Learning about the GNW while painting

[Battle Brush Sigur]

@jambo1: Thanks very much! I think the mix of the dense forests along with some single trees on the table works really well.

@DintheDin: Cheers!

@WFGamers: Thanks indeed. What went wrong with yours?

@wolfkarl: Thanks very much! Well, I'm used to it by now. And I made a great excuse for myself: When I give them back I make sure (in my mind at least) somebody plays with the figures and enjoys them. I got SO many figures myself which never get out because I don't get to play with them. So if I kept them (apart from the peeps who gave them to me in the first place would be very upset) they'd never ever get out of their box. So in this regard it's better I give them back.


Well, there are reinforcements for this project now, plus a whole new army! Starting with additions to the Swedish army:



It's 50/50 cavalry and infantry. The latter all wearing Karpus hats.



Those were basically another Swedish speciality (even though they had very similar ones on the Russian side, just less fluffy): A fur-lined hat on which the differently coloured flaps can be turned down to protect the wearer against snow/cold/the weather in general.



....and for the Russians:



All infantry this time: 2 units of Grenadiers and 4 units of Strelzi.



Incredibly interesting thing, these Strelzi. You hear tons about the Pretorian Guards in ancient Rome, the Janissaries in the Ottoman Empire, or the bloody Ultramarines but nothing about these dudes. Thes were kinda similar though in that they were a standing force of up to 23.000 dudes (first standing army in Russia) set up by Ivan the Terrible in 1450 as his own personal army and guard. They had their own districts in the city, had their own stores, ran their own businesses, basically were a state within the state. In peace times they were also the police force and firefighters. As always with these corps at some point there started a certain downturn for the Strelzi; they went from beating down uprisings to often organizing them (not always without reason either) until Peter the Great defeated their biggest uprising, sentenced thousands to death and disbanded the Strelzi corps.

The most striking thing about the Strelzi was their equipment in battle.Originally they were armed as archers (which is basically what their name means too), but soon they were reamed with the iconic muskets and bardiches used for musket rests and side arms. Extremely interesting stuff there; wish I knew more about Russian history.


So yeah, that's that. The Russian and Swedish reinforcements are almost finished painting; but as we all know basing is a huge part of the visual appeal of 6mm figures. Currently I'm working on another huge addition to this collection - the Saxon army. So stay tuned!

[Battle Brush Sigur]

Right, I'm back from Fantasy things and slipped my 6mm 18th century hat back on (which wasn't an easy slip after the "emergency" 38mm-figures project thing got in the way).

Finished the Saxons (the last 5 regiments of cavalry, 4 bases of artillery and August the Strong himself).



Next on the to do list: base everything, find out what the personal flags of August, Peter and Charles looked like and then put flags on everything!

[DintheDin]

They look nice, but the picture is small.
I hope, when you are finished, to offer us some more substantial pictures!
(Still admiring your 6mm landscape).
Cheers!

[Battle Brush Sigur]

Thanks very much, Din! Yeah, LAF only allows pictures to be displayed up to a certain size, even if you klick them. The original size isn't huge, but a bit larger. You can view it in its original full size if you right-click it and click "view image" (or something along those lines, depening on your browser). It's still cramped and all. Mostly because I don't think that 6mm WIP shots of minis are all that amazingly attractive. At that size of figures formations and basing really make up for a LOT of the visual impact I think. Which incidently I'm currently working on right now.

[Battle Brush Sigur]

I've had a little basing party with my 665 (phew!) closest friends.

Russian reinforcements (Peter the Great, Streltzi and Guard infantry units):





Swedish reinforcements (Charles XII., infantry and cavalry units):




One of the smaller carts was converted by me, because I just didn't want to have them all look exactly the same. So I cut up some plasticard, knead up some green stuff and made one of them uncovered.


...and of course the Saxon army (August the Strong, infantry, cavalry, polish winged hussars, artillery, officers):








Here's a closer look at the bigwigs. From left to right: August the Strong, Peter the Great and Charles XII.





Researching the flags of each of the units took a LONG time, but I'm kinda proud to report that I think I got the correct one on each unit. Here and there I had to change the ones I had with some freehand painting (on infantry units. On the cavalry all the flags are free-handed of course), on one of the Swedish cavalry units I couldn't find out what flag they're supposed to carry, so I guessed from the designs of their colleagues. The polish winged Hussars of course took extra work on the flags as usual, but , also as usual, look all the more impressive.

The flags on the bases of the head honchos I also had to guess on a little: After quite a lot of searching on the old interweb I found a good flag for August the Strong, featuring the coat of arms of the personal union between Saxony and Poland. I had to change it around a bit, did some resizing and so on, but in the end I got it on the flagpole. The flag that's being carried alongside Peter the Great is completely freehanded and features the colours Peter introduced himself, along with the emblem of the Russian Tsar. The poor guy who has to keep up with Charles XII. on horseback carries the flag of his foot guards regiment. Hope these flags are fitting; I'll ask the gentleman I paint these for, but I'm rather positive I got them right.

And that's it. Now I have to recharge my camera's batteries, get the 6mm terrain out and do some nice army shots next. Hope you like the photos so far!

 

[Breazer]

This looks really good. Its so tiny yet there is so much to note. The cart conversion looks very natural. I actually spend a while figuring out what cart you meant so thats points right there.

[DintheDin]

The sight of these so beautifully painted troops is so spectacular!
And the flags show very well!
An outstanding job and I think your client must be more than happy!
Cheers!

[Gargobot]

The time spent on the flags sure seems worth it to me. Looks really good!

[Unlucky General]

They look truly beautiful and it gives pause for thought of leaping into the scale. Now that you've been painting them a while do you think the manufacturers are approaching this scale in the right way? The smaller the scale the heavier set the figures appear - especially when it comes to muskets and bayonets. Do you think it's a problem?

[Battle Brush Sigur]

@DintheDin: Thanks very much! I hope he will be!

@Gargobot: Cheers; I hope they're correct.

@Unlucky General: Thanks very much. I love me some 6mm. Indeed, the smaller figures get, the more distorted the proportions seem to get. Which is OK in my book. I think that properly proportioned 6mm figures would look boring and indeed would be boring to paint. Heads and hats tend to be much larger than they should be in general, but also of course the muskets are. Not a huge problem in my opinion. But if you like less extremely distorted proportions, but want to make battles like ...well, proper battles I strongly suggest looking into 10mm as a size.



Right, what's ALMOST as good as being at CRISIS or actually playing wargames, just quieter, less fun and a bit sad? Getting out all the things you'd usually use for it and make some army shots!

Saxons, led by the king:












Polish and Swedish cavalry are storming towards each other, Saxon cavalry in the back is bewildered and caracoles on.





Swedish reinforcements, led by the king:


Russian reinforcements, led by the Tsar:


Right, that's that for this project (until further notice). Hope you like the figures and scenery! If you would like to have a similar looking army - you know where to find me.