Nearly There - SYW Prussian Artillery Battery Update

SYW Prussian Artillery Battery

 

The view from the front of the 7-gun battery.
Can you identify the types and poundage of the cannon?

The view from the right hand side. Note the third row of terrain blanks to create
more space between the  gun crew and the ammo wagons.

I am nearly finished with my SYW Prussian artillery vignette which depicts a 7-gun battery of assorted ordnance with crew, a row of empty spacing between the gun crews and the ammo wagons, ammo wagons, and finally, 4-horse limber teams. 

The blank pieces are only being used to make this vignette and will not be used in a game. I wanted to create more spacing between the gun crew and the munitions wagons for an improved visual effect so I made seven 60mm by 60mm square mini-terrain pieces. Some of them have a support figure or two: one fellow with a wheel barrow, two laborers carrying a heavy wood chest up to the gun position, and two gold brickers taking a rest, sitting on top of some ammo chests.

The munitions wagons are an assortment of Front Rank and Fife and Drum Miniatures pieces that I have collected and painted over the years. Now that F&D makes its own ammo wagons (2 and 4 wheel versions), I no longer use the FR models, although they are fine in their own right. I have three more munitions wagons painted that only need to be based to be completed. That leaves me with one more wagon to paint so that each of the seven gun models has its own limber and munitions wagon.

The limbers are a mix of models from Berliner Zinnfiguren (expensive at around EUR30 each) and Fife and Drum Limbers (at $7.00 each). The horses are a mix of standing RSM limber horses and walking Fife and Drum limber horses. The reins and traces on the limbers are made from fine gauge wire.

I have started work on the Austrian version of this vignette. The Austrians have three 12-pounders and two 6-pounders so I want to add at least two more gun models, probably 7-pound howitzers. I need three more limber teams for the existing five cannon, plus two more sets if I expand the size of the battery.

Some people think that painting all of the wagons and limbers is a waste of time or too expensive, but I think  that the effort provides a big payback in the look of the battery on the table top. And of course, you can add some rules wherein some of the artillery hits from cannon balls might roll through the rear areas of the battery and take a few limber horses, or God forbid, a munitions wagon. Boom!

I should have an update on the Austrian battery by the end of this week, so come on back to see more pictures.

ON DECK CIRCLE: I plan on painting 12 Prussian HR7 Yellow Hussars (wearing mirlitons, using the NEW shouldered sword poses instead of the charging pose). A dozen more HR1 Green Hussars in the same pose, but wearing fur busbies, are also in the painting queue.

When I get tired of painting horses, then I will tackle the IR15/III battalion of the Prussian Guards in mitre headgear.