Re: AWI Skirmish Project (Command Team Complete July 17)

[rumacara]

About 18th century sailors, Galloping Major will release some soon.
There are greens of the miniatures on their webpage and here on LAF.

http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=69973.0

[Baron von Nickedoften]

In terms of updates, the figures for the foot command are nearly finished, and I am finding a little more in way of sources that point toward the use of colors by the Marine land battalions at the outbreak of the war, though they are hardly primary documents. I may use a more generic colors for a white-faced regiment. (Of course, if anyone has any insight or sources on the subject, I am all ears) More photos to come soon!

If you haven't already done so, try this link (I've also sent you a PM about it):-

http://britishmarines.blogspot.co.uk/

There are two known sets of colours that could be candidates for the Boston Marine battalions - one had a ship as the central motif, the other a fouled anchor, as seen on the belt plates for all companies, and the metal plates on the grenadier caps.  Nobody is absolutely sure which, if either, was carried, but it does seem clear that they did not have the usual wreath and numbered cartouche seen on the colours of Line regiments.

[BTW, "horse marine" is a term of mild abuse for someone out of his depth or in unfamiliar territory, and was commonly used in the UK and US armed forces in the 19th and early/mid-20th centuries.  I doubt it is used very much nowadays, even in the military.]

[archiduque]

Well done!

[TheWeasel]

Wow! Those Galloping Major sailors are great!  I will need minimum 1 of each of them in order to live a life of contentment

I had also read in some of my reference books about the two possible versions of the Marine regimental colors that may have been carried, and as much as I'd really like it to be the ship, the anchor makes more sense as it follows their motif used on buttons, hats, etc., and I've seen that pattern carry through with other regiments that have distinct devices (ie the 23rd RWF). There is an example of a possible interpretation on the Fife & Drum page, but I think that this road leads to Photoshop one way or another. I appreciate the contact. I'll get in touch with the marine group especially since I am working on the same reenacting impression (on the opposite coast...).
You did have me doing some research on the "Horse Marine" thing. at first I thought it might be a translation from another language, maybe meaning something like "seahorse" but eventually found my way to the actual meaning...

Again, thanks for following along and for the support and kind comments!

[rumacara]

Beware though, Galloping Major models tend to be on the 30mm size.
I´ve preordered the sailors and when they arrive (hopefully one day) i can take a comparative shot if needed.

[TheWeasel]

Thanks rumacara, I may need to take you up on your comparison shot offer...



In the mean time, I've made some progress on the unit colors. After some searching around through some book and internet sources, I settled on a design for the colors, and recreated them using graphic design software. The designs I settled on are based on invoices from tailors in Boston to the British marines stationed there specifying some flags they were asked to create.



I took some small artistic license on the regimental flag to include St George's Cross, which would likely have been there as it was customary on primarily white flags in both the army and navy at the time, and specified in the army's 1768 warrant.

The process for making the flags is not all that difficult if you have access to design software, and I'll post more precedural details a little later.

Comments & criticism welcome as always, and likewise additional rambling available here...

[Steve F]

Those flags look great - the roses are striking.  What sort of paper did you print them on?  They seem to have quite a cloth-like texture.  Or is that clever printing too?

[rumacara]

Lovelly flags.
Do try the ones in www.warflag.com
Already made and for free and also you might find easyer to transform the design.

[TheWeasel]

Thanks guys!

The flags are printed on a 24lb smooth uncoated stock, since it takes images really well on digital presses, and is as thin as I dare go, since it gets glued double-thick. The texture is actually a part of the graphics I made for the flags. The roses are borrowed from a photo of a reenactment group's colours and overlaid on my vector flags.

Thanks for the linky to the warflags. This is an awesome resource! I'll see how I can use these in future flag designs (this is my first regiment of redcoat miniatures, and I'll also have flags to do for the Continentals as they get made.).

Still working on a bit more of a walkthrough for my flag process, hope to post it this weekend, if life doesn't steer me elsewhere...

[TheWeasel]

After a bit of an absence to prepare for and participate in the Waterloo Bicentennial, I am returned to my smaller scale hobbies. I have written a tutorial on how I created my regimental colors using the Adobe Creative Suite. Full write up on the blog (Photo will link), which is more than I wish to rewrite here. The quick version is to create the flag designs in vector format in Illustrator, then blend them with a flag texture using Photoshop. Specific devices like the anchor and rose are taken from photographs and also added in Photoshop. The final flags are imposed in InDesign (with a little bleed) and printed on a digital press.

[TheWeasel]

Sorry for the apparent double post with gratuitous quotes. I'm not quite sure how I managed to do that...

In it's place, here are some quick update images of the redcoat side of the project.


The command team for the Marine Battalion is now complete, after lengthy debate on the drummer's coat color.





And the Marine Captain to lead his men:




And in parting, a view of the whole line so far...



More rambling about the paint is of course available on the blog .