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Monday, October 29, 2018

Van Dyck Models: WSS in 10mm

I have long held a passing interest in gaming the War of Spanish Succession.  A serious project for this war has yet to materialize.  Yes, I thought of making a stab at it in 28mm using Front Rank figures.  A handful of the Front Rank figures were purchased as a test.  That is as far as it got.

If I were to tackle such a project, my interest and objective points toward large scale actions recreating full battles.  Given that criteria, a regiment as the basic building block or Basic Maneuver Unit (BMU) made sense.  Perhaps a battalion-level project would be doable?  Given this criteria, 28mm would be too large for that train of thought.  A project in 10mm seemed most appropriate for what I had in mind.  After seeing Old Glory's 10mm  range of SYW figures, thoughts turned toward the 10mm Old Glory approach. 

That direction took an abrupt detour when I saw a recent advert for Van Dyck Models & Figurines.
Van Dyck Models & Figurines
Van Dyck Models offers a burgeoning line of WSS metal figures in 1/144 scale or 10mm.  At present only French/Spanish infantry and command are available.  With my curiosity piqued, I placed a sample order of a few packs of infantry and command to see for myself.  The package arrived very quickly from Belgium to the USA.  Kris, the proprietor, was friendly and helpful in fielding several questions regarding plans for expansion.
When the package arrived and figures unpacked, I was astounded at the quality of the little figures.  Beautiful sculpting and such delicate proportions.  The marching infantry have several variations including different heads and hairstyles.  To better highlight the features, the figures were based and a brushing of Minwax Tudor stain applied over the unpainted metal.  The result is eye-catching as seen in the photo below.  The stain brings the intricate sculpting to the fore. 
I placed a US one cent piece upright on the base behind the line of figures to provide a sense of scale.  Figures are about 12mm from sole to eye.  Tiny but so fine!

With enough figures ordered to field two stands of 21 figures each, I set to work.  Since the figures are sculpted with the ventral pouch, two regiments of French infantry were chosen as tests.  The regiments selected are Montfort and Foix.
Is this the start of new project?  Too soon to tell but I really like what I see.  Painting lace on hundreds if not thousands of 10mm tricornes, however, seems daunting.  With only a few packs available in the Van Dyck WSS range, I likely have plenty of time to decide while the range begins to fill out.

Great figures!

54 comments:

  1. The painted 10mm WSS unit looks really good. Decisions, decisions on starting the project.

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    1. Thanks, Peter. Only time will tell whether or not to go forward with this one. So many other projects are wanting attention.

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  2. I will be going 10mm WSS in due course, just slightly worried about the future expansion to these exquisite figures

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    1. I look forward to following your project! A larger line of available figures would relieve the uncertainty about figure expansion.

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  3. Beautiful French infantry...as it should be😊! Great job, splendid units!

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  4. They look great and very detailed for 10mm!

    Christopher

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    1. Thanks, Christopher! The detail present in these little figures is astounding. Beautiful sculpts.

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  5. Marvelous figures. 10mm seems to be the perfect size for huge WSS battles.

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    1. I agree, Greg. These figures are marvelous. 1omm seems a very good choice for WSS.

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  6. Now they really are special. I have seen internet examples before and they seem best summed up as being finely sculpted and of a very proportional nature. Your painting certainly does them justice.

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    1. Yes, Norm, these figures are really special. The detail provided in these little guys is amazing. Thanks for the kind comment wrt my painting on these French.

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  7. Oh …. and have I read that right, you based them and then painted them in situ? how did that work out? I read about someone else doing that as a one off and they decided not to repeat the experiment!

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    1. No, no. The figures are painted THEN based! I built up the one stand with stain as a demonstration of the fine craftsmanship of the sculpting and casting. The figures are popped off the base, undercoated and then painted before rebasing. I do not see how basing and then painting these timy figures would work either.

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  8. Always had a similar tug to the WSS, but practical reasons kept (read "protected") me from taking that too seriously... hadn't considered 10mm as a viable option, until now. You're not helping!
    (But I do look forward to seeing where you go with these splendid examples).

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    1. Ed, I need protection from impulse projects as well. You seem to have much better restraint than I. I rarely find a period that does not provide some interest in fielding an army.

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  9. Superbly painted as always, Jonathan. I am amazed at the level of detail you can put into this scale.

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    1. Much appreciated, Dean! I am amazed at the level of detail present in these tiny figures too. Wonderful craftsmanship.

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  10. Very nice as others have said. A new project in a different scale, it must be the turn in the weather as I am also pondering what next........and in what scale ?

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  11. Lovely figures Jonathan, your two finished regiments look great!

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    1. Mike, they are lovely figures. Glad you like the two regiments completed.

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  12. That is a nice pair of unit Jonathan. There is something quite stately about WWS. I have a large Bavarian force in 28mm, but they rarely get out of their. boxes.

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    1. Thanks, Mark! WSS is a stately period, for sure, with all of the wigs and lace. I would enjoy seeing your Bavarians on parade.

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  13. Pressed publish too soon...there is something about those pearl white uniforms and quartered flags that just makes the French stand out. Almost tempts me to do more WWS...almost.

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    1. "Almost" tempting? Yeah, that is where I am too with respect to WSS. I am "almost" tempted.

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  14. They are lovely Jonathan...
    I saw the miniatures when I was in Hamburg this year... the are amazing..

    All the best. Aly

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    1. Aly, these are, indeed, lovely little toys! The detail present in these 10mm figures is truly amazing.

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  15. Lovely teeny tiny Frenchmen! Great sculpts and terrific painting on such small figures,I'm incapable of painting anything smaller than 25mm,so I m terribly impressed!
    Best Iain

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    1. I am very impressed by the sculpting in these teeny tiny Frenchmen too! Real bit of craftsmanship in these little gems. I look forward to see which figures come next.

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  16. I love the figures, Jon, and your paint job is first rate. His ancient lines intrigue me ...

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  17. Units came out looking great!
    Smaller scales these days do pack a ton of details which mean they look good but are a ton of work bc to get that massed infantry look you end up painting many more miniatures. I think your game table to already large enough that the benefit of the smaller scale might not be there. You’d get the same effect with 15/18 miniatures. Plus you’d have to add terrain in 10mm.
    The perils of a different scale... 😀

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    1. Thanks, Stew, and good points about table size and the hazards of needing terrain in multiple scales.

      Since I tend to use 6mm terrain for large scale 10mm and 15mm games, I already have the terrain needed but I could always use more. I may need to think about table size and the effect on 10mm troops. I game ACW in 10mm on this table and don't think anything is lost due to the small scale and large table.

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  18. Such finely detailed sculpts!

    Lovely finished pieces mate. Rather you than me though... :P

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    1. The sculpts are little works of art. With only a Minwax stain over bare metal, the figures looks good. Perhaps fielding armies of stained, unpainted pewter figures would look interesting in a monochromatic way?

      Thanks for your comments!

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  19. These "little men" are really beautiful sculpts Jonathan. I can see the attraction of large numbers of units in this scale, if the figures are as detailed as these are!

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    1. The quality of these figures makes resisting a new project featuring these figures quite difficult.

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  20. They look absolutely fantastic

    http://www.10mm-wargaming.com/

    Take care

    Andy

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    1. Thanks, Andrew! It was your fine blog where I first discovered these figures. Thank you for bringing Van Dyck WSS figures to my attention.

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    2. You are more than welcome glad I could be of service

      Take care

      Andy

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  21. They look superb, Jon. I think WSS might be especially well suited to this era, with the fairly simple uniforms, large bold cuffs,l and of course the wonderful French flags making a winning combination.

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    1. Thank you very much, Peter!

      The long coats with no turnbacks and large, floppy cuffs make for quick work at the painting desk. Rendering lace on tricornes in 10mm is a challenge, though. Still, 10mm WSS is well-suited for grand tactical actions.

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  22. And thus another project begins... Very nicely done. I like your basing and organization on this one.

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    1. A WSS project is still in the "under investigation" stage. I have so many unfinished projects and figures for projects yet started that taking on a new project seems silly. Are you buying any of this?

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  23. I'm not sure about this Project.

    However I think that it would be great, if you would realize how nice the French flags are and if you would decide to paint a French army for the SYW or WAS period. That would be very nice to see you playing Fontenoy etc..

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    1. I remain undecided about this project too and helps to explain why there has been little progress. A French army for the WAS/SYW would be more useful and would allow me to tackle some of your excellent WAS scenarios like Quistello.

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    2. It would be great if you would do. And when I look in all your different projects, it seems that an army more or less is not too complicated to handle for you. ;-)
      WAS-French are a bit boring and I would prefer now to paint WPS-French, which are more colourfull. SYW-French are too difficult for me, as you would have to decide if you choose early or late uniforms, which are completely different. French had old school tactics and therefore old School uniforms are fitting much better in my opinion. :-D

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    3. Before seeing your scenarios, I had no knowledge of the WPS. I need to read much more to become familiar with the war.

      Fielding a French force for the SYW is a definite possibility. Early war or late war uniforms, that is the question. Which would you choose?

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    4. Early war uniforms certainly. More classic style and closer to the more shiny and more glorious Maurice de Saxe period.

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    5. Thank you for the recommendation!

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