Freikorps von Kleist.

Another slow week on the painting front I'm afraid which is probably to be expected after another 80 hour week, but here just to fill in for real progress are a couple of pictures of von Kleists Freikorps taken in the late evening sun:

a little bit of work to do yet, namely finishing the hussars off & sourcing artillery but at this rate should be done by Christmas.

Seven Years War Test Figures.

As I might have mentioned in an earlier post I always like to complete a single figure before starting to batch paint a unit. It seems to speed up the process once batch painting commences & it gives me the chance to start again if a fabulous full sized colour scheme doesn't translate into miniature form.

The latest miniatures to be subjected to this indignity are:

Frei Hussar von Kleist, the least green of Kleist's units

Dragoon Regt. No. 9 Aspremont Linden or Savoyen.

The hussar is a Foundry miniature from their generic hussar range for the SYW, it always amazes me how much ramage these supposedly light cavalry were expected to drag around.
The Austrian Dragoon is a Crusader figure; really like the statuesque horse sculpt.

Austrian Hussars & Cuirassiers

The last of the Seven Years War miniatures that I originally started about ten years ago were completed last night:

The hussars are more Crusader miniatures, the heavies are Foundry Russian Cuirassiers standing in for Austrians. When I started this project Crusader hadn't released their cuirassiers so these had to stand in, however they are close enough to pass casual inspection.

More Seven Years War Austrians & a Gaming Antique.

Despite being busy as ever with work I've put in a concerted effort this week to get some serious painting done, aided & abetted somewhat by the reducing hours of daylight I might add. Much as I like  Autumn as a season the shortening days do herald the onset of Winter. Hopefully the upcoming one will be a short, sharp affair unlike the lingering bleakness of the last effort which was with us until Easter.
Anyway back to the main thrust of this post:

The completed Josef Esterhazy Regiment.

Sachsen-Gotha Dragoon Regiment.

Grenadiers, Infantry Regt Gyulai.

Grenadiers, Infantry Regt Haller.

All the above are from Crusader Miniatures, I do think the Austrian range is some of Mark Simms best work.
Finally the titular gaming antique is the piece of scenery the above are all photographed on which is a very old Bellona ECW Star Fort in 25mm scale. For those of you who don't remember Bellona made a series of vac-formed scenic items ranging from Celtic hillforts to WW1 trench systems. At one time these would have comfortably accommodated 25mm miniatures but modern 28mm figures dwarf them somewhat,