Austrian conversions

With all the French painted lately, I thought I could add more figures to the opposing armies as well. I've had some lying around, but only a handful of each variety, so I've started experimenting with other sorts of troops not represented this far.

This is what the end results are:

• A 6-figure (4-base) unit of Dragoons
• A cavalry artillery howitzer and limber
• Six Grenzer of the 14th Székely Regiment
• Eight Jäger

The light infantry could form a three- and a four-base unit, respectively, their individual bases having the same frontage.

These are Italeri 1805-6 Prussian cuirassier figures with crested helmets from the Italeri infantry box, riding Zvezda Saxon horses. The nags are not entirely suitable for the job, but from a distance, who could tell? They wear the black turnbacks of Dragoon Rgt 1 (Erzherzog Johann) and were completed rather hastily, lacking the final coat of varnish.

The limber and wurst gun are probably my favorite pieces, both scratchbuilt minus the cannon wheels, from pine wood, toothpicks and green stuff. The crew is two Italeri servicemen, one of them received a green stuff bicorne while the other has retained the helmet.

The limber's wheels are made from PVA-soaked paper, perhaps not the prettiest, but with a little practice I think I could master the art of cartwheel-making.

These Grenzer would be Italeri line grenadiers, with the top of the bearskins cut off and replaced with a piece of plastic sprue. Perhaps the shakos are too big, but then again, so are the figures' heads. The shako buttons and plumes are made from GS.

Last but not least, eight HäT Landwehr with their muskets cut in half - the rest fits the Jäger well. I still don't like these figures - soft plastic and ugly sculpting -, but they do the job.