Wedell Grenadiers Are Finished

I was finally able to find some spare time to finish the Wedell Grenadier Battalion (1/23) for my Minden Project. I've been watching the Olympic Games with Mrs. Fritz and that put a dent in my painting time. So I completed the 15 figures from the IR23 Forcade half of the battalion to go along with the 15 grenadiers from the IR1 Winterfeldt half.

I then glued the figures to their bases and applied the spackel compound with a trowel. Then I dipped the stand into a pot of fine gravel (Gale Force Nine brand) and will let the stands dry overnight. Tomorrow I will apply dark brown ink, dry brush some tan paint, and finish off the stands with some patches of static grass. Pictures will be posted two days hence after the static grass step is completed.

I now have four battalions of 30 figures (3 musketeers and 1 grenadier, plus two mounted colonels and 12 artillery crew) or enough for one brigade of Prussians.

Yesterday, a packet of Minden Prussian dragoons arrived from the UK and I was impressed with the work of sculptor Richard Ansell on the dragoons. In fact, these might be some of his best work yet! The detail work is outstanding, but it doesn't overwhelm the figure to the point where you feel that you have too many bits to paint. They are perfect, in my humble opinion. I haven't had a chance to set them up and take pictures. I hope to prime a half dozen or a dozen over the next couple of days and paint one each of the officer, ensign, drummer and trooper so that I have painted samples to work from. The dragoons will be painted as DR5 Bayreuth Dragoons.

Good fortune abounds, for this evening, a second packet of Minden figures arrived from the UK. I have to say that Frank Hammond's service is first rate. And so is his penmenship, what with my name and address neatly handwritten on the package. The 60 or so musketeer figures will eventually become the IR13 Itzenplitz regiment. My basic plan is to have at least four regiments of musketeers, each in a distinct uniform: IR1 has white small clothes and red facings; IR5 has straw colored small clothes and straw facings; IR13 has white small clothes and white facings. So all that I really need is a regiment with straw small clothes and red facings. It might be IR12 Alt Darmstadt or IR34 Prinz Ferdinand that meet this criteria. This way I can look at a regiment and know at a glance which regiment it represents.