PRE-1850 AUSTRIAN GRENADIER

This is the latest in an ongoing project of mine, the working title of which is Chocolate Box Wars. I'll say more about this in later posts, but the focus of it is the continental armies and wars of the 19th Century (in 28mm). Despite there being some excellent figures available, there are huge gaps in the lines, forcing you to improvise to get a complete force. Thus far, I've had good luck repurposing figures from other eras and doing some minor figure modifications to do 1st Schleswig Holstein War Danes, of which I've been posting  on TMP (and I might repost those here at some point). Now that I've got a blog, I'll start posting here. This is my latest production. 

I've got a start on the Austrian Army, with an eye towards the pre-1850 uniforms. One reason for this is that the grenadiers lost their bearskins in 1850. The 1836 bearskin, however, is a departure from the Napoleonic version. As can be seen in the below illustrations, the distinctive plate on the front is gone (instead there is a grenade badge), the sharp peak at the top is gone and more rounded, and the entire thing has become more bushy.

(Images below are from: Left: The Austrian Army, 1836-66, Osprey Men-at-Arms 323, Darko Pavlovic; Right: Gustav Ritter Amon von Treuenfest: Geschichte des k. k. Infanterie-Regimentes Hoch- und Deutschmeister Nr. 4. Wien 1879, After p. 503)

German and Hungarian Grenadier

Note squared top in this illustration

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Below is an image sent to me by Bruce that he mentions taking when he was in the Army Museum in Vienna. Seems that the largish cockade I did was about right. Very instructive (and I'm relieved to see that I managed to conform to the model!). 

Now THAT's a bearskin. Thanks, Bruce!

I began the project by selecting the Eagle Figures Napoleonic Austrian Grenadier with rolled greatcoat. It struck me that the rolled greatcoat gave the figure a post-Napoleonic flavor--you usually don't see Austrian grenadier figs in rolled greatcoats. I originally was going to make these German infantry, but once I shaved the buttons off of the leggings, they were spot on for the tight pants and low boots of the Hungarians, so I went with that (even though it meant applying my limited talent to trying to do the black and yellow striping and thigh knots).

Below you can see the starting point. The grenadier officer is a particularly striking figure. I took some green stuff and added some bulk to the headgear, taking the peak off of the top and covering up the plate. I left a small flat area on the front so that I could paint in the grenade. I then roughed up the texture a bit to simulate the fur and to pick up the highlights I would apply later. I also shaved down the oak sprig/cockade combination on the original and then added a clean cockade in green stuff (which in some illustrations appears almost like a half ball, which is good given that I couldn't get it much smaller!).

Eagle Figures Napoleonic Austrian Grenadiers

Comparison of before and after for grenadier and officer

The results of the experiment below. I don't have a painting style that I can describe. I use a mix of whatever the figure seems to call for. This was my first whack at white uniformed troops, so I did a bit of everything: a bit of black lining, a bit of wash, a bit of highlighting/drybrushing.   Click to enlarge.

The Eagle Figures will fit in well with Perry and North Star 28mm

I think the blanket rolls are a nice touch on these figures. 

The cockades are a bit large, but work at gaming distance.

I'm happy with how the grenade came out.