1866 Austrian Artillery - 10mm

More of the excellent Pendraken figures. This time Austrian artillery. These come with the seats for the crew when limbered. They're quite solid castings for their size and were nice to paint. As many would already know, the Austrian artillery in the 1866 campaign were actually superior to their Prussian counterparts. The problem however perhaps lay in doctrine and deployment. The latter tended to keep their guns further back and removed them quickly when threatened. The Austrians on the other hand brought their artillery up close to ensure support for the infantry. This often resulted in them being overrun or shot down as per "The Battery of the Dead" at Chlum when they deployed 150m in front of the Austrian Infantry and were overrun by the Prussian Guard.

1866 Austrian Hussars - 10mm

This is the second edition to my 1866 Austrian army. All included in the Pendraken army pack. Having picked a period that would perhaps be quite obscure to many (The Austro-Prussian War, aka The Seven Weeks War) I'm now grappling with the obvious problem of painting guides and uniform details. Hence I'm eternally thankful for the abundance of forums such as TMP and Pendraken's own, where people have posted up links and suggestions. Having been one of those pre-internet gamers (even though it was primarily Games Workshop/Fantasy stuff) I feel heartily grateful for the resources that are now at my fingertips.

Back to the issue of late 19th Century warfare, and I've just finished reading 'Sedan 1870 - The Eclipse of France' by Douglas Fermer. Anyone interested in the Franco-Prussian War should grab it. As well as being incredibly tragic, I found it a great introduction to the conflict. Although also quite excellent I feel it's perhaps less dense than Michael Howard's book on the same subject.

Austrian Infantry 1866 - 10mm Pendraken.

I bought these 1866 Austrian Infantry from Pendraken as part of their Army deal. Impressed with some of the smaller scale figures folks have been bringing along to the club I thought I'd try my hand at them. I was also inclined to consider the current costs of collecting armies in 25/28mm metal, as much as I still love my Napoleonic French I'm only too aware of the time and £££'s it's put in to get a decent sized force.

The army packs from Pendraken are only £25 each, and you get a worthwhile amount for your money. Although they don't come with command units, what I got was enough to field two whole divisions and still a few left over. The painting itself seemed intimidating at first and I probably wasn't used to picking out jackets and packs with careful paint blobs. However, it was nice to see the detail appearing once I'd used block colours and then added a thin wash all over. I decided afterwards on a bit of highlight to make the colour pop a bit more. I managed to pick up the Osprey edition of the Austrian Army 1836-1866 (1) cheap from Amazon, and in it was listed the charts and references for lapel colours and facings. The Army pack mentioned in this instance includes both infantry in Kittel and greatcoats (above photos show two units in Kittel and one in GC). The basing was done with green flock and chinchilla sand from the local pet store - the latter comes in large bags for only a couple of quid. Nice considering it's probably exactly the same stuff you're buying in hobby stores for three times the price.

Anyway, I'll be looking forward to buying a few more of these in the very near future.

Museum of Military History, Vienna.

These are some photographs I took on a holiday to Austria a few years ago. The visit took in The Heeresgeschichtliches Museum based at the rather imposing Vienna Arsenal. It boasts the largest collection of artillery pieces in Europe and is established on several floors. Each floor is dedicated to a particular period, with huge sections on the Napoleonic era, First World War, Second World War, Thirty Years and both the Austro-Prussian and Franco-Prussian Wars. It's easily a whole day affair and just walking between the rooms can mean long pauses as your eye catches large painted mural scenes from Military History hovering above you on the ceiling. Outstanding objects are things like Archduke Franz Ferdinand's car in which he was assassinated in (complete with bullet holes), and the blood stained uniform he wore on the day. Very tragic and moving in my opinion. The prices for entry are extremely good. More details here: http://www.hgm.or.at/

Saga Vikings - 28mm

These two hairy fellows are Heroes of the Dark Ages 28mm Vikings. I grabbed them from Colonel Bill's stand at the last Triples show. The rest of my Saga band are all Crusader miniatures, and these guys are slightly conspicuous due to their size, which I only realized once I got them home. After a bit of pondering I still intend to use them mixed in with the rest as they're not too bad. I like the variations of poses and they're good solid chunky figures. As a word of caution I probably wouldn't put them with Foundry models as they do really tower over them. Maybe they'd be ok in a separate warband however. As I've finished almost all of my French Indian Wars and Saga figures, I've just ordered my "Summer Project" - two large armies for the 1866 Austro Prussian War in 10mm. Photos on the way soon!!

More Woodland Indians 28mm

This post would have featured 28mm Roger's Rangers, had I not dropped several onto the concrete path (so they're back on the painting table getting a touch up). When I heard the clatter I had to bite my lip and adopt some zen style breathing control, so as not to upset the neighbours with a string of violent expletives. Anyway, I retreated back upstairs and instead I've included some more AW Miniatures Indians. After the game last week I noticed compared to Kev's multi-coloured War Party, mine definitely needed some 'prettying' up so to speak. Again the flesh is Vallejo Cavalry Brown with some white mixed highlights. The War paint is Vallejo Flat Red with Carmine Red highlight, and Vallejo Medium Blue respectively.

Muskets and Tomahawks 28mm Game

Last Wednesday's Club game photos. Myself and Russ played the British with Regulars, Rangers and Indians. Whilst Simon and Kev were the French with Canadian and Indian support. Our task was to burn the Indian village and nearby French compound. Theirs was to scout each of the 6 board sections (only one figure was necessary to enter each of the board area), which meant our task was by far the trickiest. As I was in control of the Indians and British Rangers we dashed forward using cover to set alight the first two Indian structures. Kev's own Indian defenders tried to make a flanking move through the trees when they saw the first whisps of smoke and got a hail of musket fire which drove them back. So far so good. However, to advance into the second part of the village meant crossing a cornfield (only light cover) and my indians paid dearly with two units breaking and fleeing when blasted from a treeline by approx. four units hiding there. The Rangers began a flanking move to flush them out but scarpered back into cover when a French Regular unit came marching into view. Using their sharpshooter skill they took down 90% of the regiment in quick succession. But unfortunately weren't quick to react when another hostile Indian unit managed to whip round and scout another board tile. Russ held on with his sturdy British line effectively dealing with the French near the compound, but again the Canadian forces used their cover to first hatchet a few of our men and gain another part of their victory conditions.