Prince August Catalogue & Progress

Prince August have recently released their updated catalogue, with the 40mm SYW range being featured on the front cover.. The pdf can be downloaded from their website, but be warned it is a hefty 318MB.

For those of you collecting the SYW range there are a couple of useful pages showing the full range of figures in the moulds - I think after all these years PA are getting there - still a few gaps but full armies can now be collected - with a little help from the Karoliner and Rossbach ranges.

It can be seen that there is now a pretty extensive range, however in my opinion it contains a few scaling issues, which I deal with as follows:

• I feel the Austrian cuirassiers are way too large, so I don't use them, instead I use converted Karoliner figures.
• The dragoon heads are small, so again I avoid using them - they are easily replaced by 'officer' heads from the infantry, the Russian officer being one of the best (that is what is on catalogue front cover).
• The French figures are just a bit on the large size (particularly the heads) - I think they look better when used with Russian heads which have similar hair and tricorne.
• Similarly the artillery crews are a bit large, so again I use the appropriate infantry heads where possible.

All of the 'offending' figures were sculpted digitally, the French and gunners are probably just me being picky so not an issue and easily solved with a head swap, However the cuirassiers and some of the dragoon heads are unique, so could perhaps PA could be persuaded to reprint if enough people commented?

There are a few gaps in the range, which hopefully PA will address, the most obvious ones being:

• British infantry - the highlander are sculpted (see above), and hopefully the 'hatmen' will follow in the not too distant future?
• Prussian cuirassier (I have used converted Rossbach figures).
• Gunners in coats (it was my idea to have the in shirtsleeves)
• Russian cavalry (belts outside coat) - not sure if there would be market for these, Karoliners with head swaps do the job fine????

Casting Tips

Last updated 04/10/2017 - see list of edits at bottom of post.

As the range has now been going for some years I thought it worthwhile to pool our experiences  casting with the new moulds.

PA have a series of tutorial videos on their website, which are worth watching, particularly if you are new to the casting hobby:
http://shop.princeaugust.ie/videos/
There is quite a good video at the bottom showing casting the new cannon.

Casting Metal

As mentioned in the very first post on the blog 27 March 2014 (where did those years go?), I have been casting for some years before the SYW range of moulds came into production, generally with PA's the old 'Karokiner' moulds and my 'Scrap' metal.

At the time I was very pleased with the results I was achieving.

When I became involved with PA in producing the SYW range, the sculptor provided me with slicon moulds. to allow me to cast test figures. This allowed me to check out the uniform etc, and also make up sample units, before the expensive tooling up was done for the black moulds. I have to confess that the silicon moulds are easier to use than the black moulds, and cast very well, even with my 'scrap metal',  so many of my figures are cast from these moulds.

However - once the black moulds came into production, and before I started this blog, I did some casting with them to ensure they worked!

First I tried PA's expensive Model Metal (54% Lead / 11% Tin / 35% Bismuth), this cast very well and gave good detail, without the need to vent the moulds.

I then tried to cast some figures using my 'Scrap' metal, the content of which is variable, there are figures from many suppliers, however it is likely to be similar to PA's less expensive Standard Metal (65% Lead / 2% Antimony / 33% Tin). At first I struggled to get the 'upper' heads out, however after venting the upper head inlet up to the top, as shown on PA's site (under the figure descriptions), all of the moulds produced full castings. The detail was generally good, but not as crisp as from the Model Metal; the difference was most noticeable on the fine detail of the faces. (They were still probably better than the old Karoliners.)

If building up armies on a budget, I would recommend casting the bodies in the cheapest metal that gives decent castings, and then using a high grade metal such as Model Metal for the heads to get the best out of the detailed faces, minimal cost but a bit more effort.

With the move to digital sculpting there is now no need for the silicon moulds, so the French I have cast are all out of black moulds.

The wargaming unit I painted up has Model Metal heads on 'Scrap' metal bodies, whereas the ones for the packaging were entirely Model Metal to ensure the best detail on the hands, weapons etc.. 

Melting the Metal

As on the first post on the blog - I still just use old milk saucepans, (which have a spout to pour accurately) on the gas cooker (preferably when my wife is out). But now I have two pans, one with model metal and the other with 'scrap'. (Not the most energy efficient I know - but it is a hobby!) I cast on a section of old worktop to protect the  kitchen work surfaces.

I test the heat by dipping in a wooden stick, and if it smokes it is hot enough (to be quite honest it is trial and error). When lifting the pan don't forget some insulated gloves!

And, although it should be obvious, keep all fluids away from the molten metal and the moulds, as mixing the two will have an explosive effect.

Clamping the Moulds

I generally cast the moulds in pairs, which makes them more stable, and usually pour two or three pairs at a time.

I cast with the clamping force on the moulds provided with heavy elastic bands, and they will cast fine with just two; however experience has shown that this can be unsafe, and there needs to be additional clamping in the event of one of the bands snapping due to heat if the mould leaks, or overflows:

• Preferably also use a metal clamp, not for the pressure, but to be safe in case any of the bands snaps. (Note the PA in their videos only use clamps). 
• At the very minimum I now ALWAYS use three or more bands in case one snaps. (also keep an eye on them, any which show signs of tearing discard them - they will snap eventually).
• Place the moulds on some heat resistant sheet, in a tray or similar to catch leaks or spillages.

This amount of clamping force can sometimes be too much, in which case it will be necessary to either take of one of the bands, or the clamp. It has been interesting that everyone seems to cast differently, see the comments below.

Please send Comments & Tips

I intend to continue/add to this post, so please put any tips in the comments and I will feed them back into this post to combine all our findings.

Update Tracker

03/10/2017 - link to PA videos added
04/10/2017 - casting photos changed and minor changes to text.

An Introduction

Why yet another blog?

I've been collecting 40mm semi-flats and posting the odd comment and photo on the Old School wargaming site since 2006. Over the last year or so I have been helping Prince August (PA) putting together their new 'Seven Years War' range of semi-flats, so thought it worth running a blog which keeps you informed of what I know of their plans. I was putting this information on the '40mm Wargaming & Collecting' and the 'Old School Wargaming' Yahoo sites, but it was getting very long winded, and probably annoying to anyone not interested in home casting.

Also I thought it worth giving a bit of background to how the range has developed, and show off some of the games we are playing with the 40mm semi-flat figures.

So first a bit of background.

My inspiration for collecting home cast 40m semi-flats was actually nothing to do with 40mm - or home casting.  I went to the Partizan show in May 2006 I saw the excellent ‘Sittangbad’  game which was put on by ‘The War Gamers’ and suddenly realised that I needed to go back to my war gaming roots - so I decided I needed a new, well actually an ‘Old School’ project. (I had also bought a Subaru Turbo a few months earlier, so had obviously hit that difficult age!)

I really did not want to start another project which would pile up even more unpainted figures, and was conscious of all those part finished, and unused armies I had lovingly amassed over the years.

I remembered that I once had some Prince August moulds for that period, so wondered if all that mountain of unpainted lead and piles of unloved old (but nothing classic) figures could be the way to go. After some investigation I discovered that Prince August’s older HE range of 18th century 40mm moulds were designed by Holger Eriksson (hence HE), the same person who sculpted the Spencer Smith range of 30mm figures which adorn the pages of two of my favourite books ‘Charge’ and ‘The War Game’ - so the idea did have some Old School credibility.

I purchased samples of the moulds from both the HE range, and the newer Karoliner ranges and gave them a go using my ‘scrap’ lead. According to PA's website the master figures for the HE range were initially carved out of wood and still retain some features of a wood carving, they proved quite hard to cast, often required a lot of cleaning up, and need  a lot of the detail to be 'painted in', so although having a nice Old School feel, were obviously going to be hard work to build sizable armies. The newer Karoliners were a little more rounded, more detailed and easier to cast; in most cases they are re sculptured (not by Holger Eriksson) versions of the HE figure, and have retained some of the charm of the older figures.

Both of these ranges represent 18th Century Swedish armies, with turn backs and waist belts worn outside of the coats. This uniform also makes a passable mid-18th Century French, and PA also sell them under the labels ‘French Regiments of 1750’ and ‘Irish Wild Geese’ but they are really the same moulds. So I decided to build myself a French army using the Irish range which are essentially Karoliners, but with a very useful advancing infantryman which only occurs in this range as mould I-903.

I soon collected together quite a few kilos of unloved figures, both from my own 'collection' and from my wargaming friends.........

They were melted down in my trusty old milk saucepan..........

(I have an understanding wife - however I think she still prefers not to see what I am doing in the kitchen. But however understanding, if you melt figures with paint on it is better to do it outside - they give off a lot of fumes!)

Then re-cast using the high tech method of drop casting.....
(Which I generally use moulds paired up so they are more stable, and just use thick elastic bands to hold them together. Note that it is better to use three bands rather than the two shown, just in case one snaps with the lead in the mould!).

And turned into nice new shiny units (well mine are shiny), it really is satisfying turning old unwanted figures into a new army! A unit similar to the one below can be cast using just two moulds:
 - I-903 Officer and Advancing Infantryman
 - I-904 Standard Bearer and drummer:

I-903 & I 904 painted up as Swiss in French service (the drummer and far officer are from other moulds)

I will show how the armies developed from here, in later postings.