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

Russian WIP

Not much to report this week, except to say that we're five days into our second national lockdown, which looks all set to continue for a while yet. It's not all been working from home and doom scrolling, however: I've also been working on my Russians.

Progress to date is illustrated below. All the white bits are on at last, and although there's a lot of tidying up to do, I think I'm definitely on the home stretch with these now.

I'm very hopeful that they'll all be done by next weekend.

Yours,

WM

Half Life

I've finally finished the first half battalion of the Garrison Leib Grenadiers.

I couldn't work out why it was taking me so long to paint these, but when I thought about it for a bit the fact that it takes nine separate steps just to paint their wee cuffs and collars probably has something to do with it.

Thankfully, I was able to rescue the flags by coaxing just a little more blue out of my tin of Humbrol 89: Middle Blue by mixing the paint properly. They're still not all that vibrant, but definitely a bit bluer.

The last shot illustrates the difference in height between Garrison RN 8s, Hinton Hunt RN 17s and Lamming FI/1s (Lamming didn't do any Russians, unfortunately). The HH is definitely on the short side compared to the other two, but it's nothing that can't be cured by a bit of stand thickness variation.

It'll clearly take me a while to get the second half of this battalion finished, but I've a new general to show off in the meantime who'll probably be making an appearance next week.

Toodle pip,

WM

Wrangling Russians

What with it being the long Easter weekend, I thought I'd get cracking on Rob Y's rather more-ish Garrison Russians. As is the tradition with these things, I wanted to get the command group into shape before launching into the rest of the battalion.

First up is my officer conversion, which is a mashup between a 1972 Garrison RN 1: Pavlovski Officer, and an unlisted 1975 RN 5: Russian Grenadier officer bearing a flagstaff. Apart from the obvious head swap, I used the flagstaff to fashion a slightly more robust sword for the conversion.

Rather simpler was my own standard bearer, who is just a 1975 Garrison RN 8: Line Grenadier with his musket removed and holes drilled to hold one of my fizzy flags. The drummer, however, who is based on another RN 8, was a bit more complex. It took the best part of a day to shave back and replace his left arm and attach a drum. His drumsticks still need a bit of work, but I'm nearly there.

I haven't quite decided who they are to represent, but I'm leaning strongly towards the Leib Grenadier Regiment. This appears to have been the only Russian line grenadier regiment which really was composed exclusively of grenadiers and they have the added  advantage of being transferred to the Russian Imperial Guard in 1813, which will make them A+. Just the thing, I'm thinking, for making up a Russo-Prussian Guards division.

My test grenadier will need bit of white lace on his cuffs and collar to turn him into a Leib Grenadier, but this shouldn't take more than jiffy.

Happy Easter!

WM

Lützow Heavy Weapons

I've been terribly busy with various work projects these last few weeks, but as they've finally slackened off a bit I've managed to get some painting done.

Readers of this blog may dimly recall that Mr A. Gentleman very kindly supplied me with a set of wonderful Hinton Hunt Lützower infantry conversions a few years ago. "If you can bung me a few more," I said, "I'll turn them into gunners". I'm somewhat mortified by how long it's taken me to paint them, but here they are at last.

Depicted below are the other ranks. The first two figures, I believe, are conversions of a Hinton Hunt PN 21: Prussian Landwehr infantryman, marching. The third is a charging variant who I think started life as a BN 72: British Fusilier charging. All I needed to do with them was to pare off their muskets and substitute various artillery implements.

I think the the superb Lützower officer conversion which follows was made from an  AN 50: Austrian Artillery Officer. The only change I made to him was to solder on a new scabbard as the original had broken off. I may have overdone the length a bit.

Their gun is still in the works but when it's finished I'll show them all off properly along with the rest of the Prussian gun line.

While I was about these I decided to have a go at a Garrison Russian grenadier who was very generously supplied to me by Rob Young. Like the Garrison Prussian Landwehr Rob also sent to me, he's a wee bit bigger than a standard Hinton Hunt, but not disastrously so.

He's the first of what is to be a little Austro-Russian side project, which will be matched with a few Bavarians and other satellite units on the French side. I've been dying to do this for ages, so despite the fact that Phase 2 of my main project is not quite complete, a battalion of Garrison Russians is what's up next after the Lützowers are finished.

I can't quite articulate what it is that attracts me so much about Garrisons, but every time I get hold of them I find them absolutely irresistible.

Yours

WM

Hot Cross Huns

Marshal Blücher has arrived to inspect elements of a new division being formed by General Pirch.

Pirch: My new Westphalians are burning to get at the enemy, Herr Marshal.

The newly-raised 5th Westphalian Landwehr Infantry Regiment, under the veteran Baron von Klaptowt, are put through their paces.

Klaptowt: Westphalians....March!

Drilled to perfection in the best Prussian style under Old Fritz's expert tutelage, Klaptowt's men wheel, march and countermarch flawlessly.

Blücher is impressed!

Blücher: A fine body of men, Herr General! Ve must send you some Regulars to make up ze numbers.

The figures are:

from the 1973 Garrison 25mm Napoleonics range:

PN 12: Prussian Landwehr, marching x 21

PN 12: Prussian Landwehr, marching x 1, converted into a standard bearer
PN 12: Prussian Landwehr, marching x 1, converted into a drummer with a Musket Miniatures drum;

and

Hinton Hunt, PN 10: Prussian Garde Officer, charging x 1, converted into a Frederickan dugout with a mystery head.

Happy Easter everyone.

With special thanks to Rob Young and Lewis Gunner.

WM

Der Alte Fritz

My painting session today seemed to go like a dream with the result that my Westphalians are nearly finished.

Pictured below is the command group, featuring a delightful Hinton Hunt Conversion given to me a couple of years ago by the ever dependable Mr Lewis Gunner. He's a conversion of a Hinton Hunt PN 10: Prussian Garde Grenadiers, Officer charging, if I'm not mistaken, but with his aiguillettes removed and a new head. I've no idea where the head came from!

Baron von Klaptowt (for it is he): Take heart, my fine lads, und  give

 zose damned Kaiserlicks,.er, I mean, Frenchmen a good kicking!

He's a bit of a late entrant because I only rather belatedly remembered that I'd stashed him somewhere in a 'box of special things'. When I  eventually fished him out I thought he'd be just the chap to command my Westphalians. Not only does he look like some sort of late-Frederickan dugout, which is amusingly plausible for a Landwehr battalion, but his enormous hat gives him just the extra bit of stature needed to stand in line with those beefy Garrisons.

I just need to base them up now, which should only take a day or two.

Yours, locked down for the duration

WM

Doing things by halves

I've been hard at it on the 5th Westphalians this weekend and have finished the first half of the battalion. I suppose this makes them the 2.5th Westphalians.

I've been painting my infantry in half battalions like this since I started this project nigh on five years ago, but I still haven't found the secret of making the second half nearly as enjoyable as doing the first half. There is a rather interesting late substitute for my officer and my converted drummer to do in this case, however, so I'm hoping this will keep me keen.

Yours, shining on

WM

Gott Mit Uns

We all have our crosses to bear, and Prussian Landwehr in particular. I was hoping to get the first half-battalion of the 5th Westphalians finished today, but all my time was used up painting their fiddly little hats!

Never mind, I've done the hard yards with this lot and they stand a very good chance of being finished by the end of next weekend.

Cheers

WM

Garrison Duty

Today was supposed to be spent finishing off the horses on my cuirassiers, but I started fiddling about with the Garrisons again and no horses were painted. I don't know what it is about the G-men, but I just adore them. Exactly the same thing happened when I was painting my French Garrison battalion, who threatened to elbow aside my Prussian reservists at one point.

Pictured below are the day's results:

The standard bearer was dead easy, of course, as all I had to do was cut away his musket and drill a couple of holes. The Silesian Landwehr flag he's carrying, needless to say, is not what he'll be carrying when he's finished, but it's shown here to give an impression of what the final result ought to look like.

The drummer was a much bigger challenge. I spent hours carefully paring back his arms with the intention of repositioning them, but when I tried to re-attach them they disintegrated. To make matters worse, I'd changed the solder I've been using recently and it really wasn't working very well. In the end I had to revert to my earlier supply and chop off a new pair of arms from a surplus Lamming Guard Grenadier. He still needs a little bit of work, but he's basically all there now. There's now a very high probability that the Garrisons will queue jump my cuirassiers, although I'm still fighting it.

In other news, my friend Rob G has sent me the attached, demonstrating once again his extraordinary painting accomplishments. Those have got to be among the best Poniatowski' and Ponsonby figures ever painted. Rifleman Plunkett, Rob tells me, is the chap they are about to tread on.

Last but not least is a selection of the absolutely stunning flags Rob has been gradually adding to 'Lee's wonderful Hinchliffe ECW army. These make me weep for my teenage self. My own attempts back in those days were absolutely abysmal.

That's it for now. It'll be either more Garrisons, cuirassiers or a general or two in the next post, although I also have some gunners on the go so anything could happen really.

WM

The Lost Garrison

It's the day after Waitangi Day here in the Land of the Long White Cloud, so I've been taking a bit of time off to paint toy soldiers. This has mostly been devoted to cuirassiers, but while I was about it I also had a crack at one of the wonderful Garrison Prussian Landwehr sent to me by Rob Y. This was a bad idea, as I want a whole battalion of these delightful figures now and they're really not allowed until I've finished Phase 2.

He's a Garrison PN 12: Prussian Landwehr marching, of 1973-design vintage, or thereabouts. The intent, I am assuming, was to expand the existing Garrison Prussian range, which the year before had included guard, line and landwehr in advancing poses. Alas, Rob tells me, the moulds for these are no more, but I've found a picture of some of them.

The image below of troops from Peter Gilder's collection appeared in Charles Grant's Napoleonic Wargaming, published in 1974. The troops in line attacking Plancenoit are Garrison Prussian Guards and Landwehr (codes PN 2 and PN 11, respectively according to the 1972 catalogue). Line infantry (PN 7s) can also be glimpsed in the village. Marching up in column behind them are Lammings, albeit with Hinton Hunt officers by the looks of them.

If anybody has any of these and would like to send me pictures of them, I would be extremely grateful.

There may or may not be another post this weekend. I have a couple of generals on the go and with a bit of luck I may have one of them to show off in a day or two.

WM

Prussian Presents 2

I must apologise for my atrocious posting rate of late. Work stress is the cause of it. Although this usually helps me with my hobby, as I find it so relaxing, it's reached such a level in the last few weeks that I've been spending the evenings and weekends absolutely prostrate. Needless to say, this has been having a very bad effect on my cuirassier production.

There are two things which have happened in the last two days which ought to improve this situation. The first is that I have delivered on the major project which was distracting me so seriously; and the second was the arrival this morning of these splendid chaps:

They are 23 x Garrison PN 12: Prussian Landwehr, marching. Rob Young, the proprietor of Garrison, very generously sent them to me. Followers of Rob's wondrous Eastern Garrison blog will have seen these in recent weeks. I cannot adequately express how grateful and delighted I am, not the least because Rob is not actually open for business these days, so this was a very special favour.

The photos really don't do justice to what is a really nicely proportioned and animated figure with subtle but excellent detailing. I'm going to love painting these.

The vital question. of course, is how compatible are they with Hinton Hunts? The answer is not too badly at all, as I hope the following will demonstrate. Pictured below are the PN 12s next to a battalion of vintage Hinton Hunt PN 8: Prussian Infantry of the Line 1810-15, Private, marching. If you click to embiggen you'll also see a David Clayton version of the Hinton Hunt PN 20: Prussian Landwehr officer, marching, commanding the Garrisons. He's certainly a little shorter, but with his thick Clayton base to give him a bit of a boost, I think he can still do the business.

A close up of the HH PN 8s next to the Garrison PN 12s is shown below. To even things up a bit, the Hinton Hunts are on my standard 2mm-thick bases, while the Garrisons are on 1.5mm-thick bases. As you can see, the Garrisons are still a little taller, but are a fair match nonetheless.

I'd been wondering what to paint for Phase 3 of my project, and for a while was seriously considering leaving Prussians off the list. There's no doubt now that there'll be at least two new Prussian battalions. They'd go rather well with the Lutzowers, I reckon, to recreate Tippelskirch's 5th Brigade of the Army of the Lower Rhine. This will require the Garrisons to be painted as the 5th Westphalian Landwehr, which will suit them very nicely, I think.

Thank you Rob!

All the best

WM

Garrison Troops

It rained buckets in Wellington yesterday, so our traditional Boxing Day hike up a lump in the landscape was postponed. What I did instead, of course, was finish my Garrison infantry. Pictured below is the result.

The figures, which are nearly all from the 1972 Garrison French Napoleonic range, are:

FN 1: Old Guard Grenadier Officer, converted into a Line Officer, x 1;
FN 2: Old Guard Grenadier advancing, x 6;
FN 4: Line Officer, converted into an eagle-bearer, x 1;
FN 7: Line Fusilier advancing, x 9; and, for the Voltigeurs,
FN 9: Line Grenadier advancing, x 6.

The only non-Garrison figure is the drummer, who was converted from a Lamming FI/6: Imperial Guard Grenadier drummer.

The last shot shows the new battalion besides my Der Kriegspielers Swiss, with Soult as the proud Brigadier. I wasn't really sure how they were going to fit in with the rest of my French army when I started them, but I think I've just about got away with it.

Seeing them together like this suggests that another pre-Bardin line battalion is needed in order to give Soult his division.

There's a bit more artillery required first, however, and another battle to fight on New Year's Day.

Happy New Year everyone.

WM

A Wargaming Classic

One of the reasons I've wanted to paint Garrisons for so long is that masses of them appeared in the war games books I read when I was a lad. A lot of the photos in these books, of course, were of Peter Gilder's amazing collections. I didn't know they were Garrisons back then, but I thought they were magnificent all the same.

The all-time classic photo of Peter's troops, as far as I was concerned, was the one that appeared on the dust jacket of Bruce Quarrie's Napoleon's Campaigns in Miniature, published in 1977. The whole cover can be seen here. I spent hours staring at this picture and wondering where the figures came from.

A lot of the soldiers shown marching to their doom at Waterloo in this photo, I now realise, are Garrisons. The detail from the dust jacket I've posted below ought to show what I mean. Those are definitely Garrisons in the back two rows of the column in the foreground, and I think they make up most of the third and fourth rows in the other column as well.

Also depicted, of course, are zillions of Hinton Hunts and Hinchliffes. I'm almost sure that the chaps sporting the red and yellow plumes and marching beside them, however, are Lamming French line voltiguers, although what they're doing in company with the Imperial Guard is anybody's guess. The British on the ridge, by the way, look like S-Range Minifigs and Lammings to me, but if anyone knows better please don't hesitate to say so in the comments.

My own Garrison guardsmen, painted to represent line infantry grenadiers, are shown below. The figures are all Garrison FN 2: Old Guard Grenadier Advancing.

The last two fusilier and voltigeur companies are now on the painting table, but it remains to be seen whether or not I can get them finished before Christmas. Just in case I don't, here's the first half battalion to be going on with:

That's it for now,

WM

Edit: I've added in an extra photo to show how the FN 7 Fusilier and the FN 2 Grenadier compare. I hope it illustrates what I was trying to get at in my comment to 'Lee. The fusilier has a slightly quizzical look somehow - I think it's something to do with the deft little side step he's making, and the slight tilt of his head - like he's trying to decide whether to charge or bolt!