Early this morning, while I was having coffee and waiting for a service man to drop by for a storm door repair, I posted the following question over at the Old School Wargaming Yahoo group:In the order of battle for the Imperial Army at the Battle of Sittangbad, a "Coy Waldeck Regiment" is listed. Several pages later, in the account of the battle, reference is made to an independent company of that regiment defending the redoubt constructed just outside of the town.
My question is to you is: Is "Coy Waldeck" the name of said unit, or is it an abbreviated form of this: 1 company, Waldeck Regiment? I'm trying to figure out whether I need to paint an entire battalion of four companies (80 figures), or just a single company (approx. 20 figures).
Maybe I've missed something elsewhere in the book that provides the key. Would those of you who might know the answer please assist in unraveling this mystery?
Within the hour, several members leapt to my assistance and provided the answer: a single company of the infantry unit under discussion. Thanks again to everyone who responded! And isn’t it wonderful to be part of such a group where the members are ready to assist like that?
Anyway, in the Partizan 2006 Sittangbad refight photograph above, the unit analogous to Young and Lawford’s independent company of the Waldeck Regiment was Phil Olley’s own red-coated Sachsen Grenadiers, made up of the lovely old Spencer Smith miniatures. Look closely at the photos above, and you’ll see them advancing smartly with standard waving in the breeze.
Best of all, I took out my calculator, consulted my Painting Progress Chart, made a few readjustments, and came to a stunning conclusion. Are you ready for this? In fact, I am just over the halfway point with my painting for the Grand Duchy of Stollen project. Figuring in the single company of 20 figures, instead of a full 80-strong regiment, and removing another infantry unit and a cavalry unit from my order of battle (which I had inadvertently added to Young and Lawford’s list of units for the Imperial forces), reduces the number of figures I must paint by a whopping 170 figures!
To put this in better perspective, I’ve pasted in a few details from my updated progress chart here:
* Total Figures in Project: Approximately 750
This discovery also means that I am much closer to completion of the Electorate of Zichenau’s army and places me somewhat ahead of schedule as far as painting is concerned. Who knows? I might just be able to complete everything well before the targeted completion date of December 2010.
Last of all, I have a 20-strong company of RSM French musketeers in the marching position, courtesy of Jim Perky, which I’ll paint up as an independent company of the 'Wolmar-Bock Regiment' (a.k.a. the Waldeck Regiment in Young and Lawford), which hails from neighboring Tauroggen-Fiebus, currently an ally of the Electorate of Zichenau.
I envision the company in light bluecoats and breeches with yellow cuffs, light blue turnbacks, white/silver lace, and black gaiters. No collars this time. Since it’s such a small number of figures, I might try to do this over the weekend as an exercise in speed painting in between coats of paint on the new tabletop. We’ll see how everything goes. Stay tuned!
Comments
What a great boost this should give you. And yes, painting that company over the weekend sounds like a great idea.
At least you're not trying to match Murdock's self-challenge. He's determined to paint 140 25mm Napoleonics this week.
-- Jeff
To be on time, or even ahead on a painting job? IMPOSSIBLE!
Stokes, sorry to bring you back to reality: clearly, your project is under-sized. You need to add units, pronto! Have you thought the issue through... are you really sure that you don't need an additional grenadier unit? Some more cuirassiers? No wargaming project deserves this name if its expected conclusion is shorter than a decade!
:-)
Adolfo