Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Time is of the essence

Remember the good old computer game 'Dungeon Master'?
If yes, you're something between 38 and 45 years old. ;-)

On one of the dungeon walls stood the motto 'Time is of the essence'.
This is what this posting is more or less all about.

Regular visitors of my blog know that I'm having a long-time project: the ambition to paint all possible units wearing the pre-Bardin French uniform. All on basis of a certain HaT figure set.
(http://zedsnappies.blogspot.de/2011/07/project-all-varieties-of-pre-1812.html)

During the Napoleonic period, besides of many units from all over Europe, the French army fielded four foreigners' regiments. One of them was the 2nd foreigners regiment, the so-called Isemburg regiment. The regiment itself is a very popular one (I've seen it painted many times), most presumably because of its' nice sky-blue uniforms. No question - I had to have them among my troops as well.

Usually, I paint one example of every sort of subcathegory (voltigeuer, chasseur, grenadier, a drummer and an officer). This time, I failed. Why? Because of time.
I simply discovered that you can't paint some sky-blue guys, put them onto a base and that's it. This may work for many different units, but not for this one, because their uniforms changed in an unusually high frequency during the Napoleonic period. In fact, there are four different possible varieties.

Here they are, marching through the years - Isemburg grenadiers. From left to right:
1805-1806 uniform, 1807-1808 uniform, 1809-1810 uniform and the green variant that was worn from 1811-1812.

I leave it up to you to find out the subtle and not-so-subtle differences. ;-)

Oh - they've got a backside as well:
The reason why I decided to paint the Isemburgers in this way (which will in fact result in four different vignettes of that sort) is simply because it shows perfectly how the uniforms changed through time. I think the optical effect works better as if I had made four different bases, each containing a full range of figures of the same temporal period. Or am I wrong with that suggestion? Just give me your feedback, please!



6 comments:

  1. Another excellent set!!! How many have you got to do?

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  2. Oh - good question, Paul. I don't have counted out the exact number, but it's currently certainly far more then a hundred figures left.

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  3. good god I am noticing the differences mostly to do with the Hat and some butons on the Jaket I have no clue what they are meant to be called... oh and yes the last one is obviously different. though his HaT is very similar to the first figs... Sascha what have you done you've made me focus of napoleonic unifmorms :-( I am curesed now Aren't I?

    great work and now I am curesed I'll ask you a question in revenge for looking into the small differences of nappy uniforms... I am going to use a mix of Pen birts and Wurttenburg infanty for my Oronegreans with the Wurttenburg figs as elites...is there a possible excuse for having the vast differences in uniform (I would not have said that before I was curesed) or will I have to make a real fantasy story up? I am making one already for the nation but for the army I was hoping for simplicity and beleivibility.... sorry for my poor english spelling skills.

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  4. Hey Gowan!
    Good to see that I've managed to convert someone to Nappieism... :-D
    Well - different cuffs, different button lines, cords, etc.

    If you tell me what "pen birts" are, I may tell you. But if your main concern are the helmets, don't worry too much about it - there are several armies were helmets, cascets, shakos and bicornes existed in parallel. Just keep in mind that even if new uniforms were introduced, the former ones kept in service for an interim period until all units were fully equipped.

    Which could, when armies were on war, take quite a long time. ;-)

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