Navarre Regiment SYW

I am working away on my task for the Snowlord, but also have some bits and bobs from stuff left mostly completed before submitting.  In this case I had all of the figures painted before I hit the summit, but I hadn't based them.

In my terms this is a paint bomb, maybe my largest ever point total.  It's a full 24 man battalion of the Navarre Regiment from the French Army for Seven Years War project.  Navarre was one of the oldest regiments in the French army, dating back to 1558 but not joining the French Army until Henri IV because King.  They served in Western Germany from 1757-1762 and took part in most of the big battles.

He doesn't show well here but I really like the Crusader drummer.  The  standard bearer in the front rank is from Front Rank

Close up of the Grenadiers.  The NCO pointing is Front Rank.

You can see the variations in Crusader's marching figures.  The office waving his hat  is FR.

Normally I roll my battalions out in three lots of 8 so as to keep up the image of progress, so a 24 man posting is rare for me.  I had planned to do the same here, but when I finished the first lot I realized that I was out of the bases I use for this project.  Challenger Byron of https://northernlightsterrain.com/ sourced me some free of charge (thanks Byron) on his most recent trip to Regina, but which time I had all 24 set to be based.  My Sarissa order has since arrived so I'm now Covid-19 prepared with bases.

Figures are Crusader mostly with a few Front Rank command figures.  I've done most of the unit with turn backs but added a few figures with coats undone for variety.  There's the normal command treats, two drummers in King's Livery, two flags (sourced from a gamer blog and printed at home) and a grenadier stand.  The grenadiers are over represented in the unit as there should be only 1-2 in the 24  man unit but I like the bearskins. I like to think that fusiliers were detached to guard the camp, perform picket duties etc upping the proportion of grenadiers in the main unit.

The Crusader and Front Rank figures both paint up nicely.  I like the Crusader private soldier figures with their subtle mix of related poses and the drummers are nice.  However, Crusader's officer, NCO and and standard bearers are a little static and low key so I often sub in replacements from Front Rank.  The two companies work ok to my aging and fading eyes.


Points wise that's 24 figures @ 5 point a pop for a grand total of 120, which leaves me almost exactly at my Challenge target of 500 points.  There's more stuff in progress plus the Snowlord's Challenge so I'll make my target with some room to spare.

AHPC X 28mm Hanoverians

So far my posts have been mostly focused on my odd little naval projects plus other odds and sods.  This time a round I am returning to the project that occupied almost my entire Challenge IX the Seven Years' War. 

For Sander's Sand Dunes the requirement is RED and it think that these 8 Hanoverian infantry men fit the bill.  These guys are from Hanoverian Battalion 4B known by the inhaber's name, which was Marschalk until the end of 1760 and Crashaur after that.  I tend to complete these units in three batches of eight, and this is the third batch stated but the second completed for the regiment.  Batch 1 was posted late in AHPC IX.  Batch 2 was primed in time for that Challenge and started over the summer but languished about 75% done by the start of this year's affair.  Hopefully I'll get them finished once this year's madness is over.

Once again these are 28mm Front Rank SYW figures and very nice to paint up.

That's 8 28mm foot figures @5 points each plus the location bonus for a 70 point total.  Plus I get to update my map...

And my scout badge collection...

More 18th Century Civilians

Another quick and small post from me, two 28mm foot figures.  There are another pair of 18th Century gentry from Front Rank.  As with my previous post these were great to paint and I had a lot of fun on these two.

I've christened the fellow with the stein JP which can represent Jean Pierre or Jan-Paul depending on which side of the Rhine we're fighting over.  The name comes from a JP that my Dad and I met in the bar of Dad's sailing club (although I think that similar characters inhabit bars of course clubs, cricket fields, dart clubs and rock hound club houses).

Nothing much to add, I dressed these two less ornately than the lady and gentleman in my prior post.  The figures were cleanly cast, had the right level of detail for me and were easy to pose together.

Anyway that 2 28mm figures for another 10 points as I crawl towards my 500 point goal.

18th Century Vignette for Curtgeld

Over at Challenge Island, one can hop between locations using Sarah's Balloon service for the ticket price of a female miniature.  Here's my entry to hop from Cook's Crevasse on the west side of the island to Sanders Sandunes on the east coat.  It also serves as my "curtgeld"  or entry fee for the challenge and as such will be the prize for some unfortunate who completes the Snowlords Challenge.

I have two 28mm figures from Front Rank to serve as both my balloon ticket and my entry fee.  I don't have a whole bunch to say about these.  I really like Front Rank's figures, they paint up really nicely, and I had fun doing picture searches of Reynolds and Gainsborough portraits doing research on them. 

I'm not sure that Mademoiselle is having any of Monsieur's nonsense.

I intended these to be any generic Europeans.  However my better half (who has costume knowledge) informed me that the gold was more likely to be found on the French.

Funny perspective here.  It looks like M. is down on one knee from this angle.

Another stop on my island tour.

And another merit badge for my sash

I offer the above proof that my wife and I had a glass of prosecco last night in honour of the balloon ride, and because it was dang cold.  Unlike others in the Challenge I know where the champagne flutes are kept.

Points wise I believe this scores as

• 2 28mm foot figures = 10 points
• Curtgeld bonus =25 points
• Sarah's Balloon Service =30 points
• Bonus for prosecco =5 points
• Total 70 points

Two other notes.  I will leave it to Curt to choose the short straw to see who gets these figures.  Also I would like balloon transport to Sanders' Sanddunes please.

AHPC Curtgeld

Lighting's not the best.  I may need to touch up the facial details too, he's looking too mono-hued here.

Time to pay the piper, so here's my Curtgeld for the Ninth Challenge.  He's an officer from the French Dillon Regiment from the SYW.  The figure is by Front Rank and I really love the pose with hat off and sword out.

Front Figures paint up very nicely.  The raised buttons and lace work are very much appreciated.

Dillon's was a famous regiment in the 18th century, part of the Irish brigade formed after the Glorious Revolution (or War of English Succession depending).  recruitment cam originally from Irishmen wanting to change the British Monarchy back to a Catholic Jacobite, although the percentage of actual Irishmen diminished over time.  The colonelcy passed down through the family and many officers were Dillon's themselves. After valiant service in the Wars of English, Spanish, Polish and Austrian Succession, the SYW and the AWI, it was disbanded after the French Revolution.  Incredibly some officers then formed Emigre Dillon's regiments paid by George III and serving with the British.  So Irishmen who joined the Irish Army to overthrow George III, ended up serving George III to defeat a Republic and reinstall the Bourbons.  The intellectual contortions required for this defy me.

Beyond the regular Curtgeld tradition, there is another challenge tradition that seems to have fallen by the wayside over time.  There have been several cases of Challengers Curtgelding Cut with figures representing Bob Dylan, despite (or perhaps because of) Curt's fervent anti-Dylan hatred.  To rectify the recent tailing off of the tradition, I therefore present Robert (Bob) Dillon as my Curtgeld for this challenge.

By my count this will take me over my 500 point Challenge Target with 3 weeks left to go.  This figure also adds 5 points to my BP side duel total,

AHPC Nassuers and Command Stand

I continue to be a one hit wonder here with my ongoing progress on the SYW project.  I have two items in this post.

I can't remember which are the 8 newly painted figures, so here's the full 24 man battalion

First up are the final 8 members of the Nassau Prince Louis Regiment, completing the regiment that formed my Mercenary Bonus round post. Here's the full 24 man battalion, all Front Rank figures with flags printed at home based on images found at Kronoskaf.

Generally the French Army's foreign infantry regiments seem to have been better rated than the native french regiments.  The reasons differed by nationality with the Swiss being professionals and the Irish being more Anti-British.  I suspect with the German regiments it was due to the officers, as these regiments offered opportunities for ambitious gentlemen who might not meet the criteria (French speaking and Catholic) required for the "French" regiments.  It is worth noting that the two premier french generals prior to the SYW (Maurice and Berwick) were both foreign and both bastard sons of foreign Kings.

Close up to show the unit tables at the back of the basing.

A quick note on unit organization.  I've opted for 24 man foot units with 12 man cavalry and 16-18 man light infantry units.  For the formed regiments I've put a unit table on each base to keep the regiments straight, with the unit name and a small pic of their flag.  This should especially aid the  French army which should have  many infantry units in grey/white.  I have of course got 4 French regiments in 4 different uniforms and only one wearing white to date.

From the other side of the hill, we have Ferdinand of Brunswick and escort.  The allied army in western Germany was a truly polyglot affair,  mostly Hanoverian with contingents from Britain, Hesse, Brunswick and Prussia and generals from Brunswick who were also Prussian officers.  Since the Brits paid for the whole thing it was known as His Britannic Majesty's Army in Germany.

Ferdinand of Brunswick was lent to HBMAG by Frederick the Great in late 1757 following the Duke of Cumberland's epic defeat at Hastenbeck and the overrunning of Hanover by French armies.  Ferdinand quick turned things about with a strong campaign that saw him move from east of the Elbe to west of the Rhine in 1758.  He followed this up with a major Victory at Minden in 1759 and kept the army in the game for the rest of the war.

He's accompanied by one of Prussia's Black Hussars, one of several Prussian cavalry regiments serving in Western Germany.  This is the third time I've painted this uniform, and in the third scale.  In high school in the 70s I put French Shakos on Airfix British Hussars to do the regiment in 20mm Nappy's.  In the 80s I had the regiment in my 15mm SYW army, and it served well in some truly epic wargames.  Both figures are Front Rank 28mm and paint up very nicely.  Front Rank does a very good job with making the lace work standout and thus easy to paint.  I also like the horses, which are large look powerful.

By my count that's 8 foot at 5 points a pop, and two cavalry at 10 points each for 60 points.  These will count towards both me total and the BP duel (although that point is moot given the lead Alex has built).

Regiment Nassau Prince Louis

It's the Mercenary Bonus Round over at the Painting Challenge, please go have a look at al of the lovely work here.  My submission is below.

For the Mercenary Bonus Round I have a German Regiment from the French Army in  Seven Years War.  There are 16 members of the Nassau Prince Louis Regiment, using 28mm Front Rank figures.  Napoleonic wargamers will be familiar with Nassauers who fought for the French in the Peninsula, and then against the French in the 100 days campaign.  Under the Ancient Regime, the french army raised a number of foreign regiments, which were in many cases considered better than the native French regiments.  Not being French citizens, I think that these can qualify as Mercenaries.

Swiss, Irish, Scots, Italian, German and Walloon regiments all served in the Western Germany in the SYW.  Recruitment and organisation varied according to the nationality, but many of the German regiments came from the Palatinate region of western Germany, including this regiment from the Nassau area.  This Regiment started as the Nassau-Saarbruck regiment until it merged with the Nassau-Ussinghen Regiment in 1758, becoming the Nassau regiment whose colonel was Prince Louis of Nassau (I'm not sure which line as the history, naming and ruling houses of minor German states is convoluted).

I quite like the office with the spontoon.  I gave him a non-regulation red waistcoat, which is a hold over from their pre-1758 uniform.

You can see where the "spare" Grenadier figures from my last unit went.  Unlike "French" regiments, "German" regiments had no separate Grenadier companies rather each company had a section of Grenadiers.  Gotta love the flags for this army.

I don't think I've ever painting a figure this orange before, at least not intentionally.  Base coat is Grumbacher Vermilion with over washes (dark red and black?)

Like many German regiments in French service, they wore blue uniforms, in this case faced red.  The House of Nassau is related to the House of Orange, as can be seen with their flags and drummer's liveries.  Like Dutch fans at the World Cup or Olympic Speed Skating oval, the drummers wear ORANGE!   I took a couple of liberties on uniform details, so button counters be forewarned.  The Front Rank figures came with collars, while the Nassau uniform did not until after the SYW.  Had I caught it earlier I would have trimmed the collars off but I didn't catch this until about half way through the painting process, and went with red collars as I thought it looked nice.  Also the drummer should possibly have red lapels under the lace (the figures had none but lots of lace) and orange breeches (just caught this one now).  However, SYW uniforms weren't regulated as much as later periods and I figure a to would depend on local supply and colonel's whim.  Neither the drummer not the collars look out of place, so I'm good with them.

I also like the NCO pointing.

So that's 16 28mm foot figures plus two flags is 82 points plus bonus round points.  There's another 8 Nassuaers on the work bench to bring the unit up to standard complement of 24, but they'll have to wait a week or so.

Grenadiers de France

For this week, I have completed the full battalion of the Grenadiers de France for my Seven Years War project.  There are 22 foot and one mounted in the battalion, but 8 of the footmen appeared earlier in the Challenge, so the count for this week is 14 infantry plus one mounted officer.  Figures are 28mm from Front Rank.  I really like the Front Rank figures but they do suffer from monopose for the rank and file.  However, the monopose works for the SYW since the uniforms have an old fashioned toy soldier feel.

The Grenadiers de France were formed after the War of Austrian Succession from the grenadier companies from several regiments that were disbanded at that time.  They followed a different organization than most French infantry regiments being formed into "brigades" instead of battalions and were heavily engaged in the campaigns in Western Germany.

While the regular French regiments wore white, the Grenadiers wore blue coats with red lapels and white lace.  They also were the first to wear the bearskin grenadiers cap which became popular with many regiments during the SYW.  The combination of their droopy moustaches and braided coats with the pose of these Front Rank figures reminds me greatly of.....

Musical and fashion icon Floyd Pepper

I bought a battalion pack of 24 foot from Front Rank, but swapped out two foot figures for a mounted officer.  Front Rank included two standard bearers while the Grenadiers (again just to be different from regular regiments) carried only the Ordonnance colour and did not carry a Colonel's colour.  I have a home for he other standard bearer and grenadier private and spare officer fits nicely, as he looks done the line.  The flag itself was downloaded from the Kronoskaf site, manipulated in Preview and then printed at home.

So by my math, that's 14 foot plus one mounted officer plus 1 flag = 81 points, for both my total score and the Black Powder side duel.

SYW French Grenadiers and Command

No posts last week, but two in for this week.  Wife's away looking after her mum following surgery so production will be up for the next couple of weeks I hope.

Curt says he enjoys gamer bios, so here goes.  It all stated in a 5000 watt radio station... (two brownie points if you get the reference).  I started gaming as a teenage about 1975,  with Airfix Waterloo kits badly painted in Humbrols.  I paint almost exclusively historical stuff, but will play Fantasy of SciFi when someone else puts on a game.  A big part of the attraction is the research aspect of the hobby - I like ferreting out info on uniforms, OOBs and tactics from bygone ages.  Even if I was attracted to non-historical figures, picking up a "Codex" over history books would be a deal killer for me.

I grew up in Halifax NS and was a long time gaming partner of RossM of Battle Game of the Month who is likely known to many Challenge participants.  I relocated out west to Regina about 20 years ago and for a long time was a solo gamer due to lack of opponents.     Back in 2011 I followed Ross' lead and ventured into the Blogosphere with the Single Handed Admiral, a reference to the fact that I was going solo, planned to due naval gaming and that Nelson had only one hand.  Blogging got me in touch with gamers around the world, and then a year later with gamers 2kms from my doorstep as Sylvain reached out via Curt's blog having noted my email address.  The naval projects turned out to be a dead end and have been put on hold, but I've enjoyed working on Italian Wars and Seven Years Wars projects over the last few challenges.

Over the years it been a bumpy ride but I'm mostly in a good place now and enjoying my time at the painting table and on the Challenge.  I've adopted the simple philosophy voiced below.

Grenadiers in front of the structures from my first post.

OK off with the blather and on with the painting.  I've got 8 French Infantry from the Grenadiers de France from the SYW.  Figures are 28mm Front Rank and are very nice. This is the initial set of 8 from a planned battalion of 24 so I'll natter on more about the unit on later posts.

I also have a French command stand of two figures, general and trumpeter.  The general is  Casting Room figure on a Front Rank horse.  The rider had me perplexed as to his provenance for a while but then I worked out that I an extra dragoon officer (with no horse) in my Casting Room order.  Luckily, SYW uniforms are more flexible than for later periods and panting him in a blue coat laced with gold did the trick.  His trumpeter is a Front Rank figure as is his horse.  I painted him as coming from one of the myriad of cavalry regiments using the King's livery,

For the tally man, these are 8 28mm figures on foot plus two cavalry nets me 60 points on the scoreboard and on the Black Powder Challenge.