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Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Russian Hussars - Crimea

Now for something completely different from all of my ongoing projects.

Occasionally while rummaging through the pile of unpainted lead, I get an inspiration to pull a handful of figures from a long forgotten project out into the light of the game room.  One such activity occurred last weekend.  As often happens, I pull the figures from their container, give them a closer inspection, daydream a bit of glorious projects that might be, and then return the figures back into their box.  Not this time!

Several handfuls of Wargames Foundry Crimean War figures remain following a brief vision of building a small 25mm Crimean War contingent for 19th Century European Wars.  This project formulated more than a dozen years ago and most of the bare lead has long since been jettisoned.  Remaining are a couple of dozen Russian cavalry and more than two score of highlanders.  Once the idea of a larger project was dismissed, I hung onto these figures with the thought of building a diorama showing the "Thin Red Line" withstanding a Russian cavalry charge.  I have a small, custom made display case that would fit this diorama quite nicely.  The wood and glass display case was made many years ago by a co-worker's talented husband and it still awaits a christening for its intended purpose. 

Pulled from the box were a dozen Russian hussars in greatcoats.  With the greatcoat covering a large proportion of the mounted figure, these ought to paint very quickly (and they did).  The poses are varied with several wounded troopers included in the mix.  The finished figures are mounted on rounds until I decide exactly what to do with them.  Perhaps, in the meantime, these hussars can see service on the NWF?







A fun little diversion that breaks up the repetition of current painting projects and injects some spontaneity into my painting log!

11 comments:

  1. Very nice, Jon! If you need any Crimean War figures, let me know. I have a bunch that I will never paint.

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    1. Scott, let me know what you have and I might be interested in a few. Were you planning a Crimean War project? Who knew?

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  2. I do like these! Earth tones with pop of yellow. I've never painted Foundry but they do great figures, as your Hussars demonstrate.

    I also like the idea of a changeup pitch to a painter's projects. I should do that from time to time.

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    1. Hi Monty! The Foundry figures are very nice. I bought bunches of the Foundry figures many years ago when they were clearing out their singles. Sometimes, I wish I still had them, especially the colonials.
      Thanks for the comments!

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  3. Some great looking figures Jonathan!

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  4. The paint scheme looks great and I really like the bases. Of course seeing these reminds me of the unfinished Rough Riders from our SAW games I should really look at finishing...

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  5. Are the two guys in the back sleeping or casualties? I kind of imagine the guy with his arms up breaking into a stirring song, while his buddy leans forward groaning "Oh god, no more singing Topel!"

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    1. That's pretty funny!

      Of course they are casualties. One is slumped over against his saddle while the other looks to have just taken a bullet in the chest.

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