The Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach Musketeers after Painting Sessions #3 and #4. . .

Here's where things stand after a couple of nice painting sessions this weekend.  Time now for red facings, turnbacks, and various smaller details.

Moving along reasonably well with the current crop of 20 or so figures, which are being painted in uniforms worn by the Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach contingent of the Ernestinisch Infantry.  Drummers, according to a couple of sources I am referring to, wore brown laced coats faced red hence the rather odd color of the drummer at left. 

An old illustration from a packet of German cigarettes, I think, that matches pretty closely the written Kronoskaf 'Project Seven Years War' description of one possible drummer uniform worn by Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach drummers.

So far, I am not displeased with the way things are going, but my new bottle of Liquin Original is not imparting the flow qualities to my alkyd oil colors that I've become used to in the two years since I began using it.  Grrrrr. . .   So, it took rather a long time to work the thinned Prussian Blue onto and around the coats of the figures.  Might just have to visit the local arts and supply store and see if there are other brands of similar mediums available. 

Anyway, the figures still look rough around the edges, but adding red facings and cleaning up the shoulder belts should neaten them up a bit.  Time to begin painting a bit more carefully now.  Then, muskets and barrels, musket slings, cartridge pouch badges, and sword/bayonet scabbards, hair, etc., etc., etc.  Possibly, just possibly, I might come very close to wrapping these up during the week.  We are still early enough in the college semester that extra time in the evenings is still available although I get first papers from my various classes at the end of this week on Friday, January 30th.

On a related note, I've finally worked out a basing scheme for my line infantry units of 60-80 figures that will help speed things along on the table during those all too rare games.  It's a combination of Pater Gilder's basing scheme laid out in In the Grand Manner but adapted to work with the larger units from Charge!  Or How to Play War Games. . .   one of my personal wargaming touchstones for many years now.  Remember that in the latter, a company of line infantry consists of 19 figures. . .  16 enlisted men, an officer on foot, an NCO, and a drummer.  

Here's what I'll do to adapt that to Peter Gilder's basing scheme.  Basically, multiple bases measure 60mm wide x 40mm deep and hold eight figures each.  I'll have two such bases per company, with the officer stuck to one.  The two NCOs per company will remain singly based to form a third rank.  Drummers, of which there are three-four per battalion for units of 60-80 figures, will be based in pairs to occupy their place on either flank of the battalion.  That means that I'll need to paint up a few extra musicians at some point for my 60-figure units, divided into three companies.

The colors, mounted officer, Regimental Sergeant Major, and another foot officer will occupy a slightly smaller base that can assume it's place in the midst of a marching column, or in the middle of a firing line, or in the center of the rarely formed square.  I've tired to strike a balance between actual Prussian formations/drill from the SYW period and, as mentioned previously, Young & Lawford's approachon the one hand, and Gilder's on the other.  

I actually began rebasing most of my existing units in this general direction a couple of years ago, using In the Grand Manner dimensions and configurations, so it won't take too much occasional work to standardize things even more over the next year or two.  I've always liked unbased figures, mind you, but it simply takes too long to move multiple units of them around the tabletop, and time for games is such a rare thing anyway, so my plan seems like a reasonable compromise.  In any case, it should help immeasurably with set-up, play, and tear-down.

If all of this reads in a convoluted way, and I fear it might, the photograph of the current company above gives some indication of where things are headed.  Questions and comments from interested bystanders and more experienced wagamers are, as always, most welcome.

-- Stokes


P.S.

I also managed to tack down my Black Hussar 18th century Lutheran pastor and several Suren ladies of ill-repute to an irregularly shaped base yesterday in preparation for evenutal base-coating and painting.  I plan to call the finished vignette something like "Pastor Kurpjuhnait Confronts the Bawds" or something similar.  More on this at a later point.