Clash of Empires

My good friend Roger Murrow recently comissionned a range of Poles to Paul Hicks, of Victrix fame. He received them during the holidays and they are now finally on sale. The figures represent the Duchy of Warsaw's line infantry regiments and can be used for the 1807-1813 period (they won't do for the Vistula legion though). Roger plans to add to the range later in the year, with high command, artillery and cavalry in the pipeline.

Roger, being a busy brush for hire, also finally found the time to paint a couple of battalions of them.

I am of course somewhat biased, but I think they look really good (both the painting and the sculpys). You can contact Roger at info@miniaturepaintingworld.com for further info or to place an order - or you can alternatively go through the Miniature Painting World website (where you can see more pics of the range) :

http://www.miniaturepaintingworld.com

If you want to help Roger finance the rest of the project, buy buy buy!!!

Here's a list of what currently available along with retail prices :

- Skirmishing voltigeurs x 3 all different - £3.25

- Grenadiers x 3 all different - £3.25

- Voltigeurs x 3 all different - £3.25

- Fusiliers x 6 all different - £6.50

- Command x 6 all different - £6.50 (2 officers, eagle bearer, Porte-aigle, 2 drummers)

- Specials – sapeur and bareheaded fusilier – £2.30

- Mounted officers x 2 different - £6

Done! I finished basing the two units last friday, and took pictures on the saturday. For lack of time, I posted the pics only on La Bricole entry thread (you can see it here ) and not on my blog.

Both battalions :

The 1st Raab battalion of the Upper Austrian Landwher. The pictures don't show it well, but the flag is an Ordinarfahne from the...Seven Years War. It's probably a bit of a stretch, but I figure this Landwher battalion found it buried in a line infantry depot.The Foundry have the disadvantage of being in single poses, but they are quite good when it comes to historical details. I am disappointed however the range does not have a Landwher mounted officer, which would've looked really good.

And then we have a battalion of the Salzburg Landwehr; the Victrix figures came out really well in the end. I love both the officers, especially the mounted one. The flag is an ordinary Ordinarfahne, which is probably what the majority of the 1809 Landwher battalions would have carried (these being spare Ordinarfahne from line infantry regiments). I do have some reservations about their historical accuracies though; in reality, only the 1st (staff) company of a Landwher battalion would've been dressed with the complete uniform; all the others would've wore a peasent grey smock faced and piper yellow with a large brimmed hat turned up the right side (like the Foundry sculpts). So let's say it's an idealized version of a Landwher battalion. Does look good...

Skirmishers; I wanted to use some of the figures from the Victrix box that come in non-marching poses. They look pretty good.

So all in all 50 figures, which considering my usual pace is pretty good. I'm happy with the results. I don't expect to win the contest as some of the painters on La Bricole are very talented, but if you do like these two units, you can encourage me by voting for my entry here (of course, you can also vote for another entry... )

Almost a year ago now, I mentionned something about a red coated battalion. I was supposed (ahem) to show pics of the unit , but never got to it. Something was always coming up and eventually I just forgot about them.

No more forgetting! That now infamous battalion was...

Le 1er bataillon du 3e regiment Suisse

The figures (except for the casualty, painted by yours truly) were painted by Roger Murrow, a while back I believe (they are painted in Roger's old Weiss/Foundry style). They were part of his personnal collection and were some of my favourites. I mentionned a few times I was interested in purchasing them, and Roget eventually gave in. As usual, I did the basing. Really, they have absolutely nothing to do with my 1809 project, I just like the looks of them! The Foundry French campaign dress range is the best they've done, and as you can see they have a lot of personnality and many variant (the fusiliers under fire are some of my favourites).

You may have noticed this unit is 24 figures, and not my usual 16. That's because from now on I decided all my Napoleonic battalions will be 24 figure strong. I would like to (very) slowly beef up all my collection to 24 foot and 12 cavalry per unit. Mostly because it looks better, and my current gaming surface would allow for bigger units. When I started this project, I went with 16 figures mostly as a compromise; I had to build both sides, and I'm not a fast painter, and since the goal was to play eventually, smaller units made sense. Now however that I have enough figures to game, I figure I can spend a bit more time on each unit. So all new units will be 24s or 12s, and once in a while I will go back to older units and increase their numbers.

Now a quick La Bricole contest update : the first batch of Victrix figures is finished, and i've started working on the command. I'm maybe a tad late on my schedule, and while I'm still confident I'll be able to deliver on my deadline, Ii's going to be a (very) close call!

It's been a while since my last contest update, as usualy 'life' getting in the way. Having to choose between updating the blog or painting, I chose the latter, as I do intend to finish my entry in time! Progress has been a bit more slow, recently. It always takes me more time when I paint a range I'm not accustomed to. My goal was to finish the Victrix first batch by the end of february, so to leave me a month to work on the command and to base the two units. I still think I can manage that, but I will have to increase my workload in the next week and a half.

As of today I painted all the basic colours, as well as the first highlight on the trousers and coats. I'm just about to start painting the highlights on the flesh.

First unit finished!

I actually finished it last week-end but I had a crazy busy week and didn't have time to post pictures.

Here is a picture of the 5 finished command figures; they were basically painted the same as the rank & File, but I added a highlight of Slate Grey C to the coat, as well as an extra highlight on details such as hair and mustaches. The flag pole was painted with a white(GW)/red(Vallejo)/golden yellow(GW)/black(GW) combination. I always do horizontal lines instead of the historical spirals; it's easier to do and it's similar enough for me. I also find spirals often end up looking 'messy'.

And so, here is the finished unit, awaiting to be based.

 I intend to use a ordinarfahne for this unit, which would've been a spare from a line regiment, so I painted the flag pole the same colour as a my line infantry flag poles. I will put the flag after basing the unit. The drums and the drummer's shoulder 'wings' colours are conjectural, as I had no information on neither.

I will probably base them later, with the Victrix unit.

Talking of which, I finished putting together the figures I need for my second unit :

This is my first experience with Victrix figures and on the whole I'm satisfied with them.

The good

- They're cheap; 34.99$US for 56 figures is a very good deal.

- The composition of the box is great; there is enough command figures (2 mounted officers, 2 officers on foot, 2 drummers and 2 flag bearers) to build two complete battalions. I also like that you can build all the figures in marching pose, but there is also the option of building one battalion in firing line/attacking. I intend to put them all in marching poses, as I do not believe a Landwher battalion in attacking mode is very realistic  (I also much, much prefer marching regiment for practical reasons).

- The assembly went better than I expected; as you can see below, many figures require minimum assembly; one head, one backpack and sometimes one or two arms.

- Minimum flash and mould lines, which is obviously very good.

- The figures are nice; the most important part, of course. I will reserve final judgment after the painting, but I enjoy the look of them. While the legs are a little too small compared to the torso, I think they nailed the look of the Austrian coats.

- The box art; it's a nicely presented product, and just looking at the box makes you want to build and paint them!

The bad

- Assembly annoyances; the backpacks are a pain to glue properly. It seems no matter how you glue it there is often a gap between the backpacks and the figures, which I had to fill with green stuff. Also, and more annoying, the heads (with the large corsehut) often comes into contact with the backpacks, making it difficult to create some head poses. I assume this is not a problem for their other Austrians in Shakos or Helmets, but with Corsehut it is annoying.

- Historical innacuracies; I won't go into details now, as I intend to compare the Foundry and the Victrix Landwher historical accuracies when both are finished, but it is clear that, probably for practical reasons, Victrix cut corners on some uniforms issues. Nothing major, and I will admit I'm more anal than most when it comes to my Austrians.

- The flag bearer; I strongly dislike it when the flag pole is attached directly to the hands as it makes it almost impossible to replace the plastic pole with a metal one without breaking the hands of the figures. In all fairness, this is not limited to Victrix but I would really like it if plastic sets could avoid doing that. In the present case, I have no choice but to use the plastic pole.

- Bayonnets can be quite fragile; I broke one during assembly. The good part is I manage to glue it back with no problem. But it does make me wonder how well they'll handle the battlefield.

Conclusion

All in all, i am pleased with this box set, and it is very good value. As with most plastic sets, one must enjoy assembling plastic figures, which I will admit I'm not the biggest fan of. I'm not sure I could assemble 100s of them, but that's me. I could see myself buying some of their line, too. But as I said earlier, I will wait for the painting before emitting a final judgment.I hope they come out with a metal range to compliment them, especially commands. I don't see myself buying an extra box set just to get an extra drummer.

As I did with the last unit, I will paint the rank & file in one go and then paint the command figures.

My first unit is almost done. I started working on the command last week-end. I won't go into much details on the painting, as it's pretty much identical to my last batch.

The officer's coat was given a first coat of Foundry's Chasseur a Cheval Green A and then highlighted with Foundry's Chasseur a Cheval Green C

The trousers were painted Foundry's Slate Grey A and then Slate Grey B

There is still many details left but I expect to finish them by the week-end.

I finished painting the first 19 Landwher this week-end. Hurrah!

Here are the last steps :

Pure white highlight/second coat on crossbelts (still an annoying part)

Foundry Bay brown B highlights on the hats

Foundry Spearshaft C highlights on the canteen belts

Foundry Flesh C highlights on faces and hands

Foundry Brazen A on the buttons

Vallejo Black Grey on the gaiters

GW Bestial Brown wash on the backpack.

GW Ogryn Flesh wash on hands and faces

2nd highlights on hats using Foundry Bay Brown C

Various highlights applied to hair

GW Devlan Mud wash applied to the coat and hat

GW Badab Black wash on gaiters and gun

Foundry Gold B highlights on buttons

And the final touch...the cocarde is painted. I always save the cocarde for last, it's kind of a tradition of mine.

So, yeah, 19 finished. With some good basing (and better photography!), the battalion should look pretty cool...hopefully   I will begin painting the command in a day or two. I will probably base this battalion later, at the same time as the Victrix unit, to save some time.

Talking of the Victrix unit...I did assemble a couple more last week. I intend to give my review of the figures and the assembling process in a week or two, when I begin painting them.

More progress report.

I painted the cuffs and collars a base coat of Foundry Scarlet A. I know many people hate painting red, especially with a black undercoat, as it often takes two or more coats to achieve the desired effect. That's where Foundry Scarlet A comes into play; I use that colour as a base coat for almost all my red. Being a darker brownish red, it gives an opaque first coat. The Foundry Landwher do not have cuffs sculpted on them (an annoying mistake) and as I wanted them to be historically correct, I had to paint them on. It looks...allright. From a distance, no one will notice.

I also painted the hats Foundry Bay brown A, and gave a few different hair colour to my soldiers; a few blondies, some browns and a couple of greys. Often, when it comes to rank and file, I leave them all in black to save time, but since these guys will be judged, I figured I would go the extra mile.

(you can see in the background a few Victrix figures that I just began assembling)

(here is a picture of my assembly line, Henri Ford style  )

(below)

The canteen belt was given a basecoat of Foundry Spearshaft B.

Second coat/Highlights on trousers using Vallejo White Grey (used to be called Flat Aluminium). Another colour I use extensively, basically on almost all but the most pristine white clothes.

Highlights on gun using Spearshaft B

Cuffs and collars highlights using Foundry British Redcoats B

Then a coat of Foundry Slate grey B for the coats; while I leave the creases in the original colour, I don't highlight as mush as many other painter. Call it a mix of aesthetic and productivity choices.

After the coats were all painted, I painted the backpacks a basecoat of GW Bestial brown.

So while I was hoping to do more during the holidays, the unit is still advancing at a respectable pace...for me anyways.

Some small updates; I try to paint about an hour per day. I'm still working on the basic colours.I usually paint all the basics first and then move on to highlights, washes, etc.

Boltgun metal was applied to the guns, Vallejo light grey to the trousers (well, the small part visible).

I then painted the coats Foundry Slate Grey A

And then, one of the part I dislike most; the cross belts. I started with a coat of Vallejo Light grey for those, but left a couple in black; as these were militias, variations existed obviously, and it seems black leatherwork, while officially reserved for NCO's, was often seen.

And that's it for today.

And I almost forgot...

Day 1

I cleaned and primed the figures in black, as per my usual technique. I decided to divide the battalion in two; a first batch of 19 figures and a second batch of 5 figures for the command (2 musician, 1 standard, 1 NCO and 1 officer). I like to spend a little more time on my commands, hence the decision.

I always start with the bigger part, so here are the 19 soldiers, after I applied the first coat to the faces and the guns;

On a related note, yesterday my brother gave me my Christmas gifts, and one of them is a box of Victrix Austrian Landwher! Oh the coincidence...

As i'm keen to paint them, I will try to include them in the contest; I've never assembled Victrix before, and my plastic experience is limited to 16 Perry French line, so I don't know if it's realistic for me to find the time to paint (and assemble) two 24 figures battalions by the dealine, but I will do my best! It should also be interesting to compare Foundry and Victrix Landwher.

So here they are :

I intend to paint them as Salzburg Landwehr, which in reality saw little to no action in 1809, but I just love the uniforms (green coats with yellow facings).

Wish me luck 

One day late, but better than never! I hope everyone is having some great holidays.

After some diversions this fall (more on this in a future post) I'm back painting Napoleonics; La Bricole , my old Napoleonic forum now under Robert's management is organizing a great little contest. I've posted the rules below; I encourage all Napoleonic painters who follow this blog to register and join us, the more entry we have the better.

WHAT KIND OF MINIATURES CAN I ENTER FOR THE CONTEST?

-Any line or militia unit (or units) from any army in the Napoleonic Wars. A very broad category, but no guards or elite troops. Just the bread-and-butter of any given army. Light infantry is okay, but no elite rifles, for instance. Personality/ command stands are welcome, but in themselves would not count towards voting unless accompanied by unit or units meeting the above criteria.

Entries must be unpainted at the time the contest officially starts. The miniatures may have been cleaned and primed at the start of the contest, but should not yet have had any paint applied. Having one or two miniatures already painted or being worked on is acceptable, provided that there are enough unpainted miniatures in the unit to be done that meet the minimum figure requirements.

It should go without saying that all entries must be your own work, not "outsourced".

WHAT SIZE MINIATURES ARE ELIGIBLE, AND IN WHAT NUMBERS?

- 20- 28mm: a minimum of 18 foot miniatures, or 12 cavalry, or three guns.

15mm or smaller: a minimum of 36 foot miniatures, or 18 cavalry, or six guns.

ARE PLASTICS OKAY?

-Of course! Miniatures can be in metal and/or plastic (either soft or hard). All are acceptable.

HOW DO I ENTER?

-Start a thread here on the Les Projets des Artistes sub-forum, giving your project target and a little background. Post photos of the miniatures as they are before you start painting them.

You should be prepared to give photo updates on progress from time to time- every few weeks or so is fine. This is to stimulate discussion, feedback, and, hopefully some mutual encouragement!

If in any doubt about any of the above, check with the me first!

WHEN IS THE DEADLINE?

-The competition starts Christmas Day- January 25th, 2011, and is to last just over three months. Photos of the final entries to be submitted no later than midnight, Tokyo time, March 31st.

Voting will take place within the week after the deadline, and the winner announced then.

At the closing of the contest, those who participated will be allowed to cast two votes for the winner (I'll set up a poll). Entries should be assessed in terms of quality of painting, basing, and presentation.

IS THERE A PRIZE FOR THE WINNER?

-Of course! Two in fact. The second place winner will receive a copy of Armies of the Napoleonic Wars: An Illustrated History (General Military) by Chris McNab (in softback).

It is basically a compilation of Napoleonic Osprey titles with loads of illustrations. Content is probably variable as to historical accuracy given the nature of the Osprey books, but there is lots of eye candy, and it is perfect for bedtime reading.

For the first prize winner, stay tuned!

I like the idea of this competition, most particularly the deadline, because it should serve as great motivation for me and I'm sure many others (well, winning would be fun too, but that's certainly not the main incentive).

I've been wanting to come back to my Austrian army for a while now, so I decided to use this opportunity to paint a battalion of Landwher, more specifically the 1st Raab battalion of the Upper Austrian Landwher, a battalion of 770 men who fought at Wagram as part of Klenau's VI Korp.

An example of Upper Austrian Landwher uniforms; officially the leather work was to be white, black for NCO's only

As usual, I intend to use Foundry figures. So here they are, waiting to be cleaned and primed :

I will post regular updates, both on my blog and on La Bricole, as per the official rules.

John and I renewed the hostilities two weeks ago, this time a classic French vs British clash, Black Powder's Fighting retreat at El Perez scenario. The battle featured a small British force retreating from a larger French army. John took command of the rosbif while I controlled the frogs. And this time, I have LOTS of pictures!

The British had to get as many units as possible off the table via the bridge before the end of play.

The initial British deployment.

Run you yellow bastards! British troops already retreating towards the bridge.

The British retreat, aided by fantastic command, is going very well early on.

A courageous French garrison prepares for the incoming British onslaught

The French 1st brigade and the artillery brigade finally arrive on the battlefield. Unfortunately, the artillery blunders and ends up directly in front of the enemy, limbered!

While the French commander shakes his head in disgust from the awfully poor early performance of his troops, the British continue their magnificent retreat.

The great escape! Things could not go any better for the redcoats.

British troops pass right by the garrison as they leave the table. Alea iacta est

The French 2nd Brigade, supported by the artillery brigade, finally moves forward toward the British lines.

On the French left flank, the 3rd Brigade moves slowly...

...while the first brigade approaches the farm and the middle of the battlefield.

The now customary pic of John pondering his next move...

The French 1st Brigade gets within firing range of British Dragoons.

And the British Dragoons wisely retreat from the advancing brigade.

Outnumbered, the French garrison exchanges volleys against a large British battalion.

The French 2nd Brigade moves toward the enemy.

The Berg 2nd Regiment leads the 2nd Brigade, while the British battalion braces for impact.

The French start to outnumber the left flank and charge a British battalion. The courageous garrison blocks the bridge as Colonel Louis-Marie LeBlanc shouts to his men "Ils ne passeront pas!"

On the French right flank, the cavalry Brigade, hampered early by awful command (again!), is finally in position to threaten the British flank.

The battle rages on on the left flank, while the incredible performance of the garrison still stops the remaining British battalions from evacuating.

Charge!! The French commander goes "all-in" in an effort to break the British, and sends the entire Cavalry brigade charging on a flank attack, supported by two infantry battalions.

On the left flank, the British Dragoons courageously block the bridge, while taking horrendous casualties from two firing battalions formed in line.

No quarters shall be asked nor given! The bloody battle continues in the middle of the battlefield.

Poor redcoats stand no chance, charged from the front by two battalions and then hit in the flank by a regiment of Dragoons.

Nous sommes victorieux! The French all-out attack is a resounding success!! (except for the rout of a regiment of Hussars). The situation looks dire for the rosbif.

The French destroy the British infantry on the left flank, as the remaining redcoats, having finally routed the garrison, make a mad dash towards the bridge!

The French are masters of the battlefield! The last British effort falls a bit short...

The French are victorious (barely!). The British had to move 10 units across the bridge and John managed to move...9!!! So as close a game as one could imagine.

The game started really slow, and after some awful dice throws and two blunders in my first two turns, both John and I thought the game would be over quickly, as shades of our last game came to our minds. Early on John was just advancing his units, unhampered, as you can see from the pics. But then my French commanders woke up and whipped their troops forward and the tide turned. The French fought with great distinction and won most if not all close combats. The late arrival of the cavalry brigade was, in the end, a blessing in disguise, as their all-out charge impacted the game greatly.

However, the one event that changed everything was a small tactical error by John; drunk by early successes   (well, he probably just forgot, really), John forgot to send one battalion to charge and take care of the French garrison, opting instead to exit his units as fast as possible from the table. Later on, that garrison's stand on the bridge delayed the British retreat long enough to give the French a chance to overwhelm their enemies. I will however admit that my first idea was to move that garrison on the bridge on the first turn, but I completely forgot as I was too busy worrying over my awful start! If I had followed my plan, that garrison probably would have been taken care of a lot earlier.

All in all it was a very enjoyable game. The last few turns were fast and furious, and a lot of fun.