Thursday 2 September 2021

Life Savers

It is the Spring of 1813, and at a secret location Generallieutenant Baron von Winzingerode arrives with the Leib-Garde Grenadiers, who have been newly promoted to the Russian Imperial Guard. Marshal Blücher rides forward to greet them.

Blücher: Aach, Vinzingerode! Ve vill make ze Gardes Brigade togetzer, jah?
The Leib-Garde Grenadiers parade for inspection. They haven't received their new Guard standards and uniforms yet, but make a proud showing nonetheless.



Two passing British officers can scarcely believe their eyes.

Lyon: Look, Wussians!
Alten: Oh yes, Wussians!
The Leib-Garde Grenadiers march and countermarch.


Winzingerode (under his breath): Hmmm, I must say zose
Garde zu Fuß
 are a rather weedy looking lot!
The Prussians begin to wonder what they've let themselves in for.


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

27 comments :

  1. 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.
    Your 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?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That was the whole idea, Rob.
      Actually 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.

      Delete
  2. Beautifully done Matthew…
    Well worth all the time you put into them.

    All the best. Aly

    ReplyDelete
  3. These are fantastic Matthew, beautifully done. Clearly your time in lockdown has not been wasted!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cheers Ian. It was those Moscow Grenadiers of yours that made me do it.

      It's amazing how much extra time you end up with when there's no commuting to be done, which certainly helped a bit.

      Delete
  4. They really are spectacular, from the flags right down to (all of) the buttons. The unit is a gem!

    Best Regards,

    Stokes

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. 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.

      Delete
  5. Excellent paintwork as usual - nice to see them looking so good!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They're superb castings, Rob, so I had to try my best. I fear one might not be enough though.

      That's not a hint by the way!

      Delete
  6. 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?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. A 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.

      Delete
    2. I 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.

      Delete
  7. Simply lovely.

    Personally painting all those buttons would have sent me doolally so I am in awe of your patience and dedication!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Matt!
      It'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.

      Delete
  8. 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!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Thank you David.

    The 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!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. 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...

      Delete
    2. It'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.

      Delete
  10. Beautifully, beautifully done Matt. They are a guards' quality unit for sure. Gorgeous.
    Regards, James

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. 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.

      Delete
  11. Absolutely fantastic. What a great job!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you David! Every bit of encouragement helps.

      Delete
  12. Gorgeous stuff Matt, such attention to detail. Be nice to see sone Russian cavalry.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cheers LG!
      Russian 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.

      Delete
  13. Wonderful looking figures. You must have the smallest brush to capture all that detail!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank 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