GNW Russian Musketeer Regiment

Wow, do I have a lot of things to report and post about on my blog. I will break the topics up into individual posts this week, so keep coming back for updates. Among the updates are some new painted Hungarian musketeers, new SYW Russians, some painted figures to post for sale, and of course a 2015 Year in Review report and a 2016 Preview of the Year.

The first item, an appetizer if you will, is a battalion of Great Northern War ("GNW") Russian musketeers, figures from Warfare Miniatures:

Warfare Miniatures GNW Russians (click pix to enlarge)

I use 32-figures in a battalion of infantry for my GNW Swedes and Russians mounted on bases that measure 60mm wide by 80mm deep. The extra depth helps to protect the extended bayonets of the charging poses and leveled pikes, because if they don't protrude over the edge of the base, they are less likely to break off during handling of the figure base. The same applies to leveled muskets in the firing pose.

I really enjoy painting the Warfare Miniatures GNW figures. They paint quickly and easily for me and the animation is really nice. It is as if each figure is a different figure. I also really like how the Russian armies of the GNW and SYW look with the predominant Green and Red coloring.

Warfare Miniatures will be adding a significant number of new figures to the GNW range in 2016 including Russian cavalry, artillery and grenadiers and Swedish cavalry, artillery and grenadiers. I can see that I have a lot of painting ahead of me.

Overhead view of the battalion.

I like to place at least one "command figure" on each stand and offset it a little bit to imply a third rank. When you place all of the bases together, then the effect of the third line becomes more clear, as shown in the picture below:

Rear view showing the officers, NCOs and drummers forming a  virtual third rank.

Side view illustrating the "third rank" effect achieved by the deep bases and offsetting the command figures.

SYW Russian Army Project Update

I have completed painting of three stands of musketeers using the Crann Tara Miniatures 'Savoy" infantry figures. The figures are completely compatible with Minden, Fife & Drum, RSM and Crann Tara figures. Since the Russian infantry had large cuffs and no lapels, the Savoy figures work just fine. The only change that I have to make is to paint a red collar onto each figure. Otherwise, the figures are perfect Russians "as is".

SYW Perm Regiment, work in progress (3 of 5 stands completed so far), using Crann Tara "Savoy" figures.

More to follow this week.

My SYW Russian Brigade

RSM Russian Grenadiers in the front and Minden Musketeers in the back row.

Here are a couple of pictures of my small but growing SYW Russian army. The grenadier battalion represents the 1st Grenadier Regiment in the Seven Years War and uses RSM figures plus some Minden French command figures painted as Russians.

The musketeer battalion are all Minden French without lapels but with turnbacks, painted as Russians.

RSM grenadiers in the front, Minden musketeers in the back.

Kremzow Grenadier Battalion (17/22) -Painted Mindens

Kremzow Grenadier Battalion with Minden Miniatures

I completed the Prussian grenadier battalion Kremzow (17/22) over the Christmas Holiday. The battalion was comprised of two companies of grenadiers from the Manteufel Regiment (IR17) and two companies from the Prinz Moritz Regiment (IR22). Hence the battalion's designation of "17/22" indicates the two regiments that contributed their grenadier companies to the battalion. Grenadier battalions in the Prussian army were actually known by the name of their colonel, in this case, Herr Kremzow.

Kremzow Grenadier Battalion (17/22)

Christopher Duffy says of the battalion:

"Warnery says of these grenadiers at Prague that they were the only ones who did not open fire, but pressed home the attack with the bayonet point! After all, they were Pomeranians ... who are beyond doubt the best infantry in the world." Mauled and captured at Landeshut.

Kremzow (17/22) Grenadier Battalion

Duffy's commentary on the parent Manteufel Regiment (IR17):

A classic Pomeranian regiment, distinguished at Soor, Prague and at Neustadt (15 March 1760). Frederick wrote to Major-General Karl Christoph von der Goltz on the latter occasion, "I wish to convey a compliment to the officers of Manteufel in my name. They have acted in our old, honourable way, and not according to the infamous modern example of other folk."

His commentary on the parent Prinz Moritz Regiment (IR22):

On 5 January 1741 the regiment entered Breslau in blue and red uniforms with straw colored waistcoats ... a splendid collection of men, with shining weapons that were a delight to see. Massacred at Kolin and suffered heavily at Zorndorf, but did well at Torgau and Burkersdorf.

Note that the grenadiers did not always fight in the same battles as their parent regiments and could even be in different Prussian armies. So while both IR17 and IR22 were at Kolin, the Kremzow Grenadier Battalion had remained with the main army at Prague. The battalion also fought at Rossbach, Leuthen (where it helped spear head the assault as part of the advant guard on the right wing), Zorndorf, Kunersdorf, among others.

Merry Christmas From Hesse Seewald

It's the thought that counts when it comes to giving gifts.

The presents have all been wrapped, the stockings are hung on the fireplace mantel awaiting St. Nicholas, and the dinner tables are all set in preparation for the 24 guests that will be arriving on Christmas Day.

The Christmas tree is decorated and loaded up with presents; alas, nothing of an historical gaming bent.

One of three Christmas dinner tables that we set last evening.

That can mean only one thing: it's time to paint!

I'm just kidding of course (am I ?)

I wish all of my readers and regular followers a very Merry Christmas.

Jim

Sample Russian Musketeers

I painted six of the Savoy infantry figures from Crann Tara as Russian musketeers and I am very pleased with how they turned out. I will definitely be using some of these in my Faux Russian SYW army. I really like the "at the ready" pose of the figures.

Click on the link below if you are interested in purchasing some of these figures or to simply learn more about them.

Crann Tara Miniatures Web Shop

You can see the painted figures from various angles in the pictures below:

RSM Russian Grenadiers for the SYW

Well, I had a bag of 36 RSM Russian grenadiers just laying around (for quite a few years) and all this talk about Russians for the GNW and the SYW put a bee in my bonnet to paint them. So paint them I did over the weekend. The RSM figures paint up very easily as they are not loaded down with too much equipment. I was churning them out at a rate of 6-8 figures per day. I don't plan on painting the eyes or adding a black highlight color to the figures, although I did use two tone colors for the green coat and red waistcoat and breeches. The grenadier mitre plate is a mix of Vallejo Old Gold and a small amount of Copper paint.

The flags were downloaded from Kronoskaf and two halves of each flag were pushed together using Microsoft Word. The regiment shown in the pictures today are the 1st Standing Grenadier Regiment in the Russian army.

RSM Russians with Minden French Officers (painted as Russians). Flags downloaded from Kronoskaf.

If you double click any of the pictures to enlarge the view, you might detect one soldier wearing white summer gaiters as opposed to the Winter black gaitors that the rest of the regiment is wearing. This is the one solitary RSM Russian that I painted circa 1990, so I added him to the regiment, without an updated paint job, in honor of his hanging around for so long.

I now have two battalions in my SYW Russian Army.

On the Work Bench

On the painting table, I am working on the Kremzow Grenadier Battalion (17/22) in the Prussian army. I completed the IR17 Manteufel Grenadiers portion of the battalion, now I have 15 of the IR22 Prinz Moritz grenadiers to paint and this unit will be ready to join the ranks of my Prussian army for my Kolin game at the Seven Years War Association Convention in March 2016.

Crann Tara "Savoy" infantry figures, which will be painted as SYW Russian musketeers, backed by Prussian Dragoons.

I have to paint one more regiment of Prussian dragoons to more or less complete my Kolin Prussian army. I'm leading towards the DR3 von Meinicke Dragoons (the ones with the Rose-Pink) facings and shabraques). You can see the dragoons in the picture above.

You can also see some of the Army of Savoy figures that are produced by Crann Tara Miniatures and are compatible with all of the Richard Ansell sculpted figures such as Minden, Fife & Drum and Crann Tara. Since they have no lapels and big cuffs on their coats, I think that they will stand in nicely as Russian SYW musketeers.

Recruiting New Followers
I had 497 "followers" for quite a few weeks, but five of them deserted, despite the best efforts of my NCOs to keep the regiment in line. They must have been Saxons, methinks.

Do come back lads, all will be forgiven.

In any event, I am putting out the recruiting call for at least 8 of my regular readers to become a "Follower" so that we can boost the total to a nice even and symetrical 500 readers.

More On the Russian Project

Here is a sample Russian infantry regiment that I painted last year using the French Fusiliers with turnbacks figures from the Minden Miniatures figure range. For now, they are "close enough" until I can add more Russians to the range. Russian officers and NCOs carried muskets rather than pole arms so they might require some conversion work in the future.

The flag is a Napoleonic Russian flag that I had on hand, used because this particular regiment was/is to be used in an Imaginations Campaign. I will eventually swap in a SYW era pair of colors for the unit. The flags will be from GMB Designs, as usual for me.

I shall also take a closer look at the Crann Tara Savoy infantry as potential Russian stand ins as these figures have no lapels but have turnbacks and a cartridge box worn on the belly.

Thank you to those of you who left comments on yesterday's post. There are a lot of good ideas and information therein which I find most useful.