1897 Scottish Light Infantry

Very much a generic unit. This lot were started before the Irish but had stalled... as did the Rifle Brigade who I will get on with over thenext few days. Working on the assumption of 'toy' I don't really like spending too much time on tartans but suppose I have to really.  Not sure whether I'll be doing any more Scottish units as such.

1897 The Irish Free Brigade

So far all the 1897 figures have had a strong basis in reality. However, an entry by Ross on his Battle Game of the Month blog 'Got me thinking about an Irish Free Army joining in my 1897 lot - green jackets and trousers with yellow piping and wearing bearskins - sounds like an excellent Fantasy... er, Alternate History, Brigade...'

The idea being that an uprising, possibly involving regular Irish Regiments, might have occurred if the French and Russians did invade England. Of course, even if this did happen then it is a bit unlikely that Rebels would have time to design a uniform and equip an army with them over the timescale of the war, but then we're talking fantasy anyway.

So... here it is, exactly as thought about. 

What I haven't done yet is paint the rifle slings - not sure whether to leave them brown or go for either black or white. Probably go for black, still thinking about it.

I did go for black webbing - white didn't seem right. Which is why I'm now in a quandary about the colour of the rifle slings.

I was thinking about using French style uniforms but preferred the British style - it's the big furry hats that did it. However, I did consider red trousers with a yellow stripe - might consider that if there's another regiment produced.

1897 Royal Glasgow Yeomanry

Or similar....

Based on this figure from:

This photo shows how useful enlarged photos are - the black needs retouching on a couple of figures, hadn't noticed on the model itself.

The blue uniform with red facings is, I admit, a favourite colour scheme of mine. Which is why I like the artillery figures I suppose...

The figure this is based on is wearing gauntlets so I've guessed at the cuffs - although an actual guess would have  involved a bit more gold. Plain cuffs are easier.

I've got a sort of convention with these figures. Light Horse and mounted infantry carry a carbine and use them, 'heavier' dragoons carry a sword and charge. In fact the British army of the time didn't have any mounted infantry - however, in time of war mounted infantry were supposed to be raised and horses were kept at various places to provide mounts.

1897 Soldiers in Grey

The various volunteer units seem to have had a certain amount of leeway in their uniforms. In some cases they adopted grey rather than red or khaki. Having said that, originally khaki seems to have been very loosely defined - anything from a sort of ash colour to a stained by tea or coffee look. So the grey uniform may actually have originally been a local version of khaki.

So far all of the Regiments that I've come across in grey uniforms have been either from Middlesex or Scotland - for Scotland, look up the modern tome 'Vanished Armies' (2009) for pictures of the Cameronians. Middle top row of the front cover is 5th Bn Cameronians for example. For Middlesex see below.

Plate from 'The British Army' by 'A Lieutenant-Colonel  in the British Army', 1899

Plate from 'Her Majesty's Army' by Walter Richards, 1890.

Some points about the uniforms. Firstly, blanket should be the same colour as the rest, but with the same colour for helmet, tunic, trousers and gaiters I thought I needed to add a slight contrast with the blanket. Secondly, uniforms at this time didn't all have brass buttons and fittings - I just like them so standardised on that. However, real grey uniforms seem to go with steel/silver or whatever - and brass wouldn't have seemed right anyway. Rifle slings appear to be brown rather than white. Finally, just had to go for the black facings...

1897 The General and the Machine Gun

I seem to be at one of those times where I'm finishing lots off whilst having time to photograph and write about it... won't last...

Both these have been sitting on my painting desk and staring at me for quite a while now. Finishing them has been long overdue - the machine gun itself was finished in February!

As usual, machine gun not meant to represent any particular Regiment - I'm going to treat a machine gun as a battalion/regiment for firing, but as four figures for casualties.

 

I've again gone for painting eyes on the horse.

The general took the most work - filed down the cross straps and painted the saddle cloth as the figure didn't have one. Actually looks better than I thought it would.

1897 Mounted infantry

After several slight distractions it's time to remember that my major project for the year is the 1897 Great War in England.

So, continuing this is a unit of mounted infantry. Trying to think of something else to say about this, but really that says it all. It's a unit of Volunteer or Militia Mounted Infantry. As yet unvarnished as my varnish has run out. Oh, one thing - painted eyes on the horses. No reason except that the Irregular figures had the horses eyes painted. Actually, it does look a bit better, perhaps I'll review the other cavalry figures at some time.

1897 Artillery Grand Battery

Saturday was quite a productive day. Apart from the 6mm SciFi figures I also managed to complete the British artillery battery. Having said that, the gloss finish hasn't worked properly so I'll have a bit of retouching and respraying to do.

All the kneeling figures and standing officer with sword  are Spencer Smith.

The other standing figures are Schildkrot/Berliner Zinnfiguren figures.

Certainly, 'full size' crews make the guns look better!

1897 Armies update

When I'm building armies there comes a time when I think 'It would be nice to see them all set up.' After all, that's one of the best parts of building a collection of something - seeing it all set out. The arrival of the painted Irregular figures made me think it would be a good time to do it, so...

The two armies facing forward, British to the front, French to the rear.

More usual situation - facing each other.

The British. Cavalry lancers and Scots Greys on right, Scottish light horse on left. Front right flank Guards Brigade backed by Scots Brigade. Left flank line Brigade backed by Militia.

 

The French. Curassiers and Dragoons on right, Chasseurs and Hussars on left. Right flank infantry Zouves, left flank line.

1897 Scottish Light Cavalry

At the moment I seem to be painting cavalry. This lot are based on some Scots - the Spencer Smith catalogue has a painted version described as Lothian Horse, they also appear in the book Vanished Armies as simply Scottish Horse.

Grey uniforms seem to have been used by a number of militia and volunteer units, especially infantry - Scotland and Middlesex seem to have been the most common. One of  my next projects will be to complete some of these units - although again as generic rather than named regiments.

1897 The Guards Brigade

My idea of both classic toy soldier and British Guards basically consists of Grenadier types in big, black bushy hats. So one Grenadier regiment was never going to be enough...

So I've added 2 extra battalions/regiments and will add 1 more to take it to full strength.

One thing with the extra units - I've painted them in a simpler form than the 1st Regiment.

 
I've also painted an officer to act as Brigade commander - same facings as the 1st Regiment as that regiment is the 'best' painted of the 3.

1897 42mm Size comparison

I've now got figures from 3 different ranges so it seems to be a good time to do a size comparison. As every wargamer knows, different manufacturers often have completely different ideas on what constitutes any particular scale, so there is always the chance of a '42mm' figure being anything from 40mm up to 45mm... or worse. On ebay I've seen 20mm figures described as 28mm on a regular basis!

So, Zinnfigur on the left, Irregular in the middle' Spencer Smith on the right. One thing I hadn't thought of when I took the photos is that I'm still only half way through the basing process! The result is that here the Irregular figure gives the impression of being bigger in comparison to the others than is the case.

Here, Zinnfigur in the middle. There is a definite size gradation - biggest Spencer Smith, smallest Zinnfigur. However, to me they are within the 'compatible' range.

Spencer Smith cavalry compared to Irregular. The Spencer Smith horse is far heftier but overall the two mix well.

So, no issues mixing and matching these really - though Zinnfigur and Spencer Smith together are close to pushing it!

1897 A second Regiment of Highlanders

Soon have a Brigade...

Or not. Well, probably not of Highlanders but certainly  a Scottish Brigade. Perhaps a Lowland Regiment, a Light Infantry Regiment and a unit of cavalry?

These are the two current Regiments - neither are of a specific Regiment, the idea is to just have some variety.

 

1897 The Fusiliers

Completed the Fusiliers which gives me a complete Brigade.

The Fusiliers:

The Brigade:

 I've noticed that I've painted buttons on both the Grenadiers and Fusiliers but didn't on the 2 Line Regiments. I think I'd better bring the Line up to my current 'standard.'

A second Regiment of Highlanders is nearly finished so the 'Scots' Division is nearly half complete - I'll do 2 Regiments of Lowlanders to produce a Scot's Division rather than go for separate Highland and Lowland Divisions.

1897 Redone Artillery

40lber/4.7" gun redone and crew added. Looks much better!

Original idea was for a two man crew but this looked silly so I've added an officer - later I'll probably make the crew up to five men. This size gun needs it.

The gun needs a bit of retouching but I don't think I'll bother at the moment - no doubt later on I'll start feeling guilty and sort the wheel, just now I'm reverting to my 'These are toys' stance.

I sometimes feel a bit guilty about the 'blobby' faces - again, I just say 'toy' and move on.

The officer is a bit weird. Noticed it when painting the red stripe down his trousers - the leg is in a weird position. Doesn't seem to have a kneecap and it bends forward in an... odd... fashion.

I was only going to have one gun with my 'army' but suspect that a full 3 or 4 gun battery is on the cards at some stage.

1897 Lancers and Cuirassiers

First of the Irregular Miniatures cavalry. These are very different in style to the Spencer Smith figures - have to admit, I prefer the Irregular horses. On the other hand, with the Spencer Smith website you can link directly to a particular page.

 
The Lancers are serving as generic British Lancers - they're actually Prussian Uhlans but the only really noticeable difference is the lack of a plume. Closest Regiment would probably be the 9th.

The French Currasiers are likewise quite generic - fact is, don't know enough about them to be specific. Saddlecloth may be wrong for rank and file - pictures suggest plain for these, blue edged with red for officers - prefer the blue/red combo so...

And this is a comparison between Spencer Sith and Irregular cavalry figures. Important thing being they are basically compatible.