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Showing posts with label
My SYW Personality Commanding Generals.
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Showing posts with label
My SYW Personality Commanding Generals.
Show all posts
Below see some images of a newly remastered SYW command stand of mine. Its the Erbprinz, awestruck nicknamed "Achilles" by his French opponets. I have redone the laces of his coat making a better match to the Brunswick Leib-Regiment officers dress. The Kassel Museums Collection has a portrait of him dated 1763 where he looks just this way including the popular black hunting dress breeches. The saddlecloth is my own guess work. The portrait shows him along with his family “dismounted” missing the horse.
His entourage is made up or a newly painted officer of the Hannoverian Jägers (green dress). He may be Winzigerode or captain Friedrichs, adding the so much needed intelligence to his staff. He certainly does have the bigger spy-glass.
The two black uniformed blokes are his personal Garde d'Honneur. Its a troop of the Buckebourg Black Carabiniers. I painted them many years ago. Make no mistake – if you should ever make it to the gates of Walhalla, those very two gentlemen will receive you, for they'll be the Gate Guards. No doubt. You better know the Parole or watchword. If you miss it, you will not pass. They'll show you the short-cut way straight to hell, instead.
My current paint-job is yet another French general command stand. I noticed that I am missing a real "maréchal de France" as commander-in-chief. Some years ago, I purchased some very pretty flats from the French foundry Segom (see: www.figurines-soldats.com ).
My choice for my "maréchal de Broglie" will be Segom's figure of Louis XV which they did after the famous painting by Horace Vernet "The Triumph of Fontenoy" (1745) I believe it is titled, and on display at Versailles.
I'm sure the dusty remains in Mr. le duc de Broglie's tomb will vitalise for a second or two in a most wonderous way if his spirit in the hall of Valhalla will ever receive notice of this gracious reverence of mine. The Segom Fontenoy Louis XV figure just makes the best chef-of-it-all for my French army. I'm not aware sa majesté ever took the effort traveling all the way to Germany and visit his fine Army of the Main river or the Weser. So, I have no need for the king himself to command my French troops.
Above see a portrait of Mr. le Duc de Broglie in the dress of a French Maréchal. Not sure if it is 7YW period. I doubt it. It is more likely post 7YW. But it shouldn't be so off the earlier dress. It will serve as my guide for the lacing. My maréchal's entourage will be a stylish Hussar officer from the Legion Royale with exotic pelisse and shabraque – it will be of leopard or jaguar fur – and an officer of the Gendarmes de la Reine (red dress). All are by Segom. The fourth officer on the beige coloured horse is by Kieler Zinnfiguren. I haven't decided yet what rank he will be. Possibly a maréchal-de-camp. Behind these four command figures, you see a set of figures that will become the foot elements of the Volontaires de Clermont. All are still WIP. I will post more images once they are all done.
Here they are now completed 21 March. The red dressed officer of the Gendarmes de la Reine, I did very closely after Segom's template, an illustration by Lucien Rousselot.
And below see the for gentlemen based as my new commander-in-chief ready for play.
I love the looks of this junior hussar officer with his most stylish big-cat-skin shabraque. Obviously, the very restricted VIP area of French high command cannot be accessed without looking very stylish. After all, they are all gens de Paris.
Below see also my meanwhile completed Volontaires de Clermont-prince.
I have completed three more French general-staff figures. The centre figure will be my new Mr. le comte de Guerchy. He was also colonel of the regiment Du Roi (IR12). Therefore I thought of having a staff-officer of this regiment at his side. The right figure is another French lieutenant-général.
As you can see, the full cuirasse has become the new fashion among the French. I love their looks. I should have done that with earlier paint jobs.
While painting, I detected a minor flaw. Note the centre Guerchy comes with a different coloured shabraque. The front face one is blue, while it is red on the reverse side :-))). The heck. With my flats you can only see one side at a time, anyway.
My latest paint job is 2 command stands that are once more going to represent historical generals and their escort. It is my latest work-in-progress. You'll have a first look at them while I'm busy doing the shading business of the horses. I'm getting quite excited about my new personality generals command stands, and that is the reason why I'll post images before they are all done. Will do that, of course, once the paint job is completed.
One will be John Manners, the marquis of Granby. Well, guess who it is.
He is seen in company of colonel Richard Peirson of the 1st Foot Guards and lieutenant-general Granby's personal orderly.
I took the above oil painting as my template for general Granby. What a giant horse he is mounting. My figure is really a Prussian staff-officer, but he will be just fine. He is posing in such a great "com'on up Guards and at 'em" gesture.
Mr. Peirson will be dressed in the officers dress of the 1st Foot Guards. In May 1760, the man assumed the unloved post as general commissioner of the army. He was responsible to release the funds for "His Royal Britannic Majesty's Army in Germany" from the British Treasure. He did dis job quite well, is seems. Never before Ferdinand‘s war chest had been filled better. Unfortunately, with the arrival of his own battalion during August this year, Peirson found so much more pleasure spending most of the day at the head of his lads exercising all sorts of martial arts that he now couldn‘t find enough time anymore to deal with those wretched Warrants. Again now, Ferdinand‘s finances sank into disorder.
Being effectively the paymaster of it all, I think this man to be a highly important individual worth being represented with this command stand. I wonder who‘s loss Fredinand would regret more – Granby or Mr. Peirson? Well, for the moment all is fine. The first shot directed at Granby‘s command post missed the both but instead hit Granby‘s poor orderly. From my German uniform source Friedrich Schirmer, I learned the man was a Hessian and dressed in hussar style. Schirmer gives some essentials regarding his dress: blue pelisse (missing here with his ‘summers dress’), white dolman (seen), blue breeches, red Hungarian boots, and a fur hat. That‘s all. The remaining details I had to make up myself by employing naked guesswork.
The other will be the French general of cavalry Mr. le duc de Fitz-James.
He will be in company of a trooper of his own regiment (Fitz-James Cavalerie) representing his garde d'honneur, and a trumpeter. To my personal taste, I came to believe trumpets always look smart in company of cavalry generals. This one of the Bercheny hussars will join another cavalry general to replace a trumpeter of the heavy cavalry in royal livery (see below image). The letter will then be commandeered to the staff of Fitz-James. Fitz-James will wear a blackened cuirasse ontop his blue generals coat. That's why I fetched the two men of the Gendarmerie as template for this paint job.
These I have done many years ago, but they remain my single best painted suits of armour. I hope to get at least close to this again. I should note, neither figure comes with engraved or sculptured armour. I simply painted it over their dress. You can do that with flats pretty well.
Finally – 6 weeks later! – they are all done now. I suffered from a serious restraint of touching my brushes.
Here they are now: That's mylord Granby and staff.
And here we have Mr. le duc de Fitz-James & staff.
His suit of armour looks nice. I'm very pleased with the result. The morale of my French cavalerie will be at its best, now that it is commanded by such a smart looking general. I can hear the the troopers cheering and singing:
lalala...
"Buvons un coup, buvons en deux
"A la santé des amoureux
"A la santé du Roi de France,
"Et merde pour le Roi d'Angleterre,
"Qui nous a déclaré la guerre.
