Austrian Artillery

Here are some Austrian guns of an earlier paint job this summer. All models are 30 mm scale by the Austrian foundry "Diez". Unfortunately, they do not sell online, but some of their extra fine class casts can be purchased at Berliner Zinnfiguren at www.zinnfiguren.com . The front piece is the 7-pdr light howitzer. The big one is a Lichtenstein/Feuerstein 24-pdr siege gun. Behind is the regular 6-pdr cannon. The 2 pieces in the right back ground are a self made 3-pdr regimental piece and the 12-pdr Feuerstein field cannon. All are Diez foundry except for the 3-pdr.

Below is a short review of my Austrian 1753 Lichtenstein ordnance. 

First is the 3-lb regimental piece 'Regiments Stück’. The piece being mounted on a 5 by 10 cm base for play. The model is a selfmade piece of which I did a total of 4. Carriage is balsa wood and metal fittings are made from cut aluminium, nails, and wire The wheels are foundry casts, and the barrel is a conversion from another barrel scaled to match the size.
To my taste, the Diez foundry cast barrel is scaled too skinny in the front part of the barrel, at it's muzzle ring section. The pole of the No. 1 gunner's rammer would have a larger diameter then the barrel, really. I didn't like that, so I just made my own model.

Above image is an illustration from the artillery manual. It shows the 3-pdr advancing. Not sure if this is 7YW period. The source doesn't date it. Gunners have white breeches. This may either be summer's dress white linen instead of the brown wool worn at other times, or this illustration might show post 7YW uniform of around 1769?!?. Also note the illustrated gun comes without the metal fittings on the wheels as with my model.

This is the M1753 6-pdr field gun or ’Falcon’. I did 2 of them to add into my artillery parc. Note the distinctive iron fittings in the front of the carriage. Those 4 rings to employ the advancing pole for manhandling the piece in action. My above self made 3-pdr model has only 2 of them as I failed to do more for technical matters. The gunners are part of 4 newly painted gun teams I did this summer. Miniatures are by Scholtz/Berliner Zinnfiguren. I did them with a rather light "wolfsgrau" (wolf-grey) shade of greyish brown, This should be more authentic a colour then my older miniatures manning the 3-pdr or the below 12-pdr field gun. The contemporary gouache illustration also serving as good reference. Gouaches on paper do not darken as do oil on canvas paintings, thus, preserve the original colours much better. I guess I will have to redo all of my older gunners and give them coats in lighter shade.

This is one of my two 12-pdr field guns. The gunners are mostly by Ochel foundry (www.kieler-zinnfiguren.de) painted many years ago.

This truly awesome giant cannon is the 24-pdr siege gun I purchased this summer. Overall barrel length was approx. 3 meters or 10 ft. Actually I wanted to buy a 3rd 12-pdr at the Diez booth, but all were sold. I then saw this wonderfull model and could not leave without buying it. Not sure if Diez got the carriage right. Note, it comes with an additional travelling trunnion position. According to Stephen Summerfield excellent research in his book "Napoleonic Artillery", just the 12 and 18-pdr carriages of the Lichtenstein ordnance had them, not the 24-pdr.

Profile view of the 24-pdr siege gun. The gunner miniatures are all now available at Berliner Zinnfiguren. It's a series of highly animated figures in "meleed by cavalry" motions. It is cannoniers from the German artillery regiment as well as artillery fusiliers. The latter can be distinguished by their gaitors instead of the boots worn by the cannoniers, and their white coloured waist belt cartrige box. The cannoniers having black ones.

This as the 7-lb light field howitzer, approx. 5 to 6 inch class with the French/English system of entitlement.