Painting Challenge Submission 11 - General de Bonnemains

General de Bonnemains - 28mm figure from Eagles of Empire.

This Painting Challenge submission did not have much to it - just a single figure. But there is a feature to the Challenge that encourages such submissions - the "Challenge XII Quadrant Map" - see here for details. Bottom line is that this was a way to get some paint on a figure that had been overdue to receive it, and score a few bonus points for the work. This also allowed me to get a submission in for a week where progress on larger projects had not been sufficiently advanced to be ready for submission.

 

In terms of "visiting planets", I started on Istvaan V, and looking at my collection and set of projects jammed on my painting desk(s), an opportunity presented itself to visit the neighbouring world of Glorantha. The theme for this planet calls for "heroes", and with this in mind, I here is General de Bonnemains, who led the 2nd Reserve Cavalry Division during the battle of  Froschwiller on August 6, 1870. This is a 28mm metal figure from "Eagles of Empire".

The Battle of Froschwiller was a major engagement that occurred early in the Franco-Prussian War. The Prussian coalition was advancing across the border, and Marshal MacMahon, commander of the Army of Alsace, was preparing for a defensive battle, having found an ideal position along the Sauer river. Orders to concentrate had been issued - the 1st Corps was already in place, and he was waiting for 5th and 7th Corps to join them. The Prussian side had similar notions, their III Army also planning to gather its strength before commencing a grand battle. Two armies faced each other warily across the Sauer valley, near the towns of Froschwiller and Worth. 

The plan was to wait until ready. But plans often don't work - and for the French in 1870 they, like, never worked. On August 6th, the pickets on both sides started to engage. Escalation followed. Artillery was committed. Troops were sent forward to deal with that. Maybe best to secure a town, you know, just to be sure? Can't allow that, right? 

Before long, the elements of the Prussian III Army were getting stuck in. The Bavarians led the way on the right flank, and the Prussians committed to follow their allies. Through the day, the French fought valiantly - 1st Corps containing some of the very top units in the French Army. MacMahon waited for help to arrive, but it never showed. As his lines buckled, he needed to buy time...and he bought that time with the lives of the reserve cavalry. General de Bonnemains led the charge, four regiments of Cuirassiers, the cream of the Second Empire's heavy cavalry. The odds were long, but the safety and glory of France were at stake. 

A very dramatic pose by the sculptor, perfect for the subject.

It was not to be...the rock-paper-scissors era of infantry lines and squares holding against the heavy cavalry were gone. The French Cuirassiers went forward, and were shot to pieces by the Prussians, armed with breech-loading rifles, backed by steel-breech-loading artillery, these glorious French cavalrymen never had a hope. In particularly tragic sequence, 700 Cuirassiers were caught in the village of Morsbronn and massacred in a matter of minutes.

The sacrifice of the heavy cavalry bought time for Marshal MacMahon to pull his shattered forces from the battlefield and fall back - many of these troops would meet their ultimate fate at Sedan some weeks later.

A white horse, perfect to lead a glorious charge!

I have not been able to track down whether General de Bonnemains survived this battle or whether he was one of the casualties of the fighting that day - apologies for the sloppy research! But I had purchased this character figure from "Eagles of Empire" - purveyors of beautiful 28mm metal figures for the period, and a quite interesting set of skirmish-type rules for the setting. He had been sitting, primed, for months, since he had arrived in the summer...a perfect target for an Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge submission! I thought he would make a fine submission for "Glorantha".

The "Eagles of Empire" sculpts are tall, lean and lovely - with one challenge in this case. The sword was bent during shipping, and I could not, no matter what I tried, get it sorted. It is tragic for this figure to defend the honour of France with a bent sword...but hey, things went really bad in 1870 for them, right?

So there was just the one figure for this submission, but at least it scored a few points, and as I said, it kept the posting momentum up for the Challenge. Thanks for reading!

Painting Challenge Submission 17 - 28mm Bavarians for FPW

Watch out! Here come the Bavarians! 28mm figures from "Eagles of Empire".

The Franco-Prussian War of 1870 is one of my favourite settings for gaming, and when I enjoy a project in this hobby, I tend to paint figures for it in multiple scales. So while I have been cranking out a fair of amount of 10mm Franco Prussian War work during this edition of Curt's Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge, I also have some 28mm figures to add. 

One of the Challenge participants, MartinN (a world-class painter and super-nice guy) is a big fan of Bavarians - which makes sense, given that he is a Bavarian himself. In one of my recent 10mm FPW submissions, he lamented the "obvious lack of Bavarians" in my recent FPW painting output. I duly promised I would redress that oversight before this edition of the AHPC was finished - and thus we have this group of figures and flag - are all from the excellent "Eagles of Empire" figure range.

"Eagles of Empire" have some beautiful sculpts, just lovely.

Nice mix of poses.

A look at some of the kit the soldiers carried.

There are so many cool uniforms in the Franco-Prussian War. While those of the French often steal the show, the uniforms of the Bavarian army from the period are very cool, with their unique "cornflower blue" and Napoleonic-throwback helmets. Trying to get this share of blue done properly - or, I should say, in a shade that I subjectively believe to be done "properly" - was a struggle, and you don't need to look too closely to see there is variation here and there as I experimented. Some were too bright, and some were too dark. Fiddling around is not ideal, but I am still really pleased with them, and even with the variations, in a group, I think they look pretty good overall, ready to take on the French!

I must also credit "Eagles of Empire" for beautiful sculpts. They are taller and thinner, but oh man, are they nice! So much animation and character, with nice proportions. I just love painting their stuff.

NCO encouraging the lads!

The Bavarian army made a major contribution to the fighting in the Franco-Prussian War, both in the early battles in and around Alsace, and in the later fighting against the dogged resistance of the French Republican regime. 

Another view of the base with the NCO. These three-figure bases are 40mm rounds.

These figures are based for skirmish gaming with the "Eagles of Empire" rules. I am generally wary of group basing in 28mm when crewed weapons are not involved (one of many odd hobby hangups which afflict my brain), but I thought I would finally try the specific basing suggested in EoE rules. That is what you see here - a command base (with the officer, flag and musician) and two "squads", each of seven models. Each "squad" contains one base with three figures, and two bases with two figures each.  

These guys are on 30mm bases.

I just love these sculpts - who wouldn't follow that standard bearer forward???

The drummer looks a little blurry (sorry), but again, great character in the sculpt - he looks like he is playing the hell out of that drum! Charge!!

I should note the EoE rules are agnostic when it comes to basing - this approach is recommended, but hardly mandatory, and the rules themselves are fairly light and fun, so just about any basing approach will legitimately work. That said, now that I have tried it, I really like the look, and will probably be doing several more units in this way.

My kitchen is stormed by Bavarian infantry - I had better secure the beer!

Of course, one can never have just ONE unit of infantry like this, so don't be surprised if more appear at some point in the future. Thanks for reading everyone, and be sure to enjoy all of the "beat-the-deadline" submissions this week from the various Conscripts participating in the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge! Stay safe and stay sane folks!

Zouaves! French Zouaves in 28mm

28mm Zouave infantry from "Eagles of Empire" 

Do you ever get into painting/collecting a period or setting with one specific type of troop or unit in mind? I mean, yes, you are interested in the whole period and the whole setting, but there is one particular thing - a tank, a uniform, a character a certain unit - something that will come along in the course of painting, and bring the whole thing together...?

Zouaves!

NCO on square base, regular troops on round bases. 

I first saw Zouaves on a wargaming table a long time ago, like 25 years ago, in an American Civil War game.  I was captivated immediately - and also totally confused.  WTF was up with those incredible outfits? And...why were regiments in the Union army garbed in this fashion? Helpful gamers tried their best to explain it to me, and kept mentioning France. Which, at the time, made even less sense!

Some incredible character on these castings. 

At the time I was ignorant of the relevant history and related inspirations. Reading more about France, and finally about the battles in Crimea, in Italy and finally the Franco-Prussian War of 1870 - as well as visiting the Pont de l'Alma in Paris - finally put these super-cool looking troops into the right context.

Unit officer on hex-shaped base...NOTE - I made a mistake in his uniform - I missed the gold trim on the front of his coat - this was corrected subsequent to these photos being taken.

The Zouaves began as North African troops, and the unique cut of the uniform is inspired by that climate, region and culture - the short coat, the baggy trousers, the fez and turban caps.  Of course, the snappy facing colours and lace patterns...well, that's France for you! Over time the Zouave regiments became "European", although North African troops continued to make a very important contribution to the armies of France in the form of the feared "Turcos", the notorious Tirailleurs Algeriens (and also the mounted arm - the "Chasseurs d'Afrique").

I love the fluid nature of this casting! Such elan, such spirit!

The Zouave and Turco regiments were front and centre amid the ill-fated campaign against the Prussian assault in 1870. They battled tenaciously, from the opening engagements around Wissembourg, to the doomed envelopment at Sedan, and subsequent abdication of the Emperor.  When I started my Franco-Prussian War painting project in 2017, I looked forward to stage in the painting where I could turn my brushes to some of these remarkable soldiers.

These are 28mm castings from the incredible folks at Eagles of Empire. Soren and the group released these figures back in the summer of 2018.  Sculpts from this company have a very unique look and feel - for 28mm figures they are kind of tall, very slender...but SO much character.  The Zouave infantry are not only extremely cool, with their super-funky outfits, but they are sporting a heroic amount of pots, pans and tent stakes! Not only are they ready to fight hard, but they can also whip up some soup when the time comes!

Group of Zouaves - ready for action. 

As with my other Eagles of Empire figures, I have based these figures on individual bases for skirmish gaming set in the Franco Prussian War.

Check out all the stuff on those packs! Ready to fight, AND to cook & camp! Vive la France!!

These castings come with separate head sculpts for you to choose from - you can make the models up as either Zouaves or "Turcos".  In this case, as you can see, I went with the Zouave look (stay tuned for more work featuring "Turcos", however).  I salute the efforts of the folks at Eagles of Empire for trying their best to offer us gamers flexibility, BUT I do find separate heads can be tricky sometimes - and as you can see, one or two of the fellows are showing the side effects of those challenges - some of the figures look like they are "looking down" instead of forward.

Second group of Zouave infantry - two "squads" of 8 models each. 

Another small quibble is the bayonets...these miniatures have the incredible sword-style bayonet cast right on to the ends of their Chassepot rifles.  But I am not a fan of casting bayonets on to rifles using the thin/slender style of Eagles of Empire - the reason being that they bend off and break during shipping :( That is why you only see 17 finished figures even though I had two boxes - a number of broken bayonets :( 

But for all these small troubles, these figures were still an absolute pleasure to paint. Just so much fun! The style of sculpting at Eagles of Empire is very different from a lot of other sculptors out there, and I love it, just love it! If you are interested in this period, you need to get some of these figures, just to have the pleasure of painting them yourself!

As Curt's Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge approaches for another run, I hope to be posting & sharing more stuff from this period.  Thanks for visiting, hope you have a great day!

Commandant Berbegier - Franco-Prussian War Command Vignette

"Mort de Commandant Berbegier" in 28mm from Eagles of Empire

This is a nice little 28mm Franco-Prussian War command vignette - Commandant Berbegier, seen here in action leading the first battalion of the 70th Infantry Regiment during the battle of Gravelotte-St. Privat in the summer of 1870.  He is sitting atop a horse which has already fallen in battle, and continuing to sound the charge to his men. This miniature is from the amazing folks at "Eagles of Empire".

The sculpt is top shelf - "Eagles of Empire"is just great, can't say enough about them

This excellent sculpt is based on a painting by Edouard Detaille, "Mort de Commandant Berbegier".  When I saw this at the "Eagles of Empire" online store I knew I wanted to have one! I felt it would make a very cool command vignette, whether in a skirmish-style game or as a brigade-command model in a game of "Black Powder".

The poor horse!

I wish I was more cultured and could share more about art, but I don't know much about Detaille the painter or the generally amazing amount of incredible artwork that the Franco-Prussian war seems to have inspired.  The painting itself certainly paints a grim setting for the French infantry, capturing a hopeless determination in the face of defeat and destruction...

Liberal use of tufts from Tajima - no wonder I run out of them so fast...

Commandant Berbegier apparently was Chef of the First Battalion, 70th Regiment, and the scene in the painting is set at the Battle of Gravelotte-St. Privat.  I did a little research, and it seems the 70th was deployed toward the northern end of the French line in that pivotal battle, between St. Privat and Ammanvilliers - in which case they likely saw action against the enveloping attack by the Prussian Guard regiments late in the day.

The combination of excellent Chassepot rifles, strong defensive terrains and pretty uninspired generalship by the Prussians (matched only by the even limper senior leadership of the French high command) led to very, very high losses for the Prussians during the battle.  But at the northern end of the battle line the Prussians were ultimately able to turn the French right by capturing the village of St. Privat.  The Prussians managed to prepare the ground for their assault with a bombardment by something like 200 guns...the 70th would probably have been heavily exposed to this bombardment, and driven back by the subsequent Prussian assault.

For the Emperor!!!

It seems to me in the painting that Commandant Berbegier is trying to rally the remnants of his battalion to continue the fight as the Prussians seek to the roll up the French line.  Again - I don't know if my imagination matches the actual situation that the painting is portraying or not, but it will do for now! Hopefully smarter people can point you in the right direction for more accurate information. There sure is a lot of beautiful artwork out there!  But I love this vignette - it is really something, and the folks at Eagles of Empire have done a great job sculpting the figures.  I can't wait to get this out on the table for a game sometime!

Prussian Artillery and 28mm FPW Odds & Ends

Some Prussian artillery and a few foot-slogging odds & ends for my 28mm Franco-Prussian war projects

Over the weekend I finished a few more bits for my 28mm Franco-Prussian War project(s), and here they are!  Up first are a few spare 28mm figures for my skirmish-gaming side of things - these are the extremely awesome sculpts from "Eagles of Empire".  The more I paint these castings, the more I love them.  They have some new figure releases lined up for 2018, and I'm pretty excited to see them - especially the French Turcos!

Chasspot rifles being prepped for action in defence of the Second Empire!

There are four French infantrymen here, intended to "round out" the four squads of French infantry I have painted from seven models to eight models each.  While that difference makes no difference in many skirmish rules, if I can ever sort out "Sharpe Practice" from Too Fat Lardies I think the base elements of four/eight in the infantry units will make a difference.

So much detail on these lovely "Eagles of Empire" castings

These fellows show all of the lean, tall beauty of the "Eagles of Empire" sculpts, with all sorts of excellent detail.  The uniform of the French infantry from this era is just beautiful, and I love to paint them up.

Drums of war! Prussian drummer beats the charge - need to close the range on those Chassepot rifles!

The animation of the "Eagles of Empire" sculpts is really something - you can feel the beat!

There is also a lone Prussian figure - a drummer.  Again, this is mostly intended to "round out" my collection of individually-based 28mm Prussian troops.  Each package of Eagles of Empire Prussians includes both a drummer and a bugler...since the bugler is also carrying a rifle, I used the bugler as command figures, and did not use the drummer.  Now that most of my individually-based Prussians are completed (well, for now, at any rate), I thought the drummer would be a useful figure to have around, so I finished painting him up over the weekend.

And then, we move to an artillery piece! While this may have some application for skirmish-type gaming, the gun piece is intended to accompany the 28mm Prussians I am painting for "Black Powder" type games.  The gun and crew are all from the War-games Foundry FPW range, which was sculpted by the Perry brothers.

Prussian artillery - gun and crew castings from War-games Foundry

The Prussian artillery was devastating in the Franco-Prussian war. While the Prussian infantry were out-gunned by the Chassepot rifles of their French opponents, the steel breach-loading artillery of the Prussian army was a great (over) equalizer.   The Prussian guns out-ranged the rifled muzzle-loading French artillery and would generally blast them to pieces before turning their attention to the French infantry positions.

You can see a bit of the breech-loading mechanism for the artillery in this shot

Ready to fight for the King, and blast those upstart French to pieces! This Krupp weapon will come in handy...

Gaming certain periods in 28mm calls for some distortions, and the FPW games will be subject to this as the ranges would generally stretch beyond most tables, at least for the Prussian guns.  Indeed, when the time comes to finally play a 28mm game, I expect I will be telling the players that the Prussian guns are somewhere off-table...

Fire!

Still, having some of the lighter guns represented on the table isn't the worst thing in the world - it's always fun to give the players control of some artillery, and then some of the issues that come with it (watching for the firing lanes etc).  Vague off-table threats are one thing, but having the artillery piece on the board will be useful for focusing the minds of the players.  This will be a useful addition to the forces of the Kingdom of Prussia when that distant time arrives for a game of "Black Powder" using massed 28mm figures...  

First Franco-Prussian Clash

Prussian troops surge...the wrong way...furious Franco-Prussian action from three weeks ago!

As you will have seen here and there amid recent postings I have started collecting and painting figures for gaming the Franco-Prussian War of 1870 in 28mm.  While I do aspire to do larger "Black Powder" type games, getting all the necessary figures done will take a bit of time.  But skirmish games can come along a lot quicker! I have been painting some amazing figures from "Eagles of Empire" and basing them individually for skirmish gaming purposes.  They finally saw their first action a few weeks ago!

Curt was in Winnipeg for a brief visit, so I took the chance to drag into the maiden game for the figures.  The scenario was simple - a skirmish on the outskirts of Wissembourg in the opening phases of the war.   

Dallas trying to encourage his figures with proper direction...in the foreground to the left, my Jagers were a touch skittish...shouldn't the regular chaps be leading this thing?

For rules we used...well, Black Powder! And it worked very well for an all-skirmish engagement.  Curt and Bill took command of the French forces, trying to defend a ruined farm house from what they told themselves were small probing attacks from a Prussian screening force (in the actual battle, these in fact would be among the lead elements of a Corp-sized German formation that would roll over the French division in the area).  The French had four squad-sized infantry units, with one forward-deployed in the ruined farmhouse, offering excellent cover and firing positions. 

Prussians moving forward...a possible coordinated assault is looming...

Uh-oh! Command blunder!! That will not help the attack go in...

Dallas and I took command of the Prussian forces.  Dallas led four squad-sized elements of Prussian regulars, and I took command of two squads of Jagers. We would have six turns to drive the French away from the objective - and could even call up an extra squad of regulars should we deem one to be spent.  

The French reinforcements were slow to arrive, but why hurry - and interrupt such a gallant defence of the building to their front?

Both sides features many unfortunate command rolls.  For our part, we could not get the Prussians to make the most of their advantage in numbers, and while we held out under the Chassepot rifle fire, the squads attacked the target building piecemeal, and were driven back. 

The Prussians try to force the matter...

But with no success, the Chassepot rifles continue to pour out a cracking fire...

The French, for their part, seemed reluctant to move forward and support that one squad in the building, with order rolls often coming up short.  They compensated, however, with a gallant defence, clinging to their position even as losses increased.  In the end, a victory for the French! The Prussians would have been forced to bring up the artillery to deal with the pesky French troops...

Big thanks to Curt, Bill and Dallas for playing.  It was super-fun to get these figures out on the to table and play a first Franco-Prussian war game, I hope the first of many, as I am really, really loving the period. And special thanks to Curt for driving in to visit from Regina, AND for taking ALL of these photos! Was wonderful to see you dude. 

Painting Challenge Wrap-Up - More 28mm Fanco-Prussian War

Troops for the Franco-Prussian war continue to mass in my kitchen...

As the end of this latest edition of the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge approached, I thought it would be a good idea to get back to the project that drove my first several submissions - the Franco-Prussian war of 1870-71.  This final submission contained another group of Prussian infantry and a group of French cavalry in 28mm.  All of the castings are from the excellent "Eagles of Empire".

Lots of character and animation in these sculpts

As always the ubiquitous coats are wrapped around the bodies of the Prussian troops

The infantry are intended to round out my initial Prussian infantry force. "Rounding out" is one of the primary mind tricks that leads to an enormous unpainted lead pile in my basement, but can also prove useful.  I had four Prussian infantry groups, three of seven models and one of just four models, and I had it in my head that I wanted all of the units to be eight models strong.  So this batch did the trick!

Dreyse "needle" rifles at the ready for the assault on France

Up next, some cavalry, the first cavalry I have painted for this period.  These are French Hussars - six mounted rankers and an officer (on the rectangular base to stand out a bit).

Officer ready to lead a valiant (and probably fatal) charge in defence of the Second Empire

Tremendous animation in the cavalry sculpts - the officer looks like he is going to charge right off the base!

I found it challenging to get clear references on the uniforms the French Hussars wore in this period.  References are never perfect, and an added challenge is that the French light cavalry seemed to be in the middle of a change to their uniform pattern when war came in 1870.  Those sorts of processes never were smooth in peace time, never mind war, so I don't really know which unit was wearing what, but I ***think*** this might be the look of the 2nd Hussars, although I might have goofed on several elements (including the colour of the pompom etc).  Oh well.

For the Emperor! And later...the Republic!

Incredible animation in these sculpts

While the "Death Ride" of the Prussian Cavalry at the battle of Mars-La Tour is infamous in the minds of cavalry fans, the Franco-Prussian War was a graveyard for cavalrymen.  With bolt-action rifles and breech-loading artillery, massed battle cavalry mostly ended up with terrible losses.  So the fate of these fellows on the table is likely to be grim...

In 1870 these units looked glorious, but in the thick of battle, the time of cavalry was coming to an end...

As before, the Eagles of Empire sculpts stand out, with a tall, lean character.  This style of sculpting was not my favourite, but over the months of working on these figures I have really come to enjoy them a lot. They are real beauties, and Soren and the group at Eagles of Empire are just fantastic to deal with - I recommend them highly!  The cavalry in particular also have a tremendous energy and animation to them, like at any moment they will come alive and charge.

Hussars - flashy boys of the light cavalry arm

One additional note to share with you all - a big "thank you" to Challenger JohnM.  Back in early January I submitted a group of French infantry from the period which included a command base and a regimental standard - but the standard was lacking an eagle.

A new eagle for my 1870 French forces!

JohnM was kind enough to mail me a few spare eagles! I fixed one to the previously finished command stand.  A few weeks ago these troops saw their first-ever action on the Fawcett Avenue Conscripts gaming tables, and the Second Empire French troops had a regimental eagle to defend proudly!  Thank you so much John!!

Action from the gaming table last week - French infantry defend their country against a Prussian assault, the presence of their eagle stiffening their resolve!

With a total of seven mounted 28mm figures and another eight 28mm foot figures, this submission was good for another 110 points, taking me past my 1,000 point target from back in December!  Unfortunately work went bonkers, and I wasn't able to add anything else before the Challenge concluded, but I'm still glad to have beaten my target.

So, another Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge has come and gone.  Was little tougher this year due to some outside issues, but still a lot of fun, and a lot of great stuff finished. Looking forward to next year!