Close order spearmen

15mm figures by Lancashire Games.

Ghaznavid Army

The Ghaznavid army takes to the field. Figures by Essex, 15mm from one of their Ready Made Armies (RMA).

The army consists of 16 crossbow Daylami infantry, 24 medium infantry, 24 heavy infantry, 12 light cavalry, 21 heavy cavalry, 3 elephants with crew, and 2 mounted figures for command.

Barbed wire

I found this really good-looking barbed wire with "winter" finish from http://www.productsforwargamers.com/ - they are excellent.

Trench system

I purchased a nice terrain item when I was last in the UK. I can't remember the name of the manufacturer but it is perfect for my Stalingrad campaign that I hope to start in the new year.

Swiss pikes II

These Swiss pike are from the region of the Tessin, next to the Italian border.

Click on the photo to super-size it. I purchased these such a long time ago that I can not remember the manufacture's name - if anyone can help.

Swiss pikes I

No Swiss army would be complete without hordes of pikemen. Four blocks have been drilled in the art of pikemenship and head out to their summer quarters.

Click on the photo to super-size it.

Swiss archers

The first block of Swiss archers have been trained and take to the field. The Swiss were not big fans of the bow but, non-the-less, they formed part of most Swiss armies of the 1400s.

Click on the photo to super-size it.

Swiss monks

The Swiss army of 1450 never went to war without a good blessing and these monks will do just the job. Figures by Essex (again) 15mm range and I intend to base them within the units of infantry. Click on the photos to supersize them.

Swiss Crossbow

The first of the Swiss come off the production line...

Swiss 15mm Essex Crossbow (click on the photo to supersize them)

Ottoman: Polish Allies: Winged Hussars

A couple of members of the OSW (an especially big thank you to Nick) were kind enough to let me know that single and double winged hussars saw service in the early 1700s in the Ottoman Army as Polish allies.

Pictured here are Polish double-winged hussars (figures by Essex Miniautres 15mm range) that form part of my 1711 Moldovian Campaign Ottoman army.

(click on the photos to supersize them)

Colonia lulia equestris / Swiss - flag and crest

Pictured below is a statue of a Swiss soldier circa 1450 holding the banner of Nyon. A unit of these locals will, of course, be included in my Swiss Army (1450s) but a decendant of them will also be found in my Seven Years War army for Colonia lulia equestris.

Bosnian Frontiersmen

About a month ago I finished a unit of Bosnian Frontiersmen for my Ottoman army of the 1700s. The figures are Essex Miniature Ottoman Arnault/ Martheloses musketeers (RNO13) to which I added Ottoman Mtd. General and body-guard (RNO18) as a command.

Essex Miniatures

I have recently purchased the following Essex Miniature Prussians from Henry, God only knows when I will find time to paint these 600+ figures!

SYP1 Prussian Musketeer advancing (96)
SYP2 Prussian Musketeer at the ready (56)
SYP3 Prussian Musketeer command (24)
SYP4 Prussian Fusilier advancing (128)
SYP6 Prussian Fusilier command (24)
SYP7 Prussian Grenadiers advancing (32)
SYP9 Prussian Grenadier command (12)
SYP23 Prussian Jäger de Noble advancing (24)
SYP13 Prussian Artillerymen (84)
SYP17 Prussian Dragoons (52)
SYP18 Prussian Dragoons command (6)
SYP15 Prussian Cuirassier(8)
SYP16 Prussian Cuirassier command (3)
SYP19 Prussian Hussar (mirliton) (15)
SYP21 Prussian Mounted General & Staff Officers (3)
SYP28 Von Kleist lancers (32)
SYP29 Von Kleist command (6)

I'll pick them up later this month when I go to the UK.

Sorting out the Prussians

My minifig SYW Prussian foot have arrived and the last few days I have been sorting them into units. This is how each of my Prussian Line Battalions will be organised:

60 Musketeers (4 divisions of 15 men in three rows)
6 Grenadiers (usually detached)
6 Colour Party (1x Officer, 1x Musketeer, 2x Flags, 2x Drummers)

Now where is my paint brush... I'll start with 2 Battalions and see how I get on.

A couple of people have asked about the name of this blog. "Colonia lulia equestris" is the Roman name for the town where I live - Nyon.

Swiss

I have been able to paint several units of Swiss:

1) 3 x 8 foot archers
2) 3 x 8 pike
3) 1 x 8 halberdiers

I'll post some photos later this week. I must admit that I am surprised I managed to do so much and am really pleased with the results.

Distractions

Well my project is taking a bit of a knock already. Three things have occured in the last few days and anyone could undermine the entire adventure!

Firstly, my fourth baby was born on Monday, a lovely little girl that we have called Lucy Morgan. Obviously my time will be taken up in looking after the other three and helping my wife with the wee one. But don't get me wrong, we are absolutely delighted of her arrival.

Secondly, I was recently given "Cossacks 2" a computer game which didn't worry me much until I tried it out! Gosh, what a game. It is a Napoleonic game and it is fan-bloody-tastic! Very very addictive and very much computerized figure wargame.

Thirdly, today in the post I received a large box of 15mm Swiss and Burgundian figures that will also need painting.... and they have arrived before the 7YW figures. Bad luck for them, good luck for the Swiss. I am, of course, going to be doing OSW and big battalions with the Swiss.

Bits and bobs

I don't know if I am alone in doing this but when I start a new period in wargaming I have a root through my "spares" box to see what I have and what could "fit" in my new period. Tonight I have had a little success. I have found:

- Minifigs - samples that I ordered back in February
- Dixons - heavy guns x3
- Dixons - medium guns x 6
- Dixons - bombard x 2
- Dixons - engineers x 16
- Dixons - pontoon bridge x 1
- Essexs - monks praying x 8 (OK I am clutching at straws now)

I also found a bridge that needs painting so I hope to do that tonight. That makes me think what buildings I have that would suit this period. Humm where is that Hovels catalogue that was knocking around the other day....

Painting problems

Jeff just left a comment on my blog that is really got me thinking about what colours to paint my troops. Thanks for the heads-up Jeff, most helpful.

I think that I am going to have to develop a colour palette for my troops so that they don't clash and don't look too similar.

A couple other OSW have left comments, thanks for your encouragement lads.

As this is my first blog I think that I am going to have a look at other OSW blogs, perhaps even review them! (I can already hear the sound of OSWs typing away on their machines to up-date their blogs before I get there).

Figures ordered

I was up to the wee hours working out how many packets of which type of figure I would need to build my first two battalions of foot and first squadron of cavalry. I have settled for the following - that should give me enough to get started:

15mm Minifigs
23V Prussian Grenadiers Advancing (Mitre Cap) x2 £4.00
24V Prussian Musketeers Advancing (Tricorn) x12 £24.00
29V Prussian Musketeer Command x5 £10.00
21VC Prussian Cuirassiers (Tricorn) x8 £16.00
26VC Prussian Cuirassiers Command x1 £2.00

Payment went off on the post this morning, I better get on with my uniform research before they arrive. It is a good job I already own both volumes of Funcken and one Osprey on the SYW and I have ordered a further three Ospreys:

Russian Army of the Seven Years War
The Austrian Army 1740-80 - Cavalry
The Austrian Army 1740-80 - Infantry

From the above books I think you can guess which armies will follow my Prussians.

When my figures arrive I will add my first photos and figure review.

Genesis

I am new to the Seven Years War (7YW) but I do have a good knowledge of the "Pike and Shot" era - how different can it be? Well quite a lot as it turns out, so I quickly decided that I needed some help to get me going. Three simple steps in the space of 40 days have enabled me to begin my adventure.

Step I: Community
Being part of the Old School Wargames discussion group has enabled me to get up to speed much more quickly than I would have on my own. If you are interested in BIG battalions and OSW then I sincerely encourage you to join. Apart from being very informative it is also a lot of fun.

Step II: Rules & Battalion Structure
The purchase Bill Protz's excellent "Batailles de l'Ancien Régime 1740 - 1763" rule book. It is very OSW and contains the types and numbers of figures per battalion. "BAR" arrived last week and from it I have been able structure the number and types of figures that I need to order to create my first few battalions.

Step III: History and Uniforms
I have also found several volumes of Osprey's excellent series of uniforms of the Seven Years War. Basic background I already have from "The Collins Encyclopedia of Military History" (Dupuy and Dupuy) and from a quick search on the Internet. I also dusted off my two volumes of "Uniformes de la guerre de dentelle" by Funcken and Funcken.

Old School Wargames

Like a sheep following my shepherd I have created a blog to track the development of my first Seven Years War army.

I have decided to use 15mm figures and to do large battalions (60+ figures). I have selected Minifigs as the figures for my army for nostalgic reasons but also because I find them very elegant and fairly easy to paint.