Colonel Général Cavalerie and some WIPs

So quite a long time since last post. Still doing SYW but a bit bigger stuff.
I have painted quite a few prussians and austrians, but somehow they don't do it for me, I love the look of some of the units, but I don't feel inspired to paint them I have had 8 half finished prussians laying around for ever.

So I decided to change things up and do France vs Allies.

First unit up is  Colonel Général Cavalerie. As I'm doing Might & Reason, Colonel Général Cavalerie actaually represent quite a few other regiments, the "offical" M&R Minden OOB gives the french 6 "regular/legere/cuirassier" units, So I'll paint 3 of them in the more "exotic" colors with Colonel Général Cavalerie being one Bourgogne Cavalerie being other, Not sure which will be the 3rd "colored" unit. the remaining 3 will be in the more standard white uniforms.

On to the figures! These are Crann Tara miniatures, Crann Tara produces miniatures for The 45 rebellion, WAS, and some SYW stuff. It's also the european distribuater of Fife & drum miniatures, aswell as select figures from Minden miniatures range(so far Hanoverians)
The Crann Tara miniatures are sculpted by the same sculpter as Minden miniatures, They are very similar and don't hasitate for a second to mix them.(I know I will)

My Colonel Général Cavalerie are actualy Fitz-James figures but the uniforms are the same.
They are fantastic figures, and I'm very happy with the ressault(with one execption)


I found a new red while shopping for some painting and basing supplies. That is a perfect mix for my other reds. I have a good shade and good mid tone. But my mid tone and highlight are to far apart. This red(astrorath) is perfect to use between my mid and highlight.

The only thing I don't like are the checkerboard on the saddlecloth. it looks horrible, I can't free paint at all.

 As these are for Might & Reason The unit is 2 bases of 4

Next up is the first WIP, The french have some german units, but No figures fit the uniforms quite right. As I understood it there are two options, French in turnbacks, But then you have to paint on the lapels, Or Austrians, But then you are missing the swords, the vest got laced button holes and tricornes have pompoms, pluss ofcourse the bread bag ect is wrong.

Since I can't free hand lapels and I did have a few austrians I decided on them. The general cut of the uniform looks to be very close. And I can simply pretend they lost the swords in some gambling hall.

 I only had 12 austrians so the unit is just half done. 

 I don't often get to paint mid blue, all my blue is almost always dark, with some sky/bravarian blue. So it was fun. Mid blue and yellow is  nice color. 

Given the french got 19 infantry units for Minden and almost all French and Saxon infantry are white, I will take any opertunity to get in a few units with a little color.

And lastly a second WIP and this time it is WHITE!

The Hessian Miltitz Cavalry, Again No propper Hessians so these are prussians!

 So even on the Allies side I can't escape the WHITE!

Again I only had enough figures for half the unit.

Jegers, jaegers, jegere, jægere ect.

 So why do those damn English, Damn Yankies, damn Aussies, damn canucks, danm Kiwis called jegers hunters. English is supose to be a germannic language, yet they are the only germanic language I know of that uses hunter and not jeger(or variations on jeger)  I have learned the hunter also is based on germanic, but still very diffrent.


Anyway some Hessain Jegers, not that happy with theise, my dark flesh got a little thick, so the faces got lumpy, didn't realise it right away. I am happy with the green, but the figures seem less clean and done as my british, might just be first time I've painted them so not got used to all the nook and cranies on the sculpts yet. But they are less clean, more sloppy painted I feel.


This is ofcourse a more complex sculpt, the britsh figres are super simple, no back packs, just a couple of straps, not even facings on them, as simple as horse and musket figures get.

Theise have 3 straps besides the cartridge box strap, so white cotton bag, furry breadbag, and canteen.
Then you have the facinfs, while not that complex add to the whole. I was also stupid enough to try and do the striped trousers, which is hard, still havn't learned to do straight lines yet.

 To my supirse the back looks better then the front, I'm a front heavy painter, spending lots of time on the front, and kinda phoneing the back in. But here the back is much better, I got a good color and highlight on the furry bag.

GAME!!

Well well, this is a rare treat if you can call it that, there is atleast a year since last game, like the last time it's a teste game, just to learn the rules, this time the rules were British Grenadier, a AWI version of General de Brigade, it's a complex game, but not super complex, it got some good fundementals from GdB and the new distruption points, basicly before unit take actualy casualties from gunplay and melê the need 3 distruption points or DPs, when a unit gets 3 DPs it starts to take casualties, or figure casualties, in the rules a unit that gets 2DPs but no figure casualties, that is soldiers get hit ect. but the there are only a few wouned and no massive loss of soldier. DPs in that sence means low level casuatlies, and just a unit gets a little out of control, ranks arn't that great, basicly the unit is disrupted.

One thing I notised was it does take some time to play, it's not one of those new lets to it fast rules, nothing wrong with those, but even medium games takes 5-6 hours big games over 8 mabye even 10, my tiny game of just 7 units(well 8 with the gun) took 3 hours, granted I needed to check the play sheet often, but it's still some time for a small game, in realiy the game was very unnessesary, there was never any doubt about the winner, 3 british regimetns with a 6pdr gun, 2 of which are elite units, against 4 american two of which were milita.

The outcoe was never in question, but even with uneven game lasted a good 3 hours and I was suprised by just how hard it was to get rid of the milita.
Also the game lasted atleat an hour and a half before any bases were removed. But then a whole unit went away more or less at the same time.

I took a bunch of pictures it like 30 of them and I forget when they were taken in the round number, so I won't be making a clear round by round play by play thing, just a flowing thing.
First I would like to say sorry for the unfinished gun base, and the unfinished bases for some units and the generals, and there is like 2 brigade generals to few, so the generals are both CinC and brigade generals.

Here's the deployment, the Americans are behind cover, the milita is first with the continentals behind. The british had a easy objecrtive, Normaly this would be two brigades, but since I only had one generals it dosn't show that well, but basicly the britsh brigade is one, and the Hessain and gun is another, so they have diffrent objectives, the hessain objective was to clear out the left hand field. While the british brigade's first objective was to take the house.

The all British brigade, 33rd and 23rd regiments of foot, both are elite, both are 24 strong.

Over the Shoulder you can see the hessain brigade which is actualy just a single regiment and gun.


The American disposisions, Milita in front, behind hedges, then the 1st maryland reigment, that is classed as line, and way back across the road the 2nd maryland which is a elite regiment,

First round is easy, the British move a full move, the 23rd get a DP becasue it scored a 2 on it's avrage dice. but as a elite unit it can take of 2Dps each turn.

The American milita takes an ineffective long volley,

Same with this militia regiment,

In the next round, the Von Bose gets behind the frence, now you can't move just as much as you want, when you throw a dice, you have to move the full distance, it was just dum luck it stoped right at the frence and not went past it, Since it only moved half a move(1 dice) they can fire to, and gives a few DPs to the milita, even tho it was saved a little by beeing behind the cover, the problem is that milita can only remove DPs when a brigadier or CinC is in contact. So when milita gets DPs it's hard to get rid of them.

The 23rd goes into a close hegde and stay there taking long but suprisingly effective long shots.

On the end of the volleys is the 1st maryland, it gets shot to peices, but stays in it, it gets DPs and casualties. Even tho the guys shooting at them are at long range and the regiment is behind cover.

Over the shoulder view from the 23rd.

The Von Bose is fireing, and the gun has finnaly gotten into place, limberd and wheeled(which took some rouds) and started to fire canister into the milita. Natuarly canister and close range musketry is not something militia likes.

The american Brigadier move up to the 1st maryland, this means this regiment can take of 2 DPs every round, 1 for beeing line and 1 for having a brigader conected.

I did have sevral pictures of the 33rd fightig with the milita, but those didn't turn out so well, so lets just say they got into a firefight, while the others you've seen on pictures, finnaly the 33rd charged, but the milita didn't stand up to the charge and retreated.

The 33rd wheel, as it looks like the militia is just going to continue to retreat.

Now the birgadier has moved to the front milita unit, it has been on 3 DPs for a long time and taking heavy casualties from canister and musketry, it did pass a moral test, when it lost more then 10% in a single round.

The 33rd clashes with the 1st maryland.

At the same time the milita unit lost it's first base, and started to retreat, the von Bose followed after it.

To my suprise the 1st maryland, looses big in the mele then follow up with snakeeyes on the moral test and despersed in the wind, bringing great shame to the it's home state.

The right hand milita did get it's act togeather and tried to move into the rear of the 33rd, but is met by the 23rd in close order and ready.

The milita and 23rd stands face to face and just hammer hard and fast at eachother with muskets. The 23rd beeing elite is almost impossible to defeat in toe to toe firefight, especaly if you are milita, but they can't charge, they would never survice it. So they just hope to get a double six and mabye to a little damige.

The milta in the left field disperses and 33rd and Von Bose advance at the 2nd maryland.
The 2nd maryland see it's gettig flanked, even the artillery is trying to flank, soon it will be shot to peices from 3 sides. it does what it has to do, it charges the Germans, in a desprate hailmary.


Beeing elite and chargeing it gets sevral bonouses and wins the mele, does quite alot of damige to the Germans.

23rd and milita still just shooting, the milita takes some casualties but hold on.

It looks like the 2nd maryland might have done it, but it looses more then 10% in a single unit in the mele, and to suprisingly fails the moral test and starts to retreat.

While the Elite 2nd maryland retreats, the Hessains recover and starts to follow the maryland regiment

The maryland is very unlucky retreats again, and only bearly recover at the 3rd atempt to rally.

It marches on the enemy, mabye another desprate charge can save the day.

No such like, first the 6pdr opens deadly cannonade on it, it takes 4 casualties ontop of the 5 it has allready from the previous charge and firefights, at 9 it would need to take another moral test and now it has over 50% casualties, but it's not over, the 33rd levels it's muskets and give out a thundering volley, dozens of marylanders fall, half it's remaning officers fall at well, and when it test morale it disperses, it was only half a casualty away from automatic despersal anyway.

At the same time the 23rd finnaly get a double six, and the volley devestates the milita that has now slowly be eroded away from constant fire, this volley was the last slap in the face, and it disperses. This is the posisions of the Britsh as it ends, The fighting took a long time, and the Americans gave up 3 feet of table before giving up and going awaty. It was bloodly, I expected to push the milita away easy and then mabye have a harder fight with the continetals. Instead the 1st maryland was the first to go way, and the milita took ONE HELL of beating before going away, I think more militamen died and got woned then contientals, even tho the 2nd maryland was quite devistated.

In the british camp, the Hessain got the most of it, with 4 casualties or 60 in 1:15 scale, pluss the smaller casualties that don't count in the DPs, the 33rd got away with 2 casualties, or 30 dead and wounded, the 23rd, didn't loose any figures so it's casulaties must have been minor. Probebly becasue it never got into mele, and fought milita for most of the time, exept when it was hidden well in the brush and hedges.

As I said I did know who would win, I don't think a single american geneal would have fought this battle, it was almost even in number of soldiers. And half the Americans were milita.

But the milita fought very well and lost dearly for it. Brave milita, had you only had twice as many, there might have been harder for the British.

Hessian version 2.0

Ok, this is my first attempt at realy doing the Foundty painting style, it looks better then I thought. you can see the first non foundry style to the left, the two on the right is foundry style.

Some Mediocre Hessians

Well I've lived and breath Napoleoincs for 10 months, with only tiny tiny random devuldgnets,
I painted a single AWI unit in 6mm, and a single 30YW unit in 28mm, every thing els is Napoleoinc, But I got quite a few 40mm AWI laying around, So why not paint some of them.
I started with the Hessains this is gonna be Regiment von Trümbach AKA Von Bose.

It's funny if you look at the small pictures they look quite good, but when you open them and get the high details, they look less good, much less good, I tried a mix of styles, one style I used with white on white was black outline, looks good in person, not so good in pictures, the second style is classic highlight and shade, I think the coats turned out quite well, and the faces are easly my best, but the black outline is very "extreme" and dosn't look good.

The breachers are very tight leaving not much to shade, so I used a VERY VERY light gray, called Tank light gray, dosn't turn up that well in pictures.

Also since they are german, I had to make a few with blond mustaches and blond hair and blue eyes.