Works in progress and new paints

  March is turning into a very productive month.  My bathroom project in the basement is moving ahead great guns.  Shower and most water pipes installed and now time to put up dry wall.  But that is not why you visit here!  I am working on new regiments and have started using new paints.


  Again, after my great painting splurge of 2017 I find my self with lots of dryed out empty paint tins.  While I use craft paints for terrain, I needed to buy a great number of new paints for my present projects.  I had tried the Reaper brand of paints at the Cold Wars Hobby University and liked them.  Bottled similar to Vallejo paints they appeared to have a better quality to them. They also dry flat.  On the Fife and Drum miniatures forums William19 dang their praises and have given me a lot of advice on why he uses them.   I sent off for a bunch of colors I could use.  Reaper included a very nice box to store them in.  Good service here people.  I will be a repeats customer.   So for this year at least I am a Reaper painting fool.

  What is on my painting table?  I am working on two small regiments of mounted militia for the Rev War.  These are brand new castings from Fife and Drum miniatures.  As with all their figures these are great.  A wide variety of poses, and clothing and equipment. In other words they look like militia!

  I have also primed and started Maxwell's Grenadier battalion.  These were the Grenadier companies from the six British Minden regiments.  Again, Fife and Drum and Minden miniatures are all sculpted by the same individual.  These will fit in nicely with my mid eighteenth century armies.  While most of the figures are simple to paint, the grenadiers caps are extremely detailed and will take a lot of hard work.  But they will be a thing of beauty to behold when done.

  Oh, and the count down to leaving for  Cold Wars in March 15!

Diwrnod david sant hyfryd

   A special day for your humble blogger who celebrates his 61st birthday.   Which I will spend with a day off from work but installing a new shower and bathroom in our basement.  A long project I have been working on and now nearing competition. My present will be Later in the month with our annual visit to the Cold Wars miniature gaming convention. More to follow!  Later tonight I will be having a lovely dinner with my dear wife Janine.

To all today I wish a Happy Saint David's Day to the Welch, and to all Royal Welch Fusiliers both past and present!


1st March 1775;  This being St. David's Day the officers of the 23rd Regiment, or Royal Welch Fusiliers, dinned together according to the custom.  All the General & Staff Officers, the Admiral, and several other person's were invited to dine with the Regiment...."
From the diary of Lieutenant Frederick MacKenzie.

The "custom" was on each Saint Daivid's Day following dinner the regimental goat with the drummers and fifers are led around the mess table.  The drum major has a silver plate with raw leeks and the mess sergeant carries a loving cup filled with champagne. They halt by the newest joined officer who then stands on his chair with his left foot and places his right foot on the table and eats a leek while the drummers play a continuous roll.  Once he has consumed the leek he is handed the loving cup and before drinking toasts "And Saint David!"  All present who have not eaten a leek, including guests are expected to do so. Similar ceremonies occurs in the sergeants and the other ranks mess.  This custom, described as "ancient" in 1775  is still observed in peace and during war time up to the present time.

Reenactment of Battle of White Plains 1976 with your humble blogger in the ranks of the 23rd Royal Welch Fusiliers.

 

French gun and crew

  For my mid eighteenth century armies I will need a few batteries of artillery.  I am thinking of using two guns and eight crew members to represent a battery.  Looks about right.

  In reviewing the research materials out there I noticed that most gamers paint the gun carriages blue. But some paint them red.  I went with blue after a little research suggested this was the color for field artillery.  Besides, it looked very nice. As does the round base for the gun and crew.

Fusiliers de Morliere

  Sometimes I wonder where my mind went....

 I wanted to add a light infantry type regiment to my growing French army.  Crann Tara miniatures made a figure representing the Fusiliers de Morliere which I had never heard of.  But they were rather dashing in their brown uniforms and hussar type mirliton hats. So included them in my order. Unfortunately I only ordered one pack instead of the three i needed.  Like I said I wonder where the heck my mind is at times.

  While waiting on the reinforcements, I painted these to get a jump start on the regiment.  They look very unique.  The brown uniform coat, with red small clothes and black gaiters look dashing. I was also very taken by the hussar type hat.  Black and white edging.  All in all a unique looking unit.  The skirmishing type poses mark the unit as a light infantry type and give movement to the regiment.  I am looking forward to finishing and adding the regiment to my collection.

  Thank you again to Crann Tara miniatures for a great looking regiment!

Fritz James Cavalry Regiment

  As I have stayed before, I'm really do not like to paint cavalry.  Not sure why I have this mental block. Possible because of stories my grandparent told me about Cossacks when they came to their village.  But for what ever the reason it is very hard for me to paint cavalry.  Note most of my armies in miniatures have very small cavalry regiments and not a lot off them.

  So it is with great happiness that I have finally completed my first regiment 2018;  the French cavalry regiment Fitz James.  The regiment, primed and based has been sitting for months gathering dust while I worked on the courage to take brush to figure.  Now that it is done, I am ready to rush ahead to more traditional figures I like to paint like British Grenadiers, French artillery and French light troops.

  Miniatures are from Crann Tara and very nice figures they are. Regimental flag is from GMB.

  My small collection of French troops is coming along nicely. I now have six infantry battalions and one cavalry regiment finished. I will be adding a Artillery  crew  with gun and some light troops very soon.  I would like to have eight line battalions, two batteries (four guns) and two Light battalions to round out my army.  Possibly two guards battalions, just because.  Then it's time to start my British, Hanoverian and Brunswick army!