Friday 29 April 2016

Seven Years War Austrians - finished!

At long last, I've managed to squeeze in some work on my own figures and get the last of my Seven Years War Austrian army finished. It has been a long time coming and I'm not only pleased but, frankly, relieved.

So, here are the latest additions: 3 units of cuirassiers, a unit of dragoons, a unit of horse grenadiers and three units of hussars. All are Front Rank figures. These units bring the Austrian cavalry count up to twenty units. 



This is DR 1 Erzherzog Joseph. I have painted it as its elite company of horse grenadiers. I have done this so that it can be used either as DR 1 or to represent a unit of combined elite companies from several regiments as the need arises.



This is DR iii Althann. This unit did not see that much war service and I chose it for other reasons. The first reason is aesthetic: it is the only regiment with a white coat and it has a nice easily recognisable flag. The second is that it has a very similar uniform to that of the cuirassiers, especially from the back, so if the need arises I can probably get away with designating it as a 'cuirassier stand in'. It's another multi-purpose unit.



 Three units of cuirassier. CR 8 Palffy, CR 12 Serbelloni and CR 25 Anhalt - Zerbst.

I did CR 8 Palffy, because it has a nice flag, an imperial eagle on one side and a simple to do crest, possibly representing a stag 'rampant' and a wheel.



HR 2 Kaiser. A rather nice, simple combination of colours. Front Rank hussars are ever so nice to paint. I suppose it is the lace that puts a lot of people off painting them but I think they are some of the prettiest troops on a SYW battlefield so well worth any extra effort.



HR 11 Nadasdy. I'm never sure about troops wearing green but these turned out rather well. The riderless horse is not a mistake on my part. I bought two 'unit packs' of twelve hussars each from Front Rank, each pack was delivered short of its standard bearer. I thought about giving Alec a ring (you always get great customer service from Alec and Elaine) but then thought that when they came I'd not only have to paint the figures but also two more flags, and unlike other cavalry in this range the hussar horses come with shabraques, making the horses ideal 'casualty' figures, so I demurred. The effect is, I think, rather pleasing.



Lastly, HR 32 Szechenyi. Another stunning combination of colours.

So that's it. Job done, the Austrians are finished. Next post, in a few hours time, will be an Austrian Army ROLL CALL!!

6 comments:

Eric Burgess said...

Outstanding as usual James. Sure wish I could find my way back across the pond for a couple games!

JAMES ROACH said...

Eric,

If you do you would be welcome to stay. My house is a little bigger than the last one (I think) so I do have a spare room.

Best Regards,

James

Jan said...

Lovely work! Congratulations!

CelticCurmudgeon said...

Your work is astonishingly good. The cavalry is done with a great deal of animation and spirit and I cannot wait to view the whole army when complete.

Steve J. said...

Superb work as always!

Gonsalvo said...

Great looking additions to the Kaiser's Cavalry!