Now that Phase One is complete I thought I'd set everything out again and have a think about where the Hinton Spieler ought to go from here.
The task in Phase One was to produce two starter armies of five infantry battalions, two cavalry regiments and two batteries each. I also wanted to get in a good mix of different types, including guard, line and militia units, exotic foreign regiments, skirmish battalions and a balance of heavy cavalry and lights. The result, I hoped, would be armies that were not only fun to paint and play with but which would serve as a call to action. What I actually achieved, however, was slightly more than this due to the unscheduled appearance of the Bavarians.
The Prussian Army Order of Battle:
2nd Neumark Landwehr Infantry Regiment
2nd/21st Infantry Regiment
10th (1st Silesian) Infantry Regiment
1st Foot Guards
2nd Silesian Schutzen Battalion
2nd Leib Hussars
Garde du Corps Cuirassiers
1 Line Foot Artillery Battery
1 Guard Foot Artillery Battery
1 Line Artillery Limber
The French Army Order of Battle:
3rd Swiss Infantry Regiment
13th Light Infantry Regiment
Combined Voltigeurs
45th Line Infantry Regiment
1st Chasseurs a Pied
7th (1st Vistula) Line Lancers
Dragoons of the Imperial Guard
1 Line Foot Artillery Battery
1 Guard Foot Artillery Battery
1 Guard Artillery Limber
The Bavarian Army Order of Battle:
4th Bavarian Line Infantry.
The obvious thing to do in both cases (Plan A) is to simply double the Prussians and the French. This would create two-battalion guard, line, light, reserve, landwehr and foreign infantry brigades and also light and heavy cavalry brigades. However, there is the small matter of that extra Bavarian battalion which would start to look increasingly anomalous.
An alternative plan (Plan B) is to regard the Bavarians as the beginning of phase two and to embark on two allied forces. The result would be very colourful, but wouldn't get me very far towards a coherent order of battle.
Plan C is to do a bit of both!
No prizes for guessing which one I've decided to go for. The first battalion is now half finished and will be the subject of the next post.
Till then,
WM
The task in Phase One was to produce two starter armies of five infantry battalions, two cavalry regiments and two batteries each. I also wanted to get in a good mix of different types, including guard, line and militia units, exotic foreign regiments, skirmish battalions and a balance of heavy cavalry and lights. The result, I hoped, would be armies that were not only fun to paint and play with but which would serve as a call to action. What I actually achieved, however, was slightly more than this due to the unscheduled appearance of the Bavarians.
 |
| The Prussian Army |
2nd Neumark Landwehr Infantry Regiment
2nd/21st Infantry Regiment
10th (1st Silesian) Infantry Regiment
1st Foot Guards
2nd Silesian Schutzen Battalion
2nd Leib Hussars
Garde du Corps Cuirassiers
1 Line Foot Artillery Battery
1 Guard Foot Artillery Battery
1 Line Artillery Limber
 |
| The Franco-Bavarian Army |
3rd Swiss Infantry Regiment
13th Light Infantry Regiment
Combined Voltigeurs
45th Line Infantry Regiment
1st Chasseurs a Pied
7th (1st Vistula) Line Lancers
Dragoons of the Imperial Guard
1 Line Foot Artillery Battery
1 Guard Foot Artillery Battery
1 Guard Artillery Limber
The Bavarian Army Order of Battle:
4th Bavarian Line Infantry.
The obvious thing to do in both cases (Plan A) is to simply double the Prussians and the French. This would create two-battalion guard, line, light, reserve, landwehr and foreign infantry brigades and also light and heavy cavalry brigades. However, there is the small matter of that extra Bavarian battalion which would start to look increasingly anomalous.
An alternative plan (Plan B) is to regard the Bavarians as the beginning of phase two and to embark on two allied forces. The result would be very colourful, but wouldn't get me very far towards a coherent order of battle.
Plan C is to do a bit of both!
No prizes for guessing which one I've decided to go for. The first battalion is now half finished and will be the subject of the next post.
Till then,
WM
 |
| Onwards! |
A Franco-Bavarian Army is always interesting and very nice to look at, and yours is not an exception, superb!
ReplyDeleteI'm very glad you said that, Phil, as I have a lot of unpainted Bavarians!
DeleteI reckon the first thing you should do is congratulate yourself on having created two superb wargames armies. They are a joy to behold, especially when you add your battle commentary. Personally, I have a strictly random approach to selecting my next project. I let the dice decide. It's got me into as many scrapes as my battlefield dice throwing. Keep up the great work.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Archduke. One of the tricks to keeping going, I persuaded myself at one point, is to paint units that seem to demand the next step - so now I really must expand my line units, create proper guards division and fill out the cavalry brigades. The reality is that I will probably do none of things. I'm forced to admit that it's prettiness and shininess which are all I really care about!
DeleteI say go where the inspiration takes you - it's the joy of painting that keeps units coming off the production line. When units start to become a chore because you 'have to have them', that's when painter's block strikes. I shan't try for the prize as my previous guesses have been pretty poor. I've got a Mothering Sunday SSM bash planned - based on the river crossing fight in Bruce Quarrie's Airfix Napoleonic rules - I'll send some photos later.
ReplyDeleteYes please, Rob! Your Spencer Smith's are beyond magnificent.
DeleteNow a river and a bridge is a thought.....I must paint some actual buildings!
Lovely! What do you use to get the shine/gloss effect ?
ReplyDeleteCheers, Paul. It's the finest Winsor and Newton super shiny "Artisan" gloss varnish! I started using it because it makes all sorts of grand promises about never yellowing or flaking, which is more than can be said for yours truly.
DeleteThanks. I´ll get me some and give it a test.
DeleteYou have two nice balanced forces there. The Bavarians can also be used for both sides and fight with the Prussians in 1814.
ReplyDeleteI am about 50% through the painting on my first 12 HH Hungarian renovations.
I couldn't have done it without the amazing encouragement and generosity of the old-schoolers, Mark. It's the other reason I keep going: I have very heavy moral debts to pay!
DeleteInspirational stuff again WM. My vote is for more Bavarians.
ReplyDeleteTony S
I'm running out of excuses not to, Tony!
DeleteIn any case, your collection is already glorious, and, as I believe I have said before, the table and scenery are just the thing.
ReplyDeleteBest Regards,
Stokes
Thank you, Stokes. The colour still needs a bit of tweaking, I think, but the concept seems right. The troops slide across the surface very nicely too, which is just as well because if you drop them on it they clatter in the most alarming fashion! I suspect this may be my undoing eventually and I will be forced to revert to cloth for its cushioning effect.
DeleteThe diffculty with the Prussans is that are rather dull, as are French line. It seems a good idea to kep the variety of colour and nation going as you clearly enjoy the inspiration of units that are a lively contrast wopith the last unit. Painting say four units of line would be a tough task and you do not want this to become work.
DeleteI find prep quite easy to do, so I suggest that you prepare five or six units that will be red, green, grey, light blue, dark blue, white, and brown, then perhaps pull a colour out of a hat and match it to the appropriate unit. Let lady luck decide!
Brown, you can do a Croat unit or some French hussars. White Prussian cuirassiers or infantry or some Italian or Saxon foot, Red would be Brits, French hussars, Brit infantry, Swiss, Scots, Green Rifle Brigade, French Dragoons or Chassers a cheval., Irish Brigade or Germans. No need for a list for blue.
Roy, you have revealed my secret plans!
DeleteYou are right, of course. Phase two is likely to last at least two years, so I couldn't be doing with just endless blue cannon fodder. However, I may sneak in a few nonetheless. The answer might be to tackle some of those Garrison infantry (which I adore) and maybe a few of that secret stash of Lammings I haven't told anybody about!
When I started my own project I didn't have any fixed ideas about orders of battle and basically just painted what I had which is one of the nice aspects of using vintage figures. However as the lead pile grew I began to formulate a plan making sure that all my favourite units were included. The problem for me is finding the time to paint everything on my list which is why I've had to farm out some of the units - like the Prussian Lancers! Now you have your basic (and truly wonderful) armies you should enjoy just going where your fancy takes you - if you end up with unrealistic OOB's so what? This is Old School after all!
ReplyDeleteThat is my experience and those are my sentiments exactly, Ian!
DeleteIs that a Garrison French figure lurking by the hedge ?
ReplyDeleteIt is, Mark, well spotted! He's a test figure I painted in the middle of last year. He's one of my unfinished projects, as is the "Essex Hussar" next to Napoleon and the standard bearer seen skulking close to Blucher in the Prussian picture!
DeleteReally good looking armies. I think that you should put together some more line units but it's your army! Do you have enough figures to expand?
ReplyDeleteThank you, Anon. I do indeed! Not all of them are DKs or Hinton Hunts, however, so there's an opportunity to try out something different this time round.
DeleteA fantastic collection. Enough said.
ReplyDeleteCheers Matt.
DeleteBeautiful Armies. The first thing to do is fight a glorious battle and post the photos. Then on with phase two. I personally like plan B, but plan C can be plan B with deviations, so I imagine that will be the choice.
ReplyDeleteTally Ho!
Thank you, Sir. The glorious battle has already been fought, Captain (see previous blog posts), but another is in preparation.
DeletePlan C is indeed merely Plan B with deviations, but then this whole project is a bit deviant!