Criman War Russians Phase 1 complete

Well with the last few bits and pieces painted up I feel that phase 1 is complete. Phase 1 being enough troops to get a game in with. So 3 more artillery pieces and a couple of commanders added. I should have enough artillery now for 3 batteries.

So far the army has 2 completed infantry brigades and 2 half brigades, with a few supporting skirmishers, artillery and cavalry.

Phase 2 will concentrate on completing the 2 half brigades and expanding the cavalry with some hussars and dragoons.

Crimean War Russians

Following my last post I finally completed all of the re-basing of my Russian infantry. Now I don't like re-basing at the best of times, but 10mm figures were a real chore. To complete the units I painted up some additional command figures.

First up are 5 completed battalions, 2nd, 3rd and 4th Minsk. The 3rd and 4th Volhynia. Figures are all Pendraken. I still need to add the flags.

Next are the 6th rifles in skirmish order. I cannot find any specific figures for these in 10mm so used spare figures without the great coat. There are also 3 bases of skirmishers from left over figures to screen the infantry columns.

With these additional units I will need some more brigade commanders. These 3 are from Old Glory and their Napoleonic range. Fit in just fine.

Lastly is the first fully completed new unit, the 57th Don Cossacks. I have 5 squadrons gone so far, but will need 6. Luckily the next regiment only needs 4 squadrons so the spare figures will complete the regiment.

Not bad for a weeks work. I still have a few commanders and some artillery on the painting table before I can start on the last 2 infantry battalions I have figures for.

The Crimean War

After much mulling over possible new projects I decided instead, to re start an old project. The Crimean War in 10mm. I've had some painted Russian troops sitting in a box for a number of years. I was never happy with the basing. I had used Fire and Fury bases as these were the intended rules, but when ranked up they just didn't look right. I decided to increase the base depth from 20 to 25mm and double the number if figures to a base. I feel these look much better. The only draw back is it's left me with over 60 figures without command figures.

It was then a chat with Dave who reminded me that Pendraken can cast figures up on request, so worth checking out. I duly did and Leon, the nice chap at Pendraken agreed to cast up the command figures for me. So order in with a few extras.

So here are the figures re based. 8 battalions completed. The extra command will get me another 7 battalions.

Now for rules. I'm contemplating using the General de Armee rules Dan Brown as a starting point as the tactics hadn't changed much. May have to adjust some of the firing ranges.

Crimean War part V

I've had these finished for a couple of weeks now but have only just got around to posting them. They are the completed Russian 17th Division under Kiriyakov at the Battle of Alma. The figures are all from Pendraken apart from Kiriyakov who is from Old Glory's 10mm Napoleonic range.

This Division includes the following regiments, Borodino, Moscow, Taroutin, 6th Rifles, Sailors and two pieces of Divisional artillery.

17th Division

Russian Columns

Russian Columns

For now I will be putting this project on a temporary hold. I still have another infantry division to complete as well as a couple of regiments of cavalry to finish them off. I want to try and finish off some of my Marlburian figures as well as some Napoleonics.

Crimean War part IV

I've been making some more progress on this project, starting on a second infantry division. First up is the Borodino regiment. This comes in at 12 stands (all four battalions) As usual the figures are all from Pendraken.

Borodino Regiment

As usual I've gone for a slight mix in headgear, just to give the unit a bit of a campaign look which is rather difficult with 10mm figures. The next unit for this division is the only unit of skirmishers available to me. With the 6th Rifle regiment being in skirmish order I dispensed with the greatcoats.

6th Rifle battalion

Lastly I've painted up 3 pieces of artillery, 1 of which is destined for the 13/14th infantry division I've already painted. I was a bit worried painting up artillery in 10mm scale but needn't have been as the proved rather easier than I thought.

Artillery

On the painting table I have 2 further infantry regiments underway which I hope to have completed in the next couple of days. The last unit in this particular division is of some sailors. Now Pendraken do not have any as part of their range and it looks like I am going to have to either use some left over infantry without greatcoats or order from Magister Militum and hope they match in scale wise.

Different period and scale, Napoleonics in 15mm. I've finally succumbed to the bug, but in so much that I am prepared to collect huge armies, just enough for re fighting smaller actions. I've gone for the 1809 Brunswickers which will give me 3 small battalions of infantry and a large regiment of Hussars. I'll support these with a brigade of Austrians, a nice mix of Black and white. To oppose these I am going for 3 to 4 regiments of Westphalians and a couple of regiments of French infantry and cavalry. That will be more than enough troops for fighting games on a 6x4 table. I will be able to theme the games around the 1809 campaign in northern Germany and the Brunswickers march to the coast and into British service. Think I'll need to put together a paint plan to focus my efforts. Wish me luck

This heat is killing me

Well in true English fashion I am complaining about the weather. Seems we are never happy, it's either raining, too cold or  too windy, but this heat is draining me. The muggy nights mean very little sleep and after a day at work I cannot be bothered to paint figures or update the blog, it's just too hot.

So the figures below were painted a couple of weeks ago, it's only now that I've got around to posting pictures of them So without further ado here they are. First up is a 15mm Skytrex Sherman tank from my spare box, must of been a left over from the US force I sold last year. The commander figure I believe is from Battlefront.

I'll need to get some decals to finish the model off. I have also discovered a second tank that I will get painted up. A shame they don't fit with my Early war Brits.

Next up is further progress on my Crimean War project. I have finished all the infantry for the 13/14th division. I have also painted up 2 divisional commanders and the command base for Prince Menshikov. The infantry are all from Pendraken and the Officers from Old Glory.

Prince Menshikov and Officers

13/14th Division

13/14th Division

Now I've got 3 more regiments undercoated and ready to paint as well as sufficient figures to complete a second division. However these have been sitting for over a week as I cannot bear the heat in my painting room. Oh for a little rain to cool things off.

Crimean War project part 2

I have manged to get a second infantry regiment done. This time the 9 stands of the Minsk regiment. As usual the figures are all by Pendraken and the bases from Warbase. Sorry the pictures are not the best as I need new batteries for the camera and just used my mobile.

Minsk regiment

Minsk regiment

I've now got the next 2 regiments prepared ans ready for undercoating. These 2 are only 6 stands each so I may paint them simultaneously. As Pendraken do not produce any Generals in their range I have picked up some 10mm Russian Napoleonic generals from Old Glory. These are very nice figures and are compatible with the Pendraken range.

On a gaming front I managed to get in a game of Bloodbowl on Thursday night against my nephew. Now I haven't played these in years but we had fun. To keep things simple we both used the basic human teams, with my Norse used as a proxy. I eventually ran out the winner 2-1, but we both put it down to a training game.

Brionne Cavaliers try to protect the ball carrier

Odins Fury smash their way through

Thrower lines up a pass to the first score

Carnage on the sidelines

Both sides struggled in the first hals to inflict any casualties. That changed in the second half when I managed to remove 4 of the Brionne Cavaliers players from the game.

10mm Crimean War Project

In conjunction with Neal I have decided to take part in putting together some 10mm forces for the Crimean War. Neal is going to concentrate on the British while I have agreed to do the Russians. Hopefully we can keep working on Dave who could then do the French. Why 10mm? mainly to keep the costs down, also I do kind of like the little chaps and they look good massed together, especially considering a lot of the Russian units work out at 12 stands, that's 36 figures.

We are using the order of Battle for the Battle of Alma, this gives me 3 infantry divisions and half a cavalry division to complete. SO on to the first unit (the testers). These are the Volhynia regiment that were part of the 14th division. All the figures are from the Pendraken range. I chose the figures in Great coats as I reckon that I will be able to paint these up rather quickly.

Volhynia regiment

Volhynia regiment

Volhynia regiment

Volhynia regiment

I've now got the 9 stands for the Minsk regiment prepped and ready for painting. I've also been looking into the cavalry. Pendraken only produce Dragoons and Cossacks, not the Hussars which were present at the Alma. This means I will have to use Magister Militum which produce the full range of cavalry, then I get into issues of compatibility. Also MM figures are more expensive than Pendraken....mmm decisions decisions.