SYW Schomberg Dragoons by Blue Moon

I not so long ago bought these Blue Moon French Dragoons for The Boy and they jumped up the painting queue. Schomberg Dragoons fit in that category that see's a unit represented in more armies because it's different in this case it's the only Dragoon regiment that wears the helmet that the Napoleonic French Dragoons owe it's birth right too. It is also the only regiment of dragoons in the French army to wear green. 

Old Glory supply these castings in the UK as per link above. Blue Moon normally supply command separately with nine command figures to a pack meaning you normally buy three packs of cavalry and one of command for every three units of cavalry. But as you only need the one regiment Blue Moon supply you a fifteen figure pack including three command. Lee and me have fourteen figure dragoon regiments (sixteen figures for heavy cavalry) so this was almost perfect for us.

The castings were fairly clear of mould lines but some better than others and flash was certainly present but easy to remove. The horse figures certainly have a bulk about them which looks good. The riders look a bit little in comparison but that could be just me. However the final look of the painted unit looks really nice.

Plenty of detail and the separate rider castings did not cause any issues making them a little more pleasurable to work with. The Blue Moon range is not yet complete and nowhere is that more obvious than in the French range with about half the listed figures yet to be made available. I can see me returning to this range for some more of their cavalry as when compared with the two other suppliers I have painted to date these are the best.

I also painted up the French Mounted Officers but that's for another post in the near future. Meanwhile I continue with a couple of units for my army.

Prussian SYW Number 1 Regiment von Winterfeldt

Well it took some time but in the end I got there. I am basing my army mostly on the opening attack into Saxony at the start of the SYW. Even though I will be mostly fighting the Russians but hay we can't always be perfect.

The figures are Old Glory, supplied by Timecast and the flags are Fighting Fifteens both I can heartily recommend. Old Glory figures needed a bit of a clean up and are very well detailed. The only issue with this is the amount of time it took to paint them due to the high level of detail. 

Lee and myself took a lot of time discussing the make up of units and base sizes each coming from a different angle before finally settling on 18 figures over three bases for infantry and 8 cavalry over two bases. Command have around three figures dependant on command level and guns on a single base with one gun representing a battery.

The colonels battalion gets two flags and is displayed here with the three bases in column. I went with a base coat of Dark Russian Blue followed by a highlight of Prussian Blue. One fully painted I inked with Nulin Oil and then highlighted again with the main colours to make them pop. 

The second Battalion just gets the one standard, I have a flag for a third battalion but the regiment only had two during the Seven Years War. I may yet use it but for now it will remain a two battalion regiment.

It was quite a slog painting up two battalions at the same time, I think I may take a leaf out of Lee's book and go one at a time in future. However I have bought a army pack from Lancashire Games and as they are not as detailed may keep to a larger number for these. My aim is to get enough painted up quick enough to actually get a few games in whilst the project is still new.

I do like the way they turned out and the rich colours of the flags really makes the units pop. Our first games will have to include unpainted mini's but at least some will come dressed for a fight.

Next up will be a couple of guns and a few casualty markers and then either a regiment of Hussars or a combined battalion of grenadiers, but before that I have the small matter of a couple of pike blocks to finish.

Fighting Fifteens SYW Prussian Flags

Got home from work to find my flags for my Prussians had arrived. Needless to say they are now attached to the standards and edges painted. I have to admit I am more than a little relieved to get these finished as I have been really slow post challenge.

I will get something up on the first two battalions early next week once I have a few decent images.

The flags are nice and sharp, cost £3.50 per sheet which compared with a few others seems quite cheap. I also add folds to my flags and these show no sign of creasing or losing their colour where folded so seem perfect for the job.

As it was my first order I did not go for too many, six regiments of Infantry, one sheet of Cuirassier and one of Dragoons. Infantry sheets have two regiments with four flags a regiment, enough to do six battalions if you add the colonels colour with a battalion one in the same unit as I have done. I will be ordering more when I need them, having bought yet more figures that may be sooner than you would think.

Prussian Seven Years War Test Figure

I bet I am not on my own in not painting anything post challenge, well that is until today. However I have spent a fair bit of time cleaning up figures for the new project, that being the Seven Tears War. I have four infantry battalions and one Hussar all awaiting paint and so thought it might be a good idea to paint up one figure before launching into 18 figure battalions.

These are Old Glory 15mm as supplied by Timecast rather than the Blue Moon supplied by the UK Old Glory. Confused? then your not on your own LOL. The infantry are really nice and mostly clean castings requiring less prep than some. The cavalry though have very nice riders but the mounts of both the Hussars and the generals are less than impressive. So much so I will probably shop around for better models for my cavalry.

The first regiment will be Regiment Number 1 Winterfeldt that had two battalions, both of which have been started with the base uniform colour.

Overall I am pleased with the result whilst Cath thinks it's a bit dark. So what do you think? Should I add another brighter highlight after inking or stick with just the touch up of Prussian Blue I have added post inking here?