Pomeranians done - woof!

Just to remind you that a Pomeranian is for life and not just for Christmas. These have been quite a lot of work and I hope you like them.

I really do like painting Prussian infantry as it takes me right back to those early teenage years although these probably look much better than the ones I painted then.

I often forget to show the backs of my figures so this is to prove that I do paint the whole figure.

No, no, no - not that type of Pomeranian!
(this image has been shamelessly taken from the internet if I have offended Mr AI I apologise)

The musketeers are all vintage castings generously donated by Ian earlier this year*. The figures have waited patiently for 50 years to have a coat of paint, they are:

21 x PN.5 Private, with separate musket (one converted to standard bearer)

1 x PN.1 Officer, charging

1 x PN.6 Drummer

1 x PN .7 Officer, marching

*the officers were supplied courtesy of Rob.

This has been an exceptional year for this project as the painted Hinton Hunt forces have expanded by 272 figures. This is largely due to the influx of Austrian figures from Don W and the help with renovation works from Goya - a big thank you to both.

Have a good one and see you on the other side...

Pomeranian Progress and the Battle of Rohr

A few distractions on the painting desk have caused a drop off in Prussian production although I can now report that I am halfway through the unit. Also done and dusted is the standard bearer and flag. The bearer is another conversion of PN5 and the flag this time is a printed paper one.

My other Prussian musketeer units have old Revo paper flags but I have run out of those and wanted something that would fit in. I found this one on line and have given it a couple of coats of gloss varnish to stiffen it.

On Thursday I was lucky enough to be invited to Goya's seaside residence for a game of Command & Colors Napoleonics. This time it was Austrians versus French at the Battle of Rohr from the campaign of 1809.

I played the French and with a 3:2 advantage in units thought I would have no problem smashing the Habsburg lackeys. How wrong I was.

As usual at Goya's there were a mixture of Hinton Hunt and Minifigs S-range figures on the table.

My masterstroke - playing the 'Grande Manoeuvre' card enabled me to turn the Austrian right but in the end my men were just blown away by their superior firepower and the game ended in a French defeat. Those buildings are really nice plastic ones Goya picked up for a song.

After lunch we swapped ends for a re-match but this one was in the balance when I had to head for home.

The scenario turned out to be a lot trickier than it looked as although the French had an advantage in numbers those Austrians with their bigger units were hard to shift. I'd forgotten how much fun CCN can be and the rules are very easy to pick up again after a break which is perfecrt at my age.

Getting Animated

It's been a bit nippy in the Hinton Hut this week but I've still managed to make progress with animating my PN5 Prussians. This has been a lot of work (but then I knew it would be) and is certainly a lot more time consuming than preparing normal castings.

This is how the casting was originally supplied with the arms lightly attached at the hips. The bases of the figures had already be filed and there was very little flash on them.

First step is to cut the arms free and gently bend them into position. The musket is then Super Glued in place. Trying to get all 20 musketeers in exactly the same position proved impossible but I'm hoping this won't be too noticeable when the unit is finished.

Step two is to add in the hands (I use Magic Sculpt). My sculpting skills are very basic and I noticed a tendancy to make the hands too big but this should not be so obvious once the figure is painted.

This is the last batch and includes the standard bearer completed in the same way.

I have the whole unit ready and primed so now it's time to get painting.

Brandenburg Uhlans - Updated

Ten years since their first appearance on this blog (here) the Brandenburg Uhlans have been updated to a full unit of Prussian PN.89 figures thanks to the recent donation by Ian.

The front rank are my additions and the rear rank are the originals painted by Matthew in 2015.

Trying to match Matthew's work has been tricky and not just his superb detailing but also getting a colour match with acrylics to his work with enamels.

The rear rank showing the very neat piping on their jackets.

If this year has been the year of the Austrians then next year is shaping up to be the year of the Prussians.

More Prussian Pondering

The observant amongst you will have noted that by breaking up my old Prussian Uhlan unit to produce the Landwehr Lancers it left me with six odd regular lancers. The remedy for this is of course to make up the numbers with some of the figures Ian sent me earlier this year.

My attempt at PN89 Prussian Uhlan Lancer (mounted) charging.

Once again I have had to try to match Matthew's painting style which is very tricky as his detailing on the original figures is superb with some incredibly fine lines on the jacket seams. In the end I've had to fudge it a bit but with luck the new troopers will blend in when viewed from playing distance on the table.

PN5 Private (with separate musket).

I've also painted the test figure for the next Prussian infantry unit using the casting with separate musket I posted about a couple of weeks back. I'm looking forward to starting on the whole unit of these as they are something a bit different and the quality of the castings is superb.

Austrian Artillery Review

Here is the promised parade of the full Austrian artillery contingent.

All the guns, limbers, horses and over half the gunners are original Hinton Hunt figures. The remainder of the gunners are very nice DK versions.

I completed this second limber using figures Don sent me earlier this year.

There are 6 guns, 2 limbers and 24 gunners.

I aim to have one gun battery for every two infantry units in an army so I'm thinking I will need one further Austrian infantry unit to balance things up but that may have to wait until next year.

Austrian Artillery Expansion

Following the rapid expansion of the Austrian infantry and cavalry forces this year I felt it would be a good idea to also add to the artillery contingent. I've been able to do this once again thanks to the generosity of Don W.

The figures are a mixture of Hinton Hunt and DK castings that have been refurbished by me in a style that fits in with my existing two batteries. The guns are all original Hinton Hunt ones.

I have a limber to do and then there will be a full parade of the whole six batteries.