Sunday, April 5, 2009

On the workbench: Marlburians infantry

I spent my weekend working on completely different figures in a different period, but it happens that I have some nice pics showing the progress made in past weeks on my Marlburians. And since I have not posted a good, colorful pictures in a while, I thought this may well be a good occasion. None of these units is completed yet, but they are moving along the production chain, and (I guess) can already make a good showing of themselves.

First, a unit made by Essex miniatures. Painted to represent an Irish, "Wild Geese" battalion, Albemarle. On occasion, the very same uniform will also do for the Saxe-Meiningen regiment of the Palatine Electorate. (And yes, if you really have to, the Imperial Osnabruck regiment has basically the same outfit, too, with white gaiters -- and on 15mm miniatures, from 3ft away, probably nobody will notice...)


Next, a French regiment -- it may equally be Normandie, Navarre, or Piemont. For sure, not the most flashy uniform: grey and white. But these are "Vieux Regiments" who deserve a spot on my table. (These, and the following three units, are Minifigs figures bought by the always nice and incredibly helpful Tom Dye.)


Third, a little jewel. The picture is unfortunately overexposed, and it shows in light blue what, in reality, is just a medium "Bavarian" blue. These are grenadiers from the Spanish "Milano" regiment, which, as a matter of fact, is not really Spanish but Italian. Milano being the birthplace of yours truly, this unit could not be left out. Kudos to Charles S. Grant's "Armies and Uniforms of the Marlborough's Wars vol. 2" for publishing a truly inspiring plate of the Milano Regiment.


Then, the Swiss of the Stuppa Regiment. Again, the exposure is off, and a medium blue is turned into a light blue that requires some mental and visual adjustment to be seen in its real color. This unit was a lot of fun to paint. And, once again, on a "as needed" basis, these miniatures can double up as Dorrington Irish.


Last, but not least: the Tercio Amarillo Viejos! Here's Charles S. Grant is inconclusive, as he reports about contradicting sources: some put the facing of the unit in red, other authors in blue. I have not made my mind yet, but at the moment I am inclined to go for the blue option. I have to say -- the yellow turncoat looks spiffy on my table!


There are two other groups of figures I hope to showcase soon: the infantry cheaters, that is SYW miniatures partially converted to look credible on the field half a century earlier, and some cavalry. Look for the next installment in this continuing series!

1 comment:

Steve-the-Wargamer said...

You have been busy!

What paint do you use for yellow in the Tercio Amarillo Viejos?? It's a lovely deep colour...