British Standard Bearer and NCO

Just in case you are not on the mailing list - PA have finally released the mould for the British standard bearer and NCO.

Also the is currently a 40% discount on the other moulds in the whole SYW range - so if you want some more moulds now is your time (no I'm not on commission)😊

Progress & Standing Infantry Command

Progress

British Standard Bearer and NCO

I am told that "The British standard bearer and NCO  moulds will be out this week" - we shall see😌

North American Theatre

After a long vacation in Middle Earth (Mithril Miniatures), Chris is back on the SYW range and is currently working on troops for the North American conflict - I will write more when I have some pictures he is happy to release (I have seen the work in progress and they look nice).

Standing Infantry Command

Back in June there was discussion about what SYW moulds to do next, and one of the things on the list is a set of standing command figures to go with mould PA3129 'Jager', which were deliberately designed to also be used as generic (Prussian) infantry standing and kneeling firing. 

The initial idea was for two moulds with four figures:

1. Drummer
2. Standard Bearer
3. NCO
4. Officer ???????????????

I personally don't use figures standing firing, so the choice of figures and poses is to some degree 'up for grabs' - so comments please?

Drummer

I would suggest a drummer in 'Prussian' SYW uniform with a similar pose to the old HE27 mould. 

The issue is do you want it with lace on the arms as PA3102, or without as PA3104. My preference would be without. (I only have PA3102 and get tired of cutting and filing off the lace to use as Austrians!)

This was back in the early days when they had the figures painted for the packaging.

Standard Bearer

There is a standard bearer in the HE range, however I'm not that keen on the pose as it just looks too casual. I think it would look better either held in two hands, or with the pole resting on the ground.

A quick search of the web came up with this, he could either have it raised or on the ground . An NCO in this pose would do the job?

NCO

As discussed above, the standard was carried by an NCO, one option would be to have a single NCO figure to act as both the NCO and standard bearer. I suspect the pose which is a combination of both figures, with a standing pose, the man's left arm holding the sword (as right hand figure), but right arm closer to the body (as right figure), with the body part rotated to be suitable for semi-flats  - again what do you think?

Officer

There is standing 'General Officer' in mould PA3127, however the lapels on the coat are a bit heavy and he has no gorget - is he acceptable or is something else needed?

Discussion

Please note that these are not even on the to do list yet, however PA have told me they have received requests for these moulds, so I will pull together some ideas and collate it for them.

As I don't have a lot or personal interest in these moulds, this is one to open up for discussion in the comments.

As a starting point - IF PA were to produce 2 moulds, and the officer is considered OK, then how about:

1. Drummer as HE27 with no arm lace.
2. Dual purpose NCO/standard bearer as right hand figure,
3. Musketeer at ready (someone send a link to preferred pose)
4. Musketeer loading, as PA51

The two musketeers would not only be additions to the firing line, they would also add to the light infantry poses (that is something I would use).

Over to you!

Musketeer at the ready

Stefan has suggested the following pose. He would probably look OK mixed in with the firing line, however I 'm not sure he would look right as an addition to the light infantry skirmishers?

British Standard Bearer and NCO

Just a quick update to show what is next on PA's release schedule. Chris is currently working on a mould to the British standard bearer and NCO, which will finish the British infantry in the European theatre.

Standard Bearer

In the British army the standards were carried by junior officers (ensigns), so has the sash over his shoulder. He is  in the usual pose, requiring the hands to be drilled out for the standard pole. 

NCO

I suggested that an NCO is included to fill the mould, and for the pose I suggested go with something similar to the original Prussian one, which I think is a really nice figure, he will have a separate hand/pole arm, which will allow other options  such as sword or musket.

I have suggested sculpting a sergeant.

Franklin's book on the British uniforms states that after 1752 there should be a fringed epaulet on each shoulder (not yet finalised on figure), however I have been unable to find any prints showing an NCO wearing one, and am coming to the conclusion that they were not introduced until later - can anyone help?

British Infantry - First Look

Sculpting on the British (& Hanoverian) infantry is progressing well, Chris Tubb has kindly sent me some digital images to share. 

The same poses have been used as for the other nations so that they can all be mixed and matched. Once the British infantry are in production, I think that completes the 'close order' foot soldiers for the major nations - it's only taken 10 years😀. By mixing and matching bodies and heads from those moulds we should be able to get pretty close to casting infantry types from most nations. 

Rank and File

To try and cover the variation between units in the uniforms and equipment carried by different units we decided to produce 2 moulds, one for the 'hatmen' and the other for the 'grenadiers'. As usual heads will be interchangeable to get as close as possible to the unit you want.

'Hatmen'

These can be used represent the majority of the infantry, the coats have no shoulder wings and no sword is carried, just a bayonet.

'Grenadiers'

A second mould will be produced to represent the grenadiers and fusiliers. The figures have been 'upgraded' with the addition of shoulder wings on the coats, a sword and a cartridge pouch on the front of the waist belt.

Officer

Unlike other nations the British officers wore the sash over their shoulders, so a new figure is needed. He will have a 'plug in' hand to allow him to carry the musket shown, a sword or pole arm. 

Drummer

British drummers were quite distinctive, with hanging sleeves and a fancy mitre cap - so we really needed one of those 😀

Standard Bearer and NCO

As far as I am aware nothing has been done yet. The British standards were carried by junior officers, so I have suggested that one is needed.

Will I ever get my Prussian cuirassiers??????????????????????

As always your comments are very welcome.

British Infantry - Update

Just a quick update to let you know that Chris Tubb is currently sculpting the British infantry, and I have suggested he progress with 4 moulds as discussed back in January 2023 (yes that long ago), text in red are minor changes I have suggested since 2023:

Mould 1: Officer & Drummer

• Officer with  shoulder sash and hand to take partisan, musket or sword.
• 1 x spontoon for officer
• Drummer with hanging sleeves
• 1 x tricorne head
• 1 x grenadier mitre head*

* I wonder if it is worth replacing this with a tricorne with a 'Minden Rose', (officers did not wear mitre caps, which if wanted can come from the grenadier mould)?

Mould 2: Standard Bearer and NCO

• Standard Bearer (Officer with shoulder sash)
• NCO and hand to take pole arm or musket.
• NCO musket
• 1 x tricorne head
• 1 x grenadier mitre head*

* Perhaps another variation of a tricorne with a 'Minden Rose'?

Mould 3 - Hat Men (tricorne) - without sword, belly box, or shoulder wings.

• Marching torso  
• Arm for marching
• Advancing torso
• 2 x tricorne head

Mould 4 - Grenadiers (mitre cap)  - with sword, shoulder wings, belly box and match box.

• Marching torso  
• Arm for marching
• Advancing torso
• 2 x mitre cap head (I have suggested one with 'GR' and one with 3 feathers)

As always feedback would be welcome to help try and get this right.

Battle of Lobositz & New Moulds

As I'm sure is obvious, I have not done much casting or gaming with the 40mm semi-flats so far this year.

Battle of Lobositz

I did however put on a participation game (back in June) using the Commands and Colors (American!) Napoleonics system to play the Battle of Lobositz. 

The table was 12' x 6', a scan of the battle layout is below. The Prussians are stacked up exiting the valley, and the Austrians partly hidden behind the village and in the sunken road, with Grenz on the hill. We played it twice and the Austrians won both times - as they should😀

The scale was roughly one unit on table equates to a cavalry regiment, two battalions or a 10 gun battery.

Below are some photos, many of which are copied from Aly's Toy Soldiers

https://alystoysoldiers.blogspot.com/2024/06/wild-geese-2024.html 

New Moulds

Prince August have also been very quiet with regards to the SYW range, Chris Tubb has been working on other projects, such as their 54mm Middle Earth ranges, however I understand that they may be sculpting for some new SYW moulds over the coming months. 

• Reprint/rescale the Austrian cuirassier to as the current moulds are way too big (3 moulds),
• Reprint the dragoon heads as they ware currently too small, just a reprint to scale (1 mould).
• Prussian cuirassier (3 moulds)
• British infantry (4 moulds) - see post January last year for suggested figures.
• British artillery crews in coats (2 moulds).

My personal preference would be to do them in the order above so that I can complete my Prussians & Austrians, however I suspect PA would sell more moulds if they did the British first.

British Highlanders - Update

Just to show I am still here - a quick update on the release of the Highlanders; according to Prince August these moulds will be released late-July/early-August.

There will be 3 moulds containing what has now become the 'standard' mix of 6 figures, that is:

• Officer
• Standard Bearer
• NCO
• Musician (bagpipes)
• Rank and file at march attack and advancing.

Heads will be provided to make figures with either bonnet or bearskin, and the officer and NCO with the option to change weapons.

The illustrations below are not the latest designs, but give a good idea of what is on the way, there have been couple of changes since these were taken:

• The officers now have a sash over the shoulder
• The march attack figures left arm has been revised to reposition the hand to hold the musket at the base of the butt.

In view of comments about the kilt; I have added a couple more views showing the belted plaid - it is just not very visible on the images above.

British Highlanders

I understand that PA are planning to go ahead with the British, which will be a useful addition to armies in both the European and North American theatres. The intention is to start with the Highlanders, as these are something a little different.

Do we know if during the SYW, the highlanders operated in close order similar to the rest of the line infantry, or were they sometimes used in more open formations - I ask as it will influence what poses to produce? 

I am not sure if the plan is for 3 or 4 moulds, for now assuming only 3 then I would suggest the 6 figures should be:

1. Officer
2. Standard Bearer
3. Musician
4. Private advancing

Then another two chosen from:

• NCO
• Private at march attack
• Private standing firing
• Private kneeling firing
• Private loading
• Any other ideas?

Musicians

According to Kronoskaf the highlanders had drummers and pipers - presumably for character a piper would be preferred?

Marching Pose

Is this the correct hand position for British to hold the musket when marching -  it is different to what has been used for the figures in the past?

I have to confess I am not too well read on the British, so more than ever, input from this group would be useful.

British and Hanoverians?

 SYW range - progress so far

After ?&%$ years on the project, with the release of the hussars, the central and eastern theatres are pretty much covered by the moulds released so far. There are however still a few more things I would like to see done to tidy things up:

• Prussian Cuirassiers. This would need to be a 3 or 4 set collection. PA are unsure if these are different enough to sell - thoughts? (I have used Rossbach figures with SYW heads).
• Austrian Cuirassiers. I find these too big to use (so I have 3 x 8 man units just sitting in a box - does anyone want to buy them?). I have now replaced them with Karoliners converted with SYW heads. I personally think that PA should reprint them (they are digital) at the correct scale.
• Dragoon Heads. I find these too small and poorly detailed so do not use them. They are digital so I have asked PA if they can reprint them larger and with more pronounced detail.
• Artillery in Coats. Currently the artillery are in shirt sleeves to cover all armies (my idea - sorry); it would be nice to have a couple of moulds to produce a generic crew in coats.

Your thoughts would be appreciated.

British and Hanoverian Figures (British)

It has always been known that the lack of British figures left a big hole in the SYW range for western Europe; however the decision was made to have a range which would allow full armies to be produced by adding cavalry, artillery, light troops and staff officers before producing yet more infantry. 

With the release of the hussars, there have been requests on the PA Facebook page for British, and PA seem to be listening (it is always worth asking). I recently had a chat with the sculptor, and it seems PA are thinking of going ahead with some British - so keep commenting on their Facebook page - they do read it!

I think the following might be worth considering:

• British Infantry in their distinctive coats - perhaps 4 moulds (see below).
• Highlanders - I will do a separate post to discuss - I think 3 or 4 moulds.
• Artillery Crew - 2 moulds in coats to to fill gap above.
• Cavalry - not sure yet???

I will just cover the British Infantry in this post.

Hat Men, Fusiliers and Grenadiers

The illustrations show the typical differences between the hat men and grenadiers at the time of Minden, although there are a lot of variations (for example the hat man's green trousers and stiffened gaiters are an oddity).

The typical differences are:

• Obviously the tricorn and mitre caps.
• The grenadier carries a sword, which the line infantry had mostly abandoned.
• Grenadier coats had shoulder wings (well most did).
• Grenadiers had the match holder on the shoulder belt.

Some hat men are shown with belly pouches, however most illustrations seem to show them without them.

I think it might be worth having two moulds for the private soldiers, each with an advancing and marching figure as follows:

• Hat Men, with tricorn, without wings, sword, belly box or match box.
• Grenadiers with mitre cap, wings, sword, belly box and match box.

For the fusiliers use a grenadier mitre on a hat man torso.

Infantry Stance.

On Kronoskaf there is a sketch and description of the stance of the British infantry, which I have copied below. I would suggest that the 'standard' poses used on the other figures in the range are adopted, modified to 

When shouldering arms, the soldier was to keep his weapon nearly vertical, carried on the left shoulder, barrel facing outward, lock “turned up” and below breast level, with the butt flat against the hip, the weapon pressed against the body with the ball of the thumb. The musket was to be held with the index and thumb ahead of the corner of the stock, with the middle finger on the corner, the other fingers on the bottom of the stock. Soldiers were to stand with shoulders held back, stomach slightly tucked in, chest pressed out, chin up, and the right arm hanging down with the palms facing back. Finally, all but the rightmost man in the line was to have his head cocked to the right. The rightmost man kept his head straight forward. While not stated in any manual, the tricorne was generally worn cocked to one side—typically to the left. This was to allow the weapon to be shouldered, without hitting the hat.

Command Figures

As with the other ranges I suggest an officer,, standard bearer, drummer and NCO. From the illustrations above these are distinctive enough to not allow use of other nations.

Suggested Moulds...............

Mould 1:

• Officer with  shoulder sash and hand to take partisan, musket or sword.
• 1 x spontoon for officer
• Drummer with hanging sleeves
• 1 x tricorne head
• 1 x grenadier mitre head

Mould 2

• Standard Bearer 
• NCO and hand to take pole arm or musket.
• NCO musket
• 1 x tricorne head
• 1 x mitre cap head

Mould 3 - Hat Men (tricorne) - without sword, belly box, or shoulder wings.

• Marching torso  
• Arm for marching
• Advancing torso
• 2 x tricorne head

Mould 4 - Grenadiers (mitre cap)  - with sword, shoulder wings, belly box and match box.

• Marching torso  
• Arm for marching
• Advancing torso
• 2 x mitre cap head

As always feedback would be welcome to help try and get this right.

French Infantry Update..............again

Nothing very exiting, just the mould listing for the French infantry, which are sculpted and waiting for packaging design etc.

I have not seen the moulds yet, but they look OK from the images I have.

 Mould 3113 - Infantry in full coat - march attack and advancing

1.  March attack figure

2.  Arm & musket for march attach

3.  Fusilier head - tricorn

4.  Sword

5.  Grenadier head - bearskin

6.  Sword

7.  Advancing figure

(The casting has a groove in the coat to accept the sword, which is fine early war, and for those troops which carry a sword.

If you don't want a sword there might be a bit of work to fill the groove if it doesn't paint over).

Mould 3114  - Infantry in  with coat turned back - march attack and advancing 

1.  March attack figure

2.  Arm & musket for march attach

3.  Fusilier head - tricorn

4.  Bonnet-de-police head

5.  Sword

6.  Fusilier head - tricorn

7.  Sword

8.  Advancing figure

Mould 3115   Drummer and officer

1.  Drummer body

2.  Sword

3.  Fusilier head - tricorn

4.  Officer head  - tricorn

5.  Officer body

6. Grenadier head - bearskin

Mould 3116  Standard Bearer and NCO

1.  NCO body

2.  NCO partisan

3.  Officer bare head  - with curled wig

4.  Grenadier head - tricorn (moustache)

5.  Officer head - tricorn

6.  Standard  bearer  body

7.  Officer's sword

As I said, I haven't got my hands on any of these moulds yet, but they do exist and cast - so hopefully not too long now (have I said that before)!