Austrian Mariassy Jägers - Warmodelling/Battlemodels miniatures

I'm on a bit of a roll and getting some figures finished. And guess what! I've done some Austrians!

I eventually got round to finishing a 16-man unit of Austrian Jägers using Warmodelling's 18mm figures (I only needed 12 but went for a larger unit fe reason). I had started these on four figure bases but felt that this looked wrong, so split them to have two per base.

The figures themselves are not the best that I've worked on recently. Warmodelling were suffering from increasingly poor castings when these were purchased, which they are apparently in the process of correcting. I did order some Hussars from them but the quality of those was terrible - luckily their service is still good and I eventually got replacements, but if you want their figures I would recommend waiting until they are remastered. The jaegers may benefit from this as well hopefully, as pose-wise they are nice enough. Its just some lost detail that affects them.

These seem to be in uniforms which are possibly too late for Marengo, so will be replaced at some point with suitable figures in helmets, if I can find some with the shorter musket.

Artigliere Veneto - Artillery for the Venetian army of 1790

I've really enjoyed building my small Venetian force of 18mm figures. Some have been a challenge to source - the Ultramarini needing a bit of conversion work to get suitable figures - but the artillery would have been almost impossible until the lovely Austrian Grenzer artillery became available from Fighting 15s and the AB range.

These are wonderful figures. AB are usually great but the early Austrian range is so well sculpted that nothing can compare. And to make things better these figures paint up really easily as well. I'm painting some other figures now from a different company and the casts are nowhere near as clean and detailed, which makes the figures much harder to finish to a good standard.

The guns were also a challenge to source, basing what I was after from some re-enactment photos. These may not be accurate but finding other reference was going nowhere. Even a trio to Venice failed to turn up anything of use - though the museum that I wanted to visit being closed for refurbishment did not help. As the Venetians only had light artillery, and as they were allied to the Austrians, the choice of using some light 3pdr artillery from AB was the best choice.

So here are the two finished guns...

For reference I used these images that were sourced from pictures of re-enactors in Italy. Hopefully what I have achieved reflects the look and feel of the Artigliere Veneto.

So here is the little army so far. Its one of the most colourful armies I have so far. The next unit will be wearing something different again, and then the cavalry will bring even more colour.

15/18mm French Revolutionary Infantry Comparison

Its been ages since I had time and motivation to get any painting done. I keep trying to get back into the mood, but I just haven't been able to. I suppose a promotion to a management position, mixed with a hectic and very stressful family situation has to take its toll somewhere, but I annoyed that it has been my hobby that has suffered - and therefor the blog has slowed as well.

But then it only takes a couple of things to get you back in the mood - for example a new release of figures. And that's whats happened. Campaign Game Miniatures in Spain have just released early French infantry, and they looked great. I had to get myself some, even though I have about 6 or 7 unpainted demi-brigades already.

An order was placed for a 32 man battalion, and while I was at it I thought I would add in another Austrian set, as I've never used CGMs infantry before. The Austrians were just as nice as the French turned out to be. I'm a little annoyed that I hadn't got these earlier, but I'll do another comparison with the Austrians very soon.

So what do you get in a 32 man battalion pack? CGM have packs available with varying amounts of figures, as well as the separate packs, so that you can choose exactly what you want. This pack was perfect for my needs, and its great to get all the figures you need without wasting money on spares.

As you can see, you get a variety of poses. For the bulk of the infantry there are 20 figures in four poses, with five of each pose. For the elite/Grenadier/light companies you get another four poses, two of each, plus the four figures in the command set. You get separate standards, one flag pole for early battalions, and an eagle for later.

The figures look really well cast, with sharp details, and no flash or visible mold lines - so these can go straight into the painting stage without lengthy a clean up first.

The important question when buying a new range is always, will these mix with what I have already? I think they will, especially with AB or Warmodelling (or Battlemodels as these are now called).

In this picture I've shown them alongside (from left to right) 2x Warmodelling, 2x AB, 2x Old Glory (Saxons as I don't have French), and finally 2x CGM. As you can see the size and proportions are very close to AB. The equipment looks the same, whereas I found that figures from Blue Moon for example, the muskets look totally different from other companies.

All in I would highly recommend these figures from CGM. They mix well with others, they look great, they are top quality, and the service from the company is excellent.

Marks out of ten, I'd say a high 9. And if they paint as well as the other figures I have from CGM that may go up to a full 10/10!

1o Reggimento Veneto Real, 1797 updated with new flags

I updated this unit with new flags a few weeks ago. These look a lot better with the stronger colours - the red and yellow contrast better and make the flags pop out more.

Venetian Mounted Officers/Generals using Boki 18mm Miniatures

While researching the Venetian army in the Napoleonic era I discovered more images of re-enactors than I did of actual historical uniform reference. I decided to build my army based on these interpretations of their uniforms until such time as I can confirm any actual uniform details.

I'm using Austrian miniatures as a basis for the Venetians, although there are many minor differences. Hopefully at 15/18mm scale these won't be noticeable.

One of my favourite images of the re-enactors was this atmospheric picture.

This inspired me to do a command base using Boki miniatures fantastic new Austrian Line Officers to represent these two guys. The figures are not a perfect match, but they are close enough for me.

1o Reggimento Veneto Real, 1797 - 15mm AB Miniatures

I've always been interested in doing obscure regiments as part of my collection and Northern Italy in the late 18th Century has plenty of choice, from Venice to Verona, the Papal States to Piedmont, Sardinia and Modena, there are many small nations that are diverse in their armies and regiments.

After concentrating on the Austrians, with a few French regiments, I did a battalion of Piedmontese. Then I spotted some Venetian re-enactors wearing what looked like blue Austrian uniforms. This needed a bit of research and I uncovered a mass of online photographs of the I° Reggimento Veneto Real. This was the unit I decided to build.

In 1797 Venice still ruled over the Adriatic, with France controlling the majority of Italy. Although France wanted peace with the "Serene Republic", Venice was more inclined towards friendship with Austria, which led Napoleon to send a message to the Doge's government - "Your whole territory is imbued with revolutionary principles.  One single word from me will excite a blaze of insurrection through all your provinces.  Ally yourself with France, make a few modifications in your government, such as are indispensable for the welfare of the people, and we will pacify public opinion and will sustain your authority."

Venice continued to raise troops even while other Italian states were allying with the French republican feeling. When news came that Austria had seen some success against France ton the Tyrolian frontier the Venetians declared war. French garrisons were overthrown and Napoleons supply lines were cut. This was a huge mistake as Napoleon was far from forgiving. After defeating the Austrians he turned back on the Venetians.

"French blood has been treacherously shed," said Napoleon; "if you could offer me the treasures of Peru, if you could cover your whole dominion with gold - the atonement would be insufficient. You have murdered my children - the winged lion of St.Mark must lick the dust."

The short war that followed was a disaster for Venice. The Republic that had once been a major Mediterranean power was ended.

Here is the I° Reggimento Veneto Real, a unit built using AB miniatures Revolutionary period 18mm Austrians.

 

I'm really happy with how these have come out. Obviously AB are the highest quality miniatures out there but they really suit this colour scheme - and the blue and white uniforms are very smart. There is a bit of doubt about what shade of blue the uniforms should be, but I've decided to go with the lighter colour for this "Royal" regiment and the darker blue for the regular line regiments. The inclusion of the grenadier company is a guess; they may have had combined grenadier battalions similar to the Austrians.

 

A large percentage of the army was Slavonian mercenaries, and the skirmishers were Oltramarine (Oversea) troops from Albania. For these I used Russian light infantry from Old Glory's 15mm Seven Years War range, with the headgear converted. I was worried how these would scale beside AB, which are 18mm, but as you can see in the pictures below that they mix really well and look the same size (the Old Glory seem slightly larger in fact).

 

The battalion is finished now except for the flags. The ones I have added are only temporary inkjet prints and the final flags should be a lot brighter.

Finally, here are some nice shots of the Milizia Veneta, I° Reggimento Veneto Real re-enactment group. As you can see, the uniforms are very distinctive.