The Russian infantry has arrived

Well, at long last PA have released the Russians!

Below are the assembly instructions which I downloaded from the PA website. Not very good quality I'm afraid as I had to download PDF and then scan to JPG, as you can't load PDFs into the blog............unless you know better?

The figures look good, and as you can see on moulds 3110, 3111 & 3112 we did get the pouch to add to the waist belt to make the grenadiers, so something came of the delay. (I had to make my own pouch from plasticard).

I've not actually seen these black moulds, so I would be interested to receive feedback on how they cast.

The SYW range has been out quite a while now, does anyone have any painted up units they would like me to load onto the blog?

As always, comments welcome.

Update 28th May 2015

Russian Infantry

Unfortunately things have been held up by the Waterloo display over at the PA factory in Ireland, so the Russians have still not been released - hopefully soon.

Just to keep you interested below are a couple of photos of the figures which Richard Hattersley has painted up for the packaging and PA publicity - the figures do paint up well.

The grenadiers have the waist cartouches which will be in the moulds, so there has been some good come of the delay.

Cavalry

The sculptor has restarted work on them, I have seen the start of the first horse and it looks good, I should have some photos in the next week or so.

A head count.

After a couple of posts with eye candy, time for something a little duller (but I've added in some photos of Richard's painting to spice up the links from other blogs links - these are painted for the front of the packaging).

The Russians will be out in the next month or so (they have been delayed to try and squeeze in a belly box for the grenadiers), so I thought it a good time to have a look at where we have got to with the provision of heads for the Prussians, Austrians and Russians.

For my own purposes, to see what is missing from the range, I use a spreadsheet showing what headgear and hair various troop types wore. The boxes in the sheet are shaded to show what is already in the moulds, and what else is planned.

The results so far......................

Prussian Infantry

The Prussian 'close order' infantry moulds are all released - the tricorn is quite steep on the front.

As you can see most things are already covered, with just the need to add some heads for the light troops. These are planned to be included in with the moulds for skirmishing troops as discussed in posts back in September.

Austrian & Hungarian Infantry

Again the close order moulds are all released, the tricorns are moulded on a shallow slope at the front to be very distinct from the Prussians.

Again the coverage for the close order troops is pretty much complete.

German Grenadiers

Currently the heads for the grenadiers all have to come out of the Hungarian moulds, and so have their hair in plaits - from what I have read that is probably correct. 

There are however quite a few illustrations around showing German grenadiers in side curls, so it is appreciated that this option might be wanted. Chris has already produced a head with side curls. It was done ready for the 'German' infantry issue (my grenadiers in the post last April have that head), however when it was decided to just produce a single mould for these it could not sensibly be fitted in - so we decided to rely on the Hungarian heads. Austrian horse grenadiers are generally shown in side curls, so we will try and fit one in with the dragoons.

German grenadier officers possibly had side curls and no moustache, however it really is not worth a separate head for this - just trim off the mustache, or don't paint it.

Grenz & Jager

As discussed in posts back in September, it is planned to cover these in future releases.

Russian Infantry

I have listed these as if released, they are sculpted, but are waiting for some finishing touches, however I have not seen the mould listing yet, so cannot say what goes where, The tricorns are at a slope intermediate between the Austrian and Prussian moulds, and could probably be used for some of the Austrian units.

Again the close order infantry is covered pretty well, and the it is planned to put the Pandours in with the grenz when these are released.

Russian Grenadiers

After 1759 Russian grenadiers were ordered to swap the helmet for a tricorn, although I cannot see why any self respecting gamer would want to do such a trade. As present the best match is to use a musketeer head and paint a mustache (I assume they had one?), but a suitable head will soon come along somewhere in the cavalry.

Future Plans

It is good to see that with the addition of the light troops the the headdress for all infantry in these three armies will be covered - that is after all what I originally wanted from this project.

If anyone sees anything missing from, or wrong in the tables, let me know and I will change them and try and get any missing heads included in future moulds. (Please remember that these are only Prussia, Austria and Russia.)

Eventually I would like to continue this exercise to cover infantry and cavalry of all nations, and also torsos, to produce a 'parts list' to assemble all troops in the SYW - but not yet, 

(I actually find a good way of planning is to skim through the Blandord 'Uniforms of the Seven Years War' book and see what can, or cannot, be made with the moulds so far.)

As always comments welcome.

More Russians

I've painted up another couple of units to show some more of the range.

Grenadiers in summer uniform

The march attack figures have a separate arm, but assemble and paint up easily. The new grenadier head/helmet is very nice, and is a really valuable addition to the range.

One other thing I would mention, I always file down the bayonets to a triangular section, they look much better.

(And, it is worth rotating the left hands on the officer and NCO, otherwise they look like a Nazi salute).

The flags are from Maverick Models, these are relatively inexpensive, and can be printed to the size you want (within reason).

The bodies in the moulds are for musketeers, and so do not have the cartridge pouch on the waist belt which was characteristic for the grenadiers (or the correct grenade pouch on the shoulder strap), however the difference was not really enough to justify a complete new set of moulds. 

The original plan was to have a separate 'stick on' waist pouch to convert the figure, unfortunately this could not be fitted in, and was thought too delicate for the mould making process, so when the figure is assembled with the grenadier head it is not quite correct. It would still look pretty good, however I chose to make my own pouches out of plasticard (Renedra bases). I made the pouches a bit too big, but they don't look too bad. However when/if PA produce their 'accessories' mould it might be possible to include a strip of pouches?



(Update 29/05/15, the waist pouch will now be included in the moulds, and looks much better than my effort.)

Musketeers in winter uniform

I have no plans to paint up many of this figure, as intend to paint my Russian infantry in summer dress. However as there has been some concern about this new pose I painted up a unit to see what they look like.

I agree there is some scope to improve the pose - but I still think this is a very fine figure,

This pose is more upright than anything in the range, and this presents some problems with the command figures. The officer is the new Russian, he does lean forward to match the rest of the range, but as he is leading from the front rank he looks fine.

There is no new NCO in winter uniform, and the Prussian figure is not right as it has belts over the wrong shoulder, and a bread bag. This is not a big problem as the Russian NCOs were armed with muskets, and dressed identical to the rank and file - other than extra decoration which can be painted on.

The drummer is Prussian, again leaning forward in the front rank, so looks fine.


















I decided not to use the new standard bearer (officer), as I put the standards in the rear rank, and the forward lean did not look right back there. Instead I decided to make an NCO by converting one of the rank and file, a surprisingly simple job by just drilling through the hands, which are both on the body, and cutting the musket off the separate arm - before gluing it on. I know it's not quite right as he has a cartridge box - but he has to carry his vodka somewhere!

As always comments welcome.

Extra photo added to show rear of coat.

Russian Infantry - in summer uniform

Chris has sent me the test moulds for the Russian infantry so I have cast up enough figures for a few 16 man units.

First I decided to paint up a unit of advancing musketeers in summer dress to see how they look. With the red waistcoat and trousers, and no turn backs they are very easy to paint, especially as the red is straight out of a can (Army Painter 'pure red', with any missed bits and tidying up in Vallejo 'vermilion'). They could do with some shading or lining between the waist coat and trousers, but I am trying to resist it!

I have some flags on order from Maverick Models, which should arrive in the next few days - but I could not resist getting the unit finished and on the blog so the flag shown is downloaded from Kronoskaf.

There are 8 figures in the new moulds, and this unit uses 5 of them, so
is a good indication of what is to come. The figures not shown are the two infantry in winter dress and the march attack in summer uniform - and perhaps more importantly the grenadier helmets - I'll have to get something painted.

It's worth noting that the Russians were not the only ones to fight in waistcoats in hot weather, the Saxons and probably French and others did as well, The Saxons would be particularly interesting as there was a lot of variation in waistcoat colours. The figures in summer uniform would probably work well as colonial or miltia units, particularly in 'imagination' armies.

And I've finally got around to doing the second battalion of the Saxon Leibgrenadier Guard, so I took a photo while I had the camera out.

I think this is the end of the new infantry moulds for a while - I am looking forward to seeing how the cavalry work out!

As always keep the comments coming.

Russian Infantry - ready to go

Chris has now finished the changes to the figures, they look really good, I will not reload photos of them all, just some examples.

Winter Uniform - Grenadiers

The helmet has been changed to give a longer rear peak, and the coat improved by adding buttons, and pleats in the back to break up the plain area.

Guard Grenadiers

We thought it worth squeezing in a head (in one of the command moulds) for those of you who fancied some guards units, never used in the field, but they will look good in those imaginations!

Summer Uniform - Musketeers

And with the summer uniform a vent has been added to the back of the waistcoat. And the angle on the tricorn has been steepened a little.


















As always comments welcome.

Russian Infantry ........... almost there.

A belated Happy New Year to you all.

The Russian greens are now almost ready, a few changes changes are still needed, however I thought it worth sharing the photos (as I've not posted for over a month) :

• The most obvious change needed is that the grenadier helmet needs the rear peak lengthening.
• Cuff buttons to be added.
• A vent needs adding in the back of the summer uniform waistcoat.

I should get the test moulds in the next couple of weeks and cast up some units (weather permitting), so production moulds not too far away?

As usual all figures have separate heads, so can be Russian musketeers or grenadiers, and can be mixed with the Prussians, Austrians and Hungarians.

3109 – Russian  officers in winter/parade uniform

These should also (with a bit of work) be useful for other nations, for example the officer will make a good grenadier officer for the Austrians,

Russian officer

The musket is replaceable so could carry pole arm or sword (there should be a sword in the mould).

Standard bearer (officer)

We made this an officer for some variation in the Austrians and Prussians. If an NCO is preferred use the Prussian with Russian head.

 3110 – Russian drummer and NCO in summer uniform

The Russians fought most of their battles in the summer without their coats on (officers still wore their coats), so two moulds have been dedicated to the summer uniform.

NCO

The musket is detachable, so can carry pole arm etc.

Drummer

A drummer in summer uniform has been provided, for parade/winter uniform, use one of the Prussian drummers.

 3111 – Russian  musketeers/grenadiers in summer uniform

Advancing

March attack

3112 – Russian  musketeers/grenadiers in winter/parade uniform

Advancing - with grenadier head

(The helmet needs the rear peak extending to shoulder. and also a pleat will be added to break up the plain area between the coat tails).

March Attack

This the march attack pose has been changed in this figure to be a more upright, slower pace (as with the advancing figure pleats will be added between the tails).

I think it is really good and possibly the best figure so far!

I think that Chris has done a good job on these, and they look as if they may be some of the best so far - but it depends how they cast! 

Next up Austrian cuirassiers - if we can figure out how to fit them together!

As usual comments welcome.

Russian Infantry Update

Progress and Plans

Sorry the blog has been quiet for a while, a combination of a busy time at work, a quiet spell on figure production..........and us having a new puppy!

I had a long chat with Chris Tubb (the sculptor) a few days ago to discuss the plans for the Russians, and also the range as a whole. He confirmed that Prince August are committed to the range, however production of new moulds will probably continue to be relatively slow, as this is just one of many projects he is working on. The intention is to get the Prussians, Austrians and Russians finished (infantry, cavalry, lights and  artillery), and then move on to the British and French, provided the demand is still there.

Russian Infantry

Next up will be the Russian infantry, these were discussed back in April (no point rushing - these are 'Old School' after all), and the proposed four moulds below hopefully cover many of the things we discussed back then. 

The plan is for all of the bodies to be musketeers (the grenadiers should have a belt pouch, however this is barely visible on the figures so not worth additional moulds - it can be stuck on or painted if necessary). Similarly it is not currently planned to produce any Observation Corps figures, By concentrating on the musketeers we can provide bodies for advancing and march attack in both summer and winter/parade uniforms. There will also be some new command figures in poses similar to those in the Hungarians, these can (with a bit of work) be used to add variety in the Prussians and Austrians.The provisional listing (it depends what will fit in the moulds) is:

3109 – Russian  officers in winter/parade uniform

• Officer in winter uniform, pose similar to Hungarian NCO
• Standard bearer in winter uniform, as an officer similar to Hungarian (as with the Hungarian, standards were probably carried by an NCO, but the officer is added for variety - the Prussian can be used if an NCO is wanted)
• Officer’s head - tricorn, curls, clean shaven.
• Guards’ grenadier/leib company head - grenadier with feathers
• Musket for officer
• Sword for officer (if space) 

3110 – Russian drummer and NCO

• Drummer in summer uniform (can use Prussian for winter)
• NCO, pose similar to Hungarian to carry a pole arm or musket
•  Musketeer’s head - tricorn with bow , straight hair,  clean shaven
•  Grenadier’s head – helmet, straight hair & moustache
•  Partisan for NCO (I know they generally carried muskets, but it seems a waste to add another musket, as there is already one with the officer, so use this for parade/guards).        

3111 – Russian  musketeers/grenadiers in summer uniform

• Rank & file body (summer uniform) - advancing
• Rank & file body (summer uniform ) – marching
• Arm for march attack with and musket
• 2 x Musketeer’s head - tricorn with bow , straight hair (campaign),  clean shaven
• Grenadier’s head – helmet, straight hair & moustache 

3112 – Russian  musketeers/grenadiers in winter/parade uniform

• Rank & file body in winter uniform advancing
• Rank & file body in winter uniform marching, this could be in a more upright 'parade' pose..... but will it look OK with the more active command?)
• Arm for march attack with and musket
• 2x Musketeer’s head - tricorn with bow , curls,  clean shaven
• Grenadier’s head – helmet, curls & moustache

Progress so far

Below are the greens for the first 3 figures. The officer looks fine, but the waistcoat on the drummer and infantryman is a bit too long, so will be shortened.

Once the Russians infantry are done - Austrian cuirassiers!

As always comments welcome.

One point I really would like feedback on is the plan to have the march attack figure in winter uniform in a more upright pose - would it look OK with the more active command figures?

Prussian Garrison Infantry

I must confess that I don't like painting Prussians, there is something about painting Red and Dark Prussian Blue that I really can't get on with. The way I see it is that painting Prussians is one of those tasks that you have to do to be a SYW gamer.

So with some resignation, after having had fun painting the colourful and elite Saxon Leibgrenadier battalion, I decided to paint a battalion of Prussian garrison troops,

I decided to pick one of the units which saw some active service, so went for the XI regiment which was at Gross-Jagersdorf.

And also had pink cuffs to add a little colour.










Garrison troops were dressed similar to the musketeers, but probably did not carry a sword, and were generally not as well equiped as the line troops. I contemplated using the Austrian bodies which did not carry a sword, and only had one bag; however in the end I played safe and used the Prussian marching figure. I did cut/file off the sword, which wasn't too difficult, but I suspect if I had just painted the scabbard black it would not have been noticed

Below are some photos of the finished unit - unfortunately my gaming table is full of junk from decorating the kitchen, so no green table or houses - just my desk and a book cover.

Progress Update

The Hungarian infantry the way and should be out very soon, I think they are just finishing the packaging.

The Russian sculpting is also underway, I have seen some of the part finished greens, the first troops are infantry in summer dress - just in waistcoats. There is also an officer in a new pose with a separate musket - not quite finished but looks very nice. (With a change of head and a little work I think he would make a nice Austrian grenadier officer?)

As always comments welcome.