General August Von Sporcken

General August Von Sporcken is my latest conversion and addition to the army of Hanover. I based the figure in the painting below, which shows Von Sprocket as elderly and fairly unkempt straggly white hair. I have modelled the figure bare headed to show this feature and have him holding his tricorne with his left hand, sword in his right hand. Von Sporcken can now join his completed regiment on my shelves until called into action

Piemont officer dismouted

I like to convert a piece each week, it usually ends up as my weekend project.
This weekend it was a simple conversion of a standard bearer and S&S horse to produce a French infantry officer of the Piemont regiment, struggling to control his horse which has been startled by gunfire. A nice addition to the regiment

A Military Gentleman

After a morning painting and working on some scenics, I have spent an enjoyable hour browsing John Rays book “A Military Gentleman”. I am sure John will not mind me to showing a photograph of this fine work. No matter how often I look at the images, I always find something new, or the inspiration for a new figure. I have owned the book for some years now, but today is the first time I have every really considered the vast number of individual figures and sculpts that make up the book.
It really is an incredible piece of work and dedication and an absolute must for any enthusiast if you can pick one up.

My casting machine is back !!!

Oh joy of joys, my old faithful casting has been repaired and delivered today, after some 2 months, but what seems like an eternity. She is nearly 30 years old, Fine Art Casting Machinery, none of your new fancy hydraulic, digital equipment, a good old fashioned weights based centrifugal casting machine. They certainly don't make them like this any more, but she gave me 30 years service before needing a new motor and controller this year, probably because of damp in my garage.

She has been casting like a dream, she has obviously missed me and has given me some of the best casts in a long time. So lots of 18th century diversifications and new projects this weekend.
I have cast a couple of Austrian 20mm figures which Graham C gave me in PVA 3d print. They look lovely, and I cannot wait to paint them. Could be the start of a whole new scale. I have cast some 40mm dollies to allow me to convert some firing, loading and kneeling figures. And finally I converted a couple of old Willy style figures to play around with so I will hopefully also paint them. It will also give me the chance to complete a couple of regiments of 40mm figures which I had ran out of, including Grenadiers de France and some btn guns.  ...... Roll on the weekend, who cares if it rains !!

20 Seconds of Fame

My other big project at the moment apart from recruiting more toy soldiers is to help real ones.
I am chair of a group of trustees who are planning to take over the local hospital which closed in 2018.
We hope our first tenant will be Erskine, the Scottish veterans charity, who hope to set up a veterans activity centre in our complex. (They already run a successful one near Glasgow, this will be the first in the north.) Many Wargames shows, including the Waterloo refight last year donate to Erskine, so this will be a great cause, and of course, one of the activities will be wargaming and military modelling. Plenty room for a big table !
Also on our group is Maj Gen Seymour Monro, ex co of the Queens own Highlanders and a serving collogue of well known Wargamer and author CSG who served in the same regiment... it is a small world as they say!
Yesterday a 20 minute TV Interview was condensed into 20 seconds.
Oh well,  back to 40mm soldiers today

Ferdinand of Brunswick

Finished Ferdinand of Brunswick yesterday to lead my Hanoverian contingent.
In portraits he always seems partial to pie, and a tad rotund, so I gave himsome added girth, as seems so typical of the officer class at this period.

Here, Ferdinand inspects IR2a Von Sporken, now fully recruited with a separate converged grenadier contingent.

Lt General Prince Johann Casimir Ysenburg

                                           Lt General Prince Johann Casimir Ysenburg

I have been interested in Ysenburg, since I stumbled across the memorial (Denkmal) to the battle of Sanderhausen while staying at Kassel last September. Sanderhausen was hard to find, and the denkmal was tucked at the side of a wood, next to a busy road.

                                   
                                     The site of the Denkmal. The battlefield is across the road

                        The Denkmal with Prince Ysenburg or Isenburg engraved on the plate.

                                                               A map of the battle

I have done some research on Ysenburg, and I have become slightly obsessed with the character. He is not singled out in Kronoscaf and there are few contemporary paintings of him, but I feel that he did reasonably well with his small force, mainly militia, at Sanderhausen and fought well, inflicting heavy casualties on the French before withdrawing.
He fought bravely at Bergen and was killed. To quote an extract from Sir Charles Hotham-Thompsons book, Operations of the Allied Army under the Duke of Brunswick 1757-62,
"just as he was going to lead his grenadiers to the assault he said with great composure:"Come my friends, whoever has courage let them follow me." He was immediately hit by a musket ball in the chest and died instantly.

To mark this moment, I have converted my own version of Ysenburg, in the uniform of his own regiment, as a general officer. The figure shows him at the moment of his charge, rallying his troops, and it will be a nice addition to the collection.