Sunday 23 March 2014

Easy eight or silly seven

The Punic War campaign is continuing (report to follow later this week) but, in the background, work towards Operation Zorndorf has not been forgotten. Normally I would wait until the end of the month to do a progress report but, to be honest, I need to encourage myself with an early one - my enthusiasm gave way some time ago, and now it's all just a grind. In the last 23 days I've painted......

 96 Prussian infantry. Battalion Alt-Billerbeck is at the front - the waistcoats and breaches clearly indicating this is a unit of combined grenadiers.


 Combined Grenadier Battalion 8 / 46 Alt-Billerbeck.
Standing Grenadier Battalion IV Lossau.
Standing Grenadier Battalion VI Plotz.
Musketeer Regiment 4. I liked the button lace on the front of the coats of this unit very much.


Four units of cavalry.


Cuirassier Regiment 8 with blue facings and white shabraques.
Cuirassier Regiment 2 in their distinctive yellow coats and red edged cross belts.
I love this uniform!
Finally, Hussar Regiment 5 the Black or Death's Head Hussars. I hadn't planned on ever doing this unit as it always struck me as a very "1980's in a Motorhead T-Shirt" war game unit. But, it fought at Zorndorf so here it is - double strength of course. 
Except for the shabraque, which is very classy looking......
......there is far too much black. In the early stages they were eye achingly awful to paint.

You'll also note that this unit has 14 figures rather than 16 figures. I somehow forgot, when ordering, that Prussian hussar units do not carry flags - and I ordered command packs with cornets! Doh! 

I'll base and do the flags, for those units needing them, in May.

All figures are Wargames Foundry.

Next up, twenty three more Hussars for the Prussians. Sixteen figures for HR2 which was at Zorndorf. Seven figures (to make up a pre-existing unit) for HR7 which wasn't - it will be a stand-in for HR3. That will finish the Prussians.

8 comments:

Hobbyworker said...

WOW.... Stunning work.

Gonsalvo said...

Great stuff, and I think the famed
"Death Head"/Totenkopf Hussars look great. I also love the yellow coated Cuirassiers!

Robert Herrick said...

That, sir, is some damn fight bit of painting.

Also, the Death's Head Hussars may have carried standards. They captured some from the French in 1758, and I have seen varying reports about whether they carried them or not.

JAMES ROACH said...

I've seen that too. They captured three. Given the 5ths disregard for Frederick's other standing orders, it is possible - they were part mounted on white horses. Kronoskaf certainly notes them. However, even if they did, I can't find an image of the standards.

David said...

Fine work! Keep at it, even if it feels like a chore the end product is well worth it!

Christopher(aka Axebreaker) said...

Awesome work for sure and well worth the grind!

Christopher

Der Alte Fritz said...

The Bleckwenn booklet has picture of the captured French standards. However, I can't recall off the top of my head if these were captured after Frederick sent some squadrons of the Black Hussars west to Ferdinand 's allied army in western Germany or before.

Robert Herrick said...

I'm pretty sure it was 1758, after the 5 hussar squadrons and 10 dragoon squadrons went west. You could always do the cornet with the captured French flags as a separate/additional stand, to be fielded if you decide to do battles in the West.