Between the Wars British - Part 2

Continuing my short break from painting mid 1700s figures, I finished the basic painting on ten British riflemen and two heavy machinegun teams yesterday.  The riflemen will be joined by their officer and Lewis gunner (pictured in the previous post) to form a 12-figure section usable for either The Sword to Adventure or I Ain't Been Shot, Mum rules in future pulp fiction action with the Jackson gamers.

The 1st Rifle Section of the British Flying Column decked out for action in their "grayback" drill shirts.  Notice the assistant Lewis gunner on the front right corner carrying extra ammunition drums slung two on his chest and two on his back.  Unfortunately the Copplestone set only came with one of these lads  so my other two Lewis gun assistants will not be so accoutremented (Is that a real word?).

The two Vickers .303 heavy machinegun teams.  With their section sergeant (pictured in the previous post), they will provide some critical fire support to the rifle sections of the British Flying Column.

Besides the Rolls Royce armoured car, HMAC Ajax (pictured in previous post), the British Flying Column will rely on these three Crossley carriers for getting around the operational area.  A local Euopean guide is posed next to them for scale.  I have one more vehicle to paint, a Rolls Royce Silver Ghost, for the column command car.

And in other news, Col Campbell's Barracks was mentioned by Murphy on the Bongolesia blog as one of his inspirations.  You can read the news of Murphy's recent receipt of the Stylish Blogger Award and the mention of Col Campbell's Barracks, among other even more outstanding blogs, here:  bongolesia.blogspot.com/2011/04/winner-of-stylish-blogger-award.html  Murphy is a good writer and really, in my opinion, captures the romance and inaneness of "banana republics" all over the globe.  We should all be so gifted!

 

The officers and soldiers of the various troops stationed at Col Campbell's Barracks are all aquiver about this mention by the nation of Bongolesia, especially since President for Life Phat Daddee B'wonah is so fulsome in his praise of European colonial masters.

Of course this is just good ole jossing around among the "good ole boys" and we are pleased as punch that Murphy has such a high opinion of our little endeavors here.

Between the Wars British

Several years ago I took advantage of a sale by Copplestone Miniatures and ordered a batch of his Between the Wars (Back of Beyond) British infantry.  After a pulp fiction game several weeks ago, I was envigorated to start painting them.  Although my organization is for The Sword to Adventure, a variant of The Sword and the Flame, it is also applicable for the rules we used in the pulp fiction game, I Ain't Been Shot, Mum by Two Fat Lardies.

So here is the start of the British force:  four officers (force commander and three section leaders), the force color sergeant, the machinegun section sergeant, and Lewis gunners for each rifle section.

The force commander, a major, is front center with the three rifle section leaders arrayed to his right and the three Lewis gunners to his left.  The machinegun section sergeant (kneeling with arm raised) and the force color sergeant (holding rifle) are to the rear.

I have completed the painting but haven't applied the Future sealant, the wash, or the matte glaze.

Here is another angle.  I dotted in the officer rank insignia on the shoulder straps -- a crown for the major and the appropriate number of crosses (or pips) for the captain, 1st leftenant, and 2nd leftenant.  The two sergeants got their rank insignia painted on their left upper arms.  I don't know if the British wore their sergeant's rank insignia on their drill (or "greyback") shirts, but mine will!

Additional figures to be painted will be two British rifle sections, each of a sergeant, a corporal, seven riflemen, and a Lewis gun loader; a Ghurkha rifle section (same composition); and a  heavy machinegun section with two Vickers .303 watercooled machineguns, each with a gunner and a loader.

I found the Copplestone figures very easy to paint, especially since I'm basically a "block" painter and don't try to do layers or shading.  The wash that I apply later will give the figures some additional definition.  They might not look very fancy close up, but they will look very serviceable on the miniature battlefield.

This British command will be teamed with my Rolls Royce armored car (HMAC Ajax) and two (later three) Crossley carriers into a "flying column" for actions anywhere from the sands of Mesopotamia to the plains of the Yellow River.

These figures will be added to about three dozen Chinese infantry of various "flavors" that are already painted (and a Chinese heavy machinegun team and a mortar team still to be painted) as part of my contribution to our pulp fiction/Back of Beyond forces.

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.

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).

Barry Minot Figures

I just scored two lots of Barry Minot 30mm tricorne era figures from my friend Robin, "fokibo" on eBay. I have purchased other figures in the past from Robin as well as helped in some figure identification.

The lots consist of 25 infantry figures and 10 casualty figures. With some command figures, the infantry will eventually form a 30 figure battalion, probably with the Barony of Eisenmuhlen, an ally of Carpania.

I'm presuming that since Barry was a sculptor of Spenser Smith figures that these will be more Old Schoolish than more modern figures. Now I'm wondering, besides Spenser Smith figures, what other lines might have compatible command figures - maybe RSMs since they will be easier to get this side of the pond? If anyone has any comments on this, please speak up.

Lot # 1 - nine standing firing and five casualty figures

Lot # 2 - ten reloading (?), nine advancing, and five casualty figures

A close-up of the Lot # 2 figures

Note: All pictures courtesy of Robin's eBay postings. I'll be taking some of my own when they arrive, hopefully by the end of next week!

An Infantry Figure Option

As part of a recent order of Front Rank figures, I included three Russian artillery fusiliers. After painting them, I realized that they could easily be used as musketeers in a unit depicted as standing in reserve or as guards in front of an army headquarters. This picture shows the three of them along with the Russian artillery officer, all from Front Rank.

February Painting Totals

No pictures yet, but I completed the following figures in February:

26 Carpanian (AKA Prussian) musketeers of the Battalion Teutonica (Old Glory)
2 Carpanian mounted officers - one will be Baron Trask of Eisenmuhlen and the other is an aide-de-camp to GL von Stuppe (both RSM).
24 Courland (AKA Russian) grenadiers of the Battalion Severinski (Foundry)
4 gunners, 4 bombardiers, and 3 artillery fusiliers (Foundry) for Courland
1 Licorne howitzer (Newline) for Courland

For a total of 61 foot, 2 mounted, and 1 gun.

These were fewer than I had hoped to paint, but after all February is a shorter month.