So I will kick off the painting pedestal slot in 2024 with some more pickelhaubes.
In this case it is some Oldenburgers. These chaps are again a straightforward repaint of Hat ww1 german infantry. The pickelhaube sculpting works to my advantage having a higher crown. This gives a nod to the the Pickelhaube design prior to 1870.
And 1848 was still a time for Shakoes. Another contribution to the German Confederates is this unit of Saxons. They are SHQ Napoleonic Hanoverian’s. I have not been able to track down a suitable officer/musician/flagbearer set as it appears the SHQ ranges are incomplete.
I really like the facial sculpting on these SHQ metal figures. This is notable because with 1/72 plastics the mould line/flash and sculpting often all come up short at the face.
Of course at 3 feet – my normal viewing – this is all academic.
Once again I have belatedly found a painting challenge. This one by Dave Stone started at Christmas and is about getting stuck into your figures backlog – assuming you have one?
This is my first contribution.
15th regiment
These figures were prepped and on painting sticks on the 10th January 2023 according to my painting journal. A year in production is not uncommon in the Erratics world. I had made more progress by November with the main colours done when I stopped all existing production to do some new acquisitions!!!!!
Finally I have finished them complete with gaming bases.
For many years I did not record my painting activity or maybe kept random notes until with lockdown I decided to consolidate my notes and eventually opted for a handwritten journal. It has stood the test of time and has repaid the effort as I have added duplicate figures and simply dug out the recorded paint guide.
These figures are Hat 1/72 World War One German Infantry who have simply been given a paint job. I decided the boot detail was fine at even close distance. This then magically turned them into the 7th and 15th Landwehr Regiments of 1848 who marched into the First Schlieswig Holstein War.
7th regiment
The bases use my standard technique taken from Warhammer Ancient Battles – birdcage grit on PVA followed by Burnt Sienna, an Ochre dry brush and a yellow white highlighter. I then use a Javis mid green turf to finish. Bases are from pendraken.
Cockades were popular
The figures are based on 4 No. 40mm square bases which allow me to use a variety of wargame rules.
In line for a variety of rules
The flag is from Warflag (They are certainly worth a donation or a few) and I have opted for plain flower arranging wire flagpoles with the paper flags glued to recycled covid testing sticks – the hollow sticks fit the wire just right. I am still deciding on how to arrange them – whether to give them caps to set them at the height I want. Right now they just drop onto the figure.
Ok so pistols were only just arriving in 1848 but I like the figure as is…
The only difference between regiments is in the shoulder strap colours. The 7th are yellow while the 15th are light blue.
My reference book is Ralph weavers armies of the first Schleswig Holstein war 1848-1851 published by partizan.
Brilliant guide by Ralph weaver
You can also see a glaring mistake – one base incomplete with only two figures. Quite simply back in 2023 I managed to miscount the figures being put on sticks and never checked again until basing them! This was a puzzle as I used all 48 figures from one box to paint 4No. 12 man units……
Oops one of my men went missing
So that journal will repay itself again as I paint that missing figure – when I find it!
It’s not often you get a major historical movie these days and even less by a mainstream producer. So Ridley Scotts “Napoleon” is a good excuse to get some figures on the pedestal.
First up is the man himself – Napoleon – as imagined back in the early 1970’s by Miniature Figurines (the Warlord of their day).
Next up is one of a kind for me…..
*the painting of the same name by edouard detaille hangs in the New South Wales art gallery showing the charge of the 4th hussars at Friedland 1807.
If Battlegames and Henry Hyde introduced me to wargames blogs then I guess my next Blog Influence was that blog that most reflected my interests at the time.
And at the time I had decided for budget reasons to switch to 1/72 plastics for new projects. We were still struggling out of the recession.
Into the bargain I was using an idea from Lance and Longbow SocietyHobilar magazine to reduce DBA standard figure numbers on each element/base – the article was about cutting the cost of your hobby yet keeping the pleasure.
At the same time I had encountered Peter Pigs Bloody Barons (15mm focused) which joined up to Society of Ancients article by Mike Tittensor “Do Ancients stop at Quadesh?”.
Peter Pig makes figures and writes rules – many use grid based gaming
The upshot was I found plenty of 1/72 ancient chariot sets for sale and plunged in.
The Chariots never got painted although the infantry did. However I have since then indulged myself across multiple periods painting 1/72 figures.
Behind all this was a particular blog, Wargaming for Grown Ups. Trebian provided lots of inspiration not least that 1/72 was a good table top scale to game with. His large table games had masses of space yet that meant something smaller would still look good and play well.
So Blog influences No2 is Wargaming for Grown Ups. Trebian offered me a window into table top wargaming in 1/72 plastics and even 15mm metals. His blog offered a range of posts – games, figures and of course a bit of real life. And there were the “opinion” pieces in amongst a nice mix of text and images.
I can pretty much say that Wargaming for Grown Ups has been my longest running go to Blog and given me plenty of ideas and enjoyment. Thanks Trebian.
Minus their chariots my 1/72 ancient lybians square up to some Sea People invaders – Hat and Ceasar figures on show on 80mm x 60mm bases “flocked” using a games workshop idea involving bird gritIronically I have used War and Conquest to play my 1/72 bronze age games.
Ok Cavalry has not been my top list item for mid 19th century forces. They don’t figure much in the record and are derided for ineffective battle action as well as being the scout forces that seemed to be missing in action as armies stumbled into each other.
Having said all that they still had colourful uniforms! At the end is an item about the obvious error…….
These figures date to my try a “few of many” period so no vast regiments but squadrons and patrols.
And of course composite cavalry units did seem the order of the day at times.
In this case I have opposing forces on show as well!
Central Italian League 1860 – Cavalry Regiment “Guide”*
*I have previously posted about the Warrior Napoleonic Hussars posing as Guides for the Central Italian League.
The Piedmont Cavalry are Waterloo1815 French Line Lancers.
The Uhlans are by Lucky Toys
The Austrian Dragoons are Hat Austrian Napoleonic Dragoons
I have used a range of grasses here over my standard 3 colour (burnt sienna base + ochre dry brush+ yellow/white highlights) painted budgie grit.
The Piedmont Cavalry are flocked with Woodland Scenics fine turf
The Austrian Dragoons are flocked with Woodland Scenics fine turf with Gamers Grass Dense Beige 6mm wild tufts
The Austrian Uhlans are flocked with Woodland Scenics fine turf with Gamers Grass Beige 2mm tufts
The Guides also sport Gamers Grass Dense Beige 6mm wild tufts
Which do you prefer?
A – Hussars in the brushwood?
B – Piedmontese on the thin turf?
C – The Uhlans in the small tufts?
D – The Dragoons in turf and brushwood?
Out of interest the painted base looks right when viewed on the games table but not in close up.
Warrior v Waterloo1815 v LuckyToys v Hat figures compared when painted and based
Flock references above and Grasses below
This ends a small flurry of completions for my mid 19th century armies.
The Error
My Piedmontese Cavalry have a helmet “comb” where there should not be one. “No comb” was the mid century fashion for Dragoons and Cuirassiers. Yet I could not bring myself to cut them off as they make this figure…………………..
Every now and then I get a bee in the bonnet and have to paint a figure or unit not in the plan.
In this case my sizeable paint queue from last summer has reduced, yet there are still units now 12 months on the table, and counting.
So of course it’s madness to start a new set of figures. Undeterred I have managed to get these six completed in a day with the help of high temperatures drying the paint rapidly.
This is my take on the fusiliers of Brigata Fanteria 1852, reflecting the Duke of Parma’s decision to go Prussian in his reorganisation of the army after the Austrians victory of 1849 at Novara.
My current preoccupation is mid nineteenth century warfare. You can’t travel far without meeting the resurgent French Empire. Here is my offering on french artillery around the time of the Franco Austrian War of 1859. Being a few years before the American Civil War it can be argued that conflict obscures the war which inflated French self belief and probably contributed to their Prussian undoing by 1870.
I opted for individual basing plus I went with my pale grasses again.This second shot shows some back figures in focus including two riflemen complete with blanket rollsThe men all carry moustaches – whiskers were a trademark of the period. Here are the 14 figures which allows me four per gun plus the two riflemen.The figures are from the Strelets Russo Turkish War of 1877 range. They have some great animation as long as you like the chunky style.
In the Spring of 1848 a provisional government sprang up in Milan after the Austrians under Field Marshall Radetzky withdrew their troops eastwards to the “Quadrilateral”.
The Provisional Government sought protection from Piedmont under King Charles Albert.
At the same time they raised their own forces.
Here are the Milan Line Infantry of the National Guard in field attire.
* Prior to the Austrians retiring, protests included the Milanese refusing to smoke as the Austrian Government had a monopoly on tobacco sales!
Within a year the uprisings were squashed and Field Marshall Radetzky was a hero of the Empire – complete with Johann Strauss Senior composing the Radetzky March to celebrate the Austrian victory at Custoza in July 1848.
John at just add varnish posted his Waterloo 1815 Austrian artillery from the 1850’s. And as it happens I was gaming with very same figures.
Plastic soldier review certainly did not like the officers samurai sword!
So the game report will be a while coming and in the meantime here is a quick snap. My Austrians are in brown as per the box art.
The battle of orchard hill will feature more Austrian forces In the distance the 1860 bersaglieri di Vignola have run away after finding our Austrian gunners a bit too sharp at even long range – radeztky would have been delighted
John at “just add varnish” blog was having a clear out and thought I might like some between the wars armour. That is ww1 to ww2 so 1920/30’s era.
Thank you John. These were most welcome and have allowed me to dabble in some tank or tankette gaming while I paint up my infantry.
So here they are. A wopping 15 items! Generous John or what.
three columns plus a kit
The John@justaddvarnish inventory
First Column
French AMR33 or AMR35 reconnaissance tank by Early War Miniatures
French Renault NC27 by Shapeways
2 x Soviet FT17 – based on Hat kit
Italian L6/40 by Frontline Wargaming
Second Column
Mexican Revolution armoured truck by Shellhole Scenics
Vickers Light Dragon gun tractor maybe by Early War Miniatures
Laffly W15T gun tractor Paint & Glue Miniatures
1930’s sedan by Frontline Wargaming
Third Column
Morris C8 gun tractor ex Matchbox
6 wheeled Crossley armoured car by FRontline Wargaming
4 wheeled Marmon Herrington armoured car may be by Wespe Models
Japanese type 95 Kurogane Scout Car unknown manufacture
Austin Putilov armoured car (in kit form)
Here are some of them in close up. They show the excellent artwork by John@justaddvarnish
Two fantastic armoured cars – Marmon Herrington to front and Crossley to rearA pair of Soviet style FT17’s These types of armour typify the 1920-30 period between the two world wars. Just what I need for Fauxterre 1930.
Thanks John these will definitely be appearing again in my “between the wars” games I have entitled Fauxterre 1930 and Fauxterre 1930+.
The Wargaming Erratic 