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.

Austrian "3pdr" - and best wishes for the New Year.

Nothing much has been happening on the 40mm SYW front over the last few months. I am told the plan is to release the dragoons early next year - fingers crossed.

I have however, as suggested in my post back in March (was it really that long ago) had a play at making an Austrian 3pdr battalion gun using the following components:

• Wheels from new SYW range
• Barrel from the Karoliner 6pdr
• Carriage from the Rossbach 12pdr

I then made the following minor modifications:

• Added a cross piece in the trail - not quite correct but looks better.
• Drilled out the holes at the rear of the carriage, which made it look much neater,
• I originally assembled the wheels on the carriage as cast - but they looked too wide. To correct this I narrowed the solid/rectangular axle by about 2mm and then attached the wheels by drilling out 1.5mm holes, and inserting new axles made from the pegs of spare heads.
• Drilled out the end of the barrel.

As discussed in the earlier post, the dimensions are not quite right - however I am happy with the result and will be rearming my Austrians with them (when I start working on them again).

Best wishes to you all for the New Year.

Steve