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Saturday, February 11, 2023

Franconians: Figures Finished and Flagged

Work at the painting desk has definitely switched to an emphasis on fielding units (and armies) for the SYW/WAS project in 18mm.  These latest efforts take a look at 2 x 23 figure Franconian regiments from the Reichsarmee.

Seeing David's handsome Franconian flags (see, Not By Appointment), I knew I wanted to field a couple of these regiments.  The two Franconian regiments chosen first are Regiments Cronegk and Ferntheil.  Figures are Blue Moon foot led by a Eureka mounted colonel.
Regiment Cronegk
Regiment Ferntheil
Despite a flurry of twelve games played in January which may be a record for me, painting was brisk as well.  January saw 164 figures painted.  That also represents a very good month at the painting desk.  So, 2023 starts out with a bang.  Will February see similar levels of activity?  Perhaps not.
What next?

On the gaming front, looks like three games on this week's docket if schedules align.  Hopefully, time to slip in a few meaningful painting sessions too.  On blogging, several posts are either in work or under consideration including another look at the Great Wargaming Survey, thoughts on Double Jeopardy, rules' revisions, and possibly a battle report or two.  Finally, one curious reader asked how to return thumbnails back to the Blogs Followed widget.  I think a brief tutorial may be forthcoming on this topic too.

OK.  Back to the painting desk!

49 comments:

  1. Ah - great to see the Franconians and their flags. :-) And of course I am very pleased to see an emphasis on the WAS/SYW figures again. Excellent!

    Cheers,

    David.

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  2. Very nice work indeed Jon. I too will be interested in a Luddites guide to getting the thumb nails back on my posts....hopefully, I can understand it....words of one syllable and screen shots would be great, thanks!

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    1. Thank you, Keith! I will keep the tutorial at the Luddite level.

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  3. Great to see some Franconian regiments, I have quite a few in my WSS collection

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  4. Very nice Jonathan. I too have been guilty of building a unit or two around attractive flags.

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    1. Thanks! I do not need a handsome flag or two to begin new units. Really, it takes no inspiration at all. A fleeting whim will do!

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  5. Splendid additions Jonathan a fine advert for the scale.

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  6. A pair of most handsome regiments. Franconians, eh? Obviously my 7YW/WAS knowledge is sorely lacking, never heard of them as units. They must have been absorbed by some other Germanic state shortly thereafter, as it didn't survive to the Revolutionary era, as far as I know.

    Pretty uniforms, unusual flags or facing colors, or particular historic interest - all of those derive my choice of units to paint at times!

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    1. Thank you, Peter! Good to see your name clawing its way back into the Top 10 Commentators.

      I suspect the Franconian regiments were absorbed by Prussia either as PoWs or happy volunteers as the district changed allegiances.

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    2. Franconia was a region in SW Germany Peter. A loose collection of small statelets in the Holy Roman Empire. It got subsumed into the Kingdom of Bavaria in 1803. Nuremberg is the most famous city of Franconia.
      Chris

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    3. Thanks for the Franconian details, Chris!

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    4. I knew in general terms where Franconia was (The Franconian Jura and all that), but not as a state. Were the Franconian regiments a bit like some of the Napoleonic Rheinbund regiments, ie, drawn from a bunch of small nominally independent principalities?

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    5. Yes, the Reichsarmee regiments were drawn from a variety of small districts.

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  7. Beautifully done again Jonathan. The Eureka colonel mixes in nicely with the Blue Moon figures. The double jeopardy post sounds intriguing, and thanks again for the personalised advice on the Blogs Followed.

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    1. Thanks, Lawrence! The Eureka mounted colonel mixes well with Old Glory, Lancashire Games, as well as with Blue Moon. Being a single mounted figure, there is no need for comparison with another horsemen.

      The Double Jeopardy post stems from a discussion with your fellow countryman, Peter, from Grid-based Wargaming. I wanted to put my thoughts down so that I do not forget them.

      I hope the thumbnail advice works for you when you next publish.

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  8. Nice! I was holding off from doing the Reichsarmee because I thought a lot of them would look too much like Prussians, but the flags are really distinctive.
    Chris

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    1. Thank you, Chris! While the Franconians do dress like Prussians, their flags were too much of a temptation to rest. So very colorful and distinctive.

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  9. Lovely paint work. Look forward to some interesting sounding posts.

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    1. Thank you! With a little luck, you may find something of interest in one of these upcoming posts.

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  10. My ignorance is showing; what’s a franconian? I mean besides being a good looking regiment. 😀

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    1. Franconia was a district/state in Germany with capital at Wurzburg. We need more Franconians.

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  11. You are one busy wargamer Jonathan, I can do about 12 cavalry or 24 infantry a month.

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    1. On the gaming front, not as busy as last week. Whew! That was a busy one!

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  12. Two fine looking units there as always Jon, and you really can't beat the Reichsarmee for looks in the SYW IMHO, ably abetted by David's flags:). You have been busy both gaming and painting, which is great to see. Some fine weather here this past week put a halt to my painting as it was too nice not to be inside. This week I might get lucky and back to some painting and possibly gaming...

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    1. Thanks, Steve!

      Weather improving here but still quite chilly. Not ready to pull the bike off of trainer and head outside. Roads are still clogged with leftover winter debris.

      Hope we a see a return to action at your workbench.

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  13. Great looking units, nice flags. The Kreis system provides you with a large number of units from small enclaves. It is pretty country,.the whole Bamberg to Nuremberg area, at least back in the mid to late 70's.

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    1. Thanks, Joe! Yes, a number of small districts offering up variety to field a Reichsarmee.

      Were you stationed in Germany during the mid to late 70's?

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  14. Splendid looking toys Jonathan…

    All the best. Aly

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  15. Franconians, le Franks, my mate Frank - too many “Franks” to keep track of!

    They do look very dashing tho. Nice work Jon

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  16. Great painting Jonathan. I always wanted to paint up the lesser German troops when I was painting up my 7YW troops. I never got around to them before selling everthing to Postie.

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    1. Thank you, Ray! There is still time to restart a SYW project. Maybe in 2mm this time?

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  17. Bravo, Jonathan! Very high quality work. Your productivity - 164 figures per month, is amazing!

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  18. Lovely work once again Jonathan! Unlike yourself I'm in a bit of a lull painting wise, time is not on my side at the moment. Always a pleasure to see your beautiful figures.

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    1. Thank you, Meic! This is a hobby. We grab and use the time available.

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  19. A very nice unit although I ask myself how the officer with the polearm on the ground can march. You really have to notice the flags because most of the blue uniformed Kreistruppen are very much looking like Prussians.

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    1. Thanks! Perhaps the pole arm is used as a walking stick? Yes, the uniforms look very Prussian but the flags are terrific.

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  20. Lovely looking Germans! I thought Franconia was a made up county in the Marx brothers film Duck Soup but what do I know!
    Best Iain

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    1. Thanks, Iain! Marx Bros and Duck Soup. Have not seen that one in a very long time.

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  21. Looking great. I'm currently embarking on a 10mm WSS jag and I'd be interested if know of any rules for the period. I have Beneath the Lily Banners (v2). I know it's highly recommended but are there other options? I have might and Reason too but I'm not to sure about it.

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    1. Thanks, Ian! I have thought about 10mm WSS too but with WAS/SYW, do I need WSS? For rules, I have three different sets that I enjoy for WAS/SYW depending upon the type of game I want and how it is being played (solo, F2F, remote).

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