I am nearly done painting a 32-figure battalion of Great Northern War Russians ( Warfare Miniatures) and painting all of that green got me thinking about a potential project for 2016: SYW era Russians. I eventually want to game a Zorndorf scenario with my Minden Prussian army, so naturally I will need a green clad opponent.
One immediate problem is that Minden does not have any Russians (other than the artillery and crew) so what can I do about raising infantry and cavalry forces for the Russians? After perusing through the Minden range, the RSM range and Kronoskaf I came up with the following temporary solution:
1) Russian Musketeers - I will continue using the Minden French fusiliers with turn backs as Faux Russians since the uniforms are "close enough".
2) Russian Grenadiers - I will use the RSM Russian grenadiers and sprinkle in some Minden command figures and maybe even do a few head swaps.
3) Observation Corps - this will be a tough nut to crack. My choices are some significant conversions of Prussian Jagers into Ob Corps troops or use some of the Minden Russian artillery crew and place muskets rather than artillery tools in their hands. Some of the Minden Pioneers could serve the same purpose.
4) Russian artillery - Minden has everything that I need here, from loading and firing gun crews to four different kinds of artillery pieces.
5) Russian Cuirassiers and Hussars - I will use the Minden Prussian cavalry figures for these.
6) Russian Dragoons - I will use the Minde Hanoverian "Horse Regiment" figures as these do not have lapels. Thus they can stand in for the Russian Dragoons assuming that the riders have not buttoned their coats closed.
7) Russian Horse Grenadiers - I will use the RSM Russian Horse Grenadiers.
8) Cossacks - more RSM figures here. Maybe TAG has some Cossacks as well.
9) Mounted officers- Minden has a General Fermor personality figure and some of the other lesser officers can be recruited from the ranks of Minden French officers and dragoon officers.
So,there you have it, all of the elements are in place to build a Russian SYW army over the course of 2016. Of course, I will also continue to work on my GNW project here and there, keeping both balls in the air at the same time.
Jim, which two balls are you planning to keep in air?
ReplyDeleteAnyway, your Russian SYW project sounds terrific! I wish you the best in its execution.
I'm alternating between painting SYW and GNW figures,
DeleteQuestion. Wouldn't Austrian Minden Cuirassiers be better, since the Prussian ones have sabretaches, and Russian Cuirassiers did not? You'd need to greenstuff collars, but that's it.
ReplyDeleteOtherwise, it sounds fantastic.
Thank you Robert, I did not catch that difference, so Austrians it is.
DeleteAre there no minden Russian plans for 2016? I was hoping to see musketeers and grenadiers at the very least next year.
ReplyDeleteRob
As soon as Richard can get back to the workbench, Russians will be at the top of the list for new Minden products.
DeleteIt will be loads of fun to see this project take shape beneath your hands and brushes.
ReplyDeleteBest Regards,
Stokes
I just hope this project will not dissuade you from having a proper Minden Russian range when Richard is back online with his sculpting...Nicely done guns and crew! Are you planning on basing them by twos in larger bases?
ReplyDeleteThis project is just a stop gap measure until Richard returns and can sculpt a proper Russian range.
DeleteMy cannon are still mounted one per stand with four crew. The base in the picture was just used to facilitate the photograph. :)
Jim
Big task Jim,
ReplyDeleteHave you thought about using figures from Graham's Crann Tara range instead for the Russian infantry, as they tended to have theircoats turned down and loose. Failing that I found the RSM Russian a good figure to use, especially as you will be aware they paint very easily.
What it does show, is that the 28mm SYW ranges are quite sparse on the ground.
Yes, I've been eyeing those figures as well. Does anyone know if Russian musketeers wore a belly box? I thought it was just officers, NCOs, grenadiers and Observation Corps that had them.
DeleteJim,
ReplyDeleteI admire your energy, with all else you have going on, to plan out such a formidable force. Good luck, I hope you can see it through. Tom
Jim, something for us to look forward to next year. Have you thought of fielding Russians in summer dress, i.e. without their green coats, wearing their red sleeved waistcoat? I think even the Russian dragoons removed their blue coats in summer too.
ReplyDeleteIf I can find some figures in sleeved waistcoats I'd give it a try. I think RSM has French dressed that way.
DeleteJim, echoing Colin's comments above, I wonder if the CT Savoia or Spanish infantry in sleeved waistcoat would suffice?
ReplyDeleteAs well, for the C of Observation, is the hitch finding a figure with long coat, turn backs and lapels AND belly box? If so, perhaps a way to find good figures is simply to make a good master of the belly box and mass produce it in a simple press mould (perhaps faster with a few moulds...) using green stuff or something similar?
The hitch with the Corps of Observation are the cavalry boots. They didn't have gaiters.
ReplyDeleteYes, that's it.
DeleteAh yes, that makes sense. After too long painting 18mm, one forgets these things. It would be a lot of work to hide the gaiters.
DeleteThe faces of Foundry too off-putting? They do make the specific figures, as evidenced by my "army."
ReplyDeleteFoundry figures are fine, but they are much bigger than the Minden and RSM figures. I was eyeballing your RSM Russians during our game this weekend.
Delete