Monday, November 10, 2025

FPW Prussian Dragoons and Winter Prep

With frost on the ground in the mornings and daylight hours decreasing, time to really think about laying in a winter's supply of black, undercoated figured.  In between various winter prep tasks (actually, prepping and priming figures ought to be added to my list of tasks), the Ready-to-Paint (R2P) box saw a measurable increase in the number of units ready to paint.  The decision of what to prep for winter is always a bit challenging because I must come upon a plan.  This year, the winter theme seems to center around what collection was out on table last.  That would be the Reconquista.  With the recent Zallaqah game, a deep dig into The Lead Pile pulled up enough figures to field several units for both armies.  Do I need more?  Of course not!  Prepped and primed, these handfuls of figures nearly exhaust the tally of unpainted figures remaining in the bins.  Rough count points to about 75 figures plopped into the R2P box.  Also getting attention are several handfuls of figures to expand the Biblical collections.  Of course, some more FPW 15s are heading into the R2P box as are more 18th Century 15s.  The painting queue is getting quite long.
Besides laying in a supply of figures for winter, the painting desk saw some action this weekend too.  The first of these efforts is a 12-figure regiment of Prussian dragoons.  These fellows are from the 7th Dragoon Regiment. 
Figures are Old Glory from 19th Century Miniatures.  With December fast approaching, it is almost time for 19th Century's annual Christmas sale.  I better dig and sift through The Lead Pile to see what I may need to include in my annual restock.  In my recent excavation, I uncovered a number of figures, some from long lost, dormant, or forgotten projects.  Some of these discoveries I set aside for possible Paint'em or Purge'em decisions.  Others, I simply threw back into the hole and reburied to rediscover later.   

54 comments:

  1. That's quite a "to paint" total for those poor elves and you're adding to the pile! ☺
    Neil

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    1. Captain Bligh on the painting deck!
      Let's hope there isn't a "Fletcher Christian" among the elves.....!☺
      Neil

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  2. Lovely looking Dragoon regiment Jon, nice figures. Interesting read about what's in the lead pile and possibly what's to be added.

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    1. Thank you, Donnie! Sometimes these ramblings are notes to myself.

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  3. You certainly have to plan ahead with your preparations.

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  4. Lovely looking cavalry, Jonathan. I look forward to seeing your usual high octane painting progress.

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    1. Thanks, Richard! I hope to pick up production to close out the year with an uptick in units marching out.

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  5. A fine looking unit of dragoons and forward planning.

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  6. Paint or Purge? That sounds dangerous!
    Luvvly looking Dragoons though, Jon.

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    1. Not too dangerous. I never purge much. This year, I have shifted only 60 unpainted figures. Glad you approve of the dragoons!

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    1. They will do! Swords are very fragile on the Old Glory cavalry.

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  8. Have you purged much in the past Jonathan? I am always too worried that the moment I do I'll find a need for them. Great work on 7th Dragoons.

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    1. Not too much. Only 60 unpainted figures have been jettisoned this year. Like you, I am reluctant to let anything go. I was looking at a box of leftovers this morning thinking I’ll never have any use for these. Then, I realized if a painted figure was damaged, I would not be able to replace it without having these extras gathering dust. No figures were purged in today’s tasks.

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    2. I always keep any extra riders for the same reason, in case falls off unnoticed. Nothing worse than having an element of three cavalry with a riderless horse.

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  9. A lot of planning and preparation required in your part if the world Jon. I guess you use aerosol paint to undercoat? I just waste my time painting them black with a brush, so it's an inside job all year round!
    The new FPW dragoons look great.

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    1. Yes, I use spray primer and matte varnish. When it is really cold, I cannot spray outside and then leave them there to cure. If I spray outside and then bring them into garage to cure, I hear about it! Glad you like the dragoons!

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  10. Nice work Jon, plenty to keep you going and of course you need a plan. I tend to prep as I go along a couple of units at a time so there is always something waiting but I try not to prep too many as it creates storage issue. I do think you should log figures in the hole ! 🙂

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    1. Thanks, Matt! The hole has no bottom. You could not guess how many unpainted figures I have. I couldn’t guess either!

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    2. Perhaps best not to think too hard the 🙂

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  11. I hope you lay in enough supplies for winter Jonathan.

    Fantastic looking cavalry. They look very aggressive.

    Your thoughts about the lead pile got me thinking. Maybe I should store my excess figures with their painted brethren. So that I know what I have available for any expansions or replacements. Hmmm something to think about.

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    1. Thanks, Ben! I probably have enough primed for now. I store unpainted figures in divided bins so that I can pinpoint most projects quickly. Storing unpainted with painted? No way!

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    2. Heresy of course! I will go and sit in the naughty corner! 🤣

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    3. You shouldn't embarrass the unpainted mob.

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  12. Not being that familiar with the FPW uniforms, it is interesting to see that they retained the lighter blue jackets of earlier eras. Very handsome!

    I have been thinking that I should do some more prep and prime work myself soon before it gets too cold!

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    1. I thought it interesting too that the Prussians kept with the lighter blue jackets. I agree, very handsome! The Prussians from the Napoleonic age forward always seemed to sport utilitarian uniforms.

      We in the northern latitudes must think ahead.

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  13. Nice looking regiment of Dragoons. I needed to make my own start on prepping figures for the winter, if I can find time around work

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    1. Thanks, Neil! Work is often an unwelcome intrusion upon the hobby.

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  14. Fine work on those Dragoons Jon:)! As we don't really have a Winter here as such, just duller weather and less daylight, I can generally prime as and when I need to, as long as I keep the figures warm in the house, ditto the paint. The short time they are outside generally doesn't interfere with the spraying.

    Mind you given my lack of painting oe gaming mojo of late, I have plenty of stuff in the queue as it is!

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    1. Thank you, Steve! Looks like you are set for winter! I tend to keep figures and spray paint in the warm house before rushing outside for a quick spray too.

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  15. They look great! Nice work!

    Ironically I purged a fledgling FPW project from the lead pile to ebay just yesterday! It included some very nice Wargames Foundry French and Northstar Prussians.
    They had been sitting in a bin for about 10 years, and like you, I have recently decided to sell off what I clearly will not get to.

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    1. Thanks, Glenn!
      Both the Foundry and Northstar figures are very nice. I rarely purge anything but from time to time, I may let a few figures slip away. I have yet to give up hope on eventually getting to most of these unpainted figures, but we are not getting any younger. Say, I think Scott said he is working on a new project for you.

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    2. Yes, he is. My butterfly finally settled on doing shiny Napoleonic armies (true 25mm) using mostly Minifigs for infantry and Hinchliffe, Connoisseur, and others for cavalry. I’m working on repainting old figures that I purchased on ebay, but definitely need Scott’s skill and speed to paint in the volume needed to field armies this decade.

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    3. Scott is a fast painter doing superb work. Are you stripping old paint from there’s figures before repainting or just touching up the old paint jobs?

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    4. Haven’t stripped any…yet.
      I’ve been cherry-picking the best paintjobs and just doing refresh work…and a few new figures to augment the units (like officers, flag bearers, musicians mostly).

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    5. That is a good approach. Leaving something of the original in place seems a fitting tribute to the original work.

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  16. Glad you're thinking ahead--the heck with firewood and canned food for extended winter outages. Make sure you have enough figures to paint (and a lantern with fuel to paint by).

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  17. You sound like a squirrel, worrying if you have enough nuts for the winter...😁
    Nice job on the dragoons!

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  18. A nice regiment! Every time I see your FPW units I start having delusions.......it's such a colourful fascinating period....I keep thinking I will splash out on a few figures!

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    1. Thanks, John! Go ahead, you know you want to dive into a new period.

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  19. Lovely dragoons and always good to lay a stock in!
    Best Iain

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    1. Thanks, Iain! Laying in a winter stock is important.

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