One week left until FIGZ

Yesterday, I printed some labels and placeholders in order to bring a bunch of single figures onto bases for FIGZ. From time to time, I painted representatives of various units in a sort of random mode - which results in a couple of new 'under construction' bases...

I'm currently working on several new Westphalian cuirassiers, having finished 3 for the 1st regiments and having five riders for the lifeguard cuirasssiers at 80%. I started to paint the horses, but with the given time, I think I won't have them completed soon.

Basically, business is killing my painting time. I had to concentrate on other things like tax declarations, Blog preparations, Facebook sites, bookkeeping, writing letters to different companies, etc.
This is all for my wifes' art shop (http://mischpalette.blogspot.de/), where she produces lots of creative things made out of paper or adhesive/non-adhesive foils. So if anyone of you needs a 100*60cm tank siluette on the wall or paper-built toy soldiers for decorating your hobbyroom windows, just let me know ;-)

Oh - and I'd like you to like that shop on facebook (just search for 'Mischpalette'), if you don't mind. We still need a bunch of clicks there in order to get the statistics functions activated. Thanks!

Okay, boys and girls - hope to see you all at FIGZ in Arnhem next weekend!

Okay - ready to go!

Yeah.
Simply yeah.
I'm ready to go - ready to go to FIGZ. Yes, Remco - this message goes out especially to you. ;-)

Right now, I have finished my current portfolio as planned.  Okay - I must admit that 3 infantry units and 2 cavalry units still lack some figures to be complete, but at least I have mounted them on their bases and filled the gaps with placeholders in order to show the people that work on this project ist still going on.

At the moment, I've got 18 infantry units, 12 cavalry units and 5 single based figures.
Additionally, I've got the Isembourg army band, the HaT officers and some Strelets staff figures which I possibly also stick onto some pieces of wood for the show (but I'm not sure now).

Oh - and I've painted a little something for the single figure contest. Thanks to Ben from the USA who sent me a really, really beautiful figure that I simply couldn't withstand to paint! 

See here - I have added three units to my long-term-pre-Bardin-uniform-project:

Back sides and a picture of the Naples guards with finished bases are now to be seen in the 'catalogue': http://zedsnappies.blogspot.de/2011/07/project-all-varieties-of-pre-1812.html

I'm just not sure with which unit I'm going to continue - there are three Swiss regiments left, but there are also many different French and Italian units to do... and the Wurzburg jaegers...

So there's more to come for sure!

Upcoming event: FIGZ 2012 !

Today, I like to announce that another FIGZ is going to take place on the 3rd of June in Arnhem, the Netherlands!

For those who yet don't know this charmful, little event, here are some pics from 2011: http://thefigzblog.blogspot.de/

I was there last year and really enjoyed it - lot's of dioramas, vignettes, figures over figures, painted by real great 1/72scale painting artists. I suppose that there will again be several traders at the show (hopefully Schilling miniatures, Fredericus Rex, etc.) - so if you have the time to travel to Arnhem, you should not miss this little event.

If lightning doesn't strike me, I'll gonna be there and take some of my figures with me. So it's also a good possibility for meeting me and some other bloggers. 

Update: pre-1812 French uniforms

Well, well. I'm still much too busy - it leaves not enough time for painting. At least, I have managed to finish most of the relevant bases. Therefore, I have decided to refurbish my project threat for per-1812 French uniform style patterns (http://zedsnappies.blogspot.de/2011/07/project-all-varieties-of-pre-1812.html).

I put up all based units there. Which means that a small number of already painted figures is missing there - the Naples guards are under base construction, 3rd Swiss regiment, 4th Foreign regiment and the Piemontese are about to be completed.

Hopefully, I'll find enough time to complete them until the end of May.

Could anyone please prolong the usual amount of daytime hours? Perhaps to 46 hours? ;-)

Speaking of loose ends...

...here is another one.
Some of my regular visitors may remember that back in October 2011, I got a test shot of HaTs' new Brunswick cavalry into my hands (for those who don't remember: http://zedsnappies.blogspot.de/2011/10/sneak-preview-2-forthcoming-prussians.html) and that I was not too happy with the overall appearance of these figures.

I thought about alternative ways of painting for them and for the lancers, I really found one: the seventh Prussian Uhlan regiment. It was one of the few that did not wear the classic Uhlan uniform and I only had to make minor modifications and - of course - use a Prussian horse instead of the Brunswick ones.

Well - here's the result:

I had that figure laying half way painted in my cabinet since last October. To be honest, I just wanted to get rid of another started figure. I stopped painting it when by painting the Brunswick lancer, I recognized how ugly this rider really is. If you take a closer look at it, you will see that the sculptor has missed to give that dude an appropriate face. Additionally, the right arm looks a bit too large in comparizon with the rest of the figure. Well... not a beauty, this miniature.

But at last, I got another started work off my desk and filled my armies with another not so common unit. Fair enough. And now back to my other projects - I still have Italian hussars and Westphalian cuirassiers in an advanced stage of painting...
...and a bunch of Hanoverian infantry as well...

Oh - btw: Happy Easter!

A short trip to wherever

I'm currently tying loose ends - or in other words: I try to finish things that I've had laying around for quite a long time. Luckily, this means I finish more things then was usual in the past few weeks.
So today I present you a couple of Westphalian voltigeurs (7th line infantry regiment) - the only ones that I found pictured in the double-breasted uniform.

I would have made a label for it - unfortunately I'm having a problem with my printer. So the space remains empty for a while.
I have had these figures on my desk for a couple of weeks. Originally, I just wanted to add some buddies to the guy on the right side. I've painted that one nearly a year ago, but as it was the only Westphalian in that uniform, it would have made a poor display. Well - finally I have made it.

Next step will be a piece of cavalry that layed half painted in my cabinet for months.

Prussian cuirassier (1813) conversion

One of the units that are badly missing in our hobby are Prussian cuirassiers.
For some strange reason, we only find Prussian hussars, dragoons and lancers in plastic - and apart from the 1815 Prussian hussars, I personally find all of these sets ugly or inaccurate (especially the Italeri dragoons and the new HaT hussars are top-ugly in my opinion). Nobody seems to have cared about the Prussian cuirassiers.

Why is that? I only found some manufactured by ART miniatures, but these are made out of lead.
After doing some research, I think it's because the history of the Prussian cuirassiers. During the army reforms that followed Prussias defeat in 1806, their uniform changed to a version similar to the Russian dragoon outfit. But with Prussia being literally bankrupt, it couldn't afford to equip its' cuirassiers with cuirasses - so during the 1813 campaigns, they went into battle without shining armour.
In 1814, on the road to Paris, they were able to equip themselves out of formerly French stocks. So after that time, they wore the cuirass, which changed in design in 1815...

...apropos 1815: the cuirassier regiments were not present on the fields of Ligny and Waterloo, because they (and the Prussian guard infantry) were assigned to a different army corps that was to take care of Napoleons armies if they had marched further to the east.

So I suppose it's the limited useability that prevented the plastic figure manufacturers to take care of that subject. But there's a solution to it. Look at this:

I took one of Strelets' Russian dragoons and lengthened the horse hair on the top of the crest. The horse saddlery was modified with pistol pouches and a rolled cloth - and that's all.
As you can see, one could create lots of 1813 Prussian cuirassiers with little modification work.
I'm a bit unhappy with the horses of this set. They have all relatively bad proportions, especially ath the backside and the head and many have strange leg positions. But the overall outcome is alright, I guess.

So happy April - I hope that you'll see more of new work from me this month.