I promised it wouldn’t be long before I added to the growing forces of Prunkland, so here I present Von Klinkertor Kürassiere, veterans of the Sittangbad game staged at Partizan a couple of years ago alongside Von Eintopf Musketeers (see Battlegames magazine issue 4, picture on p.18). Of course, they were veterans of the Wars of the Faltenian Succession long before that, having been involved in every campaign from 1741 to 1745, and their guidon bears the battle honours of Martinstadt, Niffelgletsch and Schmickelhofbrücke, as well as the more recent battles against Borscht of Momplitz and Kwitzelwitsch. As a souvenir of that wonderful day spent with The War Gamers at Kelham Hall, I have cheekily added Sittangbad to the list as well!
The bases have been made from the same 0.8mm ply that I bought from 4D Models in London; you could, of course, have the bases pre-cut for you by Litko Aerosystems who create an amazing array of useful things for wargamers.
The guidon was created using the same system as for the infantry colours, but I realised that this was the opportunity for me to establish the form that all Prunkland’s cavalry flags would take. I decided to create three shapes, to help differentiate the different types of cavalry: a guidon for cuirassiers, somewhat resembling that used by British cavalry, with a half-round end bisected by a ‘dart’ shape cutout; a square flag for dragoons, which pays homage to their origins as mounted infantry; and a classic swallow-tailed design for the light cavalry. You’ll see them all in due course, but here’s a close-up of the one carried by Von Klinkertor Kürassiere.
Next on the painting table are Von Renscher Musketeers, but I shall also be re-basing all Prunkland’s artillery. I also uncovered a lovely selection of wagons and carriages and limbers that I had ordered from Minifigs ages ago, and have started assembling them. Real little gems, these, nominally quite a ‘pure’ 25mm, but as background pieces for most games, and occasionally taking centre stage in wagon train type scenarios, they are ideal. See the wagons in their Napoleonic list (they are clearly described as not all being Napoleonic!) and some bits right at the bottom of their SYW list.
I was also very fortunate to have received an unexpected boon to my collection of original plastic Spencer Smiths lately. I was doing some work updating the Spencer Smith website when Peter Johnstone uncovered about 200 of the marching musketeers, which I happily accepted as part of my fee! You will be seeing these as they come under my brush in due course.
I am also delighted because it looks as though my dear friend Steve Gill, who proof-reads Battlegames for me, is making noises about wanting to get involved with the command of the forces of Borscht, and has already made some sartorial suggestions for their uniform. From my point of view, this is wonderful news, as it will help maintain the momentum of painting and organising forces, and as you all know, I’m a campaign man to the core, itching to start manoeuvring forces on my maps again. For Steve, the experience will be a novelty, as he has never had the opportunity to fight a campaign before, although he has of course been reading my Wars of the Faltenian Succession series in the magazine with more of an eye for detail than most!
So, lots to keep the momentum going, but it’s at this point that I have to down tools and turn all my attention to the production of issue 13 of the magazine, due to go to print in a couple of weeks time at the latest. Plenty of midnight oil to be burned between now and then!
Ah, you really know how to rouse one’s curiosity! I’ll be watching for your rules to come out. Any chance we might get a peek in a future issue of Battlegames?
Best Regards,
Stokes
Henry,
I posted my question -rather hastily- assuming that the units were to be used with “The Wargame” rules.
Now I’m really looking forward towards reading your own interpretation of horse and musket wargaming.
Thanks again for the last couple of really inspirational writings…what is your secret?
Pete
aka rf2peter
Thanks, Pete
Your question about the command stand is indeed moot, and I can see what you have done is eminently sensible, depending on the rules you use. Historically, of course, the colour party in the centre of a unit was subjected to a great deal of attention from enemy artillery and musketry, which is why the place of greatest danger in the line was also considered to attract the greatest honour.
My own battlefield rules are currently at the playtesting stage, so I don’t want to reveal too much, but in terms of visual presentation, they owe as much to Gilder’s original In the Grand Manner rules as they do to Grant’s The War Game. Grant – unlike Young in Charge!, for example – was notoriously lax about saying where precisely officers should be placed in a unit, and I have always rather liked the visual effect of having the unit’s colours and senior ranks front and centre. To a certain extent, its presence is symbolic, as the only individual of specific importance is the colonel, and figures on this base do not have the ability to shoot. Should an ensign fall, his place would be taken by another officer or NCO who would pick up the colours and take his place. When shot at, the colonel can be given a “Look out, sir!” rule or saving throw.
In mêlée it might, however, be possible for the enemy to actually capture one or both of the colours or, indeed, the colonel himself, so the figures on the command stand are able to fight and are, in fact, pretty tough, as the RSM and other NCOs would be right there in the thick of it, skewering assailants with their partizans and snarling like tigers.
As far as morale indicators go, the morale rules work slightly differently. You’ll see… 😉
Henry,
excellent pictures of fabulous units.
I have a question: I experimented with bases in the past and found a similar solution to yours. I did leave the command figures seperate for two reasons…the bunched command group was easily wiped out by a lucky artillery shot, so they were spread amongst the rank and file and secondly I wanted to remove lost command figures as a moral indicator. How do see this in your game?
Regards
Pete
Henry
super figures and excellent flag – I must visit your Blog far more often.
best wishes
Alan
Hello Henry,
Lovely work on your cavalry basing scheme and the regimental guidon, and I can’t wait to see some in-progress photos of your MiniFigs gear and that next unit of Spencer Smith musketeers. I’ve become a real fan of the SSM 18th century range in the last couple of years and have enjoyed the various photos of your own collection (and the Charles Grant collection) enormously during that time. Have fun!
Best Regards,
Stokes
Henry,
Really lovely to see as always, and your flags are very impressive.
I had a Spencer Smith find of my own this week, as I finally received a box of ~60 Spencer Smith plastic figures that were given to me for the cost of postage by a fellow clearing out his collection. I’m itching to find time to sort them out into units.
Jonathan
Bravo Henry – fine figures indeed – and I especially like the flag design….
I would also echo your happiness with the Minifigs wagons etc. I’ve been using them for some time now, as they are particularly elegant… there’s a view of some of mine here:
http://tinyurl.com/3zyf5q
…I think these are the one’s listed as WAG 5 (2 Wheeled Forage Wagon)..
Michael, I can see what you mean about the tinyurls, but they do take you right to where you need to go. Quite why the strange stuff happens in between (I notice that the preview shows the tinyurl site as the thumbnail, for instance) I don’t know.
I print the flags onto Epson Photo Quality Inkjet Paper, which has a matt finish.
As for Mr Gill, that’s fighting talk, sir! Believe me, wars have begun on smaller pretexts than an insult like that!
The Prunkland tarts may look splendid with their pretty uniforms and beautiful flags but there must be considerable doubt as to how they’ll fare against the grizzled veterans of Borscht.
Assuming the latter can stay sober and not break their ankles…
Nice banners and miniatures, as always. Wish MiniFigs had more pictures on their site! For some reason I could not get the tinyurls to work but could go straight to the page you referenced in them. Weird.
Do you print your banners off on normal paper or do you use a glossy/photo paper?