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!
It has taken a while to get on to these, and these deserved a bit of extra time on the painting, but as my first full battalion of AB miniatures I am very impressed with the finished unit (that's down to the figures, not my painting).
I'd painted a grenadier battalion, using Blue Moon figures, and the feedback was that the facing colour was far too light, so I tried a darker pinkish red on these. The colour looks a lot darker in the photos than in real life, but I hope its closer to correct.
The figures I chose were the early AB revolutionary miniatures, wearing casquet hats and side slung packs, but I used the 1798 helmeted command figures so as to bring the unit into 1800.
Here is IR52 alongside some German Austrian Battalions from Blue Moon...
For my Austrian army at Marengo, I require four battalions of Grenadiers. This first one, like all Grenadier Battalions was created from the Grenadier companies of the regiments present in the division. Therefore the facing colours could vary within the Grenadier Battalion dependent on which regiments the companies were drawn from.
The Austrian Hungarian Regiments present at Marengo were IR52 Anton and IR53 Jellacic. Both these Regiments had the same colour of facings, but with different coloured buttons, and as I'm painting 15mm scale figures, I'll not be attempting to paint buttons unless really necessary. So this Battalion has consistent facing colouring throughout the miniatures.
The figures are from Blue Moon, and as usual are very well cast, with tons of character. The detail on these is superb, from the back of the fur cap showing the proper bag-like material that other companies seem to miss, to the raised piping down the legs of the Hungarian breeches. They were a joy to paint - though I did feel I was going nowhere with the unit for a while, painting the white, the blue, then the yellow, then the pink, before even doing the packs and muskets! How many colours can one unit have?
These figure look great when finished, and when seen standing alongside my other Blue Moon battalions, Blue Moon are becoming my favourite figures. My only thought on the range is, where is the Hungarian Infantry in helmets? Why only shakos?
Here are the Blue Moon regiments all together and another picture that shows the great detailing on the breeches.
And as this isn't my first Hungarian Battalion I thought I'd post the Grenadiers alongside the first battalion I painted for this project, the 4th Banat Grenzers. That unit used figures from Warmodelling, and although I'm happy with it, I may get myself a Blue Moon Grenz battalion as well, just because I like their miniatures so much.
One of the things that always bothers me when wargaming is "where do the casualties go?" It bothers me in films as well. I remember watching The Water Margin when I was really young and you'd see guys dropping dead all over the place, but then you'd see the ground and there were either no bodies or only one or two. Reading historical novels, like Bernard Cornwall's Sharpe books, you get the feeling that when the bodies start piling up it gets pretty damned treacherous underfoot, with ground that "in game" is classed as easy going quickly becoming rough going. So I always want to represent those figures that are lost with casualty figures. It gives the battle field a bit more realism, and also makes the killing of your troops a lot less sterile and clean. Facing a pile of dead where your favourite battalion of figure once stood is a lot more emotive than just lifting them from the table and putting them aside.
General de Brigade rules require casualty markers, which gives me the opportunity to show the more unpleasant side of the battle, and to put something a little different onto the table. While it was appealing to put casualties on the table, when there is a choice between these or another fighting battalion, I had to weigh up that desire against my limited funds. Luckily I was able to pick up a pile of cheap Old Glory Austrian casualties from eBay, so put together a few markers.
I'm planning on having at least one marker per battalion, so these first three are painted in the colours of IR23 Toscana. The figure from Old Glory consisted of three poses, two taking injuries and one face down. I'm not sure if that's all there are in the range, but that's all I got off ebay, so I decided to trim a couple of the guys taking hits off their bases. I think it worked quite well.
Each side of the base is marked with white dashes, to represent one to four casualties, so the base would be turned to keep track. I've not put these into practice yet so hopefully this will work.
Here is the 1st of two battalions to represent IR47 Infantry Regiment Kinsky. This unit fought in the brigade of GM August Graf Briey de Landres.
The figures are German Infantry in Helmets from Blue Moon with the mounted officer from AB miniatures.
Although the Blue Moon and Old Glory ranges will not match when mixed within the same unit, when you see the two units on the table they don't look that different in scale.
While reading Marengo and Hohenlinden: Napoleon's Rise to Power by James R Arnold I got the impression that the Austrian Army of that period was still in transition between the pre-1798 uniform and the post-1798 with the casquet hat still being worn. There is a picture in the book that quite clearly shows this earlier uniform being worn (though I am only assuming the artist got it right).
Then I noticed a picture in the Fields of Glory Napoleonic wargames rulebook that again features that earlier uniform still in use, but with officers wearing the new helmet. I'm sure the picture is from another Osprey publication.
So, with sources suggesting the earlier uniform I decided that some of my army should reflect this.
I already have the bulk of my German battalions started, with a few figures ordered to complete them, but I still hadn't started the Hungarian regiments yet, mostly due to the fact that only one producer of the larger scale 15mm figures makes Hungarian line infantry in helmets, that being AB.
AB are more expensive that the other ranges, this being acceptable due to the fantastic quality of the figures, so I had been holding off in the hope that Blue Moon, or another company, would release these (hint, hint!!!) at a more affordable price.
It eventually made sense that if I needed Austro-Hungarians, and if I was going to have to go with AB, then why not order the earlier French Revolutionary Wars era Austrian Hungarians? So that's what I did, only with a pack of Hungarian command in helmets to finish the 32 man battalion.
The order arrived today, so here is an Out-the-bag review of what I got...
The order had been for Hungarian Fusilier in Casquet Marching (AB-RKK07) x4 and Hungarian Fusilier Command 1798-1806 in Helmet (AB-KK91/93). The delivery was well packaged, as is always the case from Fighting 15's, the UK supplier of AB Miniatures. The figures were well protected with ample bubble wrap.
Rather than come in individual packs, the bulk order of 4 packs of fusiliers were in one zip lock bag, and the command in another.
So what did you get in the bags? The mix of Fusiliers consisted of three poses. These are packed randomly so I assumed it would be an equal amount of each. I had a minor gripe with the fact that there were far more of one pose than of the others, as you can see, but that's only a minor issue. The command set consists of six figures - one each of the three poses; officer, standard, and drummer.
I think it goes without saying, but I'll say it anyway. AB figures are the TOP when it comes to quality. They really do set the standard. The only flash issue is an easily removed bit at the very tip of the bayonet (though you need to carefully snip this off to avoid losing your tips). The features on the miniatures are well detailed and very realistic. The poses are natural, and the uniforms are accurate. The muskets are well defined and look like muskets and not just sticks with pointy bits. Just perfect figures. I hope I can paint these guys to the standard they deserve.
I think you need to see these beside other ranges to see how good they are, so here is a comparison shot. Sorry its a little fuzzy.
From left to right, these are: Blue Moon, AB, Old Glory, Warmodelling, and Warmodelling. Yes, the last two are both from the same manufacturer, from the same code, and out the same packet! I know not every person is the same height, but that guy is HUGE!!
I now have another battalion in the queue, so less typing and more painting is required. Here is what will be the first battalion of IR52 Erzherzhog Anton Victor Regiment, which will have bright pink facings. That along with the blue trousers should make a change from all the white.
The 32 man Battalion cost a total of £28 including postage, so that makes it about 0.87p per figure to build the unit, with a couple of spare figures leftover.
AB are available from Fighting 15s here.
With the great selection of 15/18mm Napoleonic miniatures that we have nowadays we are almost spoiled for choice. Almost, but not quite. Early Austrians in helmets are well supported with most manufacturers having these in their range. But they're not all compatible. So far I have Austrians from Warmodelling, AB, Old Glory and Blue Moon. Campaign Games also have these in their range, and although I have some Artillery crew on order, I haven't seen any of their miniatures in the flesh.
Old Glory are the most common manufacturer in my collection so far, mostly due to the cost, but as you'll see from the photographs, they are considerably shorter than the others I have mentioned. I do like these figures, and they certainly paint up better than their reputation had suggested.
Blue Moon are the newest range in my collection of 15/18mm Napoleonic Austrians and the second most common, again as they are economical to purchase. They are taller than the Old Glory, and very clean sculpts. The poses are slightly too similar in my opinion, with the positioning of the head the main difference between poses. My main gripe would be that the cross belts and other straps don't seem as well defined as could be, especially when compared to the likes of AB. Also the backpacks, cartridge boxes, water bottles and blanket roll are all quite small. They may be more realistically proportioned than other figures equipment, but they felt small when painting them. The bayonets are also quite short, but this seems an issue through the range. I've heard a few comments about the thickness of the "telegraph pole" that the standard bearer is carrying, but as you can see, once the flag is attached they look fine, and will last longer.
I will be mixing Old Glory and Blue Moon within my collection, but they'll not be mixed within the same battalion or regiment. I'll probably even try to keep them is separate brigades. Anyway, here's the comparison shots so you can judge for yourself...
I nearly forgot to mention. The Old Glory are IR23 Toscana, as shown in previous posts. The new battalion will be IR47 Graf F. Kinsky Regiment, which will be represented by two battalions, with grey green facings.
Left base: Old Glory, Centre base: Blue Moon, Right base: Old Glory. Mounted figures are; Left: Warmodelling, Right: AB Miniatures.
