Monday 26 August 2019

Interested in your thoughts...

Green on the left and natural straw brown on the right...now...which style to pursue?

Hi folks.

I have an interesting dilemma which I am keen to get some feedback on from the wargaming fraternity.

For my 1805-07 project as well as the impending Peninsular project for 2020, I have wanted to depict the figures in a somewhat "1980"s style "Miniature Wargames", "Wargames Illustrated" complete with the mounted Colonel on the different style command base etc.  For me this was the magic period of Peter Gilder Connoisseurs and Hinchcliffe armies with wonderful animated figures on nearly every colour plate.

Elite Miniatures Line battalion with green tufts highlighted yellow

The same unit in close up.

I have been tearing and cutting apart various mates to use as tufts and have generally left them unpainted.  However a recent experiment with some Vallejo Military Green and a dry brush of Humbrol yellow gave me an overall effect which I found quite fetching.

The brown colour doesn't look out of place though

Skirmisher bases once again showing the green on the left and the brown on the right

I do love this range of Elite Miniatures figures.  These are on a three man base for deployment in General D'Armee

Austrians in case you thought your eyes were deceiving you

A side view of a foot battery with the green tufts



I am generally torn on this one and so I am keen to see what other passionate wargamers may think.




Sunday 11 August 2019

Artillery complete and a few Jaegers while we are at it

The first battery complete .  In General D'Armee these will all be standard sized batteries
I managed to complete the two batteries of Austrian artillery on the irregular basis as part of my 1805-07 project.  As nearly all the figures in my collection for this particular period of the Napoleonic Wars are Elite Miniatures purchased from Nathan at Elite Miniatures Australia in Queensland.  Great figures, great price and exceptional service! 


Austrian Brown never looked so impressive

Another angle on the first battery with a nice view of an old Hinchcliffe wheelbarrow full of round shot

Another view from the top giving a nice depiction on what can be achieved on these bases as opposed to the conventional rectangular styles.  A chance to show some of the "chaos" of manning a battery in action.

Battery number Two


Slightly different positioning on this one

I managed to find the correct Austrian artillery ammunition chests and then added some scratch-built rammers.

Another view from the top...perhaps the same as a dropping howitzer shell!

I do think these bases work very well.

I thought it may be opportune to quickly pull out some of the 1805 style Austrian Jagers resplendent in their older style infantry helmets.  You don't see too many of these old the table top these days.

These are  a lovely figure once again from Elite Miniatures

The green comb on the helmet is quite a nice contrast with the black and grey.

Close up of the lads complete with enthusiastic hornist

It is now getting to the point of having these lads on the table for a play-through set of scenarios from Dave's original GdB  "Glory Years" scenario book and link the three Austerlitz scenarios together.  Not long to go now as I sort through some last piece command figures etc.

Next time I'll show how I've progressed with the Austrian Infantry.



Thursday 8 August 2019

Napoleonic Austrian artillery - nearly there!

Nearly there with some tufts to add, ammunition crates and barrels and other paraphernalia

A few tufts of grass and a few "wet" looking muddy spots needed still

The gloss varnish is on the figures for overall protection.  I do love the look I have to confess but will still give them a spray of Dulcote to matt them down.

Some 1805-07 Russian command stands being re-mounted

Not long to go now folks.  Just a few more odd and ends to finish off in terms of tufts and Dulcote and other paraphernalia and all will be complete.  Its been a great deal of fun putting these together.

As you can also see, I have gone though some battalions of my early Russians to change over some heavy cavalry horses that had made their way onto the bases as Colonels mounts.  They have been replaced with the smaller and more appropriate models.  It also gave me a chance to touch up the colonel figures and add a little aristocratic feel to them.

Until next time.

Monday 5 August 2019

Austrian Artillery for Austerlitz and beyond WIP

Austrian artillerists in position complete with their cannon.  Gorgeous figures from Elite Miniatures

Just a quick post today to show the start of a couple of batteries of Austrian artillery for my 1805-07 project.  As you can see it is very much a work in progress however it should all be complete by Friday night with a bit of luck and dedication.

As you can observe, I am once again using the "John Ray style" bases for my artillery and mounting them two to a base.  This will be the case with all of my 1805-07 collection for uniformity and aesthetics as well as the size and scope to make the bases more dynamic.


Trying to get the positioning correct is vital with these figures as they are not the most animated.

Elite Miniatures gun models have a look about them that just scream out " I do truly want to hurt the formations we fire upon!  A couple of different paint styles here to see which I prefer.
I now need to add some tufts of "front door mat" grass, sand, paint, dry brush and some flock to finish.  I will also, as I always do these days, add a coat of gloss varnish to protect the figures followed by a healthy spray of Dulcote.

Some more completed shots over the coming week.