Suvorov's Russians

As suggested by popular demand (well, popular demand in the sense that two readers asked for a parade!), I present the Russian Army mustering out for the 1799 project.  Actually, this is not quite true.  I reckon there are at least two battalions of jagers that are not included in this parade.  If I search, I bet I find these missing light infantrymen lurking among the SYW Russian Army.

Turning pages back, a long way back, through the Painting Log, I first began working on this Russian Army in 2009.  With no upcoming battle to deploy on the table, adding to the collection has been hit and miss over the years.  2018 and 2019 saw some renewed activity but not much notable progress since then.  2026 has seen six infantry battalions muster out representing the most activity in a long time.

The photo above shows the composition of the Russian Army as of June 2026.  Well, correct with the exception of the missing jagers, that is.  Figures are mostly AB Miniatures with some Eureka and Old Glory tossed in for good measure and variety.  Besides a few odds and ends, The Lead Pile is empty of FRW Russians.

Those units ready for service are:

• 6x Cossack regiments
• 3x Militia/Foot Cossack battalions
• 5x Musketeer Regiments of two battalions each
• 3x Grenadier Regiments of two battalions each
• 6x Combined Grenadier Battalions
• 8x Artillery batteries

I really ought to put together a scenario to bring this army onto the field of battle for its baptism of fire.  First, though, a series of Feudal Japan actions featuring the Battle Among the Tombs.

Hope you enjoyed the parade!

Yet Another Highland Regiment

This week has been a busy one but not on the wargaming front.  With temperatures warming up, I made it out on the bike four days.  Bike and body are still functioning up to expectations after the long winter.  Even with little snow this past winter, recent rains and snowmelt have filled the Spokane River Gorge that splits the city.  Lots of water cascading over the falls.  One reader asked about the falls in a recent post.  I snapped the following photo on one of the rides this week.  As seen, the river is running high and parts of the river both above and below the falls are overflowing their banks.

If you look closely, pedestrians can be seen on the footbridges spanning the Upper Falls.  Spring cleaning and yardwork are also in full swing this week.  Much more work to accomplish before I can relax at the painting desk.

In the meantime, I did manage to push one more Highland regiment out from the painting desk.  Figures are again from Old Glory and the flag is from David of Not By appointment.

On the Great Wargaming Survey front, data exploratory is underway for the next piece of analysis.  Coming up is a look at opponent availability and a few of the attributes that may influence whether a gamer has enough or not enough adversaries to face across the gaming table.  Some of the attributes under consideration are population density, travel distance, and group size.  Hopefully, something of interest falls out from this effort.

Cossacks Without Horses

With thoughts rumbling around in my head about bringing the Second Coalition Russians to the table for their first battle and the recent Battle of Montebello still fresh in mind, more early Napoleonics are seeing action at the painting desk.  In work are two regiments of Russian musketeers.  First up, though, is a body of Russian dismounted Cossacks or militia.

Given the harsh terrain of fighting in the Alps during Suvorov's 1799 Italian and Swiss campaign, I figured a number of the Cossacks would be forced into trudging through the mountain passes on foot.  These fellows will be utilized in a dismounted cavalry role.

These dozen Cossacks are Old Glory figures led by (I think!) an Essex officer that I have had lingering in the bits box for decades.  Good to clean out a bin and get these figures into the "Completed" side of the Painting Ledger.  Painting activity picks up in March, and early counts show that totals will exceed 100 figures painted in the month.  A milestone I do not often reach.       

Returning to the Battle of Montebello, the scenario saw action only once.  I plan to rectify that inaction and bring the game back to the table for an encore engagement or two.  Actually, the battle never left the table and remains in situ after the last die roll.  I have been pondering the game and the scenario.  My thoughts on that first game and scenario are being tossed around in my head.  Perhaps some of those thoughts will make it here.

On the gaming front, two games are scheduled this week.  First up, later today, is a return to Koenig Krieg and Richard's tiles as he presents a new remote battle on the subcontinent.  Should be fun.

More gaming on the horizon.

More Highlanders

A second body of Highlanders charges out from the painting desk today.  A third such Highland regiment is currently in work.  The figures are Old Glory and present a motley and somewhat untidy appearance.  Flag is by David at Not by Appointment.  Hopefully they will intimidate any opponent who dares to stand in their way!

The bag of Highlanders contains a mix of figures in a variety of dress and pose.  With 23 figures per unit, I ought to be able to field two such regiments from one bag of figures, but I have managed to only field three units from two bags.  Each bag contained a few broken or damaged figures that I chose not to use.  A few command figures were siphoned off to command lowland units.  Clearly, more Highlanders will be needed if I am prepared to get serious with a Jacobite expansion to the SYW/WAS project.

When I am in command of these fellows, the above view will be the one seen.  When I face these hairy lads, this is the view I hope to see!

Highlanders!

While there has been a mention or two of expanding the current WAS/SYW project to include the Jacobite Rebellion, few actual Scots have worked through the painting queue.  Well, the exception was two regiments of Lowland infantry seen recently at Scope Creep?.  

Using an impressionistic approach to painting the tartan in 15mm was not as horrible as I first imagined.  Not that I enjoyed the experience so much, but it was not as bad as anticipated.  Given that experience, two more regiments of Highlanders are working through the production line before I have second thoughts.

Anyway, out from the painting desk today is a body of 23 Highlanders from Old Glory.  Serviceable figures and a step in the right direction to building up a Jacobite Army.

With recent games slowing to about one per week means that time at the painting desk has seen a slight pickup in meaningful painting sessions.  Finished units are beginning to congregate on top of the photo box from a variety of projects.  I have some catching up to do.

For my hosting duties, the next game on the horizon will take a look at the 1800 Battle of Montebello.  With an eye toward finally bringing the 1799 Russian Army out for maneuvers, the French and Austrians will get a warm-up at Montebello.  It has been a long time since my early Napoleonics have been out onto the table.  More details on that game as I work through preparations.  With Montebello only four days before Marengo, perhaps, Marengo will see a refight afterwards?

Scope Creep?

With the 18mm SYW project expanding to include armies present in the War of Austrian Succession, War of Polish Succession, and a British Army in the early stages of development, expanding the theatre to include the 1745 Jacobite Rebellion seems only natural, right?  Scope creep or simply a reasonable expansion?  Well, this expansion seemed a natural byproduct to me.  

Having said that, the first Jacobite units muster out from the painting desk.  First to muster out are Lord Ogilvy's Regiment (blue flag) and Gordon of Glennbuchat's Regiment (white flag).  Both of these 23-figure regiments represent Lowland regiments.  Highlanders are up next.  Figures are Old Glory foot led by a Eureka mounted colonel.  Yes, painting Highlanders in tartan is up next.  After the Jacobites receive a half-dozen units or so, it will be time to crank up the production line to push some Government troops through.

Lots of other projects are seeing activity at the workbench so British will be in waiting until I return to painting 15mm figures.  

Tuesday saw a recommencement of hostilities on the plain at Pharsalus.   After seeing my four-game Caesarian sweep of Pompey at Pharsalus two weeks ago, Kevin dropped in for a rematch and lunch.  This time, we swapped sides.  I commanded Pompey and Kevin guided Caesar.  As in the previous outing, games were fought using Commands & Colors with 6mm armies.  In yesterday's four-game series, Caesar came away 7-1, 7-3, 5-7, 7-3.   In Caesar's 5-7 loss, Caesar was killed in combat.  Over the eight-game series, Caesar came away 7 and 1.  Pharsalus seems a tough task for Pompey.

With the New Year barely out of the gates, games are already on the docket for Saturday, Monday and Wednesday.  Starting the gaming year off with a bang!  Monday's game will feature a return to the WotR as a refight of Wakefield is in the offing.  Plenty of work to do to design and develop a scenario before then.  Which theory of the battle will be presented?  Stay tuned.

Next time, perhaps my annual painting review.

FPW 12th Hussar Regiment

Painted units continue to back up at the photo box while other activities take priority and painting motivation flourishes.  A large variety of projects sees action at the workbench in a year-end uptick in time spent at the painting desk.  Well, except for the forced hiatus during a long Christmas weekend when we hosted a houseful of family.  With a little luck, today will offer a meaningful painting session since the house has gone quiet. 

Out from the photo box today is a 12-figure regiment of Prussian hussars for the FPW project.  Figures are from Old Glory and these troopers muster out as the 12th Hussar Regiment.  With two more foot regiments, I can field Alvensleben I's IV Corps in total.  Progress!  Unfortunately, I have been distracted by so many other projects that getting back to painting FPW may take a while.

In a recent post, I lamented that the wallet can take a hit during the sales' offerings as year-end approaches.  While several boardgames came in-house during these trying weeks, I managed to hold (mostly) firm on figure purchases.  Well, until recently, that is.  One lot of 18mm Eureka SYW British cavalry and artillery came up in my eBay feed with a low opening minimum.  I made an offer and it was accepted.  Hmm!  Anyway, I ended up with 134 cavalry and 84 artillery for about 70% off retail.  And, postage paid!    Really, who can pass a bargain like that?  Not me, for sure.  Now I have lots of cavalry and artillery to bring a fledgling British Army up to requirements.  Of course, having more than 80 artillerymen requires an order to Eureka for guns!  Seems this is a never-ending cycle...

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.   

FPW Prussian Commanders

With no games on last week's schedule, I actually found time to put in a few meaningful painting sessions between numerous competing distractions.  After mustering out WotR mounted knights, painting focus shifted gears decisively toward 15mm FPW work.  

First out from the painting desk are two handfuls of German commanders.  These 16 mounted officers are in a mix of uniform and come from one bag of Old Glory figures.  One bag of officers ought to be enough to get me started.  The figures represent brigade commanders (based singly) and division/corps commanders (based in pairs).  Serviceable figures all.  Commanders making it into the painting queue and out the other side suggests that a gameable force nears.

Lots more on the painting desk and a few completed units awaiting the camera.  Expect additions to Prussian and Bavarian infantry and several batteries coming up.  There are even a couple of sample units of Baden and Wurttemberg infantry in the painting queue that Allan from Lancashire Games sent that managed to pass through the tariff blockade.

On the topic of tariffs and the Royal Mail's stoppage of shipping to the US, I placed an order with Lancashire Games on 04 August to take advantage of their summer sale.  This order was placed several weeks before the 29 August tariff launch.  I figured that this package should slip through unscathed before the deadline.  Since 13 August, the package has been stopped in Irish Customs.  After more than a month of "Pending" status in tracking, on 12 September I received an email from Royal Mail stating that the package has left the UK.  We will see if the package makes it stateside and whether I owe any extra duties once it lands on my doorstep. 

Piedmontese Reinforcements and a Game

With an expected return to 18th Century battlefields after a series of WotR games (Solden Hill and Mortimer's Cross) seeing action on the table, the brushes saw work adding to the 18mm SYW/WAS/(and now) WPS collection.  Yes, a third conflict is being studied.  That study focuses on the War of Polish Succession (WPS) of 1733-1738.  Many of the same antagonists seen in the later War of Austrian Succession are seen here and some of the same Northern Italian ground is fought over again. 

Since the Piedmontese/Sardinians fought in both conflicts, two more regiments were pushed into the painting queue.  This time I field two of the many provincial infantry regiments.  Marching out today are IRs Aosta and Asti.  Foot figures are Old Glory led by Eureka mounted colonels.  Flags are David's handiworks from Not By Appointment.  These two 23-figure regiments will be added into the regulars already on the muster rolls.

What WPS battle is on deck first?  Well, I will present my interpretation of the 1734 Battle of Quistello first introduced to me by André in his PBEM game several years ago.  André's inspirational work on this scenario can be found on his blog at Quistello.

Research turned up the following contemporary map,

and an account by Ben Franklin.  Yes, the Ben Franklin!  Franklin's 1734 account of the battle can be found at Variant Accounts of Battle.

Using André's map and Google Earth as guides, my interpretation of the battlefield topography and troop dispositions are illustrated in the photo of my game table below:

First game is on deck for Monday with six of Postie's Rejects in a remote game.  Looking forward to it!

Still have work to accomplish before Monday with writing a Battle Briefing, updating the QRS, affixing labels to all of the units, and positioning units onto the table. 

Chasseurs de Fischer

Activities on the hobby front continue winding their way through the month of May in the seasonal downturn mentioned in an earlier post (see A Few Spanish and a Seasonal Funk).  Contributing to this stall and recent lack of posts was my week away in California.  Nine days between posts is likely the biggest gap in more than a dozen years.  Returning sees even more work to catch up with on the home front.  Hopefully, I will be back to normal operations soon.  The forced hiatus presents one interesting fallout.  Having not posted in more than one week, I find it challenging to actually restart the blogging routine.  I considered holding off for even a few more days needing a little recovery time to collect my thoughts.  Once jostled out of a routine and regular habit, I am a little surprised how easy it would be to either slow down or stop altogether.  

Anyway, back to today's offering.

Mustering out earlier in the month are the French Chasseurs de Fischer.  This body of 15 light infantrymen are added into the French Army for the 18mm SYW collection.  Figures are Old Glory.  Still a number of units awaiting their turn at the photo booth.  With luck, I will return to the painting desk soon and the next post with not be nine days away.

Until next time.

Walloon Guard

After a few battle reports and a couple of thought pieces, time to return to parading some recent units mustering out from the painting desk.  January saw another productive month at the painting desk.  More than 100 figures marched off of the workbench.  At the photo booth, a logjam forms with a large number of units awaiting their turn.  Notice in the sidebar that I managed to reduce The Lead Pile by 945 figures in 2024.  Great result!  Expect a broader discussion on the painting front when I publish year-end review of figures painted.  

Anyway, into the photo box today are two units comprising the Spanish Walloon Guard.  These two units are made up of 46 figures with Old Glory foot led by Eureka mounted colonels.  Flags are by David at Not By Appointment. 

Why the Walloon Guard?  Well, if I am going to refight the 1743 Battle of Campo Santo, Walloon Guard need to be on the table.  This is a first but necessary step.

On the gaming front, Monday sees a second playing of the Adobe Wells gunfight.  That action will feature a completely new cast of characters as six of Postie's Rejects take to the field.  Should be fun as they try their hands at Triggeronometry in the Old West.

Hanover von Hardenberg

While still playing catch-up on one too many fronts, I amassed enough short painting sessions to post a second Hanoverian foot regiment.  This time, Regiment von Hardenberg marches out to take its post in the storage box.

Like the previous regiment in this push (von Sporcken can be seen here), von Hardenberg is composed of 22-foot figures from Old Glory led by a mounted Eureka mounted colonel.  With the arrival of von Hardenberg, that brings the total Hanoverian foot regiments up to ten.  Without digging too deeply into The Lead Pile to confirm, this may exhaust the supply of unpainted Old Glory Hanoverian foot.  May exhaust but I am not quite sure.  The Lead Pile is a bit disorganized at the moment with packets and boxes of figures spilling out onto the floor and overflowing the cabinet placed beside the painting desk.

Nearing 700 figures painted, thus far, in 2024, gives me pause when I look at the piles of figures awaiting their turn at the brush.  Based upon the realization that The Lead Pile looks no different with 700 fewer figures, gives little hope that this mountain can be conquered any time soon.  Well, likely not in my lifetime.  As stated by others before, I expect to die trying...

Has any reader been hit with this sobering thought of late?

Next up on the painting desk sees a return to 28mm Sumerians, 15mm FPW Prussians, and the start to a small SYW British Army to augment the Hanoverians.  I think there are a pair of Walloon Guards awaiting their turn at the brush too.  Of course, plenty of other figures as well.  I also have just about enough primed figures to last through a long, cold winter.  Still, I better prepare some more just in case.   

Hanover Von Sporcken

After being called away for familial duties for much of the week, I return not too much worse for the wear.  Well, I am a bit fatigued and have not seen action on the bike for a week.  I will change that later today once the temperatures rise and the bike and I hit the road for a meaningful workout.  With these trips south becoming more regular, the 800+ mile round trip drive is becoming a little less daunting.  Armed with a number of multi-episode lectures to listen to, the long hours spent confined in the car passed more easily.

On the hobby front, there is much to catch up on.  The same holds for the home front as well.  Besides two battle reports to tap out, several topical discussions have cropped up needing further explanation.    

To help come back up to speed, off the table today is one, 23-figure Hanoverian infantry regiment for the 18mm SYW project.  The regiment musters out as Von Sporcken.  Figures are Old Glory infantry led by a Eureka mounted colonel.  At the beginning of the month, I expected October would see a respectable number of figures mustering out.  With a week away from the painting desk, those expectations have been dashed to bits.  Hopefully, I will get back into the swing of things soon.