Sunday, March 13, 2016

Eureka 11th Hussars in 1799

Progress continues on the 1799 project with the release of the French 11th Hussar Regiment for duty.  The cavalry arm of the project has been, until recently, sorely lacking with only a couple of Russian Cossack squadrons being fielded.  The addition of these French hussars and the recently mobilized Austrian dragoons begins to correct this imbalance.  Still, much to correct but a shift is in progress.  More horsemen are needed to reach the painting queue.
The French hussars in mirliton are from Eureka Miniatures.  Neither AB nor Eureka produce early French hussars in mirliton but Eureka does produce a range of 1806 Saxons in 18mm.  The sculpting of the figures is excellent and these are some of the finest horses I have seen in 18mm.  In fact, I think these are my favorite horses of all.
Like cavalry in Eureka's SYW range, these Saxon beasts are HUGE compared to Old Glory and AB.  The difference is not that apparent on the gaming table but a side-by-side comparison will prove this observation out.  Nevertheless, wonderful figures and I intend to add more of the Saxon horse as both early French hussars and heavy cavalry.  Not only am I digging into the Eureka Saxon line for early French cavalry but I have fielded the artillery as early Russian in bicorne and I plan to use the Saxon infantry as Piedmont or Savoy infantry for this project.  Some of the Saxons as Piedmont are on the paint desk now.  A very diverse range of figures with many possibilities. 
To illustrate size differences within manufacturers, perhaps a side-by-side comparison of a few of the cavalry would provide a useful exercise?  Size differences even within the same manufacturer exist.  A look at Old Glory, Mirliton, LancashireFreikorps, Eureka, and AB (covering the SYW, 1799, 1859 projects) would give an informative mix.

27 comments:

  1. gosh! - Eureka Miniatures do paint up nicely don't they? lovely work by you Jonathan!

    cheers,

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    1. Yeah, Eureka figures are quite nice. Having painted about 2,000 of their SYW figures, I know them quite well.

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  2. Those are beautiful Jonathan. I thought they were 28mm until you said they were 18s. Great work.

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  3. They look fantastic. Nice sculpts, it would be useful to see a line up of the usual suspects comparing sizes - with samples of variation within ranges as well.

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    1. Pulling a variety of cavalry from their boxes for a comparison would be useful exercise for myself too.
      Glad you like the figures, Nathan!

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  4. I really like a hussar in a mirliton , these look great as always
    Best Iain

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    1. Thanks! Mirliton with flamme is a nifty head piece.

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  5. Very nice cav, Jonathan. I do like the mirliton too.

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  6. Fantastic work Jonathan!! :D Keep ´em coming!! Cheers!

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    1. Thank you! Likely that Piedmont foot will be next off the desk.

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  7. A man cannot have too many hussars.

    I can't remember if that is Kipling, Shakespeare or the Bible, but it's in there somewhere.

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  8. Wow. They are fairly rolling off the production line at the moment.

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    1. For now, yes but little gaming is going on. I need to get a game onto the table.

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  9. A very jaunty unit, J! The horses do look very lifelike indeed, and I like the green of the jackets. You are really on a painting tear.

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  10. Hauntingly handsome Hussars, Jon!

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    1. Appreciate the alliteration and the comment, Peter!

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  11. Great work. You are definitely making a dent in this era.

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