I really like the WSS uniforms, there is just something so fancy about them, after the 30 YW some 40 years earlier, were the clothes were lots of leather and it was after all a renesance war, so it's almost medieval in look, it's kinda like it's not medieval but kinda is with the armor ect.
But these now we are squarly in the age of enlightenment, the uniforms are so fancy they are borderline femenin, the long coats and vest looks almost like dreses, and with the white shits under, fleaing out. It's just something od about soldiers dress like they are about to go to a ball, going out and killing eachother.
I also like not having to paint bayonets, it gives the whole unit diffrent look when not having those spear likes bayonets over their head. and ofcourse the tricorne is the best looking hat ever. Lasted in fashion for like a centuary, starting around the turn of the centuary 1700 and leasting in one from or another in fashion untill the dawn of the French revolution.
While the Napoleonic uniforms were colorfull, they still had this kinda military feel. these are just so ponsey, must have been a bitch to fight a battle in.
It dosn't show up, but there is infact a 3 layer coat on the jackets, medium grey, horse tone grey and elven grey, I think they look great, the blue vets sticking out give them color, the breaches are red, but bearly visilble. The blue and red got two coats., for the blue, deadly nightshade, and royal blue, for the red, brick red and russet red. It took quite a while to them, there is alot to paint, faces take concentartion but I think they will look very good when the unit is togeather, this may be my best unit ever.
I did enjoy painting them, even tho I don't want totaly grey units, I did nail the grey on these, they look very good in person. Now I need like 16 of them, pluss atleat 8 cav.
Also if anybody can recomend any books either covering the whole of the WSS, or just the French/British campaigns, I would be apritriated.
3 comments:
Good stuff mate keep it going
There's nothing effeminate about these guys they will bayonet your guts out and bash skulls, and they understood tomahawks. They did use those swords unlike wimps later on. They'd chop whole limbs off with cutlasses, and skin a dead horse for dinner. When it's cold it's good to have a full coat.
Rene Chartrand has a series of Ospreys on the French that cover exactly what you have with Regt de la Reine here.
General WSS history is a problem because, in English, it does focus on exactly what you said you want, which leaves out vast parts and whole theaters barely mentioned. There are big battles we know little about because of the excessive focus on one man's hero, D of M. And big sections of battles we do know about.
Inside England his opposition included Jonathan Swift from Gulliver's Travels fame.
There is extensive discussion on TMP 18C books. Still you should read all the Chandler books, and there are several, before complaining what he missed. He did mention a lot first, besides what he left out. He has reprinted whole first hand accounts and not just excerpts.
Then he is supplemented by work mostly in other languages talking about their parts. Check Desperta Ferro blog about the War in Spain. There is some stuff in German or Hungarian about their parts, and Italy. There is some Dutch work, but it's mainly in Dutch. Also Spanish stuff against the Catalan stuff, remember the Bourbons still rule. In English there's a bio of the Bourbon king Philip that has some fresh stuff in it, and a different POV than we are used to.
Also the Great Northern War is at the same time and not real far away, so that's another whole area. Check Oderint dum Probent blog for a ton of stuff. Dan Schorr's site was great, but gone, and he especially was good on the Scandinavian parts. It's sad he took it down. Try Spanishsuccession.nl for lots more good stuff.
If you can find the book by Voltaire on Louis XIV, there is a lot of interesting material for about 50-60 pages about the French side, and Claude Sturgill did a book about Marshal Villars. There's more but it gets a bit obscure after Chandler. Charles Spencer did a book on Blenheim not too long ago.
Good job on the figures. The exact shade of white-gray can vary, some like the Dutch could be darker than that, and others could be a whiter shade of pale, like Austrians.
Don't worry Mekelnborg, just me having a jib at the French.
I do infact expect any soldier of any period to be quite brutal when need arises.
Thanks for the info, I guess my first mission is to dig up Chandler's book.
Post a Comment