KR18 Modena Cuirassier Regiment joins the Austrian forces

I have not posted for some time. Not that I have been neglecting the hobby, but rather I have been completing a couple of regiments. The Austrian cuirassiers are now complete, the Swiss Guards will be finished by the end of the week, a big 12 based regiment this one.

The Modena Cuirassiers are an attractive regiment who were unique in having blue facings and horse furniture. The saddlecloth pattern is particularly attractive. A nice contrast to the other cuirassier regiments.

Next I hope to turn my hand to some new Austrian 40mm masters which Graham C has kindly sent me. I have purchased some silicone moulds, which should be gentler when moulding these resin computer printed figures. They are absolute beauties and I look forward to painting up a regiment.
That regiment will be IR27 Baden-Durlach. Why ? Because the light blue facings are just that little different, and they will make a nice addition to my Austrian army.

A new direction

I recently bought some of the Warfare miniatures range of Russians and Ottomans. Now I am not really a 28mm man, but I fancied a bit of a change, and delving further back into the 18th century.
The Ottomans have not been touched yet, but I decided to create a Marlborough army using the Russians.This involved some serious barber skills, by using a scalpel to shave off the Russian moustaches. Next, off came the powder horns, and hey presto, British troops ready to paint. It has been a slow start, but after talking with Barry Hilton at Claymore, I decided to crack on and get a unit completed.
The result, with an accompanying command stand is below.

I don't know where this diversion will lead me, but I have always fancied doing a Spanish army, and the French are always tasty. Perhaps a peninsular campaign might be in the future.

Claymore 2019

Claymore in Edinburgh was always one of my wargame highlights of the year and a "must go show".
Not any more, the last two years I have been very disappointed. It is very easy for us to criticise all of the hard work that club members put in to making events like these happen, and I acknowledge that, but I just feel that Claymore had lost its way a little. Traders seemed down a bit, as was the number of games, and members of the public. In saying that, the weather was glorious which may have stopped people visiting and the festival has just started. I would hate to loose Claymore.... but.

On a positive note, these games caught my eye.

Barry Hilton always puts on a good show, and this game highlighting his Ottomans was no exception.
The teddy fur was very effective, and excellent brush work on the figures. (Barry has persuaded me to delve into the early 1700's and I have started a Marlborough army, using some of his figures with some minor conversions.) (More on this to follow. 28mm is unusual for me, but I like the period).

I saw this display at the Falkirk show, and I just love that Vauban fort. I was going to buy a similar one, but I may now invest in a 3d printer and create my own version. I have been following Graham C of  Crann Tara's blog with interest. Graham is sending me a piece of his printed fort for scrutiny.
Very excited about this, as a 40mm scale fort would look magnificent using Graham's new 40mm figures.

This 10mm 1866 game also caught my eye. Very neatly presented with excellently painted figures and a nice display. The game was also backed up by a plastic 3d map which had been bought in the Czech Republic. www.kartografiehp.cz.  A 3d map would make a great addition for any display game.

My apologies to the organisers if my comments seem negative. All in all, still a good day out, but the highlight was seeing some old faces  (missing some others !), and meeting some new ones.
No new figures purchased, but some paints, brushes, 4 large scale trees, Battlegrounds Ramilles & Blenheim books for £5, and the new Helion book on the Guards of Louis 14th .