AWI: Grenadiers

A quick post for the last unit of British grenadiers for the Black Powder collection.

These are from BnB Miniatures and rank up nicely next to other manufacturers covering the period. Like the last unit, painted as combined grenadiers from different units in the field - hence different coloured facings and cuffs.

Also a small unit of (using what's left in the box) of French, Bourbonnais grenadiers from the Revell, Set 02574, Austrian Infantry. Another unit who were allowed to ware their Bearskins on campaign, despite the 1779 uniform ordonnance requiring grenadiers to wear tricorns.

AWI: 5th/14th Continental, Green Mountain Boys, Grenadier Guards

 
After a 12 month hiatus due to a chronic illness that kicked my arse, a few more units for Black Powder AWI. Can't believe its been 12 years since I started the collection, now with over 46 standard infantry units completed. I reckon I've got another 12 or so units to go plus a few bits and (light) bobs.

Uniforms are again from multiple references, mostly the Black Powder: Rebellion supplement, Osprey references, and internet searches.

5th/14th Continental

Another continental unit from the Italeri Set 6060 American Infantry set. Brown/tan jackets with red facings, tan breeches and waistcoats, and a generic flag.

Still love the command and musicians, have reversed the museos coat just for giggles.

Warner's - Green Mountain Boys

Another iconic unit of renown, this time made up of the slightly smaller IMEX Set 511, George Washington's Army (and a redcoat thrown in from their British set for a standard bearer).

Have done a mix of green hunting shirts, and shirts, with green coats and red facings for the officers. Also a number of hat swaps so that most are wearing the tricorn... with varying success.

Combined British Grenadiers - Guards

A small unit of grenadiers from BnB Miniatures, painted as if units of guards and blue facings have combined during a battle.

Go to admit after 12 years, I'm kinda over painting these guys, especially with the fantastic 28mm ranges now available. But think I'll persist, with a standard unit of combined grenadiers up next, along with a small unit of French, Bourbonnais, grenadiers to boot.

AWI: Lauzun's Legion

 

I still have a thing for the legions of this period, producing a brigade of horse, foot, and gun that's complete in itself. More so when it's Lauzun's Legion with their sky blue coats and yellow facings (and grey turnbacks). So I've gone for it and produced several units for Black Powder... which might be a disproportionate amount for the rest of the American allied army...

For the uniforms there were several searches on Google and a huge call out to Baccus 6mm Miniatures, Scenery, & Rules for producing their uniform guides - much used for this and many other units in this collection.

Fusiliers

There's two standard BP units of fusiliers, Volontaires-étrangers de Lauzun and Volontaires étrangers de la Marine. Its pretty hard to tell the difference at this scale as only the collar colours differ so most have either white or yellow collars per unit.

These are made up from Italeri Set 6043 French Infantry and the detail is good for 20mm. They were from the Lot 4 commission that Spiro Dotgeek completed, the final figures of that commission, and another joint effort to finish - adding shading.

The flags are the official flag from the Lauzun's reenactment group in the states, not sure if they're historically accurate though - but they look cool.

Chasseurs

I added a small BP unit of chasseurs mostly because it used the advancing figures left once all the standard fusilier units had been assigned to regiments and painted. Also from the Italeri box and Lot 4 mentioned above - but I changed my mind when shading and the original white and red Viennois chasseurs became Lauzun's 😁

Grenadiers

Probably the single biggest stretch of the imagination when using figures of a different period and nationality, to form AWI regiments from 1/72 scale figures. These are from the Revell Set 02574 

Austrian Infantry. The detail was pretty grim from the 30-year-old casting and I'm pretty sure its the wrong bearskin-covered grenadier cap. But it seems the foreign volunteers weren't covered by the 1779 uniform ordonnance so got to wear their bearskins.

Hussars

Continuing on with the craziness, a couple of units of hussars and a command element for the brigade. These are from the SYW Revell Set 02575 Prussian Hussars and are a close approximation of the uniform (pretty close except for the mirliton decoration and chaps).

First there's the 2nd Volontaires etrangers de la Marine and I'm not sure I've painted figures with so many different colours before.

Next there's 1st Volontaires etrangers de la Marine which, I'm pretty sure, only served in what was the West Indies at the time, although different pictorial sources conflict here. So, good for the collection but perhaps not once setting foot on American soil 😀

Then there's a close approximation of Lauzun himself in Hussar uniform. The mirliton is definitely incorrect as he's depicted with a giant bearskin. But a clearly identifiable command unit for a clearly identifiable BP brigade.

And of course there was this guy. This poor horse is going down. There's no other movement it can complete to recover, its front legs won't be able to take the weight of the rider and equipment, given the force of movement, and its back legs won't get underneath it in time - I've been exactly here when I missed a jump coming off another jump and tried to correct - result - eating dirt for horse and rider (and the rider goes over the top of the horse and flies - I can actually remember the wind whistling past and thinking it was going to hurt when I hit the ground, which it did)... either that or its bucking, see 'rider goes flying' comment.

So, cut the thing off the base at the grassy stump and carve a hole in the base, then insert grassy stump and cover with glue 😂, now it looks like its kicking out 👍

But that's the French completely finished. A brigade of Duc de Lauzun and a brigade of units that could feasibly be found at Yorktown. Onwards!

AWI: Combined Grenadiers, Regiments 4th Connecticut & 3rd New Jersey

 

With things available and readily at hand in our new place, I've been able to crank out some more units for the AWI collection, and snap some shots of the grenadiers I finished months ago.

3rd New Jersey

A suitably heroic unit rushing towards their freedom, 1776 pattern star spangled banner fluttering in the breeze.

These are from the Italeri set 6060, American Infantry box of awesomeness, one of four units left to do using these figures. I used the Uniforms of the American Revolution as a reference and it matched the Rebellion! supplement, so I though why not. The flag is once again from Warflag.com but printed at the local printer with better results than my home printer.

I've even used the single 'overly heroic' pose in the box (which you get three of in each box), even though I swore I'd never use it.

I'd swear, even after being wounded in the head, he's yelling "For freedom!" but then that would be mixing up Mel Gibson movies. But another standard unit for Black Powder: Rebellion! down.

4th Connecticut

Next up a small unit (16-odd figures) to bolster the numbers of the rebel ranks. Technically painted as the 4th Connecticut but the 2nd's flag. Not sure where the flag came from. I did a Google search on flags AWI, found it and shrunk it down to 1/72 size. I think its was someone's store... but printed at the local printer... 😨

These are actually from the IMEX set 512, British Redcoats, but having finished all the redcoats I wanted, with some snipping of bayonets, they've come up well. Again the uniform is from Uniforms of the American Revolution.

Combined Grenadiers

Finished these guys ages ago but they got stuffed in a box ready for moving. They're B n B Miniatures grenadiers and really like how they've turned out. Painted up as companies of grenadiers combined from other units, to make one big (standard) grenadier unit.

I um'd and ahh'd about which grenadiers to use and even bought Irregular Miniatures ones to begin with, but, although they were awesome figures, they were also awesomely accurate to scale - so way smaller than even the IMEX figures.

So I bought the B n B ones and they stack up well against everything else in the collection.

Next up, Tarleton's light horse is on the painting table (now I actually have a painting table again) - and my mate Spiro is finishing off Lot 4 of the commission he took on last year.