Cavalry - initial thoughts?

PA are planning to bring out some 'heavy cavalry' in the not too distant future -  the sculptor is working on them at present. The designs are at a very early stage, this post is really to get some feedback on our initial ideas.

Troop Types

For the initial range PA are aiming to cover cuirassiers and dragoons (inc.horse grenadiers) for Prussia, Austria and Russia, and for each provide an officer, standard bearer, musician and trooper. By using multi-part figures this can be done without the need for 24 moulds!

How many horse types will be needed?

Historical saddlecloth shapes

After a lot of searching of books, plates and websites it is clear that there are quite a few interpretations of what was used, however the details shown on 'Project SYW' seem to be a fair representation. There appear to be four basic shapes needed?

1. Prussian Rounded

All Prussian cuirassier regiments except 13

Prussian dragoons regiments 1, 2, 3, 4, 11, 12

2. Russian Rounded

All Russian regiments of cuirassiers and dragoons.

3. Prussian Square

Prussian cuirassier regiment 13

Prussian dragoons regiments 5 to 10

4. Austrian 'Square'

All Austrian regiments of cuirassiers and dragoons had a square saddlecloth, which in many illustrations is shown with rounded corners.

What to produce???

PA are only going to produce a limited number of moulds, so there are going to be some compromises to be make.

Currently I think the initial range might include four sets on moulds, basically:

1. Prussian cuirassier (round saddlecloth)
2. Russian dragoon (round saddlecloth)
3. Prussian dragoon (square sdaddlecloth) 
4. Austrian cuirassier (square sdaddlecloth)

And from these the Austrian dragoons and Russian cuirassiers can also be made, as can a lot of heavy cavalry from other nations.

Any thoughts?

New PA Catalogue & SYW Plans

Prince August are about to issue their new catalogue, which you can find on the link below:

http://www.princeaugust.ie/joomla

There is a lot of emphasis on the SYW range, which I think shows a high level of commitment to getting the range finished.

PA are also showing that they are genuinely trying to produce a flexible modular range of figures suitable for use by both wargamers and their traditional casters. The wargaming text is really aimed at beginners. It is based on something I wrote for them many months ago, some errors have crept in which I did not get chance to 'cut off at the pass' (I only really have contact with the sculptor), but I think they are on the right track.

The wargaming shots are mine, unfortunately there is not a lot can be done with just 8 small units of infantry (which is all I have painted), and no artillery, cavalry, light troops or staff officers, which are not yet released - but I do think they will come in the near future. (The figures do actually mix in quite well with the Karoloners, however PA only wanted the new figures in the photos, so just infantry).

To show how the two ranges compare, below is a shot of a game with the new SYW and Karoliners together. The SYW in the centre are crisper, more detailed, and a little larger (but I am using pre-production moulds which do cast a bit bigger), but probably no more so than the Karoliner marching grenadiers. We have no problem using them together, however having said that I think it in future I will only cast Karoliners if a SYW is not available.

As always comments welcome..............

........and, I've finally figured out how to add a 'follow' button to try and get more feedback!