Royal Ecossais Second Wave

And on the last day of the year 2018, I'm posting the completion of the 2nd wave of the Gallian Regiment Royal Ecossais.  These figures have been waiting for four years to be completely outfitted.

These are from Old Glory's Jacobite range.  The flag they are carrying is the colonel's "white" flag blazoned with the Scottish thistle and French fleur de lis.  They join their compatriots of the "First Wave."  There will be a "Third Wave" next year as I outfit the grenadier company and the picquet company.

The complete regiment will see their first action on Saturday, January 19, 2019, as part of the Gallian contingent to the Imperial Armeeabteilung Kreis Obere-Sachsen.

I hope that everyone had a blessed and merry Christmas and that you will have a prosperous new year!

Carpanian Regiment Clausthaler

I just added a new battalion to my Seven Years War imagi-nations forces, the Carpanian Regiment Clausthaler, named after a German beer.  It is patterned after the real-world Prussian Regiment Braunschweig-Bevern (#7).  The only distinctive change I made was to substitute a more redder "rose" for the pink rose listed on the Kronoskaf web site.

The figures are 28mm Old Glory SYW Prussian infantry and the flags are from the Warflag web site.  The battalion, like all my SYW imagi-nations forces, is organized for Bill Protz's "Batailles de l'Ancien Regime" (BAR) rule set.

Please click on the photos for a larger image.

Configured in two "companies" with three ranks each per the BAR rules.

Configured in a two-deep single line for use with other horse and musket rule sets.

Next month I hope to add another two companies to the Gallian (read French) Regiment Royal Ecossais.

Royal Ecossais Regiment

Finally after almost four years, I've finally finished the first two 12-figure "companies" of the Royal Ecossais Regiment ( link ).  And they look just as good as I hoped they would!

They are the Old Glory Jacobite range figures with everyone wearing a bonnet.  The flag of this "battalion" is the ordnance color with its dark blue field adorned by the thistle and fleur de lis.

As I stated in my 2015 post, they are organized in 12-figure companies for Bill Protz's "Batailles de l'Ancien Regime" (BAR) rules.

This "battalion" will join my Gallian army detachment that is part of the Reichsarmeeabteilung Obere Sachsen (Imperial Army Detachment Upper Saxony).

I still have another two-company "battalion" plus the grenadier and piquet companies to paint.  Gives me something to do and keeps me off the streets.

Beginning Work on the Royal Ecossais

Saturday afternoon and evening I undercoated the first two 12-figure companies of the Gallian Regiment Royal Ecossais.  I used a white undercoat this time instead of my normal gray since I think their blue coats with red facings will stand out better.  I hope to begin actually brushing some paint on them tonight.

Eventually the regiment will total six 12-figure companies (using the large organization in the Batailles d'la Ancien Regime rules by Bill Protz.  I'm using the Old Glory castings so everyone will be wearing a Scottish bonnet.

Example of painted Royal Ecossais figures from the Old Glory web site.

 

That is, as many of you know, entirely "wrong," but they are my imagi-nation troops and I'm part Scottish in my ancestry so even the Jacobite Scots exiles wear the bonnet in my armies (He says with a big smile!). 

I do have one question - should the musicians be in the French royal livery (as a royal regiment) or in reversed colors as depicted in the Old Glory web site painted example?  Kronoskaf states that information is not available.

More later, with some pictures.

Looking Forward in 2015

First, I hope everyone had nice Christmas and New Year's celebrations.

For 2015, my gaming will involve both old favorites - Napoleonics, Seven Years War imagi-nations, Very British Civil War, and American War of Independence - as well as a couple of new game systems - Pulp Alley and Lion Rampant.

I'll be running a Napoleonic game at our regional gaming convention, Bayou Wars, in June.  The game will be a what-if rearguard action between Marshall Grouchy's retreating wing of the Grand Armee and  Generalleutnant von Thielmann's III Korps of the Prussian Army after the Battle of Wavre.  I'll have a test of the scenario in May.  I still have some more French infantry to paint for the test and the convention game.

Between now and then, I'll be running a SYW game pitting the forces of the Elector against those of the Emperor and King.  This will be another of the semi-linked campaign between the Electorische Armee Thüringen (Germanians and Britannians) and the Reichsarmee Oberer-Sachsen (Imperialist and Gallians).  I have some Gallian (French) troops to paint, specifically the Royal Ecossais Regiment.  I'll also be running a Very British Civil War game in my ongoing campaigning between the Royalist/BUF forces and the Anglican/Socialist forces along the border between Essex and Suffolk, northeast of London.  I think all the troops I'll need for this are already painted.

Later this month I'll introduce our group to Dave and Mila Phipps' excellent Pulp Alley rules.  We'll pit a menagerie of various Leagues in a hunt for the magical Dingus.  And probably in April, if not sooner, I'll introduce our group to Daniel Mersey's new Lion Rampant medieval rules.  They remind me a lot of the venerable Rules by Ral which our group uses already so I'm hoping for an easy transition to these rules.

And to begin 2015, I introduce a unit of British Loyalists for our American War of Independence armies.  The Royal Highland Emigrants were raised in 1775 from discharged veterans of several French and Indian War Highland regiments as well as new recruits from Highland emigrants to Canada and the American colonies.  There were two battalions raised, with the second being employed primarily in Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, and then the southern American Colonies.  The regiment was taken onto the British establishment as the 84th Foot.  My battalion is the Second Battalion and consists of a mix of Dixon and Old Glory figures that I acquired via eBay.  They originally were to be additional companies for my SYW imagi-nation Campbell's Highland Legion but the figures just didn't fit well with the original figures I used in the Legion.  They are mounted in six 3-figure stands per our standard organization.

This battalion will get its baptism of fire when our friend Tim C journeys from North Carolina to Mississippi to run a Carnage and Glory computer-driven game on Martin Luther King Day, Jan. 19.  We've never used this computer based rule system but we are looking forward to seeing how it works with our style of play.

More later!



Final Painting of 2012

Yesterday I completed a small batch of disparate figures that had been sitting around my painting desk for far too long.

First some Miniature Figurines American Revolutionary War figures:

An American general, using the MiniFig General Washington figure, painted from scratch.





And a Hessian general, using the same figure.  This was a repaint of a previously painted figure that I purchased.



New figures for Bland's Dragoons (American).  I previously had inherited a unit of nine of these from my friend Doc Ord.  With the acquisition of three more, they are now part of a six stand regiment.  The newly painted figures are the officer on the front stand and two of the four figures on the back stands plus three of those four horses.  I think I did a fairly decent job of matching Doc's paint job.

And the whole regiment together.  They will be used to help oppose my British cavalry - 17th Light Dragoons, Queen's Rangers, and the Loyalist York Dragoons (an "made-up" designation).

An Old Glory Darkest Africa figure:

This is the leader from the Old Glory bearers set.  I needed a senior leader for my Zanzabari units and he seemed to fit the bill perfectly.  He is a slightly taller figure than the rest of my Zanzabari so he'll stand out as their leader.



My Chinese Back of Beyond forces needed some additional leaders so I added the Pulp Figures PYG-14 Chun King warlord command pack.

The warlord in the center and the standard bearer will lead the entire Chinese force.  The two figures on each end will join one of his warlord infantry units to replace some leader figures who are getting promoted.  The bald-headed guy in khaki will lead my German uniformed Chinese forces.  He's armed with a submachinegun and looks rather nasty so he'll be a good guy to keep them in check.  The basing details correspond to the units that are already done to which these guys will be added.

And my early 20th Century "Pulp" forces got some additional stalwarts to increase the strength of the "Knights of the Cresent Moon."



Three Tommy Gun toting "Knights" from the Brigade Games line of figures.  They'll join the ones I already have painted.



To make a fairly heavily armed band to help protect the treasures of the Near East from those ravenous "tomb raiders" who plague that part of the world.



And finally, Bob Murch's Pulp Figures of "The Sergeants Three and Gunga Din."

Those three brave and rogueish sergeants plus the bugle tooting Gunga Din.  The bases aren't completed yet but they are ready for adventures.



3rd Squadron, Hapnich Dragoons (Carpania)

The final squadron of the Carpanian Dragoon Regiment Hapnich has finally been completed.  Their uniform is a copy of the Prussian 10th Dragoon Regiment.  They are Old Glory figures.

The second image uses the new background that I acquired at Bayou Wars last month.  It was an insert in a prepainted 28mm building I bought from Bobe's Hobby Shop.  I think it gives the picture a little more realism than the plain blue background I have been using.

In June I also started painting on the first of three squadrons of heavy cavalry for the Duchy of Sachsen-Wachsenstein, using a mix of Austrian and Russian SYW figures from Miniature Figurines.  Pictures will be posted soon.

Finally I also began work on some Europeans and natives for my Darkest Africa forces, getting ready to run a game in early November in the inaugural Colonial Barracks convention in New Orleans.  This will be an all The Sword and the Flame rules Victorian era Colonial gaming convention.  See Larry Brom's webstore, Sergeants3, for more details.

Regiment Beaujolais - Final

The last two divisions of the Regiment Beaujolais have joined and the regiment is now complete.

The grenadier division has an officer (front corner with pistol), a sergeant (rear rank with white lace on his cuffs), and ten grenadiers.

The detachment of picquets also has an officer (center, firing pistol), a sergeant, and ten fusiliers.

The entire regiment has been formally accepted into the service of the Reichsarmeeabteilung Obere-Sachsen in a review by the army commander, Feldzeugmeister Freiherr Bernard von Alderheim, and the Gallian contingent commander,  Marechal-de-camp Francois Lucien, Comte de Merlot.

Of course, the first action of these stalwart Gallians will be this Saturday when they are magically transported to 'Murica to provide the backbone for a Gallian expedition against the Britannians and their provincials in the forests of the New World.

Regiment Beaujolais - Part 2

The color guard and third and fourth divisions of the Regiment Beaujolais have been equipped and posted to their barracks, joining the first and second divisions and their colonel (see previous post).

The color guard  - two ensigns carrying the colonel's and regimental colors and two color sergeants armed with halberds.

The third division

The fourth division

The color guard and third and fourth divisions

The grenadiers and the detachment of picquets are currently being equipped and will join the regiment before they march into action against the Rosbifs next Saturday.

Regiment Beaujolais, Part 1

I finished the first two divisions of my impression of the Gallian Regiment Beaujolais, led by their commander, Colonel Charles, Sieur de Beaujolais.

They are Old Glory F&IW French infantry figures (FIW-06 and FIW-08) and the mounted colonel is from the Wolfe, Montcalm, and mounted colonels pack (FIW-18).  As I wrote in my earlier post about these figures, my only real problem with them is that the officer and drummer figures are out-of-step with the sergeant and fusilier figures.  A minor problem, I know, but it still grates on my military trained sensibilities.  Of course that doesn't mean that this regiment won't be a mainstay of the Gallo-Imperial Reichsarmeeabteilung Obere-Sachsen in its operations against the forces of the Elector.

I've begun work on the color guard and third and fourth divisions.  After them will be the grenadiers and picquets for a 76-figure battalion.

This unit will have its initial baptism of fire in a F&IW game in about 2-1/2 weeks.

Gallian Infantry - WIP

Last week I began painting the first two 12-figure divisions of a regiment of Gallian (AKA French) infantry for my Imperial army.  These figures are of the Regiment Beaujolais (a rather nice French wine, by the way).  The figures are all Old Glory French & Indian War figures from packs FIW-06 (French line command) and FIW-08 (French line marching).  I also have figures from pack FIW-07 (French line advancing) which will form the next two 12-figure divisions.  There will also be a division of 12 grenadiers and a division of 12 picquets, plus a 4-figure color party carrying the colonel's and regimental colors.

The colonel commanding is one of the French mounted officers from pack FIW-18 (Wolf/Montcalm/Colonels mounted).  He is Colonel Charles, Sieur de Beaujolais.  I still have a little work to do on him, such as shading his face and hands and painting the base.

Colonel Charles, Sieur de Beaujolais

The infantry figures are still being painted.  These two pictures are just to show how they are progressing.  I used an undercoat of light gray and then did a heavy drybrush of antique white over it to achieve my interpretation of the gris-blanc color of French uniforms.

Fusiliers of Regiment Beaujolais

Fusiliers of Regiment Beaujolais

Additional pictures will be provided when these figures are complete.

Gallian Canadien Militia Unit #2 and Pack Animals

I finally finished the second of my two 20-figure Gallian Canadien militia units.  Like the first, it is composed of one officer (Spanish from the old London Warroom, now Dayton Painting Consortium line) and 19 Old Glory Courier de Bouis.  These unit has gray shirts for a distinguishing feature.

And here are close-ups of the unit:

Additionally I finally put the finishing touches on two pack camels and two pack mules that have been sitting on my painting desk for ages.

These are Ral Partha pack camels, a generic one on the left and a Medieval one on the right.

And two pack mules, generic on left and Medieval on right.  I don't recall manufacturers on these as I bought them on eBay.

Gallian Canadien Militia Unit #1

After a lengthy period of dabbling, I finally finished the first 20-figure unit of my Gallian Canadien militia for the Gallian (French) and Indian War period.  Except for the officer, these are Old Glory Courier de Bouis figures.  The officer in a spare Dayton Painting Consortium (ex-London Warroom) Spanish officer.  I've glued an extra musket into his hand.

Composed of 1 officer (center), 1 sergeant, and 18 militia.

I also painted the militia commander, Senior Captain Padraig Pelham (named after my late brother, Patrick).  He is also a Dayton Painting Consortium Spanish officer.

Waving his hat, Senior Captain Padraig Pelham urges his men forward against the "Rosbifs"

My grand painting scheme - to have all my imagi-nation 18th Century figures painted by May of 2012 - has been derailed by life.  When I developed this scheme and reported on it back in November 2010 (link and link), I didn't expect that my wife's second broken leg in five months (first was back in June 2010) would have a significant impact on our family dynamic.  Evidently I had forgotten already the trials and tribulations from her first broken leg.  I found that my painting time and energy was severely curtailed as I cared for her and shouldered her share of the food preparation and house keeping, as well as continued with my own share.  That has only slightly decreased as she has progressed in her recovery.  So, to make a long story short, my grand scheme has been completely discombobulated (that's a Southern expression meaning really truly all messed up).  I'll continue to follow the order that I established, but the goal of painting 24 infantry or 12 cavalry or their equivalent per week has been blown.

Britannian Provincial Infantry

Captain "Red" Green's independent company of provincial infantry has just joined the Britannian army in the 'Murican provinces.  This company was raised from "over the mountain" boys who have much expertise in fighting "Injuns and other critters" in the deep woods.  As such Captain Green has outfitted them with green hunting shirts and deerskin trousers.  The Britannian commander hopes that they will help counter the Gallian woodsmen and Indian allies (link and link).  They will be operating in conjunction with the Britannian rangers.

Clicking on the pictures will result in an easier to see larger image.

Here we see them in all their glory, with Captain "Red" Green in the center.

The company is composed of one former-London Warroom (now Dayton Painting Consortium) Spanish non-commissioned officer figure as Captain Green and nineteen Old Glory FIW-13 Courier de Bouis [sic] frontiersmen.  These particular figures wear either a cocked hat or a slouch hat.  They are all armed with musket, tomahawk, and knife.  There are seven distinct poses which are shown below:

Three of the poses plus Captain Green (far right).

The other four poses.

Now that these have joined the Britannian forces, the Gallian commander will start to raise a counter-force of two 20-figure companies of woodsmen (using the Courier de Bouis [sec] figures in soft caps).

Compagnies Galliens - Finished

I finally finished my two companies of Compagnies Gallien just in time for my second Capitania General de Florida game on July 31.  Each company has an officer, a sergeant, and 14 soldiers.  Here's what they look like:

The battalion commander, a Dayton Painting Consortium Spanish line officer (formerly a London Warroom line)

Both company commanders are also "Spanish" officers with an added musket.

The first company with the battalion commander.

The second company.  The red dots denote the officer and sergeant figures for use in The Sword in the Forest rules variant of The Sword and the Flame rules that I used.

This Old Glory pack had 30 figures, luckily evenly divided between those with and those without packs.  There were six different poses, also evenly divided 3 and 3.  The pictures below show the front and rear of a figure from each of the poses.

Front view

Rear view, showing the packs on the three figures to the left and in the background while the figures to the right and in the foreground do not have packs.

These Old Glory figures were fairly easy to paint since they didn't have a lot of belting, turnbacks, lace, etc.  All 30 figures are armed with muskets with fixed bayonets and also have tomahawks on their waist belt.

Compagnies Galliens

After painting 36 "Murican" colonial militia, I switches sides and have begun painting 33 figures for two companies of the Compagnies Gallien de la Marine.  As most of my readers know, these troops were raised in Metropolitan Gallia for deployment to various Gallian colonies.  Since almost all the overseas colonies were under the control of the Ministry of Marine (the Navy ministry), these "Army" troops were also controlled thusly.

With the exception of the officer waving his hat, these are Old Glory figures from their French and Indian War line, pack FIW-22, Compagnies Franches de la Marine.  These are all in a variety of advancing poses. Half of them have knapsacks and half don't, which made it easy to divide them into two 15-figure companies.  I added three officers from the Dayton Painting Consortium's Spanish line (formerly of the London Warroom) so I'll have a battalion commander (the one waving his hat) and two company commanders (carrying muskets).  More of these later as they progress in their fitting out.  I'm hoping to have them completed by my first Capitania General de la Florida game on July 17.

Soaring Hawk Clan

I've just completed the first combat unit of North American Woodland Indians for my mid-Eighteenth Century "colonial" fighting. These actions will pit the Brittanians and their colonial and Indian allies against a shaky coalition of Gallians, Hibernians (AKA Spanish), and Indians. It will be set in the American southeast. Eventually I'll establish a new blog for it separate from this one. But that's for later on. Now, I present the Soaring Hawk Clan.

The first group of 12 warriors is led by Bright Eagle
(center front with musket at trail)

The second set of 12 warriors is led by Crouching Panther
(center front with blue blanket)

The Soaring Hawk Clan will eventually add a clan chief once I get several of my extra Indians converted with added muskets and more "regal" distinctions. The Soaring Hawks wear red and black "war paint" and the handles of their clubs and tomahawks are stained red. This represents the ferocity of the stooping hawk as it strikes its prey.

These figures are Old Glory and were painted with acrylic craft paints, sealed with Future, "dipped" by brush, and then varnished with a matte sealer. The flash on the camera shots tends to give them more of a gloss look that they have "in the flesh," so to speak. It took me a long time to get these painted as I tried to give each warrior his own unique look. I'm hoping that the next ones I paint will go quicker.

Imperium Assigns Senior Commander

In light of the worsening relations between the Margraviate of Carpania (part of the Elector's alliance) and the Duchies of Courland and Sachsen-Wachsenstein, the two Dukes have requested the Empress of the Imperium appoint an experienced senior officer to coordinate the military efforts of their two duchies and of any of the Imperium's Reichskreis forces that may be made available. In response to the approval of the Empress, the Imperium's Kriegskammer has appointed Feldmarshall-Leutnant Freiherr Bernard von Alderheim as commander of the Kreis Obere Sachsen military forces. [As usual, click on the "portrait" to see an enlarged version.]

Feldmarshall-Leutnant (FML) Freiherr Bernard von Alderheim
(one of the mounted Governor's Guard figures
from Old Glory's Pirates range.)

Von Alderheim comes from a long line of military men, many of them not necessarily distinguished. His noble ranking of Freiherr (or Baron) reflects that trait in the von Alderheim line. But he was senior enough (and available) to command the small forces that the Dukes of Courland and Sachsen-Wachsenstein can field. The Kriegskammer is also planning on calling up some of the Kreis Obere Sachsen military units to bulk up the forces that will observe the military preparations of the Margraviate of Carpania and any other forces of the Electoral alliance that appear moving to reinforce it.

Carpanian Reinforcements

This month has seen the Margraviate of Carpania add to its little army. First up is that very capable Scottish mercenary commander, Major General Seamus Campbell.

He and his dismounted alter ego are both Front Rank figures from their Jacobite line. They are painted in a stylized blue and green Campbell tartan. Seamus will eventually lead Campbell's Mercenary Legion in the service of the Markgraf of Carpania.

Last month I unveiled the 1st (Leib) Squadron of the Hapnich Dragoons. This month I added Colonel (Oberst) Ritter Jochen von Valkenhayn, the regimental commander.

Von Valkenhayn is a Front Rank Prussian dragoon officer and cuts a dashing figure in his regimentals that are patterned after the Prussian 10th Dragoon Regiment.

Joining Von Valkenhayn and the Leib Squadron is the 2nd Squadron of the Hapnich Dragoons.

As is the Leib Squadron, they are also Old Glory Prussian dragoons. Unlike the Leib Squadron which has all very dark colored horses, this squadron has a mix of browns and a gray for the squadron drummer.

And finally, we have the converged Teutonica/Paulaner Grenadier Battalion, composed of the grenadiers from the Teutonica Musketeer Battalion and the Paulaner Fusilier Battalion.

These fine examples of the elite grenadiers of the Carpanian army are Crusader figures and feature an officer and five grenadiers from the Teutonica musketeers and a sergeant, drummer, and four grenadiers from the Paulaner Fusiliers. They will be brigaded with the converged Grenadier Battalion Zweibieren/von Stuppe as the army reserve.

I'm still working on some more figures for this month as I prepare for the Big Battalions in Texas game at MilleniumCon in November. I'll be adding a battalion commander and sergeant to the Carpanian Staffeldunkel Jagers and a battalion commander, three company commanders, and three company sergeants to the Courlandian Tamnii Narod Pandurs, as well as additional gunners for the Courland position and battalion guns.

Next month I will be painting the 3rd Squadron of the Hapnich Dragoons, Campbell's Highland battalion (in all their kilted glory), and a second company for the Staffeldunkel Jagers, plus limbers for the Carpanian and Courland position artillery.

I hope you enjoyed these additions to my imagi-nation forces.