Bavarian Pictures

Well, here they are, the promised pictures. First up is a fusilier from the Lacy FreiKorps. Apart from it being a compny-sized unit, I know absolutely nothing about it. I intend to build it up to 16 fusiliers and a few command - Officer, NCO and a musician perhaps. Does anyone know anything of the unit's history? This fine fellow is a Grenadier of the Bavarian Regiment Minucci, distinguished by his pale buff facings. The uniform is from my recently-acquired copy of Herbert Knoetels "German Armies in Colour". Click on the image for a larger version. I really enjoyed how his face turned out despite using a #1 brush.

Last come are the Grenadiers from the Autrian German "Arberg" regiment. You'll note that they are painted in a version of the Austrian uniform more suited to the War of the Austrian Succession rather than that of the Seven Years' War. I enjoy how they look with their coloured small clothes.

The figures are all from the RSM range, and some of the better ones they are, too. They are very easy to paint. I put on the blue base coats of another eleven Minucci Grenadiers this morning in a spare thirty minutes I had while I was getting ready for work.

Billions of Bavarians

I had quite a productive week this time around.

I painted the Grenadier Company of the Austrian German regiment Arberg – eleven figures plus the sample I painted a year ago - and individual samples for the Lacy Freikorps and the Bavarian “Minucci” Regiment. Thirteen figures in a week is a bit of productivity high for me, why, I could paint a whole regiment in a month..!

Dream on! Still it’s a nice fantasy, and I’ll probably keep it going for another week before I get back to the Victorians.

It’s starting to look like I am gathering a Bavarian Army by stealth.

I have the completed Leib Regiment and those Dragoons, the Minucci Regiment is officially commenced and I stumbled across a handful of Austrian Cuirassiers which means that the Taxis Cuirassiers (or some other regiment) are about to rear their ugly heads.

Can’t you see it happening? I’ll be painting some Brigade staff next, then I’ll just HAVE to paint the Locatelli Hussars and another regiment of Cuirassiers to balance them out, then the Infantry will start to look under represented and I’ll slate another two units there. Oh! And what about artillery?

It just goes on and on!

Heckenfeur

What ho.

Been having a break from the Victorian military forces this week and have dug out some Austrian Grenadiers from the lead mountain that I painted some samples for quite a while ago. I am cracking on with them at quite a pace and am enjoying the results mightily.

Pictures to follow, as ever.

Recently the Duchess and I went to a crime fiction night at the local “Reader’s Feast” mega chain bookstore. I naturally drank too much (*ahem* – free booze) and made an arse of myself in general, but between spouting off too loudly about this and that I stumbled across a large-format book of Richard Knoetels water-colours. I begged and pleaded nicely enough for the Duchess to dispense cash and I made off with my prize. I was delighted to discover it included a pretty fair selection on the Bavarian army. This has led me to decide that the Minucci regiment looked very smart in their mid-blue coat, buff facings and small-clothes and will thus be my next unit after the Austrian Regiment Arberg gets done.

The Bavarian Cuirassiers illustrated in the same volume look rather tempting also, but I suspect Mr Knoetels’ accuracy* when he’s depicting the lace on the shabraques – what’s that triangular lace thing he’s got going on there?

The strength of the Australian dollar at the moment means another order will be going out to the chaps at RSM/DPC for more bags of their Austrian castings.

In other news, I see that Eureka are gearing up for a crack at the 28mm French Revolutionary Wars market with a young Napoleon and a few Grenadiers storming the bridge at Arcola way back in 1796. Will Eureka be able to get a run in an arena pretty well stitched up by Elite miniatures? Only time will tell, I suppose. They look fairly nice in the pictures on the website, though.

I hope there will be Austrians.

*Has anyone of the nit-pickers out there ever thought of putting out a book. The title could be "Correcting Knoetel" or "Mollo, Knoetel and Funcken: A nit-pickers guide" or even: "What the Ospreys got Wrong". Get to it, nit-pickers; money where mouth is.

The Slavic Menace

*Sigh* one blurry and one clear photo of my new Russian Colonel - the figure is by Eureka - an Austrian 1866 Mounted Officer whose shako I cut down and turned into a Field Cap.

It's quite a small casting - almost *true* 25mm, but very fine.

I've just finished off my third Sword and the Flame Unit of Victorian/Imperial infantry. I'm on target to polish them off entirely over the nect few weeks. I'm painting a couple more of the Victorian Cavalry at the moment, and have started work on my allotted buildings.

More updates in the near furture.