Wurttemburg. The Descent into Madness

Okay, I will admit it. I like crested helmets. Specifically Napoleonic era crested helmets. I also like Cider. What I don't like is people coming round my house on a saturday when I am trying to find out if Rotherham had won or not. Living abroad, like what I do, is quite depressing on a saturday. Things in miss in no particular order are:
1) Bacon
2) Rotherham United
3) Tragically I think its just about it. I should have said my family as well maybe?

Anyhoo... On with helmets and cider. Oh if only there were a way to combine the two things! But there probably isn't. I am also NOT going to fill all this blog up with some old guff about cider. So thats just the crests then? Austrians, Bavarians... Wurttemburgers. Smashing. But... Painting all that white? I get snow blind just going to the shops here, so all that white? No its not for me. The Bavarians, well thats just a crested helmet too far really. Its just too wierd!

So that leaves plucky Wurttemburg. Of course, bearing mind my original project was to do Victors IX corps of 1812, Wurttemburg troops are an unwelcome diversion. I've looked at the OOB. Twice... And in IX corps? Nothing. Not even a bugler. Or is it a cornet? 99 please, with hundreds and thousands. I love them. Anyway lets put the ice cream down and get back to the Wurttemburgers. At this point I need to say that I don't need them... So in true wargamer fashion, I went and got a load of 'em! Huzzah! Its madness, sheer madness. Its also taking my time away from the important stuff (i.e the FPW an IX Corps). This is what happens when I am unsupervised. So out came the paints and we were off like a greyhound out of a trap. There is also a fantastic website about the army during the napoleonic era. Link below:

http://www.histunif.com/wurttemberg/wurttemberg1/wurt000.htm

I have become so enthusiastic about these, that I even got the Nafziger book as a Christmas gift. It really is smashing, and top notch work from Caliver Books it getting it to me before the big day. So here is the progress so far. I am quite pleased with these. Although for Napoleonics, maybe a little dark? But it breaks up the French blue a bit. I'm doing 2 regiments in crested helmets, 1 in Shako and 2 light infantry. Each rgt will eventually be 36 figs on 9 stands. Except the lights. They will just be 24. Looking at Nafziger and doing a quick 1:20 calculation I think I should have maybe 32, but with my basing that gives 8 stands, and I don't like that. Also, this way I can have more of them! I like to move it move it! Lets Start with a standard unit. This is a command stand from AB miniatures.

I got over excited and as you can see, its not finished. I hadn't wanged up the flag (is wanged a real word)? onto the pole, and the officers plume isn't done yet. I don't have any of the foot officers, because I didn't know that the main source of AB figures (Eureka in Oz) have foot officers as singles. Doh! Anyway, I will change things round a bit long term and put a couple of these horsey types as staff officers. Always need ADC fellows in Shako II. I am also starting to not like the basing. hhhmmm...

Here are a couple of pics of the unit en masse. Well en masse minus a third of them. On the plus side they are in the right uniform (1811 pattern). On the downside I have helmet and shako together in the same unit. I thought it would look okay. It looks shit. That will be fixed.

The next pic is one of my attempts with the camera at home on the dining room table, to show the unit as is (avec flag). The unit represents 1st Rgt (Prince Paul). The flag is from the AB set and is positively scrummy. And I think it really sets them off very nicely. I am a bit baffled at the helmet though. In part the black helmet and black crest don't have enough definition for me. I think I will piss about with some grey highlighting in order to see what can be done. I sense a pigs ear maybe in the offing!

I have swapped the stands over for this shot, removing the offending shako types. This gives more of the look I want. Obviously 3 more stands will be added. The other units are a pair of a jager rgts. Only 24 figs, but including a hornist (paaaaarp)! They are also much more dynamic with a firing line, which I like. Here is the command stand.

The Shako furniture needs finishing, I thought the cords were green or something, but it seems they were white. I will have a look at the Nafziger before I whack some paint on them. Also I need to do the pompoms correctly and put some yellow V shapes on the sides (I think). Should have all that done by 2012 no problem! You can see on the main pic I've at least now marked out where the cords will be. I really like the green uniform though. Sexy as you like. But I am not sure about the blue. Not only do I think it might be too dark, I am not even sure they had the blue lapels in 1812. Essentially I could have dropped a right ricket with these. That will teach me to go swanning off like a giant swan doing things I shouldn't!