Missing in Action

A little over a year ago, I moved to a new home. Along with the rest of my house contents, I, of course, transported all my miniature troops. During the move, one group of figures went AWOL and have remained missing ever since moving day. This is a problem as they were due to be called for duty at the end of the year.

The formation in question are the Carolling Hussars from my seasonal Army of Advent.

Carolling Hussars (currently missing…)

They must have numbered no more than a dozen in total and I vaguely remember they mere packed in a box completely separate from the rest of my figures, possibly due to space. Being packed in a box unrelated to my hobby has meant they have remained lost despite a number of searches. No doubt they’ll turn up one day, but in the meantime the regiment is due for a tour of duty this Christmas.

So, I’ve been busily raising a new troop of recruits for the Carolling Hussars…

The figures are from Revell’s classic Prussian Hussars of the Seven Years War. The sculpting of this set was, in my opinion, terrific, which makes them a pleasure to paint up.

The Carolling Hussars needed an officer (absent from the Revell set) and so I’ve used an officer of Prussian Hussars by Hagen Miniatures of Germany.

Introducing the regiment’s own commanding officer – the very dashing and debonair Lieutenant-Colonel Cranbury-Soarse.

The CO is based on a 2 penny piece and sports a red sash as well as a few plumes of gold tinsel in his mirliton headdress. The tinsel should be red but a search of the Christmas decorations failed to locate any (you may have noticed a theme of me losing things…). Henceforth, I now decree that the regiment will wear gold plumes.

Anyway, whilst the rank and file troopers in his regiment have white fur trim on their pelisses, as an officer, the Lieutenant-Colonel has expensive sable black fur surrounding his pelisse. In the tradition of naming the horses for all my Adventian army officers, Cranbury-Soarse rides Pio Quinto*, a lively, black Spanish Andalusian stallion.

*(Pio Quinto is a Nicaraguan Christmas dessert consisting of cake drenched in rum, topped with a custard, and dusted with cinnamon).

The rest of the regiment feature in a variety of poses. Some are suitably relaxed as befits troops intended to stand guard amongst the Christmas decorations:

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Eventually, the aim is for the regiment to parade in these least dramatic poses, but for now I couldn’t resist also painting the more active figures too, the epitome of the dashing hussar.

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The uniform is inspired by the Puttkamer Hussars, a regiment sometimes referred to as the “White Hussars” on account of their pelisses. Their namesake was Colonel Georg Ludwig von Puttkamer who met his end at the Battle of Kunersdorf.

In the Revell set, there are also some pleasing figures discharging their firearms:

The Carolling Hussars’ bugler is distinguished with some additional markings and his pelisse is edged in a light grey fur instead of white.

A flag bearer will need to be manufactured at some point but for now I at least have a regiment to parade come December. And, who knows, perhaps the rest of the regiment will even turn up by then?

British Horse(s)

While still fiddling with the Serbs, I’ve taken the opportunity of a diversion by painting some more figures for the War of the Spanish Succession. Ukrainian manufacturer Strelets keep on making new figures for this period and I keep buying them. This latest box is title British Regiment of Horse (Late War). It features, charmingly, both horses and riders alike at ease and taking the opportunity to either chat, smoke, graze or whinny, depending on whatever takes their fancy.

The regiment I’ve intend to paint have green facings and, as I’ve seen depictions of British Horse at this time having saddle cloths matching the facings rather than the red of their coats, I’ve given the horses green garments. Here’s how my sedentary stallions have turned out;

I’ve painted a grey –

And also some dark bays.

Whilst still not perfect, I do think Strelets horses have improved significantly from their early efforts.

I particularly like their grazing pose, a common enough activity for stationary war horses but one seldom seen sculpted.

Another good choice of pose, horses pawing the ground impatiently waiting for some action!

I assume these are officer’s horses as they have not roll blankets. I’ve given the pistol holders a gold trim to distinguish them.

And the final pose, another one that I’ve never seen before, horses whinnying loudly!

So that’s the horses completed, I’m really keen to start on their pipe-smoking, chatting, dozing and gesturing riders soon.

Serbian Infantry Update

With one small exception, my group of Serbian WWI infantry are finished.

The whole group consist of the following poses:

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Throwing a grenade:

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Kneeling, firing:

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Charging with the bayonet:

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Standing, firing:

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Advancing with the bayonet:

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Advancing:

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Kneeling with bayonet:

With those painted, it leaves the officers. As I’ve been requested to create a flag bearer, I’m planning to see if I can convert one officer to holding the Serbian flag – we’ll just have to see how that goes…!

Their adversaries, the army of the Austro-Hungarian empire, I painted some time ago but still require their bases removing and pins inserting. This is no easy task and I’m wary of damaging the paint, so I’m going to trial a few of these to see if its viable without ruining them.

Future Figures

Happy New Year, everyone! Over the festive period (which includes my birthday) I’ve happily accrued some more figures for the hobby which I thought I’d share. These have included some more 54mm yeomanry figures from Tradition in Sweden, namely yeomanry representing the counties of Essex and Norfolk (and if they turn out looking anything like the cover pictures, I’ll be happy).

In addition, further extending my 54mm Yeomanry Project, I’ve even managed to source a rare figure from the now defunct Border Miniatures, which was duly ‘put away for Christmas’ for me. It’s a figure of the Westmoreland and Cumberland Yeomanry but, uniquely in my collection, it’s mounted! Both horse and rider are included, so a 54mm horse will be a first for me. That’s a lot of equine.

Border Miniatures issued another Westmorland and Cumberland Yeomanry figure (this time standing) which I’ve had in my collection for a while and is still awaiting painting. In fact, I posted on this manufacturer back in March of this year. I’m thinking that this mounted yeomanry figure will make for an fittingly eye catching coda to the project when, eventually, I’ve exhausted the rest of my unpainted 54mm yeomanry figures.

PM/1, Cumberland & Westmoreland Yeomanry, Mounted 1898 – Border Miniatures. (manufactured possibly late 1980s).

All the way from Germany, meanwhile, I ordered some more troops for the Army of Advent. In what will probably be the last major purchase for my festive force, the box contains a heavy cavalry regiment. For now, they will be stowed away ready for the another Christmas crafting season.

I’ve also received a package from the ever excellent Bad Squiddo Games containing some figures I intend to use for next year’s FEMbruary. I won’t reveal what they are in advance but simply wanted to show off these excellent little freebie rabbit figures that BSG supremo Annie very kindly included!

A Bunny Bonus courtesy of Bad Squiddo Games!

Finally, my mother came up trumps with something for these figures to stand on – grass tufts!

Looking Back and Forward

This year has seen Suburban Militarism become distinctly less suburban with a move out from the suburbs and into the county. My armies (mostly) survived the move and after a hiatus in order to settle in, painting has continued more or less as normal. Another year in the time of plague at least provides an excellent excuse to immerse oneself in hobbies and here’s some of things I turned my sable brush to in 2021:

FEMbruary 2021

For this year’s FEMbruary I produced 5 of Bad Squiddo’s female WWII SOE agents, providing a brief biography of each.

The “Neglected But Not Forgotten” Painting Challenge…

For Ann’s challenge, I threw myself into clearing an entire two boxes (and a quarter) of some old Mars Saxon Infantry of the Great Northern War,

…eventually producing an entire brigade of six regiments! The entire process, interrupted by the disruption of moving house, took months.

I took time out on occasion to add to my 54mm Yeomanry Project, producing:

A sergeant of the Worcestershire Yeomanry:

An officer of the Lincolnshire Yeomanry:

An officer of the Lancashire Yeomanry:

Continuing with troops of the Lace Wars of the 18th century, I managed to paint a couple of cavalry regiments:

Schomberg’s Regiment of Horse (British) or Beust’s Regiment (Saxon):

French Horse Grenadiers:

I even managed to take a brief summer holiday for the first time in two years and sent a postcard:

I continued to nurture my slowly developing Ottomania! Project with some examples of Eyâlet infantry.

I expanded to (nearly) 1:1 scale with this submission into the local Scarecrow Festival. It was based on Michael Morpurgo’s WWI cavalry-themed book “War Horse”, or as our entry had it – “Straw Horse“:

I entered the Jazz age with a 28mm scale homage to singer Adelaide Hall for Black History Month:

I received a request to paint a large number of Serbian and Austrian infantry in 1/72 scale, a project which is still continuing slowly but surely!

And, as the year drew to a close I painted some more wintry-looking figures for my ever-growing French infantry retreating from Moscow in 1812…

…and finally produced two more regiments for my Christmas-themed Army of Advent. One, an entirely new regiment – The Poinsettian Rifles:

…And the other, the oldest regiment in the army, received their brand, spanking new uniforms – The 1st Noel Regiment of Foot:

Next year? I’m too wise to make specific predictions but I’ve no doubt that the old, familiar projects (see above) will make an appearance at some point. Often, though, it’s the unexpected diversions which keep the motivation high and I’ll look forward to more of those in 2022.

Hoping for a healthier and saner 2022, I send my best wishes and a Happy New Year to all Suburban Militarism’s visitors.

Marvin

Winter Walkers

It’s midwinter here in the UK and that means it’s time to paint my Strelets French Infantry on the March. I started the two unloved but very, very cheap boxes (a closing down sale) back in 2014, the first year of this blog. I never thought I’d paint any of them but for some reason, the thought that I’d probably never paint them spurred me on to make a start on a sprue.

And I’ve been painting them ever since.

“gauche… droite… gauche… droite…”

The first dozen of these early Strelets creations were painted and shared back in 2014, blog post number 22.

2014’s recruits: the very first batch of 18 French infantrymen either “in advance” or “on the march”.

By 2017, we’re up to 44 of these perambulating poilu!

It’s 2018 now, and that line of line infantry is growing ever longer. What’s more, they are now joined by…

…a sledge train and a line of stragglers!

In 2019, another 14 marchers are now also joined by some of the newer Strelets marching versions wearing their grey greatcoats…

…as well as another sledge with it’s accompanying strays and invalids!

It’s 2020 and fourteen more of my Gallic ramblers are now added to the expanding cohort.

Last year, I even produced a short film involving one of these marching men for a seasonal family entertainment event. I did not enter it into Cannes.

Whenever the winter nights draw in, and we’re approaching midwinter here, I am always reminded that it’s time to paint some more of those cold, great-coated infantrymen again; frozen, struggling refugees of Napoleon’s bitter retreat from Russia.

The latest group:

And here’s what ninety six marching Napoleonic Frenchmen looks like.

And so, eight years on, I have finally reached the very last sprue of these two boxes of figures and have completed my seasonal efforts on these marching monsieurs.

Or have I?

Despite being sold out a long time ago, I found another box online last year. This was much to my surprise as Strelets replaced these sets by a newer and more delicately sculpted version. So, there are years more of these French amblers to keep me entertained during future winters – at which point I’ll probably start on those new versions. Like many a retreating French infantryman during the winter of 1812, you may ask – “will this ever end?!”

The 1st Noel Regiment is Back on Parade

“It’s Chriiiiiiiiisssssttttmaaasssssssss!”

Noddy Holder

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It’s that time again. Once a year, here at Suburban Militarism, two regiments from my Army of Advent are selected to stand duty as Christmas decorations during the month of December. It’s a prestigious obligation, much like being the chosen battalion for the annual Trooping of the Colour ceremony.

My tradition started back in 2013, pre-dating this blog, beginning with the raising of the first Christmas-themed infantry; a platoon of the 1st Noel Regiment of Foot. My daughter, then in primary school, kindly designed their standard which was eventually bestowed on them with full ceremony and which they carry to this day.

Ensign Crimbo of the 1st Noel Regiment parades the Colour before the men.

Since them, the Army of Advent has expanded to include infantry and cavalry brigades, artillery, and a General Staff, with a ‘pioneer and sapper corps’ planned. In future years, God willing, once all the regiments have been raised, the plan is to continue to add a handful of men to regiments as a Christmas craft tradition. A selection of each, hand-picked ‘best men’, will be selected for the prestige of representing the regiment on the plinth.

The honour of taking this December-long parade has so far fallen to the following regiments:

Year	1st Regiment	2nd Regiment
2013	The 1st Noel Regiment of Foot	n/a
2014	The 1st Noel Regiment of Foot	n/a
2015	The Yule Grenadiers	n/a
2016	The 1st Noel Regiment of Foot	n/a
2017	The Christingle Dragoons	The Carolling Hussars
2018	The Carolling Hussars	Cracker Battery, Christmas Artillery
2019	The Midwinter Fuzileers	The Mistletoe Guards
2020	The Yule Grenadiers	The Eggnog Cuirassiers
2021	The 1st Noel Regiment of Foot	The Poinsettian Rifles

N.B. Prior to 2016, only one regiment was paraded.

As you can see, this year it is the turn of a company of selected men of the 1st Noel Regiment and a section of the newly-raised Poinsettian Rifles. The Poinsettian Rifles were established earlier this year using metal 1/72 scale figures from Hagen Miniatures. It’s been five years since The First Noel paraded. I thought that, as pleasant as the old figures are, I wanted the venerable 1st Noel to parade in a fashion that looked rather less like being in combat. So I’ve painted some new figures.

The old figures were Revell’s Austrian infantry of the 7 Years War:

The new figures are by HaT and are from their set of Seven Years War Austrians Marching. I’ve been spending odd occasions over the whole of 2021 adding paint to them and have finally got them Parade Ready in time for December. Only just this week, the men of the 1st Noel finally received their festive plumes (pieces of actual tinsel cut to size and glued on to their tricornes).

In a decadent move, the 1st Noel have also changed their hat lace from white to gold. They are based in ‘deep and crisp and even’ snow with a ring of red glitter around their penny bases, to add to their seasonal glamour.

So, on the 1st December, in a formal ceremony, a representative of both the Yule Grenadiers and the Eggnog Cuirassiers (last year’s display regiments), symbolically extended a Christmas cracker to the respective junior subalterns of the Poinsettian Rifles and the 1st Noel. This was all done in a highly ritualised manner, strictly to the beat of the drum, until the cracker was pulled and the subsequent ‘bang’ thereby inaugurated the 2021 Christmas duties. This solemn event is known as the ‘Trooping of the Cracker’. The intoning of the cracker’s enclosed joke by the subalterns is a particularly sombre and moving ritual.

Now, despite all these careful preparations, there are some problems. Firstly, tradition has it that the chosen regiments should stand guard on the mantelpiece over the season. Having moved house earlier this year, I now have no mantelpiece to place them on. I do, however, have a TV cabinet. With the television mounted on the wall, I am free to use this cabinet and so these Christmas dandies can take centre-stage in the lounge once more.

My other problem relates to command. Essentially, neither the Poinsettian Rifles nor the 1st Noel have any! Major Poinsettia of his eponymous rifles is, as yet, only a name on the payroll and not an actual, painted figure. With a ‘can-do attitude’ which is a feature of his regiment, Lieutenant Sylant-Knight of the 1st Noel Regiment has taken command of the Rifles in the interim, being rewarded with a brevet rank of Captain.

Lieutenant and Brevet Captain Sylant-Knight of the 1st Noel with men of the Poinsettian Rifles.

Brevet Captain Sylant-Knight’s regiment, however, is in turmoil. The 1st Noel are missing its overall commander – Colonel de Winter!

The currently missing-in-action Colonel de Winter seen here riding his trusty steed Tinsel through the streets of the town of Advent.

Colonel de Winter has led the regiment with distinction since 2013 but, during the recent house move, has gone AWOL. Now, I admit that I do have a history of losing individual figures. Colonel Giftrapp of the Yule Grenadiers, for example, went missing for a number of years and only surfaced to retake command of his regiment last year!

Colonel Giftrapp returns, finally reunited with his similarly errant Arabian stallion, Pandoro.

So until such time that Colonel de Winter returns from his sabbatical, Major-General Minns-Pye (hitherto serving as C-in-C General St. Nicholas‘ Chief of Staff) has kindly agreed to take command of his old regiment during this year’s tour of duty.

With another three weeks to go until Christmas, both regiments have plenty of time to enjoy their moment of glory…

News from the Serbian Front…

The year is 1914 and the Kingdom of Serbia is mobilising. Troops of the 1st Ban in their green-grey uniforms rapidly assemble to meet the invading Austro-Hungarian army…

Or, to put it less melodramatically, my Serbian WWI infantry project has been moving forward slowly but steadily.

Previously, I had finished off painting my First World War Austrian K & K troops. These men in Pike-Grey uniforms still require the challenge of pinning them, but otherwise are finished. In the meantime, their adversaries, my Serbian army, have been cut from the sprue, cleaned, prepared, primed and placed on bottle-tops…

…they’ve had their uniforms base-coated, shaded and highlighted…

…and also had their faces basically prepared, though there is still much work to be done on those.

After their faces and skin have been completed to my satisfaction, next up will be their accoutrements including buttons and ammunition pouches, etc. With dozens to do, I imagine all that will keep me busy to the end of the year, especially as at the same time I’ve certain other things to attend to relating to Suburban Militarism’s traditions at Christmas. More on that anon…

The WWI Serbian Campaign

A military campaign of any significance takes some considerable logistical organisation and resources. This is also the case with any military modelling ‘campaign’ and my latest venture certainly falls into this category given that it requires the painting of over 100 figures.

Strelets Austrian WWI Infantry

I’ve been asked to help out with a diorama as part of a wider project, the full details of which I must hold back on for the time being. The diorama will feature an encounter between Austrians and Serbians during the First World War. For the Austrians, I am using Strelets WWI Austrian Infantry figures. Unfortunately, this set has been out of production for some time and so I’ve simply made use of the one box I had available. Twenty two of the figures I had painted back in 2018 and the remainder were kept back in storage.

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  Old and new versions of the Austrian WWI figures.

The uniform colour of the Austro-Hungarian troops was known as ‘Pike Grey’, a fairly nebulous shade which I eventually approximated by mixing some of my existing colours together. Thankfully, I kept the tiny pot of my mixed Pike Grey shade aside and had just enough left for these remaining unpainted figures, thereby keeping the shade of the 2018 and 2021 vintage figures very consistent.

Above is the 2021 batch of Strelets Austrian infantry. I just need to add their regimental colour flash to the collars. I’ll be using a source book to help me decide what colour to use for what regiment. The 2018 figures I painted represented the Pucherna infantry regiment of Transylvania with yellow collars.

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The original 22 figures were fully based (rather nicely though I say so myself), but the customer of these figures would prefer them pinned for use in the diorama with no bases. For someone as ham-fisted as myself, this presents a logistical and physical challenge. I need Pat from Pat’s 1:72 Military Dioramas here, the expert on pinning small scale figures such as these! Thankfully, he has a post explaining how he does it. He makes it look so easy, but I’m so clumsy at such things that after having a go (to the sound of much of foul cursing) I can confirm that it absolutely is not! Extracting the already based ones will be particularly tricky, I suspect.

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The dioramist also queried whether it would be possible to include a flag bearer for both forces. The only figure that might fit the bill for the Austrians as a conversion I think would be an officer. Conversions, never mind pinning, is really stretching my limited model making abilities, I confess, but I’ll have a go!

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Aside from the Austrians, I of course need to produce a similar number of Serbian infantry. I’ll be using figures once again from Strelets; their “Serbian Infantry in Winter Uniform” set. The set included both early and late war versions of these troops. As the dioramist requires only the early war figures wearing the famous Serbian šajkača hat, I’ve used two boxes to provide a sufficient number. Good news for the Serbs, as they will now outnumber the invading Austrian K & K army!

Two elderly Serbian men mobilized into World War I (1914). The first soldier (reservist, on the left) is wearing standard soldiers type. The second is wearing the officer’s version. Unknown Serbian photographer, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

The Serbian troops will also require pinning, of course, so I’ll be getting plenty of much needed experience with my hand drill and work bench. I’ve also ordered some thin wire to create the pins themselves.

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Preparation for painting includes initial cleaning with detergent, adding a layer of PVA glue and then adding a coat of paint to act as a primer. The Serb uniform, like the Pike Grey of the Austro-Hungarians, is another with a specific but vague shade to replicate. I posted about my research on the uniform at the time which had the uniform colour variously described by sources as being ‘khaki’, ‘green-grey’ and ‘olive-grey! Unfortunately, I don’t this time have a handy pot of the original ready-mixed paint to hand. I do, however, find that I had left myself some handy instructions all about the mix I used at the time, back in 2018.

“A mix of Vallejo’s “Green-Grey 886” and a little added grey – possibly Neutral Grey 992 (possibly in a 2:1 mix)…”

There is too much use of the word ‘possibly’ in there for confidence, suggesting I couldn’t quite remember what I’d used whenever I wrote it down, but at least it’s a start!

I’ll update on progress on this blog. Given the number of troops involved and the pinning/conversion challenges, it could be a long ‘campaign’!

Lace Wars: French Horse Grenadiers

Introducing my latest addition to the Lace Wars project, the prestigious Royal Horse Grenadier regiment of the French King.

You’ll notice straight away that I still have a flag to sort which is just an ominous black at the moment.. Some research needed before I tackle that, I think.

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The most distinctive aspect of their uniform is the fur-trimmed cap. The red peak was according to Plastic Soldier Review, originally a standard grenadier cap of the period, having “a hanging bag like any other grenadier, but by 1720 this was stiffened with a point at the top, which is what we find on all these figures“.

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 Each man is armed with a curved cavalry sabre, flintlock carbine and two pistols.

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An elite force, the Horse Grenadiers were a small formation, rarely more than a couple of hundred men in total. Their elite status as grenadiers however would mean they would often lead a charge, thereby adding to a fame which exceeded their actual clout on the field of battle.

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The set includes a flag bearer and a mounted drummer.

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The two officers included see one of them (the ‘big wig‘ sports a cuirass over his coat. Lots of extra clothing detailing on the cuffs and coats with these command figures – well, it is the Lace Wars project!

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There seems to be a wealth of different War of the Spanish Succession mounted formations in the pipeline from good old Strelets, including Dutch and Austrian Cuirassiers, British Dragoons and Late War-era Horse, French Garde du Corps and French Chevau-Legers / Gendarmes de la Garde. As for French dragoons, they are being released “on the march”, “in reserve”, “in attack” and “in skirmish”! Strelets, you’re spoiling us.

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My hobby plans have taken an unexpected turn very recently. This has resulted in my needing to revisit an old set last seen a few years ago on Suburban Militarism. What this set is, and why, will be revealed in the next post.