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Friday, February 5, 2016

Austrian Artillery - 1799 Project

In an effort to get the 1799 project up to a gameable state, all combatants require an influx of artillery pieces.  For the French, four guns were mustered earlier (see French guns).  Now, the Austrians receive a start to their arsenal.

For the Austrians' two guns, one horse gun and one Grenz foot gun move off from the painting desk.  All figures are AB Miniatures from the FRW range.  The guns are nicely detailed as one expects from AB and the Grenz artillerymen are exquisite.  I can envision adding a casquet-topped Grenz artilleryman to a regular gun crew to represent line infantry assisting the crew.  That might make for an interesting vignette.

The Austrian horse gun is the distinctive 6-pdr having the wurst seat upon which the crew may ride.  Again, terrific model.  Going into this project, my thought was to field Austrian guns from my other Napoleonic collection.  The Austrian guns in my main Napoleonic collection are all Old Glory from years ago.  These AB models are so nice, I lean towards fielding an exclusive AB arsenal.  Another order to Eureka is certainly in order.    

Sticking with the 1799 artillery theme, next off the workbench will be Russian artillery for the project.  What will I use for early Russian gunners?  Stay tuned.

20 comments:

  1. Excellent work, Jonathan. Love Austro-Hungarians in blue tights. The mustard colored artillery pieces look great too. With so many nations and uniforms one could just paint Napoleonics seemingly forever!

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    1. Thank you, Dean! I am partial to the White Menace, myself. You are quite correct in your assessment of painting Napoleonics. It could turn into a vocation if not careful.

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  2. Nice looking artillery, Austrian uniforms are splendid...

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  3. lovely brush work and units.....

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  4. The Grenz Artillery unit is certainly a unique one from a uniform standpoint - have to be the first I've seen white coats and artillery together! The regular Austrian Artillery with their brown coats and yellow guns are one of the best things about fielding an Austrian force in the first place. Russians are next for additions to the arsenal, eh? They certainly did love their artillery!

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    1. White-cost Grenz in blue pantaloons look good, don't they? You should add some to your collection. The Russians did employ a lot of artillery. I have yet to determine how many they actually dragged into Italy and Switzerland, though.

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  5. Very nice Jon - I also look at those wurst seats and grimace. They must have been awful.

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    1. Thank you! There is a very bad pun buried in a potential reply...

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  6. Those are all great looking. It must be sort of fun to do the same unit in different uniforms.

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  7. That Grenzer gun and crew was an pleasing but unexpected ingredient for the Austrians. I didn't study this period intensely, and only ever saw the traditional brown uniforms, so I really like the mix you're going for here Jon!

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    1. The white-coated Grenz artillerymen are handsome devils, are they not? I should field a few more of these.

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  8. Nice work. I especially like the Grenz artillery stand, as it is so rare to anything but the traditional tan.

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    1. Thanks! I am fond of the Grenz artillery too. It will stand out on the battle field in the gun line. I need more!

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