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Striking While the Iron Is Hot. . .

 

The first 14 Austrian hussars seated precariously atop their respective, and masterfully rendered, 1/56 mounts.

Thank you everyone for your kind comments about the recently (and finally) completed Anhalt-Zerbst Regiment.  The unit was a slog at times, but I'me happy to add them to the Grand Duchy of Stollen collection, and they have been stowed safely in one of several large plastic storage tubs that reside in the main closet here in Zum Stollenkeller.  Time now to look at the painting road up ahead.

Fired with enthusiasm thanks to finishing the Anhalt-Zerbst project, I took a deep breath and opened the large cardboard, cube-shaped Pandora's box over on the painting desk yesterday evening -- before yoga with the Grand Duchess -- to root around inside and sort out the first squadron of Minden Austrian hussars (pictured above).  Sword arms and Nadasdy occupy the plastic envelopes in the background by the way.

My squadrons of cavalry are slightly larger than those in Charge! Or How to PLay War Games (1967), consisting of 14 figures rather than Young and Lawford's eight.  Typically, mine consist of 11 or 12 troopers and two or three command figures, depending on cavalry type.  Since we are talking hussars in this case, that's 12 and two.  Looking at what's still in the box, there are enough figures and horses for an eventual monster regiment of 56 (at least) organized in four squadrons along with Nadasdy and his own trumpeter out in front.  

And if I've got an extra hussar in the pile, I might even create a charging vignette of the three.  But that's putting the cart before the (ahem) horse.

Speaking of which, that reminds me. . .  I wanna be a cowboy!

Musical digressions aside, the inspiration for this latest bout of madness (just call me King George) comes from an old color  photograph of some French Napoleonic hussars on the rear cover of an early issue of Miniature Wargames (#6 or #7).  I've always wanted to do something similar in my own painting and collecting, so here we are.  Although mine will be primarily red rather than the light blue, which was the color of those French hussars that first fired my imagination so long ago.

Now, for those of you who might be wondering, continually rising metal costs have meant that I have not purchased all of these in one fell swoop.  As my much missed maternal grandfather used to kid about a variety of things, I'm dumb, but I'm not stupid.  I've been a bit more rational in my approach to figure purchases for this particular project and have, instead, taken advantage of occasional promotions, usually Black Friday sales in November, to acquire one squadron at a time.  The figures have been hoarded in the cube-shaped box until such a time as painting can commence, which is this summer.

All of which is a typically long-winded way of saying that I'll start on these in the next few evenings when I attach the sword arms and dive into base-coating with my usual white acrylic gesso.  Let's see how long it takes to get through these!

-- Stokes 


P.S.

And yes, a small solo game is on the horizon.  If not a Sittangbad refight, then Blasthof Heath. . . but with larger units.


An illustration of a Warasdiner Grenz Hussar (from Kronoskaf), on which I'll base my painting of these many metal hussars for the next year or so.


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