HMGs

A few months ago I started searching for 54mm World War 1 Machine guns for my British and German armies. In fact, it has literally been a year since I stated as much in this blogpost. In all this time, all that I have managed to find has been expensive collectors toys, many of which are out of production. So I bit the bullet and wrote to Irregular Miniatures, asking Ian Kay if he would be prepared to sculpt some HMGs for his 54mm range. He thought it was a good idea, how many did I want? The answer was 4 - 2 of each, which is hardly ground-shaking stuff in terms of an incentive to do some sculpting. I asked around of Facebook but aside from some thumbs up and a couple of comments, no-one seemed prepared to commit to buying any.
I gave it up. I was going to have to buy something incredibly expensive. And then I got an e-mail from Ian saying that he had a window and was I still interested? Was I! Needless to say he has finished the HMG sculpts, they have winged their way halfway around the world and the first two examples have been painted. I sent Ian the pictures for his website as the least that I could do.

So, without much further ado, here they are:

Vickers HMG. The figures have optional heads, so that they can be early or late war.

As a result I may yet get out some green stuff and sculpt a gas mask bag to sit on their chests.

The German Maxim '08. I love the stand on this weapon.

Again, the cuffs suit early war better, so I haven't painted the detail on them.

The HMG next to Armies in Plastic figure. The AIP are a bit bigger, especially in the head

A second picture with the AIP figure brought forward, and the difference still doesn't seem too great at all.

So I am one happy little digger with my new support weapons for the Great War. I've built these guys a sandbagged defence, and I'm just deciding whether to attach them in it permanently, and if not, exactly how I'll go about basing, as they are not fantastically stable by themselves. I'll work on that this weekend.

A big thanks to Ian Kay for doing this, and I've nominated him for best customer service in the Wargames Illustrated awards. Hopefully he gets the votes that he deserves!

Nate

Some light relief

Just off the painting tray for Craig's Seleucid army - a unit of 18 peltasts.

Next up from the Seleucid list will be the heffalump, which I'm really looking forward to painting.
Also on the painting tray are my 54mm WWI HMGs (up next) and the La Couronne regiment for the War of Spanish Succession. Variety is the spice of life after all!

Nate

The Jorger Dragoons

The latest reinforcement for the Grand Alliance in the Peninsular is the Jorger Dragoon Regiment. Originally formed by Count Ludwig Herbeville, the regiment soldiered in Italy until 1708 when it was sent to Catalonia for the Hapsburg cause. It would later go onto become the Kollowrat-Krakowski Dragoons in the Seven Year War and be disbanded in 1802 as the Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld regiment.

Resplendent in the blue coats and yellow facings that they wore when first arriving in the Peninsula

A close up of the colonel and the drummer - being a Dragoon regiment I decided to use one of these guys rather than a bugler.

From the other direction with a Spanish vineyard in the background.

These guys are painted in my new fast painting style. The horses are painted with a base colour and then washed with Army Painter dark tone ink. I did consider a highlight of the original colour, but forgot, and they don't look any worse for it. Certainly a lot faster than my 4 layer technique! And although it doesn't look as good, for gaming miniatures I'm fine with them.
There's some ancient light infantry up next, and then I'll be getting into some French Dragoons to even the sides up a bit.

Nate

Reinforcements for the Spanish enterprise

Charles Hapsburg and his friends get some extra support this week with an Austrian gun and general recently added to the Confederates.

Uniform details were taken for the watercolours by Rudolf Donath

Gun colours as suggested in Nick Dorrell's 'Marlborough's Other Army'.

Brown coated Austrian Officer based on the famous painting of Prince Eugene by van Schuppen

Hopefully by Sunday they will also have the Jorger Dragoons ready for action.

Nate

Painting update

It's been a while since I had a post solely for the painting that I've done, so here is a photoshoot of some of the most recent.

Austrian Osnabruck-Lorraine regiment. These guys served in Italy and then in Spain.

Thanks to Aly of Aly's toy soldiers I found a copy of the flags for this regiment on the Fighting Talk forum. Also on there was uniform information and I quickly repainted the neckerchiefs red rather than white.

Next up, some Afghans for my 54mm North West Frontier toy soldier project. Painted in traditional toy soldier style with  gloss varnish, these guys are one of the two periods helping scratch my toy soldier itch. Figures are Armies in Plastic.

Opposition for the Pathans - Bengal Lancers! One of my all-time favourite corps. Eventually there will be 8 in the unit.

Helping out the Imperial cause - Sikhs! 

Pictured together, the idea is that these guys will be in half sized units for The Sword and The Flame

The other toy soldier project - the Great War. I've been painting up a few more of these chaps too.

Back to 28mm and here is my second unit of Roman Legionaries. I've played a test game of War and Conquest, and I really like it. WaC will now be my go-to ruleset.

To oppose the Romans here are some Companion cavalry that I painted up for Craig. I'm hoping to have his ancients completed by the end of the year.

I've been beavering away on terrain for the North West frontier as well, but more on that later.
I'm very excited that Ian Kay at Irregular Miniatures has completed sculpting Heavy Machine Guns for the Great War in 54mm, so as soon as they arrive I will have them painted and posted up here.

Nate