Second Hand Swedes

As you may or may not know, I have a 1/72 scale WSS/GNW project running, with actually quite good progress, only I hadn't properly photographed everything. The figures are safely packed away for now in a 8l plastic box.

I got the 'From Narva to Poltava' big box made by Strelets for last Christmas (among other things), and this includes twelve Swedish pikemen and the same amount of musketeers. For obvious reasons, this is not the best distribution, chief among them the fact that my sixteen-figure units contain one central element of four figures and two 'wings' of six figures. 

(Of course it means different base sizes within a unit, but my OCD wouldn't let me get away with the command element not being perfectly in the middle.)

As I completely ran out of Swedish musketeers (that is because I traded my GNW collection for some Perry HYW figures IIRC before our previous move), I had to find more. Zvezda, being a Russian company, does not really import anymore to the EU and they only re-released their stuff once some time ago, so resources are scant.

As mentioned on the 'Carp to Gold' build log, my significant other convinced me to register on the second hand marketplace app Vinted, and just by searching for Zvezda, I hit the jackpot: not one, but two sellers offering used GNW Swedish figures.

I bought both and they were with me in a little while, about sixty figures in total (plus a complete unused box of Swedish artillery, and thirty-odd Streltsi, all for good use). I washed them, removing some of the old paint, and using the remaining unpainted Strelets pikemen, organized them to battalions, trying to maintain similar poses throughout. I made the above reference picture before stowing them away, but fortunately I could find a box with internal compartments, so I probably won't mix them up.

The wonders of the internet I guess! Now, on to painting them (after a unit of Russian foot, test pieces for my AK Mint Green colour, and two more Saxon infantry are completed, among other things)...

The Böhnstadt Royal Frigate Dachshund sets sail

After a failed attempt, I managed to produce the first of the small scale Schultze-Böhnstadt Navy frigates, the famed Dachshund. There is no fixed scale, I just made her to a slightly smaller size than comparable 1/450 and 1/600 scale models like the Heller Le Superbe, La Couronne, and the Revell Spanish Galeon, all of which I'm using as contemporary warships. 

The Dachshund was completed to protect Schultze-Böhnstadt overseas interest, guard trading routes and present the flag around the globe. There are whispers that an Albionic-led anti-piracy squadron is due to assemble at the northern Barfrican coast, near the famed Pirate Bay, and she might be needed there.

Metamorphosis, Part 2

This is the now hardly recognizable Revell Spanish Galleon as an early 18th century warship. The complete facelift includes: scratch-building the entire bow section, the sails and the masts; replacing the oar deck with gunports; and raising the stern gallery while adding larger windows for the officers' cabins. This is how she became Konung Harald XVI Jordgubbvän, a proud Varangian ship of the line, as the various flags are showing.

Metamorphosis

Some of you may know that I'm cheap when it comes to the hobby. On one hand, this hones my scratchbuilding skills, on the other, it makes for interesting projects.

1/2000 Sailing Ships

Something a little bit different from WW1-era ships, these are small scratchbuilt vessels that I intend to use for my Schultze-Böhnstadt ImagiNations. On the above image a Tekirdagian pirate fleet comprised of a xibec, three galleys and two galiots.

And this is the allied anti-piracy squadron made up of the Böhnstadt frigates Jagdhund and Schweinhund, and the Armagnac 74-gun ships of the line Piété and Humilité.

The hulls are a balsa composite of 1mm and 2mm sheets, the sails are paper and bamboo, the rigging is made of brush bristles. At 1/2000, these medium-sized ships of the line reach a bit over 2cm, and most of them are based on 15mm by 40mm bases. They are very simple to assemble and paint, look great from a distance, and are a lot cheaper than 1/2400 metal models.

I left enough space on the base so that small markers could fit. I have three rule sets that I will be able to use with them: Kiss Me Hardy, Fighting Sail and Galleys&Galleons, and I think all of them use some sort of marker or another.

SYW/GNW figs

Here's a makeshift post with a makeshift photographing setup, four units of various 18th century bits, Revell and Zvezda figures. These were done a few months back but I was lazy to make a post about them.
I'm really glad Zvezda re-issued their GNW boxes, it looks like there is a demand for these and I may just pick up a few next month.
Same thing with the Revell re-issuing their old SYW figures, very useful and cost effective, if not the prettiest sets.

The Merchant Ship sets sail

Apologies for the delay, I just had no setup to make good pictures. It turns out that the flash on my old Fuji camera is actually working, I just have to pry and keep it open with my fingers.

Anyway, here it is, with removable top masts and a small crew fit to serve a merchant vessel. All the sails except one are made from cloth, the masts are bamboo kebab sticks, which is a really awesome scratchbuilding material if you find the right quality.

GNW Russian (?) artillery

This is a mixed lot of Zvezda and Strelets gun crews, originally Swedes, but as they have the long cuffs, they pass as Russians as well. I know the Russian gunners had a red vest, but I like this color combination better.

Pirate Party

Finally, they are here. A band of seven nasty pirates (one for each sea I guess). I have also made stats for them in Flashing Steel.

Six figures are from the Zvezda GNW Swedish artillery box, and one is from their Russian counterparts I found lying around. They were given various weapons and I modified a few poses as well - separate arms are useful for this kind of work.

GNW Swedish artillery

I ordered this Zvezda set from an Italian ebay store. It has lots of horses, guns and crew, and plenty of options for conversion.

Kliszów in 6mm

As the weather turned for the worse, I chose not to install the 8x5" table, and just tested the Kliszów scenario I wrote for Maurice with the 6mm collection. Yes, this is what lacking a camera flash does in such conditions.

Above, a quick Swedish advance hardly threatened by the Saxon center.

The Böhnstadt Royal Cutter 'SMS Springend'

This was a simple one-hour build, from the remaining materials I had lying around after the Dachshund was complete. It's a small, compact one-mast vessel of four guns.

The Böhnstadt Royal Frigate 'SMS Dachshund'

After a good year or so I've returned to this project and re-designed the ship as a whole, sealing every 2nd gunport, adding smaller wooden cannon and a longer quarterdeck.

Kliszów 1702 - Terrain building

Filling a 200x150cm (8 by 6ft) table with enough terrain is kind of a difficulty. Procejts like these always make me realize just how little terrain I've got.

So, in order of completion (more or less), I have built the following items:

• about 250cm of streams
• two redoubts
• half a dozen bogs and marshes
• four bridges
• two wooden huts
• an Objective marker (not pictured)

Kliszów 1702 - Bringing the Poles up to date

The Polish cavalry force for the battle is complete. They might look a bit archaic, but I found no other suitable figures. 

Four groups had to be repaired/highlighted, and the blue husaria unit had to be painted from the start as they were stripped some time ago.

Kliszów 1702 - Terrain layout

I'm attempting to keep a track of what I need for the table - streams are going to be a problem. 

Fortunately, I can make lots of swamps from used CDs and DVDs.

As the height is not a very pronounced one (see the previous post), I'm planning to build it out of  a 6mm or 10mm styrene sheet.

I've used the above image from Wikipedia to kind of get the measures right. Of course the villages will differ in size, and as the units themselves are a bit compressed, all other terrain pieces will probably need some resizing.

Project: Kliszów 1702

(Lengthy post ahead)

With good weather back and the GNW Swedish army bolstered in ranks, I hereby set out to play a rare historical scenario. Rare in both meanings: I rarely play historical battles (it involves lots of preparation), and Kliszów is rarely played, although it is an interesting clash in the initial stages of the wars of Karl XII.

Karl XII and Ivan Mazepa

Still working on the Strelets figures, this time a small diorama of Karl XII of Sweden and his best buddy. Not as limited in use as some might think (for a while I was thinking about a Maurice de Saxe conversion instead).

Barbary Coast pirate ship

As I mentioned in the previous sailing-related post, I love me a good scratchbuild. Which this ship is, 100%. It resembles the Mediterranean Xebec, an elegant and fast ship. Although slightly less elegant, it is compact and ready for use.

A bit of Gå–På every day

Since its arrival, I have been working on the Strelets 'From Narva to Poltava' big box at a steady pace. You can inspect most of its contents above.