton, both very nice poses. I have also been playing with some other options, including the arm pointing with a sword from the dragoon mould. I have tried swapping the other way, adding the arm waving the hat and the bare head on the dragoon officer. None fit perfectly, but look fine with a little filing around the locating lug (I will share them when painted).

The horse/torso is cast in 'scrap' metal, and generally casts OK, however I had difficulty with the heels on the boots, which I built up with 'green stuff', later figures cast with Model Metal were better. The heads and arms are in Model Metal as they give better detail. The hair on the bare head is a bit smooth but paints up fine, the head with the tricorne is from the Russian officer (I really like that head).

I think with the options of mixing and matching arms from this and the dragoon mould, and the wide range of heads from across the whole range , it should be possible to make quite a varied collection of staff officers (someone has to paint a mounted Russian Guard officer).

As always comments and suggestions welcome.

Austrian Grenz

 I finally got around to casting and painting up some Grenz - just a small 8 man unit for use using the 'A Gentleman's War' rules (which are highly recommended).

These are (currently?) the only two Grenz figures in the range, with no dedicated command. To complete the unit I also cast and painted up a Hungarian officer (with a Russian officer's musket) to act as their commander, size wise he fits in OK; however he looks a bit odd in an advancing pose when the rank and file are all stationary firing.

The original plan was to also have an advancing figure, so after mixing in a few of those the advancing officer would look fine. I will have another attempt to have some more Grenz figures made - if anyone else wants them then let me know, and it would help if you contact PA on their Facebook page to ask them to make some more Grenz poses.

Casting wise;  I struggled to get the fine detail, particularly on the face and shako fur, however they paint up fine.  I was using my 'scrap' metal which often struggles to produce fine detail, I had run out of Model Metal, but now have some, so will see if I can get better results next time I have a casting session.

I have also cast some light infantry and generals, which I hope to get painted in the next week or so.

As always your comments would be appreciated.

More Austrian & Prussian cavalry

Happy New Year to everyone!

Over the festive break I have managed to finish off a few units which have been sitting on the painting table for some months  (they kept being put back as I indulge in my current fads). Excuse the photo quality, they are just taken on an old compact camera under a desk lamp.

Austrian Horse Grenadiers

This is my take on the grenadiers from DR#2 Liechtenstein, as usual I have simplified detail, as I prefer to have them 'neat' rather than 'accurate' (I can't do both), the flag is as usual from Maverick Models.

The horse grenadiers are based on the recent dragoon mould, but with a few modifications:

• The sword arm has been replaced by that from the cuirassiers, as I really do feel this is a better pose - it is a bit oversize but I think looks fine.
• The head is from the earlier infantry moulds, as the the castings I get from the dragoon mould seem very small/flat (I have suggested to PA that they remake the head mould).
• Horse grenadier squadrons had trumpeters rather than the drummers in the rest of the dragoons. I made one using the dragoon officer with the cuirassier trumpeter's arm, it took a bit of filing/bending, and again is a bit big - but I think looks fine.

• To finish off, I added sword hilts to the empty scabbards on the trumpeter and standard bearer (from from the French infantry).

This swapping of parts is what I always wanted for this range, although there are some issues with fit and sizing I must admit I enjoy using the various parts to come up with as close an approximation as I can to the units I want.

Prussian Dragoons

I have also painted up Prussian DR#5, again with a simplified paint job.

I could not resist making a few of modifications:

• The sword arm is again from the cuirassier.
• The heads are all 'Prussian officers' from the infantry moulds, as again I wanted heads which were 'fuller' than those in the dragoon mould.
• A sword hilt was added to the drummer, as it is missing on the casting.

Austrian Cuirassiers

Although the recent PA cuirassiers are very nice figures they really are too big, and having used them on the table a few times I simply cannot live withe the size difference relative to the rest of the army (I'm an engineer).  I have sugegsted to PA that they reprint the cavalry (possibly with torso/horse combined) at the correct scale, however in the meantime I have decided to cast and paint up some cuirassiers based on the Karoliners, with a head 'upgrade' using the Russian Infantry officer's head.

As always comments welcome?

Christmas 2019 - Light Infantry Update

As its that time of year again, I thought it worth logging on and wishing you all the best for Christmas and New Year, letting you know I am still here, and also giving you a bit of an update.........

I've not been doing s lot with the 40mm figures recently, however I have almost finished a couple of cavalry units, one of Prussian dragoons and the other Austrian horse  grenadiers, they just need the flags (ordered from Maverick) - I will post some photos when they are finished.

Future Releases

Although releases are few and far between, PA are still working on the range, and hopefully there should be some new releases in the not too distant future?

Grenz/Pandours

Sculpting is ongoing for some skirmishing Grenz/Pandour troops, and the plan is to have four poses, as discussed back in September 2014 (no point rushing is there):
Light Infantry (2) - Grenz & Pandours - Sept 2014

So far I have only seen images of the standing and kneeling figures, below is a sample of what I have been sent (these are computer images).

The kneeling figure looks to be almost there, as discussed back in 2014 the figures will have the 'Type F2' coat (the lacing on the coat was deliberately simplified so that it can be moulded and drop cast better) and is combined with 'Type K'  footwear.

As with the rest of the SYW range there will be separate heads. The main heads will be the fur hat for the Croats (on figure above), and a tapered shako to allow a close approximation to a Russian pandour (not shown).

The standing figure is also well advanced, but note that the head is an early option which will probably not be used - so visualise him wearing the same fur hat as the kneeling figure.

If there is space the plan is to fit in a head with a mirliton, not strictly correct for this figure, but useful to make Freikorps von Kleist in conjunction with either these moulds or the Hungarian ones (see post back in Feb 2019):
 Freikorps von Kleist - March 2019

Hopefully there will also be a figure advancing in the 'standard' pose so they can be ranked up, plus a loading figure.

Hungarian figures can be used for the command.

Other Light Troops

PA are also working on the troops for use as skirmishing Freikorps types, these should have kit similar to the Prussian line infantry, but with the firing and loading poses.

Heads for these will include a 'casket' to make up Austrian jager or similar (but they will have to be modelled with gaiters rather than boots).

As always feedback would be appreciated.

I hope Santa brings you plenty of lead - and not too much of that horrid plastic 😉

Austrian Sachsen-Gotha Dragoons

Another unit of the new dragoons completed - this time with a little modification.

With arm from cuirassier mould

As mentioned my previous post I am not all that keen on the pose with the sword low down alongside the horse (see below). For this unit I have the sword on the shoulder, using the arm from the cuirassiers. The arm is a little on the large size, but not really noticeable, it also requires a bit of work modifying  the cuff, as the cuirassier has heavy gloves and the dragoon are bare handed.

With arm from dragoon mould

I think I prefer the sword on the shoulder - any thoughts?