Sunday 29 October 2017

Pretty in Pink

The Command Group for my Prussian 18th Infantry Regiment is finally complete. I'd have done more, but after returning from my travels (to Australia, this time) I was kidnapped by a deckchair on a sunny porch that refused to release me. I put my captivity to good use by reading up a bit more on the Prussian army.


The command figures are:

Hinton Hunt (David Clayton) PN 20: Prussian Landwehr Officer, marching;
Hinton Hunt PN 5: Prussian Infantry of the Line 1810-15, Private advancing (Separate Musket); and
Der Kriegspielers Napoleoniques # 120: Prussian Infantry 1813-15 Command, Drummer.

They were all donated by Don in the US a little over two years ago (sorry, Don).

The officer has had his rather chunky Clayton base cut down and reshaped a bit to reduce his height and help him fit in a little better with his men (the original version can be seen here). The drummer, believe it or not, is the first proper Prussian line infantry drummer I've painted.

The pink colour on the facings is my own creation as the pot of Humbrol pink I had in hand was an absolutely ghastly colour that was also so watery that it was almost impossible to paint with.

Spring in Wellington tends to be a rather wet and miserable season, so the chances are that next weekend I'll be able to get stuck into the rest of the battalion without too many other temptations.

WM

26 comments :

  1. They look great, splendid job...and flag!

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    1. Cheers, Phil. My apologies for the delay. It's been a long winter, so last weekend's sunshine was simply too irresistible.

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  2. These are have a very pleasing mix of colours. I also like the 'plus fours' they are wearing.

    I am going to have to get a unit of these chaps for my Prussians.

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    1. I'm delighted you like them, Mark.
      My first version had black gaiters, but they just looked like boots, so grey it had to be. It's a rather unusual look, I grant you.

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  3. Welcome back, you were missed. I do like the command group, they blend in well especially as the officer figure in the blue uniform with cap instead of shako forms a nice 'half-way house' between the two groups. Also impressed by the wolf's teeth on the drum.
    As you enter spring we just put the clocks back last night so the evenings (afternoons?) are suddenly much darker much earlier...

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    1. I was reading the Osprey book you sent me, Rob!

      Even after ten years in NZ, I'm still not used to the seasons. It's also very disorientating having the sun in the northern portion of the sky. I'm always getting hopelessly lost.

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  4. Smart chaps ! , I like the drummer pose .

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  5. Possibly the best painted drum I've seen. Now, how about a little history lecture? Why did the command of the 18th have different coloured facings from the men? Presumably not because they were fans of Katie Price.........

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    1. It's an interesting question, Archduke. The 6th Reserve Infantery Regiment was an amalgam of West Prussian and Silesian reserve battalions, and originally had a mixture of crimson and yellow facings. In 1815, however, the whole regiment was told to adopt the regulation infantry uniform with the new Pink facings decreed for regiments from Westphalia, which had just been gobbled up by Prussia. The rank and file of the second battalion, it seems, were unable to do this before Waterloo, but it's likely that their cadres made an effort. That's my excuse, anyway.

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    1. Thank you, LG. They won't really be finished until I've got a ton of Silesian Landwehr to serve alongside them!

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  7. Lovely! Can't wait to see the rest of the 18th.

    Best Regards,

    Stokes

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    1. Me too, Stokes. They've been a year, or thereabouts, in the planning and the scheming!

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  8. The pink facings work really well...
    It would be nice to see a whole unit in these colours...

    All the best. Aly

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    1. Thank you, Aly. I'm not sure yet if I'll do another Prussian unit in pink, but I'm definitely comtemplating some other units with pink facings....

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    2. Shame, pink is my favourite facing colour for Prussian dragoons as it goes well with light blue and you get a nice band of it edging the shabraque. However, it also goes well with French dragoon dark green... I shall wait and see?
      (I'll send a photo of my dragoons - French not Prussian as the latter are 6mm)

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    3. I'm not ruling anything out, Rob!

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  9. Splendid explanation, WG, thank you. I reckon you could strengthen the effect if there was a Gefreiter in the ranks who had got his Frau to sew on the new fangled pink facings.....

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    1. That's an excellent idea, Archduke. I'll probably stick with a uniform yellow for the rank and file, however. If I start introducing variations I'd almost certainly get carried away.

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  10. Very smart - you can never have enough pink in a wargame army in my opinion!

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    1. Cheers, Ian. From the responses I'm definitely going to have to add pink to my secret list of plans and schemes!

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  11. Very impressive, like the mix of grey, blue and pink, look forward to seeing the unit complete.

    Paul

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  12. Very nice. Great painting as always. Love the flag, amazingly since you quick tutorial I haven't had a single empty drinks can to try out the flag making!

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    1. Many thanks. I leave the drinking of the actual fizzy stuff to the kids, ABC. A single can goes a long way. I've yet to cut into my second.

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