Napoleonics Thursday: Front Rank Generals

I'm sure I've said here before that I love Front Rank figures and especially their Napoleonic range.  Alec Brown did really nice work with these figures, and I'm glad I've acquired a stash of them now that FR's future is uncertain.  

Here is a recently finished French general, done mostly with Foundry's tri-tone paint system.

And of course, his Austrian counterpart.

These figures were a joy to paint.  I have two units of FR hussars, one French and one Austrian, jostling to be next in the paint queue.

"Bonjour, Karl."

"Guten tag, Francois."

"Good battle today, non?"

"Ja.  God and the dice were with you today."

"Rematch next week, 500 points a side?"

"Sehr gutt.  Farewell, friend."

"Au revoir, mon ami."

Wednesday Workbench: Friekorps Finished!

It's always very satisfying when a unit is ready to march off the workbench and muster in.   It's also pleasing to finish a unit in what, for me, is relatively quick time.  I started painting these Foundry Prussian friekorps (Kleist's Green Croats) in late October and really bore down on the project, so as of today, all that's left is the flocking.  Huzzah!  As is always the case, when I hold up a figure I think "Wow, that's the best work I've done ever" and then when I see an enlarged photo in unflattering lighting, I think "ugh, I must have painted them with a stick".  At such times it helps me to remember the cellist Pablo Casals.  When he was in his eighties and he was asked why he practiced three to four hours a day, he replied, "I think I'm making progress".   Anyway, when these fellows are flocked and sprayed with flat varnish I'll take some beauty shots of them.

Also ready for flocking are these three test prints of STLs from Piano Wargames from their Tyrolean rebels bundle that I backed on Kickstarter.  These fellows printed reasonably well on my Bambu filament printer, and their single based for Sharp Practice.   I think they'll fit well into my kleine krieg project, even though they're from the Napoleonic era.

Anyway, today was a good day for making progress, mostly a free afternoon following the cenotaph ceremony for Remembrance Day, and I think I put it to good use.  Now I need to get back to the Battle of Karlseck as featured in my previous post here and see it to a conclusion.

What are you working on?

Cheers and blessings to your brushes,

MP+
 

Trouble in Golpen Und Burpen 3: Clash at Karlseck

After much maneuvering on the Gneisnau campaign maps as described earlier, and with the help of the Anglo-Irish brain trust (Messrs Kinch and Cribbs), the French army of Marshal LeGros caught the Austrians strung out at Karlseck.  Battle began at first light, and the situation is now, at 11am, as follows.

The French III Corps, on high ground, faces the Austrian I Korps which holds Karlseck.  At bottom left and right respectively, the French II and I Corps advance on the far side of the Schlurpen, a minor river.  Opposing them, three brigades of Austrian light cavalry.  On the far right, the Austrian II Korps has just begun to arrive on the battlefield.

 A series of vicious melees as the Austrians throw themselves at the French to buy time for the reinforcements.  Austrian hussars and French chevaux legeres clash.

While a second brigade of hussars catches French line not in square.  Both sides take some casualties but the French hold.

As the morning drags on, a French light horse brigade is wrecked and withdrawing, but an Austrian hussar brigade is mostly blown.   The French infantry seems determined to press forward.  Von Klenau, commanding I Korps, is moving his grenadier brigade to help his cavalary by time.

Von Smettana, the Austrian CinC, greets his reinforcements with relief.  The Austrians got a very fortunate reinforcement roll.  II Korps was outside the battle area when it was drawn on the Gneisnau campaign map, but had a chance to arrive, and it did!

Meanwhile, on the high ground facing Karlseck, III Corps is effectively pinned by two brigades of Austrian cuirassiers.   The left most French infantry have gone into square and the supporting light cavalry have scrambled up the hill and are hoping to turn and face in time to get the height advantage.   III Corps' grenadier brigade have crossed the bridge on the right and are hoping to attack with support from II Corps.

Von Klenau, holding Karlseck, is mightily tempted to cross the Schlurpen and attack while the French are pinned by the heavy horse, and may yet do so.  For now, his orders are to hold.

It appears that the French have their work cut out for them!

Cheers and blessings to your die rolls.

MP+