Prussian Infantry & Dragoon Update

Prussian Infantry

I have finally made a start to painting some more Prussian infantry - this time IR No7 - Braunschweig-Bevern.

These are pretty much the standard Prussian castings, with the exception of the officer who is a Russian with a Prussian head. He needs a little conversion - just remove the belly pouch and shave off the buttons from the front of the coat.

I really do not enjoy painting Prussians - I find working with the dark blue difficult.

The flag is from Maverick Models - 80p well spent!

Dragoons - Update

Work on the dragoons is moving on slowly, the current plan is to revert back to figures with the horse and torso together, as it proved difficult to produce an accurate fit on the torso to horse connection (hands-up that was my idea) . It is still proposed to keep separate arms and heads to allow more variety.

Both the horses and riders will be about 7% smaller than the cuirassiers to rescale the horse to 15 hands compared with the 16 hands for the cuirassiers.

There will be 3 figure moulds, an officer (pictured below), a drummer and a trooper, along with an extra arm to convert either the officer or trooper into a standard bearer, these will have 'Austrian' heads, which are also suitable for French, Russians and quite a few others.

In order to allow these to be used for other nations there will be an additional mould containing cavalry heads including:

• Prussian tricorn with steep front
• Austrian horse grenadier bearskin
• Russian horse grenadier 'mitre'
• Horse grenadier mitre
• French dragoon fatigue cap
• British light dragoon

Below is the work in progress for the heads - these need a bit more work but give an idea of what is proposed.

As always feedback would be appreciated.

Prussian Cuirassiers by Steve Marthinsen

A little more eye candy for you - Steve has been busy converting the Austrian cuirassiers to make the Prussian version.

The conversion was quite involved and required shortening the coat tails and adding the sabretache.

If you have any comments or questions on how he did this please post them here and I am sure Steve will pass me the responses.

What a difference a head makes?

I had a game using the 'King of the Battlefield' rules last week - well worth a try if you have not used them.

During the game I thought how well the Russian cavalry, which are Karoliners, converted during casting/assembly with the new SYW heads fitted in with the new range. Rather than sidelining the old figures, I decided to try and 'upgrade' some of my painted units - something I was nervous about, as potentially it could ruin them - however I think I got away with it.

I am not suggesting there is anything wrong with the older figures, however all of the new range have larger hats and more facial detail - so the older ones look a little out of place - the photo below shows the difference.

One of the units in action before change.

And the same unit after the head swap.

The process I adopted was much easier than I had expected - the important thing is to keep things as clean as possible (it was done with the figures on the bases), as follows:

• Cut off the head with a pair of snips (this leaves an uneven surface)
• Square off the join with a sharp craft knife (avoid a file as it makes a mess)
• Drill a small diameter pilot hole (I used an electric mini drill)
• Drill out the full size hole for the head to be fitted - use a pin vice for this to avoid generating heat which would damage the paint
• Undercoat the heads before fitting
• Fit the heads (I find the Russian officer ideal)
• Paint to match existing.

I have done 2 units so far, I think they took about 3 hours each.

Cavalry - any feedback?

The Cuirassiers have now been released for over a month now, so hopefully some of you have taken the plunge to buy the moulds, cast and assemble some figures. It would be interesting to get some feedback before PA progress to the dragoons, which are hopefully later this year.

Size

PA have accepted that there has been an issue with 'scale creep' with the cuirassier riders, and intend to correct this with the dragoons. The current plan is to make the dragoons about 7% smaller in all directions, this will:

• Reduce the rider to about 42mm tall, so he will tie in with the infantry (he is currently too tall).

• Reduce the horse to about 15 hands - which is correct for a dragoon horse (it is correct for a 16 hand cuirassier horse).

• Reduce the assembled weight by about 20%. (My assembled troopers weigh in at 90g each, compared with 60g for the K-931 cavalryman - that is 50% more bulk. If they are reduced by 20% they should weigh in at about 72g, so should a nice size.)
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Multi Part?

With the figures that I cast there were a few of issues with the assembly (note that I had a set of 'test moulds', so slightly different from the ones that went into production):

• On some castings the torso was narrow relative to the horse, so was difficult to align (I do however use a variety of metals from old figures, so can tend to come out different sizes as they shrink differently). This could be easily rectified by just making the torso wider, so that there is always an overlap.

• I had difficulty fitting the right arm, particularly on the trooper. The problem was that the peg often ended up too large for the socket. I fixed that by shaving down the peg, and understand that this was modified before they went into production.

I know that PA are considering whether or not to continue with the multi part route so your feedback would be appreciated. (My preference is to continue multi part, but make them such that fit is less critical).

Yet More Austrian Cuirassiers

Richard Hattersley has now painted the figures to be photographed for the front of the packaging - these are imposing chaps.

He has chosen regiment De Ville, which I was surprised to see had natural leather belts, which makes an interesting change (http://www.kronoskaf.com/syw/index.php?title=De_Ville_Cuirassiers).

Hopefully they will be available soon?

As always comments welcome.

More Austrian Cavalry

Cuirassiers

I have now cast and painted a second 'troop' of cuirassier regiment Maximilian, and also corrected the saddle cloth colours of the officers - which I am advised were blue - they do look quite impressive!

I have also finished a troop of regiment Alt Modena - the only cuirassier regiment in the army with blue facings.  I often play games with non-historical line ups, and it is useful to be able to easily distinguish a unit which may be fighting on the other side.

Before anyone puts me straight - I know the saddle cloth trim is probably incorrect (although there is a suggestion there could have been as shown), however it suits my style, ability and patience.

With respect to the size, I also took a couple of photos of them against the Russian marching infantry, which are the most upright.

They do not look all that out of scale, and horses are fine for cuirassiers, however the riders are too big.

Dragoons

Sculpting of the dragoons is well underway, and the current plan is that there will be an officer, a standard bearer, a drummer and a trooper.

Th original plan was for a trooper and horse in postures similar to to that of the cuirassiers. However I am having second thoughts on this, and think they might look better on a trotting horse for more variety - any thoughts?



As always please keep the comments coming.

Austrian Cuirassier - completed unit

Painted cuirassier

I have now completed my (the?) first unit of SYW cavalry, in doing so I made a couple of minor modifications relative to the figures as designed:

• The reins have been extended to the hand (they are a bit short in the mould to allow the figures to slot in easily). 
• I have added a sword hilt to the trumpeter and standard bearer, these were cut from a French infantryman's sword.

I painted the coats off-white (Vallejo Ivory Pearl White) - after my visit to the military museum in Vienna I am convinced that is what all of the white should be. It also looks better and also shows off the belting - I will probably try my next infantry the same way.

I have taken photos from 8 angles, so you should get a good idea what the new figures look like.

As with the older ranges, the horse is cast flat in the mould, however being multi part the torso is cast the opposite way, allowing detail on the cuirass.

The sword arm (and head) are also separate, allowing the arm to be well detailed.

The joint between the rider and horse is around the coat tails - but not really visible.

The fit between the arm and torso was a bit tricky and left a small gap, however it filled in fine with paint without the need for any filler.

There is also a separate carbine.

I think the figures look great, and are pretty much what I was hoping for. They are a bit more work than the older ranges, but in my opinion worth it.

Size comparison

As discussed in the previous post, these chaps are a bit on the large side. the horses are OK for a 16 hand cuirassier horse, but the riders are large (I think about 7%).

It only really shows up when the units are very close.

I am advised that the tooling work for the cuirassiers is underway at the factory, and PA have announced a planned release date in June.

The sculpting for the dragoons is also almost complete. I have asked if it is possible to 'plot' these about 7% smaller, this will bring the men into scale, and also reduce the horse from the 16 hands appropriate for the cuirassiers to 15 hands for the dragoons.


As always please let me have any comments/feedback, and I will pass them on to the sculptor to assist in deciding what to do with the next releases. (I will be away from my computer for the next week, so replies will be delayed).

Austrian Cuirassier Moulds

(Updated 14/04/18)

The nice postman delivered me a package today containing something I have been waiting for for quite some time. I now have the silicon test moulds for the Austrian cuirassiers - and as I am not at work this week had time to cast up a few.

Horse

One of the reasons we have taken so long to get to this stage was deciding how to cast separate horses and riders whilst keeping the semi-flat nature of the range. Consideration was given to a number of options:

• Full rider with legs straddling the horse - this would not fit in with  semi-flat range.
• Cut at waist - the joint was difficult to hide, especially where the loose coat had no waist belts present.

In the end we opted to cut around the coat tails, and leave the legs on the horse (my idea, so don't blame PA if you don't like it!).

Currently there is only one horse which is used for all the riders.

Trooper

As with the whole range,  all the figures have separate heads. Also, in order to get decent detail, the arms are separate (and generally interchangeable)

There should also be a carbine - but that is coming later😞

The figure fits neatly into the slot and it is difficult to see the join.

I think he will paint up very nicely!

Officer

As with the trooper there is a separate head and arm. (The arm will fit the trooper if you don't like the at rest pose.)

Not that you will notice it - but the head has no mustache.

Trumpeter

Standard Bearer

This chap needs a pile adding for his standard.

Size Comparison (Updated 14/04/18)

Comparison with Karoliners

These guys are big compared to the original Karoliner cavalry.

The new cuirassier alongside a Karoliner charging Russian cuirassier, this figure was converted by adding a SYW Russian  officer's head. (See photo lower down with a the same Karoliner without the head swap)

Comparison with HE

Rahway has requested a comparison with the old HE figures, so here is one alongside the HE cavalryman on the 5 legged 2 tailed horse (which actually works well to add variety to units).

The horse is clearly taller; exactly how much is difficult to measure; the SYW horse is probably about 41mm at the shoulder compared to 37mm on the old HE. The new one is clearly taller. however we are comparing a 16 hand cuirassier horse with a 15 hand for a dragoon, so overall only about 5% increase in scale, which is probably in line with the difference between the new SYW infantry and the old Karoliners.

The new SYW figures are however much more detailed, and bulkier. Being multi part, the horses and torsos can be cast different ways in the mould', allowing detail on the front of the figures, such as clasps on the breastplate.

The big difference is the rider; one of the major changes between the new SYW range and the older ranges is the heads, the old ones really were too small, particularly the hats - however he is actually a bit too big - see below.

Comparison with SYW infantry

The minimum height requirement for Austrian army was 5' 3", so 63", which happens to be almost the same as an Austrian cuirassier horse, for which the minimum height was 16 hands which is 64".

It can be seen that the SYW Austrian infantry (leaning forward) stand about the same height as the new horse, so the new horse fits in with the infantry. The Karoliner horses are clearly small relative to the Infantry.

Where there is an issue is the rider, which should be the same height as the infantry (cuirassiers were not taller than the infantry - my earlier mistake - sorry), however he is clearly taller.



So, in conclusion, the new cavalry will fit nicely with the new infantry (although the riders are a bit too big). However they will not mix in units with the older ranges - but neither will the infantry.


As always comments welcome.

Just to let you know we are still here!

Cavalry 

Just a quick line to let you know that things are still moving along - slowly (these are not Prince August's top priority - but they are still progressing).

Cuirassier officer - work in progress

Next up are the cavalry, both cuirassiers and dragoons, which are almost done. Currently we are struggling trying to figure out how to cut them up to allow interchangeability of riders and horses etc, and it looks as if the parts will be:

• Horse
• 4 torsos - trooper, officer, standard and musician
• Arms (right)  for above
• Heads

The tricky bit is trying to figure out how to have interchangeable torsos on a semi flats, the traditional legs either side the horse will not work. I think we have it and I will hopefully post something in next week or so.

How are your projects coming along?

It would be nice to have some feedback on how your 40mm projects are coming along (mine has stalled waiting for the cavalry).

If you have any photos of your projects I can upload it would be appreciated, or alternatively links to your sites?

Cavalry - Digital Sculpting

Austrian Cuirassier

Trooper

Back in July last year I posted a picture of the 'green' for the Austrian cuirassier, which received encouraging feedback.

Soon afterwards PA decided to move over to digital sculpting. The changeover has not been as smooth as hoped, and nothing has been added to the range since the Russians, which were that last of the traditional sculptures. Things are now moving again, the French infantry are ready to go, with a few production problems being ironed out.

The figure has now been replicated digitally, and we think it is pretty much complete. In response to  comments last year the reins have been stylised a little to give the impression of being double, without making the area around the bit too heavy 

There are a couple of minor changes I have asked Chris to make:

• Modify the buckle positions on the harness, remove the top one at the intersection and replace with two more on the straps below.
• Add a line around the holster cover similar to the one on the saddlecloth.

I think it looks very nice, if there are any error/omissions please let me know.

Trumpeter

Progress on this is not quite as advanced, and the horse, sword etc. will be replaced with the one above - so please just consider this as a taster.

I asked him to base the pose on the old Holger Eriksson mould PA26, and I think it will end up looking great.

Officer and Standard Bearer

There will also be an officer with a sword pointing forwards and a standard bearer, both based on the trooper.  Progress is not sufficient to show, as the plan is to tidy up everything on the trooper first and move on from there.

Dragoons

Once the Austrian cuirassier are complete, in order to keep things moving we are considering issuing a 'Prussian' dragoon mould. This will just provide torsos and heads to fit the same horse, and would contain:

• Trooper, similar to above unless there are any suggestions (needs to fit this horse)
• Officer
• Drummer
• Standard bearer

Dragoons were pretty generic, and with minor changes such as tricorn style and the way the carbine is slung (it will be separate) the Austrians, Prussians, French  and quite a few others could be covered.

If we can squeeze them it we could add some horse grenadier heads - if not they will have to be taken from the infantry.

Russian Cavalry

Unlike the Austrians, Prussians etc the Russians had their sword belts on the outside of the coat, so these will need some additional moulds.

The French cuirassiers also had belts on the outside.

Prussian Cuirassiers

These will need separate moulds as they wore coats with shorter tails.



..............as always comments welcome.

Russian 'Hybrid' Cavalry - Painted

(Updated with extra photos 29/12/15)

I've finished the Russian 'hybrid' cavalry in the usual toy soldier style. I'm quite pleased with them, I think fitting the SYW infantry heads onto the Karoliner cavalry results in a fine set of figures.

Some of the details are not quite right, it depends how fussy you are - certainly an option for any 'imagination' armies.

My apologies for the photos, my wargames table and lights are not easily accessible, so just a lamp on the desk in front of the PC!

Cuirassiers

The Russian SYW heads are a great improvement on the original head, a bit larger and much more detailed.

Horse Grenadiers

No standard yet as I am waiting for it to arrive - only ordered it yesterday!

I think the grenadier head sits very well, and results in a splendid chap.

So if you have the Karoliner cavalry moulds and the new Russian infantry they are worth a play.

Presented with flags

(Added 29/12/15)

The cavalry have now been presented with their flags, and blooded on the battlefield.

The cuirassiers lead the cavalry

Followed by the horse grenadiers - what a large flag you have!

Cuirassiers decide charge Saxon grenadiers - not a good idea - they will learn!