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| Blücher: Aach, Vinzingerode! Ve vill make ze Gardes Brigade togetzer, jah? |
Two passing British officers can scarcely believe their eyes.
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| Lyon: Look, Wussians! Alten: Oh yes, Wussians! |
The Leib-Garde Grenadiers march and countermarch.
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| Winzingerode (under his breath): Hmmm, I must say zose Garde zu Fuß are a rather weedy looking lot! |
To recap, the figures are all Garrison Miniatures circa 1973-1975, being:
RN 8: Russian Line Grenadier x 20;
RN 8: Russian Line Grenadier x 1, converted into a drummer with a Musket Miniatues drum;
RN 8: Russian Line Grenadier x 2, converted into standard bearers; and
RN 1: Russian Pavlovski Officer x 1, converted into a grenadier officer using the head of an RN 5: Russian Grenadier officer bearing a flagstaff
Many thanks again to Rob Y for so kindly sending me these wonderful figures, and to all those who've encouraged me to get them finished. I'm very pleased with them.
Cheers
WM
RN 8: Russian Line Grenadier x 2, converted into standard bearers; and
RN 1: Russian Pavlovski Officer x 1, converted into a grenadier officer using the head of an RN 5: Russian Grenadier officer bearing a flagstaff
Many thanks again to Rob Y for so kindly sending me these wonderful figures, and to all those who've encouraged me to get them finished. I'm very pleased with them.
Cheers
WM
A labour of love – so many buttons and different sword knots, pompoms, etc. - a real painting challenge. I particularly like the colour and shading on the rolled up greatcoats.
ReplyDeleteYour Allied armies have now started to acquire their own reserve Guard division to rival the French who must be getting a bit outnumbered by now?
That was the whole idea, Rob.
DeleteActually the French and Allies are running more or less neck and neck, although the Allies are ahead by a nose with this lot. French will be next. Need a lot more cavalry too.
Beautifully done Matthew…
ReplyDeleteWell worth all the time you put into them.
All the best. Aly
Thank you Aly.
DeleteThese are fantastic Matthew, beautifully done. Clearly your time in lockdown has not been wasted!
ReplyDeleteCheers Ian. It was those Moscow Grenadiers of yours that made me do it.
DeleteIt's amazing how much extra time you end up with when there's no commuting to be done, which certainly helped a bit.
They really are spectacular, from the flags right down to (all of) the buttons. The unit is a gem!
ReplyDeleteBest Regards,
Stokes
Thank you Stokes. High praise indeed, which will be the ruin of me, no doubt - as were all those buttons. I think there must be over 400 of them.
DeleteExcellent paintwork as usual - nice to see them looking so good!
ReplyDeleteThey're superb castings, Rob, so I had to try my best. I fear one might not be enough though.
DeleteThat's not a hint by the way!
What a superb unit. Well done, Sir. Did working in sub zero temperatures help you to bond with them? And did Alten really have trouble with his R’s?
ReplyDeleteA little bit of me will be forever part of them, Archduke. We're entering into prime painting season now though. 1st September is when Spring starts in these latitudes.
DeleteI forgot to add: I've no idea, but it happens when the British first catch sight of the Russians at the Alma in "The Charge of the Light Brigade"(1968), which was good enough for me.
DeleteSimply lovely.
ReplyDeletePersonally painting all those buttons would have sent me doolally so I am in awe of your patience and dedication!
Thank you Matt!
DeleteIt's not too bad if you do them in two batches of only 200! It was Aly's fault. He did them exquisitely on the wonderful Scruby Neuchatel battalion he sent me, which shamed me into having a go. These are finally getting a commander, by the way, and will get a proper review on their snazzy new bases when he's finished.
It's the flags I'm really proud of. They have an ethereal, watery-looking quality (once I got the that damn Humbrol mid blue to work), which is most unwarlike but very pretty.
So beautifully done Matthew. General Winzingerode is really spectacular and a suitable commander for such a spanking battalion. I can't believe you black lined all of those buttons (and sword knots, musket butts, shako cords and on and on...). You must cut yourself some slack though - the Garde zu Fuß are fine looking veterans. They have just been in the field a little too long perhaps. It all adds to the flavour! Keep up the inspirational work!
ReplyDeleteThank you David.
ReplyDeleteThe Garde zu Fuß were my second battalion, if I remember correctly, and are getting a bit tatty. The main problem, however, is that they're miniscule compared to the Leib Grenadiers, which is why Winzingerode (who's actually Wallmoden in disguise) was having a crack at them. I think they may need a refresh and an ugrade to the 2mm bases I use these days!
I hear you. I finished up prepping and priming the Legion du Midi made with Der Kriegspieler figures. They are indeed "weedy", as you like to say - so delicate and thin, especially the spindly little legs and thin waists. The bases were thin as well so I glued two layers of cardstock to the bases to build up their height a wee bit at least. Hope it will help, but only time and a paint brush will tell...
DeleteIt's my own fault, David. 1975 Garrisons are on the outer limits in terms of compatibility with Hinton Hunts, but are such beautiful sculpts that I just had to paint some, and because they're part of the vintage canon. What I handn't realised, however, is that at some point along the way my standard basing has crept up 2mm. I'd completely forgotten that my early stuff was on 1.5mm. I reckon the Garde zu Fuß will definitely match up a bit better if I give them upgrade.
DeleteBeautifully, beautifully done Matt. They are a guards' quality unit for sure. Gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteRegards, James
Thank you James! I was sworn off Russians on the grounds that there has to be some way of keeping a lid on the lead mountain, but when I saw Rob's I crumbled in an instant.
DeleteAbsolutely fantastic. What a great job!
ReplyDeleteThank you David! Every bit of encouragement helps.
DeleteGorgeous stuff Matt, such attention to detail. Be nice to see sone Russian cavalry.
ReplyDeleteCheers LG!
DeleteRussian cavalry, indeed Russians in general, seem to be exceptionally hard to come by, but I've scraped together a few. I'll need to do another Russian infantry battalion before I paint any troopers though.
Wonderful looking figures. You must have the smallest brush to capture all that detail!
ReplyDeleteThank you Bob. Garrison are woefully underappreciated in my view, so I'm very pleased you like them. As for the detail, I think it's my OCD rather than my brush size which is off the charts.
Delete