Horse Artillery Nosing towards the Finish Line

This year's work on the Russians has been very productive. However, these have been my Russians of 1943-44! We have been gaming using the WW2 Blitzkrieg Commander rules, and have been thoroughly enjoying them.  So naturally a lot of my hobby efforts have been focused on getting my Soviet hordes out on the table.

But this coming week our club has its first game of Napoleonics using Warlord Games' Black Powder rules.   If all goes well, then Napoleonics may hopefully be a regular item on the club menu.

The first game will see the French taking on the British in the Peninsula, with His Britannic Majesty being given artillery support in the form of a section of Russian Horse Artillery.  My first painted Russian unit, I'm pleased to report.  

Here they are, a stone's throw from being finished.  Since this photo was taken, I painted the gun barrel and have completed the brass work on the helmets and equipment.  The only thing remaining to do on the gun crew is to paint the metal scabbard fittings and to highlight the helmet crests.  

I've just varnished the Litko base on both sides to reduce the chance of warping.  Tomorrow I'll give the figures a coat of varnish too.   Once dry, I'll glue gun and miniatures to the base and texture it.   After the putty and sand on the base has dried out, I'll then paint the base.  

When all is done, I'll post a picture of the completed stand- hopefully in better light so that the colours come out close to what they really look like.  

My photography sucks, and I always have trouble with reds, blues, and greens.  The colours seen in the photo above are quite unlike how they appear in reality.  Despite my best efforts at tweaking things around on iPhoto, reds always come out looking far too pinkish, and greens comes out much brighter then they actually are.

Back to the infantry, I have been dithering around with the minis I want to send to Roger to paint.  Partly as a result of procrastination and of taking my own sweet time over the hated task of prepping the miniatures- removing flash and mould lines (ugh!), but also because as I mentioned much my limited hobby time has been spent  on building up my WW2  collection for club games.  

There was another hold up as for a while I was having second thoughts about unit sizes.  The other  guys have been going for 20-24 figure units and for a while I was wondering if I should conform, if for no other reason it would speed up painting time.

Being the selfish bugger that I am, though, I decided in the end that I'm going to stick with for the 28 to 36 figure units using my favoured 1:20 ratio of men to minis a la Peter Gilder.  I like the look, my French have been organized that way, and I'm not about to change now.  And I'm certainly not about to re-base those I've got done already!  

Fortunately many rule sets- including Black Powder- accept the fact that few gamers are about to re-base their entire collections, and can accommodate different unit sizes.

As I mentioned before, the following is being shipped off to the UK to come under Roger's loving brushwork.

Tern's Brigade:

• 1st Batt.  Kourinski Regt.
• 3rd Batt. Kourinski Regt.
• 1st Batt.  Kolyvanskoi Regt.
• 1st Batt. 12th Jager Regt.

Here they are "in the raw", organized on their bases.  

The Russian infantry were pretty uniformly dressed in 1813, even more so than the French who would take liberties with musicians and the like when they could get away with it (which was often!).  With a Russian army, there are much fewer options, but there remain a number of ways to make Russian infantry battalions look different from one another so that it is easy to tell stands apart in the game, other than just the standard regimental distinctions in shoulder straps and in the colours of flag staffs and drumsticks.  

I decided to have the two battalions of the Kourinski in greatcoats and mixed headgear, but one will be advancing and the other will be in march attack poses.  Kolyvanskoi will also be in march attack, but is wearing a mix of greatcoats and tunics, and all will wear the kiwer.   The 12th Jagers will be advancing in a mix of headgear, but no greatcoats.  Still with me?  

Even in summer many men preferred to wear the greatcoat, as it was looser and more comfortable than the tunic which they would simply roll up and put in their backpacks.  My Russians will be modelled as they were in autumn at the beginning of the Leipzig campaign, so anything goes!

I will work myself on the Vitebski and Koslovski regiments which are already on my workbench, along with two more battalions of Jagers.  So if all goes well, I'm anticipating that by the end of the year, I should be able to field the entire 15th Division under General Kornilov.

As I'm sure you will agree, Roger is an excellent painter and you can see his work here.  Drool fuel.  I have to say I'm really looking forward to having a collection I in which I can take a lot of pride.

Work continues...

...on removing the flash of a bunch of Russians I'm going to outsource to Roger.  Not exciting work, but I'll be sending him the first contingent the first week of April.

Meanwhile, I'm thoroughly enjoying the Lieven book, and recommend it to any aficiando of the Russkis.

Inspired enough so that I have been converting a Front Rank Russian mounted officer by giving him a Cossack's head from the SYW range.  I added an epoxy putty bag to the fur hat, and have given him a plume with fuse wire cords, and of course a coiled knout in his right hand!  

He'll be commanding the Ukrainian Cossack regiment.  

Time to curl up in an armchair with a glass of vodka!

I haven't had much to read in the way of the Russian army in the Napoleonic Wars since I got my copy of Alexander Mikaberidze's The Battle of Borodino a year or so ago, so I have been long overdue for some literary inspiration.

Well, my friend Kris in Frankfurt has remedied that by sending me a copy of Dominic Lieven's Russia Against Napoleon: The Battle for Europe 1807-1814.

This looks like being a terrific read, and along with the copy of the Black Powder rules that Kris also sent me, it should keep my feet planted firmly in the early 19th C. for a while!

Help on the way...

It became obvious to me long ago that my painting output is nowhere even close to what I want to achieve.  My productivity has been increasing, but not nearly as much as it needs to if I am to make so much as a dent in my embarassingly high Napoleonic lead pile.  

While my French are making progress, I keep looking over my shoulder not only at my reproachful Russkis, but also at a number of other projects, all crying out for my attention.

Therefore, I have decided that it has become high time to hire some mercenary brushwork.  After an exchange of emails, I have decided to outsource a brigade to Roger (RTB), whose work on some Bavarians for Iannick (aka Archiduc Charles) has really impressed me.  

Roger is a fine painter who is proving to be very professional in his approach to the business of figure painting.  

I have been selecting the figures I want him to paint, and currently I am busy removing the flash prior to sending them to him.  I'll be basing them and adding the flags, but he will be doing all the painting.

This will not be a cheap undertaking, but Roger knows his backpack from a bricole, and quality is important to me.  So it is well worth the money if it means that by Autumn or so I will have at least a critical mass of the Russians done at last.  Knowing that makes the challenge of painting more myself less daunting!

The lucky battalions to be selected for an appointment with Roger's talented fingers are part of the 15th Division; Col. Tern's brigade of :

• The 1st and 3rd Battalion of the Regiment Kourinski
• The 1st Battalion of the Regiment Kolyvanskoi
• and the 12th Jager Regiment.

Four battalions in total; they will be making an appearance in this blog a battalion at a time, but I do believe it will be a collection to be proud of, if Roger's work as seen on his blog is anything to go by.

In the meantime I will be working not only on my French, but also on a battalion of the Kozlovski regiment, some Cossacks, and on some artillery.    

And what is a little financial sacrifice if it is for the cause of Mother Russia?!

Kleine Krieg- The Encounter at Kartoffelkopf

When it comes to wargaming, I realize that I have always tended to enjoy the more modest, smaller engagements rather than the larger set-piece battles with no flanks and hub-to-hub artillery.  

This is partly because smaller games are far more practical to set up and transport (unless you belong to a thriving gaming group whose collective membership can field huge armies, like the one I was lucky enough to be a part of when I lived in Vancouver),  It is also because smaller games could frequently provide more of a tactical challenge as a result of having more manoeuvre space available.  Thus not only were the games less unwieldy, but you had flanks to worry about!

Of course I love the spectacle of the big games, and would jump at the chance of participating in one should the opportunity arise again.  But the smaller games could often end up being more interesting to play.  I always enjoyed the "narrative" that they often generated, especially when they were part of an ongoing campaign.  In these kind of games you are not too busy just rolling dice and keeping track of the effect of endless rounds of musketry, so that an element of role playing can come into things.

And of course, you do not need so much table space!

Now most of my time painting recently has been on my French Napoleonic forces, but progress on the French has been going well enough (by my standards!) so that I have recently taken brush to the Russians, and they are looking good.

I base my forces, as I almost always do, on historical orders of battle.  But by creating the the Freikorps Pfaffenhofen  (as well as the Streifkorps Mussinpushkin from the ranks of the Russian IXth Corps) I can engage in a whole series of small, fictional- yet historically plausible- scenarios that can have me gaming well before my forces ever get finished (and yes, I'm planning on mercenary brushwork at some point to speed up production;.  It's either that, or paint until I'm 135 years old...).

On top of that my gaming partner, Giovanni, has been expressing interest in doing a Napoleonic skirmish game sometime.  Well, I'd be happy to oblige.  

What better way than to start the adventures of the  Duke of Avenberg-Pfaffenhofen and his Freikorps, as they attempt to run roughshod over the German countryside?   A romp which, of course, the French under the command of Général Victor-Eugène Bouillon-Cantinat, are determined to stop.

To kick things off I have decided to start by raising the forces I will need for the Encounter at Kartoffelkopf in 1813, a small skirmish scenario that will see the start of an Allied effort to cause confusion to Boney in the lands around Anhalt in 1813.   It will also give me a focus on my painting for a while, including some cavalry.

******

ENCOUNTER AT KLEINE KARTOFFELKOPF, 1813

 (click on image for larger view)

BACKGROUND 

The armistice with France has ended, Austria has joined the Allies and the Army of Silesia prepares to take on the armies of the Corsican upstart.  As the campaign begins, the Allies are hopeful that France's allies in the so-called Confederation of the Rhine can be persuaded to see common sense, and recognize that since the disaster of the Russian campaign, Fortune has indeed finally deserted the Emperor of the French.  Soon, and with the Blessings of Providence, the people of Germany will rise and finally throw off the yoke of their French masters.

To this end, the Duke of Avenberg-Pfaffenhofen has been sent to the occupied Anhalt region on the flank of the Army of Silesia, with the following brief.

• To disrupt enemy communications and deny supplies to the French field armies.
• To raise the banner of Liberation throughout the territories of Anhalt, and to recruit as many able-bodied patriots as can be found for service with the Freikorps Pfaffenhofen.
• When circumstances are favourable, to surround, cut off, and otherwise render hors-de-combat any isolated detachments of French forces as the opportunity presents.
• In addition to his Freikorps, the Duke will operating in close cooperation with Streifkorps Mussinpushkin, who will follow and assist the operations of the Duke, and who will liaise with the remainder of the Army of Silesia. 

Action was swift in coming.  Two days after entering Anhalt, French deserters and patriotic townspeople have brought intelligence that the region was teeming with French troops.  A brigade of General Souham's 8th Division under the command of Général Bouillon-Cantinat have been rebuilding strength and numbers in preparation for the forthcoming campaign, and was billeted throughout the region.

Word is that there are two companies of Voltigeurs stationed in the small settlement of Klein Kartoffelkopf,  a half-day's march from Hausenpeffer from the north, and about the same distance from the  town of Trinkenwasser to the southeast.  They are unaware of the presence of any enemy forces in the area.

If the Duke can sieze this town and take it's garrison captive, it will enhance his reputation and that of the allies, improve the prospects of future recruiting, and force the French to use valuable troops and time dealing with this new threat to French arms.

Time will be of the essence, as the rest of the French regiment is believed to be stationed in nearby Trinkenwasser, and may be expected to attempt to relieve the detachment one they hear the sound of the guns.  

The next post will cover scenario details, rules, and figures!

Workbench update...

Here in the suburbs of Tokyo, I'm lucky enough to live in a nice house that is quite spacious by Tokyo standards, and which is surrounded by a lot of green hills and is close to the Tama River. I also really enjoy my work here, which takes me to various locations in and around the Tokyo area and beyond.

But the downside of life in this metropolis of 12 million people is that commuting can really eat into time and- moreover the energy- for painting. Still, I've been trying to discipline myself to do a little something at least every day, even if it is for only twenty-thirty minutes or so.

The weather- and light for painting- has been crummy recently. The paintbrush muse has clearly been off on his summer vacation these past few days, so instead I decided to go for a change of pace and try to get some more figures assembled and ready for painting.

Above is a shot of the workbench. In the foreground is a 10 pdr. licorne howitzer of the Russian Horse Artillery (a section of two guns in gaming terms) for the Streifkorps. It's just waiting for the epoxy to cure.

It will have a crew of four, be mounted on a 60mm x 80mm base, and will have a battery commander on a separate base at the rear. The commander himself is a simple conversion, a SYW Prussian in cloak with his head replaced with that of a spare Russian dragoon trumpeter. He is accompanied by a British officer- no doubt making sure that His Britannic Majesty is getting sufficient "bang" for his subsidy guineas.

In the background you can see "Da Boss" himself- General Olsuviev waving his hat. This is actually the Front Rank single-piece casting of our beloved Czar Alexander, but I'll demote him a few ranks so that he can serve as the commander of the IXth Corps.

I had doubts about the strength of the horses' rear legs, so I drilled a hole -very carefully- through the base and up through one of the legs, and epoxied in a piece of hard steel piano wire. Short of banging him directly on the head with a mallet, he'll now stand up to pretty much any abuse the tabletop can offer (although damage from disobedient cats and from earthquakes is a much bigger risk!)

Assorted aides and hangers-on in the rear. The figure in white doffing his hat is another major conversion. He's a cuirassier officer, in undress order, serving as an ADC on General Langeron's staff. He'll be bringing orders to Olsuviev, and is here accompanied by a cossack in a epoxy putty cloak. In the back is another conversion, a rather haughty and arrogant looking Cossack officer. Looming in the background on the right in black is a Russian ADC in hussar uniform.

Iconic imagery...

Russia's Greatest Love Machine? (until 1916 anyway)

"Our Lady of Novodski-Nargil". Every self-respecting Czarist corps needs its Icon and Orthodox Priests to inspire the men.

I've been working on these on and off for a long time now, and have finally finished them. They are the most complex conversions I've done so far, involving a fair amount of epoxy putty and paper clips!

The priest on the left (or is he a monk? I know little about the organization of the Russian Orthodox Church) began life as a Front Rank French Napoleonic line infantry standard bearer, and I replaced the head with that from one of their Seven Year's War Cossacks. I filed down the uniform details on the body, and then slowly built up the robes from epoxy putty. Once the robe was done, I added a fuller beard.

The icon itself is, of all things, the bridge section of a 1/700 Tamiya Fletcher class destroyer (it came with two optional versions). I added plastic card "doors" to the icon and mounted it on a wire pole. It took me some time to do the Virgin and Child!

The venerable gent blessing the troops is a real hodge-podge. The basic skeleton was a Ral Partha ashigaru figure from a fantasy Oriental range. The head was again from a Front Rank SYW Cossack, and I added arms from a Dixon 25mm ACW Union officer! I once more built up the robes from epoxy putty, modified the cap, and added a ZZ-Top-inspired beard. The crucifix was cobbled together from wire and putty, with a chain added from twisted fuse wire.

They were a lot of fun to do, and painting was the biggest challenge as black isn't easy to do convincingly. I used very dark charcoal grey with washes of very, very dark black greens and blues into the folds. The colours didn't come out so clearly with the camera I'm using, so the image was sharpened a fair amount so that the shading would appear a bit more clearly.

I'm now working on a pair of kneeling Russian soldiers modified from some Front Rank casualty figures. When they're done, I'll add them to a plywood base as a little vignette, and post piccies.

Some mood music- Russian Orthodox choir singing "God Preserve the Czar". A tune which postdates the Napoleonic wars, but which is so synonymous with the 1812 campaign thanks to Tchaikovsky!