Warrior Miniatures Russian Cossacks

Working my way through the large pile of Russian figures from Warrior Miniatures are these rather splendid Cossacks. Painted to represent a unit from the Don Cossacks:

Getting a grip - Warrior Russians

Well having had a good 'ol sulk about the loss of vision in my left eye, I thought it was time to get a grip and plod on.  Armed with new specs, better lighting and magnifiers, as well as an eye patch! I have had a go at what I really enjoy - painting model soldiers.  It is amazing how the brain adapts to working with one eye.

Anyway, during a figure swap some weeks back I ended up with a complete Warrior miniatures Russian Napoleonic army. I thought as a test I would attempt to paint some them. I had already finished off a group of Minifigs, started before my eye problems with some success.

So, here is the result:

Warrior Miniatures Russian line infantry

Not as easy as before, but just as enjoyable.

AMD Problem

I have not done much in the way of painting or gaming in recent days as I have detected a problem with my left eye. My left eye vision is fine, but there is a misty effect in the centre when I look at things. After several trips to the doctor, opticians and the hospital it seems that I have AMD - Age-related Macular Degeneration, which is what it says on the tin.  At the moment my right eye is OK, but has signs of the same issue.  It would appear that this problem will increase as time goes by and will likely affect both eyes.  There is currently no cure or medication for this.

For the time being I have reduced my painting as I was having terrible headaches, caused I think by the strain of trying to work with the one good eye.

I hope this is not the end of my painting 20mm/25mm figures, but I am going to give it a rest until I know a little bit more about AMD and how to cope with it.

Mystery Figure Stripped

I have managed to strip most of the paint from the figure, which revealed some interesting features:

 Looks like a tassel on the right side of the shako:

Closer view:

Is this a skull badge?

Rear view:

I still can't make up my mind - he could be a Brunswicker with some inaccuracies thrown in!

Another Mystery Figure

A few days ago I purchased a small lot of figures, amongst which were a small group of Minifigs 'One Piece Castings' (OPC) cavalry figures. I was particularly attracted to two Russian cavalry men that I had not seen before. One is a dragoon and the other a hussar (see last picture).  There were two other OPC figures in the group, which I initially assumed to be the British Napoleonic hussar (which I have seen before) and what I considered to be a Brunswick hussar.

However, on closer inspection the Brunswicker did not look quite right:

Looking at his shako it is easy to see why he might be considered to be a Brunswicker, but that is where the similarities end. He is not wearing a hussar tunic and the horse furniture is not right either.

Here is a picture of our man next to the British Hussar:

Our man lacks the hussar braiding across the jacket but on the other hand the pose is very similar to the British figure - assumed to be Napoleonic.

I wonder, if our figure is in fact a Crimean War figure depicting a light dragoon?  The reason I suggest this is that the British heavy dragoon and lancer OPCs have plumes (not worn in the Crimea) and in full dress the 1850s British Light Dragoon had a feathered plume as above.

I took a look at the Lone S ranger site, but alas there is no picture of a Light Dragoon.

here are the four figures from the group lined up together, with the two Russians on the end:

I would welcome any thoughts. Does anyone have another example of this figure?

Industrial Hexes

Before I begin I should explain the pause in reporting. Having taken some pictures of my latest project, I placed the camera in a location where I would not forget it and it would be safe.  Of course when I went to get it I could not find it. For several days I looked in all the likely spots to no avail.  Eventually I went back to the first place I looked and there it was under some papers - doh!

Anyway, for the last few days I have been working on a small factory and warehouse to make up two industrial hexes.  They are made from foam board and balsa, with a paper chimney, coated in pva for strength. Here is the small factory unit:

To go with it I have made a substantial warehouse building:

The two structures can be placed together to form a major strong point:

Seen here with some Russian troops defending:

The chimney is quite tapered, although this is not clear in the pictures taken from above, but is evident in this shot of the components prior to construction:

A Village Hex

Continuing on from my last post, I have now completed a hex to represent a small village/hamlet. It consists of two houses straddling a road section hex. It has sufficient room for units to pass through and for them to adopt defensive positions amongst the buildings.  Made from foam board and card, these no frills structures are quick to make and provide an effective solution to the scenic work on a hex playing area:

Seen here with a unit passing through on the road:

The village can be expanded by adding additional structures in adjoining hexes:

For other periods such as WW2, there is enough room for the largest of my 1/72 scale vehicles:

I will probably make one more to give enough to represent a town.