Prussia Forever by Lady Butler?

 

Prussia Forever !  (painted by Der Alte Fritz)
The charge of the Zieten Hussars
Minden Miniatures figures

Today I was scrolling through some of the pictures in my iPhotos library (there are nearly 28,000 pictures in all) and I found this one in my album of "Favorites". It is my recreation of the famous painting by Lady Butler called "Scotland Forever!" which features the epic charge of the Scots Greys at the battle of Waterloo in June 1815.

Instead of British Napoleonic figures I used Prussian Seven Years War hussars from Minden Miniatures.

Inspiration: the original painting of the charge of the Scots Greys at the 
Battle of Waterloo by Lady Butler

Here is an overhead view of the figures that I set up for the photo shoot a few years ago. The figure leading the charge is Hans von Zeiten, Himself, and he is one of the special personality figures that are available in the Minden Miniatures range of Seven Years War figures. The H2 von Zieten Hussar Regiment leads the charge. I added some H5 Black Hussars in the background to pad out volume of cavalrymen to make a better picture.

Here is a close up view of the "Heroic Zieten" figure from the Minden range.

Heroic Zieten Personality Figure   (PER-011 stock number)

PER-011 "Heroic Zeiten" personality figure from Minden Miniatures

This exceptionally animated figure was sculpted by the late Richard Ansell as part of a Kickstarter campaign that we did a long time ago. An individual donor's award at a high level was the ability to have several figures of his choice sculpted for him. He chose this highly animated hussar officer leaping into a charge as his figure of choice. In my mind, this is probably the best figure in the entire Minden Miniatures figure range.

So that is the story behind this exceptional figure and he looks quite spectacular when painted and leading the charge of Prussian light cavalry into a tabletop battle.

George Washington Returns

 

George Washington and Friends.
Fife and Drum Miniatures

Several weeks ago I was running a Battle of Princeton game and I realized that my George Washington personality figure was missing. Where's George? I wondered. After a futile search for the Father of Our Country I conceded that I was not likely to find him (unless I painted another one) so I painted a new George Washington and added a mounted soldier carrying Washington's headquarters flag. I add a Continental officer in hunting shirt who seemed natural in looking off into the distance. I also used one of the Fife and Drum Hessian jaeger officers with telescope to round out the vignette.

Here's Nathaniel Greene:

Nathaniel Greene

More to come.

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A Zieten Figure Does Exist - Minden Miniatures

 

A couple of days ago I was rather gobsmacked to to look at my Facebook feed and read a post by someone lamenting the lack of a von  Zieten personality figure across the 28mm spectrum. All I could do was to just shake my head in wonderment since Minden Miniatures has not one figure, but TWO ZIETEN PERSONITY FIGURES.

So for your viewing pleasure I present pictures of both the mounted and dismounted version of Minden Zieten figures.

Zieten is the figure base that is second from the left. Frederick of course is in the center.

Oh, and by the way, Minden offers the only Marshall Maurice de Saxe riding in his wicker carriage at Fontenoy figure. Simply put, if you are looking for 18th Century military personality figures, then Minden Miniatures has the largest selection of such figures by a wide margin over any other manufacturer of 28mm figures. That’s a fact.

By the way, let’s dispense with all of this copyright nonsense that we see elsewhere; if you want to copy any pictures on my blog then feel free to do so.

Maurice de Saxe and his uhlan escort. All are Minden figures.

A close up, and better picture, of a dismounted Zieten handing a message to an orderly.
Minden Miniatures 

Please click on the pictures to enlarge your view and look at these wonderful Richard Ansell sculpts.

New Ferdinand of Brunswick & Croat Mounted Officer Pictures

Croat Officer (left) and Ferdinand of Brunswick (right)

CLICK ON ALL PICTURES TO ENLARGE

The latest batch of new Minden Miniatures SYW figures includes two personality figures: Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick (commander of the Allied army fighting the French in western Germany) and a dashing looking Croat officer. The new product codes for each figure are PER-017 for Ferdinand and PER-018 for Mr. Croat. The links to the figures in the Fife and Drum Miniatures web store are given below:

Austrians

Prussians

The inspiration for the mounted Croat officer came from a picture in one of the Osprey books that had an image of the Croat wearing his fancy, fur-lined cape. I knew that I really wanted to add this figure to the Minden range. I also felt that I needed a figure to command my Austrian light infantry forces. I could have painted him in the regimental uniform of one of the Croat regiments (red coat, blue coat, brown coat or white coat), but I felt that his station as a brigadier in my army merited the coat of a general Austrian officer.

Rear view showing the Croat's cape.

Ferdinand of Brunswick was already available as a dismounted figure in the Minden figure range (PER-001 Prussian Staff Officers). However, as the commander of the Allied army of Hanoverian, Hessian, British and Brunswick troops, I felt that Ferdinand should be available as a mounted figure too. I painted Ferdinand in his regimental uniform of the IR5 Prussian regiment.

Next Up: Russian Horse Grenadiers. I will post painted samples of the Russian Horse Grenadiers within the next couple of days. Here is a taster:

Left to Right: trooper in Summer waistcoat, trooper in regular coat, musician, officer, and  standard bearer.

Howe Now?

General William Howe - Fife and Drum Miniatures

General Howe arrived in the American colonies last week and he has finally been suited out in his new campaign mufti, that is to say, that I have painted and based the general.

The general shown relaxing with the fetching Mrs. Loring (from the Minden Miniatures figure range)

General Howe may have to wait awhile before he can take command of his troops on the table top because my recent AWI battles have been focused on the South Carolina campaign of 1780-81. The arrival of the new Lord Cornwallis and Nathaniel Greene personality figures have proved to have been timely. Both generals will lead their respective armies into battle at the upcoming Seven Years War Association Convention in South Bend, Indiana on April 4th through the 6th.

I will be hosting two AWI games: the Battle of Guilford Courthouse on Friday afternoon/evening and then the Battle of Cheraw on Saturday afternoon. Cheraw is the final battle in our South Carolina campaign of 1780 and I thought that it would be a good idea to let the game be played at the convention, with the winner basically wrapping up the win in the campaign.

Painted Samples of the AWI Highlanders

I was finally able to finish painting samples of each of the 12 new AWI Highland regiment figures, see pictures below:

All 12 of the new Highland Regiment figures recently added to the Fife and Drum Miniatures figure range.

The three marching poses. I had not previously posted painted samples on this blog.

SYWA Convention Update

I have been up to my eyeballs in alligators these past couple of weeks getting ready for the SYWA convention. I participate as both a dealer and a game judge, which sounds rather insane, but I wouldn't do it if I didn't enjoy the convention so much. I don't have my usual helper at the convention this year, so I have to do double duty. My initial thought was to run just one game, which would have been relatively nice and easy. But you know Der Alte Fritz, he doesn't like to do anything nice and easy, so he decided to add the game on Saturday.

My check list of things to do in preparation for the show is rather daunting, but I've been slowly chipping away at the tasks, but there is still much to do including:

1) repackaging all of the AWI figures for display on retail spinning countertop racks which makes it easier for convention shoppers to get a good look at the products that they may want to purchase. I also had to order and assemble 6 spinning racks.

2) finish painting a few odds and ends for my convention games, including a General Cornwallis army command stand (still on the To Be Done List, I'm afraid).

3) start packing up the inventory travel cases for the Minden SYW figure range. I might have some extra spinners left over that would allow me to put the Prussian and Austrian figures on the countertop racks. This could reduce the number of tables that I need for my convention booth (currently I'm at 9 tables) because each country basically fits onto one spinner.

4) get price lists printed; update the rules sheets and get them printed

5) reserve a small van to carry all of my gear to the convention. I can't use my Ford Explorer this year because of the growth in the number of retail figures available.

Much more to do and probably not enough time to do it all, "but sometimes what you get is not is not quite what you choose."

Bonus points to the first person who gets the quote.

Washington, Greene and All That

George Washington (left) and Nathaniel Greene (right)

I have been painting samples of the new Fife and Drum Miniatures AWI Personalities and Highlanders. We have just added four new AWI personality figures to the range, and these include George Washington and Nathaniel Greene for the Home Team (Continentals) as well as Lord William Howe and Lord Charles Cornwallis for the Visiting Team (British). There is also a mounted Highlander officer that could stand in for Simon Frasier at Saratoga.

The new Personalities product codes in the web store are as follows:

AC-004  General George Washington

AC-005  General Nathaniel Greene

BC-005 Lord William Howe (not available yet)

BC-006 Lord Charles Cornwallis

BC-007 Mounted Highlander Officer

Fife and Drum Miniatures web store

The above personalities are in addition to the ones already in the range including Francis Marion (the Swamp Fox), Banastre Tarleton, and Lt. General Knyphausen. 

Clicking on the link will take you to the home page of the web store. From there, click on the pull-down menu "American Revolution" and then select "British Infantry" or "Continental & Militia" and scroll down the page until you come to the figure that you wish to select.

George Washington (AC-004)

The picture that was the inspiration for the George Washington figure.

All of the personality figures except Lord Howe are now available for purchase through the Fife and Drum Miniatures web store. Probably Howe has gone AWOL with Mrs. Loring for a little sojourn. His lordship is being cast at Griffin Moulds and should be available by early April 2019.

Nathaniel Greene (AC-005)

Lord Charles Cornwallis (BC-006)

Highlander Officer (BC-007)
I plan to use him as Lt. Colonel Archibald Campbell.

Richard Ansell's sculpting prowess really shines with the personality figures that he makes for Fife and Drum, Minden and Crann Tara Miniatures. I really had a lot of fun painting all of the figures shown in these pictures. George Washington was particularly fun to paint, what with his leopard skin shabraque, something that I don't get to paint very often. I also liked the mounted Highlander officer figure - he is perhaps my favorite figure of the lot.

Next up: pictures of the painted AWI Highlander figures.

French Personality Figures: Broglie & Chevert

Lt. General Chevert (left) and Marshal de Broglie (right)

CLICK ON IMAGES TO ENLARGE

I commissioned the painting of some of the new Minden Miniatures personality figures to use for advertising and trade stand purposes. Normally I paint my own figures, but I wanted to go the extrea mile for display figures so I went with a very good professional figure painter.

Another view of Broglie (left) and Chevert (right)

Grenadiers de France mounted officer (using the French officer in bearskin cavalry figure)

French Kettle Drummer

I am very pleased with how these figures turned out, both in terms of sculpting by Richard Ansell and by the professional painter. The painting really brings out the best in Richard's sculpts.

I guess that I will have to start building a French army for these gentlemen to command.

AWI Highlander Greens Have Arrived!

Highlanders skirmishing

CLICK ON ALL PIX

The other day Richard Ansell sent me pictures of the next batch of 16 AWI figures for the Fife & Drum Miniatures figure range.  I have to say, "sweet baby onions, these are nice!" 

So we will soon be adding 11 Highlanders on foot and 1 mounted officer to the British team in the Fife & Drum AWI figure range. The greens will be sent off to Griffin Moulds next week so that the master and production moulds can be made. After that, the casting of the figures can begin.

We plan to add more flank company and grenadier figures plus a piper to the Highlander segment of our AWI range.

Highlander Figures

Center company Highlanders.

Reverse side of the Center Company Highlanders

Command Figures (L to R): NCO, Standard Bearer, Drummer and Officer.

Reverse view of the Command Figures.

Mounted Highland Regiment Officer.

Reverse side of the Highland Mounted Officer.

But wait, there's more!!!!!!!

We are adding four personality figures to the AWI range: George Washington and Nathaniel Greene on the American Team and Lord William Howe and Lord Cornwallis to the King's Side.

A reminder, Fife & Drum already has personality figures for Francis Marion (the Swamp Fox), Banastre Tarleton (Boo, Hiss!) and Lt. General von Knyphausen.

Personality Figures

Lord William Howe

Lord Cornwallis

Reverse side Lord Cornwallis

George Washington

Reverse side George Washington

Nathaniel Greene

Reverse side of Nathaniel Greene

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The Best von Zieten Ever Made

Prussian Lt. General Hans Joachim von Zieten - Minden Miniatures - by Richard Ansell

One of the strengths of the Minden and Fife & Drum figure ranges are the individual "personality" figures that Richard Ansell has sculpted over the years. Each figure is different and they demonstrate Richard's master sculpting skills at their finest.

Afew years ago Richard Ansell sculpted a special figure as a commission for one of our Minden customers and that figure was of the Prussian cavalry general Hans Joachim von Zieten.

The customer provided us with the following piece of artwork for Richard to create his version of von Zieten:

From there, Richard sculpted the following Zieten figure and a special one-off horse for the rider:

Zieten green by Richard Ansell

I think that Richard did a superb job of rendering a model that is faithful to the portrait that provided the inspiration for the commission. The animation of both the rider and horse are second to none. The detail on the horse furniture (reins, shabraque, etc.) are amazing to behold and the pictures pale in comparison to holding the actual figures in your hands.

I know that I am biased, but I truly believe that nobody is better at sculpting horses than Richard Ansell. I get inquiries from other companies about the Minden horses all the time as they aspire to have similar horse models in their product ranges.

The figure is one of the most fun, most enjoyable figures that I have ever painted:

Front View

Rear View

I drill a hole in the underside of the rearing horse and placed a metal pin between the belly of the horse and the base in order to give the model more stability. This is an easy procedure to perform and is well worth the extra time spent. I then hid the pin with some tufts of long grass - I defy you to find the pin in the photo.

I am grateful that one of our customers provided the inspiration for such a nifty looking model of a Prussian personality figure. Von Zieten has become one of the most popular models in the Minden figure range, and rightly so.

I like all of Richard's sculpts, of course, but he really goes the extra mile and shines on his personality figures. Guess what? There are a lot more personality figures in the pipeline for both our AWI and SYW figure ranges. Stay tuned to this blog for more information.

Over the next couple of weeks I will be posting about the various personality figures that we have and put the spotlight on them.

Ziethen Personality Figure

Minden Personality Figure of von Ziethen (click picture to enlarge the view)

Here is a picture of one of the new Minden SYW personality figures that was added to the range recently, as a result of one of our Kickstarter campaigns. One of the subscribers pledged at a level that allowed him to choose to have any figure of his choice to be sculpted and added to the range. In this particular case, the choice was to sculpt a very heroic looking von Ziethen personality figure. Our new von Browne, Fermor and Prinz Moritz personality figures were also generated from the Kickstarter program.

As you can see from the pictures, there are a number of inspirations for the Minden Ziethen personality figure, which comes with its own special rearing horse that is unique to this model.

The figure is a joy to paint and makes an attractive addition to your Minden Prussian cavalry contingent. The stock code number is "PER-011" and the figure is priced at $8.00 for the rider and horse, plus applicable shipping

54mm von Ziethen (I don't know the brand though)

54mm toy soldier, but of collector's quality von Ziethen

NEXT UP: the Minden von Seydlitz personality figure.