Do you want to Accessorise?

Thanks for all the recent feedback.

I had a chat with the sculptor and we agreed we should get some cavalry released as soon as possible to add some more varaiety. The Hungarian infantry (3 moulds) are almost done, so they will be next out, then a cuirassier, followed by the Russian infantry, then on to more cavalry, artillery and light troops.

We also wondered about releasing an 'Accessories' mould, to allow more customisation - it has always been the plan to allow as much mixing and matching as possible. Unfortunately we are finding it difficult to fit the 'extras' into the moulds, especially now there are the separate march attack arms.

I thought I would start a wish list of what to put in, with a bit of an explanation as to why. Most of these parts will also probably appear in other moulds, so I'm not sure how good an idea it is - it probably depends how much of the range someone is going to buy?

1. Austrian grenadier head with side curls. This is sculpted (I used it on my grenadiers), but we could not fit this into either the Austrian or Hungarian moulds. It might be useful for anyone who wants to make Austrian grenadiers without buying any Hungarian moulds - or to add onto the cavalry. (Will probably fit in the 'dragoon' mould.)
2. Hat-less head (probably in the artillery moulds)
3. Bandaged head (probably in the artillery moulds)
4. Head with mirliton, to allow the Hungarians to be converted into Prussian frei korps etc.  (Probably in hussar and Grenz moulds)
5. Head with jager cap to convert Austrian & Prussian infantry (will be one in light troops mould)
6. Cuffed hand for Prussian officer - pointing
7. Cuffed hand for Prussian officer - with cane
8. Cuffed hand for Prussian officer - with pistol
9. Hand for NCOs (and Hungarian officers) - with musket for grenadier command (will be in Russians)
10. Hand for NCO - with Austrian NCO halberd (will be in Hungarians) 
11. A finial and if possible chords, for the standard pole.
12. A bare musket (suggested by Ross)
13. A bare sword (suggested by Ross)
14. A wounded soldier (suggested by Stokes - possibly too much space - we will see)
15. Open hands for use in conversions (suggested by Ross)
16. Austrian Pioneer heads (suggested by Rahway)

Do you think the mould worthwhile - would you buy it?

Let me know which on the list you would like (in number order), and feel free to add to the list - if you can think of something that would be useful for say Imperial troops let me know and I will include it.

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?