Russian Lifeguard Cossacks

A few months ago I received a surprise package from Alan of ABC Wargamers. Contained within was a variety of Minifigs cavalry, both S Range and current range. One group of figures consisted of these rather splendid Miniature Figurines Russian Cossacks, painted as a guard unit. There are seven figures in the group and the painting is very nice indeed. 

The figures appeared to have dulled over the years and so I set about freshening them up and adding a little more detail. The results were very pleasing:

 Here they are carrying out their duties as escort to the Russian General Staff:

Douglas Miniatures Cossacks

I am conscious of the fact that despite the title of this blog it has been a long while since I painted any Douglas Miniatures figures. I have always thought that the Russian Cossack artillery figure had potential for conversion.  So, off with the whip, out with the drill and some wire lances purchased on line I came up with these. The result was very pleasing..............

Russian Skirmishers

I spotted these figures on Ebay. They are Russian Cossack infantry by Strelets and they were nicely painted. All up there are around 50 figures, so I varnished them, touched them up and based them to form two Battalions of skirmishers. 

They are great figures, with some lively (and some odd) poses that remind me of the skirmishers that were portrayed in the film Charge of the Light Brigade, as the British began their assault over the Alma.

Battalion one:

 Battalion two:

The lot:

Russian Cossacks - Minifigs OPC

I painted a sample of these figures many moons ago and at last I have finished off the whole unit. In my view these are the best looking cossacks available, with their basic uniform, heavy greatcoat and slung musket. These are Minifigs S Range one piece castings (OPC).

Some more Cossacks - Zvezda

Today I completed a group of Cossacks that I have been working on for a couple of months, In the uniform from the Don region they are a spirited bunch and complete the cavalry required for the Balaclava refight. These figures are by Zvezda and I think were also produced by Italeri:

Yet more Cossacks - Ural Cossacks by Strelets

Adding to the Russian Cavalry hordes, the next unit to join my Russian Army are the Ural Cossacks. They are 20mm plastic figures from the firm Strelets and their Crimean War range. It took me a while to work out the colours of this Regiment. My initial foray on to the interweb suggested that they should have light blue facings and I started to paint them with this in mind, however, further research stated that they have raspberry or crimson facings/piping - so that's what I have gone for.  I was a bit doubtful about these figures to start with, they appeared rough and chunky but, once the undercoat was on  I found that they were a joy to paint.

Next up, a Regiment of Don Cossacks

Tumbling Dice Cossacks

Contemporary accounts of the allied march after the Battle of the Alma towards Sevastopol speak of the ever present Cossack scouts, sitting atop the ridge lines constantly watching the allied movements. Always out of rifle range, they would melt away when the allied cavalry tried to confront them. My latest batch of troops is a unit of Cossacks from Tumbling Dice. These are lovely figures and a joy to paint. Here a scout maintains his vigil, observing the long columns in the valley below:

Marauding Cossacks would also pick off stragglers, or unprotected supply wagons, making lightning attacks before disappearing back into the hills:

Cossack Lancers

A second unit of Douglas Miniatures Cossacks takes to the field, I painted these in grey greatcoats, as opposed to the more normal blue, based upon references found on line. I have two more Cossack regiments on the go, one from Tumbling Dice and the second from Irregular Miniatures. When completed, along with another lancer unit, I will have eight Russian regiments, one Turkish and seven British Regiments. Being able to fight an action at Balaclava is becoming a reality.

Here are the latest Russians to join the ranks:

:

Russian Cossack Lancer

This rather splendid figure is a Minifigs S Range one piece casting that came with some other figures as a sample from Old John. He has been sitting in a box for ages, so a couple of nights ago I decided to paint him and really liked the result, The figure is a true 25mm and is thus a little large for Douglas range, but he does look the part:

Meanwhile work on the Turks continues.

R10 Russian Cossack Lancers

The first offering are examples of R10 Russian Cossack Lancers, mounted on R10a (Cossack Horse), which if I recall were the first ones I painted back in the 70s. I use gloss enamel paints and paint my figures in the toy soldier style.