25mm Nap. Russians - First Wing Officers

Happy December, everyone!

In honor of the coming of winter, I thought I would post some wintery folks; namely, the first set of foot officers of my 25mm Napoleonic Russian army!

Like my French army, my Russian army splits rather neatly in two and each wing is commanded by a group of foot officers, who in turn report to the General. Unfortunately I could not find enough officers in great coats; however, I didn't really mind, as I don't want a Russian army totally devoid of green!

This trio includes a Grenadier officer, who is ready to report back to his troops, a rather demanding infantry officer who is pointing towards the piece of the enemy line that he wants his men to attack with most vigor, and of course the wing commander himself, who is urging his men forward.

All of these chaps are courtesy of Sash and Saber.

25mm Nap Russians - Infantry 2

Time for some more Napoleonics!

This is another unit of my Russian infantry for my 25mm Napoleonic armies. Like the majority of my army, these guys are wearing their greatcoats, prepared for the nasty Russian winter.

I have four of these units of infantry, each with 32 figures, and another of 32 Grenadiers. Honestly it is a fairly big number for a unit, but in games I can always break it into two decent sized units of 16. As before, I went with the drab brown color, even though some people insist their coats should be grey... I have seen brown for greatcoats before, and I just felt it was more drab and dirty looking, which fit the feeling of the army well.

I originally bought all of my Russians in one big go, as one of the Foundry army packs, with a few extra units (such as the cavalry) as add-ons. Flags, as always, courtesy of The Flag Dude.

25mm Nap. Russians - Grenadiers

FINALLY!

After getting undercoated in MAY, my Grenadiers have been completed!

This unit has been a long time coming. Rather than dressed in the traditional drab brown greatcoats that the rest of my Russian army wears, I wanted to do the Grenadiers in their more historically-acceptable grey with red cuffs and collars.

I had a tough time, as the packs I got did not have enough troops in them overall, so I had to improvise. I added the Grenadier officer on the far end of the line screaming orders to the men, and if you look, the second guy from the left, second row in, is actually a converted Frenchman! It is hard to notice though.

I know the flag isn't quite right, but I liked the looks, so in it went!

Anyway... if I get a few more good shots tomorrow I'll put them up, but for now, enjoy!

Figures courtesy of Wargames Foundry.

25mm Nap. Russians - Light Infantry

Hi all!

Sorry it has been so long since there has been a serious update at The House of War! I thought I would rectify that over the next day or two with a few shots of troops.

First up; my only unit of Russian light infantry from my 25mm Napoleonic collection.

The Russian army is not famous for its vast hordes of light infantry, like the French, or their rifles, like the English. Rather, the Russians had fewer light infantry than many of the European powers. My Russian army features only a single unit of Russian light infantry.

The light infantry, much like the French lights, are based on spread-out movement trays meant for screening. The trays, much like the French, are built as wide as a standard infantry tray, so a single stand of light infantry can screen an advancing line regiment. I like this look, because it also keeps the army uniform!

Now, I did give these guys flags, even though they probably wouldn't have them... always err on the side of flags, my daddy always said! I love the way they turned out; the faces are very sharp, although I do wish I had some in shakos and a few in greatcoats!

Minis courtesy of Wargames Foundry!

25mm Napoleonic Russian Army

Well, I cleared the French, and thought I would get a few group shots of the Russians, who have never really been seen here that much before!:)

The Russian collection is roughly 65% complete... two more big blocks of infantry (including a unit of Guard that is half done,) 12 cossack lancers, three more guns with limbers and an ammo cart, three more foot officers, and the diorama of the Russians capturing some French. Then, they are done.

That's a lot:)

Anyway.... here they are. They are, I think, the most nicely painted of my collections, and being the most recent I think my stuff has just gotten better and better over the last few years.

I actually have this post scheduled to be posting on a timer this weekend, as I am away... I hope it works. Even being away doesn't keep me away from the wargames blog!:)

25mm Nap. Russians - Blessing of the Pavlov Guard

Well, I've had a lot of Civil War recently (the Federal collection and Fall In plans) and a lot of fantasy stuff (the Lord of the Rings and the Middenheim stuff)... so I thought it was time to bring back the real crown Jewel, the 25mm Napoleonic stuff, and the top of the collection... my 25mm Napoleonic Russian armies. What better piece to show than the Blessing of the Pavlov Guard?

In my current design plan phase of my life, I collect my armies such that they are functional. But I also like to collect for the art of collecting, and I have, in my Napoleonic collection, a series of "centerpiece" pieces for my armies. These pieces are usually of a neat military scene or piece of equipment or a set scene that has no "immediate" value in a tabletop wargame, but is still a real nice piece. The French army has two; the Surgeon, and the Blacksmith. The Austrians... I am still not sure for them. The Russians? Well, they will get some Guards guarding French prisoners, and this piece; the Blessing of the Pavlov Guards as they march to war!

The Pavlovs are, of course, a favorite among Russian miniature collectors. I knew my army would not be large enough to justify a unit of these traditional favorites, and I couldn't even find any Pavlovs in greatcoats that I liked, but... how can you do Napoleonic Russians and NOT have them?

So, I compromised. Rather that a full unit of 32, I decided to go with just 16 guys on a display base, a scene of a rabid priest blessing the men as they march to war. I found a good Pavlov officer, who was doffing his cap, and a mounted officer, doing the same, both from Foundry. The Priest is another Foundry fellow, from their Cossacks range, cross firmly in "I AM BLESSING YOU!" position towards the troops. I tried to keep the various lines-of-sight in the piece correct... both officers and the men on the front and front right of the column looking at the priest, with the men whom the mounted officer just passed looking at him. The end of the column? Either hasn't seen the priest yet, and doesn't much care more than a second an officer canters past... they have a lot of miles to march!

All the figures are magnetized, and are removable. The priest is mounted as a single figure and so can fit in other places as well, the mounted officer on a standard cavalry stand, and the Pavlovs mounted in 4s, so you could even use them in other places if you want.

Hope everyone likes it... it is my favorite of the current centerpieces:)

All figures courtesy of Foundry!

25mm Nap. Russians - Infantry 1

Time for some more 25mm Napoleonics!

This time I wanted to post the first of my four units of regular Russian infantry. In my head I always envision the Russians attacking in huge hordes, so I decided to go with units of 32... plus, that is how the Foundry army packs come! Also I wanted all of my Russian infantry to be in greatcoats; again, I feel like the image of Russians in my head is always freezing cold, so I wanted the Russian army to reflect that.

I know a few people have said they thought Russian overcoats should be grey; however, I've found a few references to brownish colors and decided to go with this, to give the Russian army an overall earthy, muddy, natural look. My grenadiers are in grey, but the regular infantry are all in brown!

Flags are, as always, courtesy of Rick "The Flag Dude" O'Brien.

Figures courtesy of Foundry.

25mm Nap. Russians - Army General

I have decided that I will indeed mix up the collections, rather than focus on one all at a time, so that fans of different scales and periods all have something for them at... The House of War!

So... let us start with my 25mm Napoleonic Russians!

I built the Russian collection to mirror my French collection. Same officer layout, same types of movement trays, same "centerpiece" idea, same general breakdown. This Russian General was made to match the French Marshal; the only difference is exchanging the manservant for a Cossack bodyguard! The entire Russian collection is also magnetized, making transport a breeze; I may have to retro-magnetize my French army for ease of transport.

A combo of Foundry Russians, Cossacks, and the Sheepdog (painted to look like a Briard) make up this command set. The general at the front is clearly the boss, motioning to his men, while his two adjuncts behind him watch and point out it might be safer for the General to be further to the rear!

If desired, you can actually rotate the Cossack out and replace him with my Priest from the Pavlov Guard centerpiece, if you are feeling particularly religious.

As mentioned, all figures courtesy of Foundry.

25mm Nap Russian - Cuirassiers

I recently finished another unit of Russians, and thought I would cheat a little and give a single preview of the next Napoleonic army to be featured; my 25mm Napoleonic Russians! I know it will be awhile (the 15mm ACW Confederate army is up next, and I still have cavalry, artillery, light infantry, and line infantry left for the French...) but I couldn't resist.

This particular unit is a unit of fearsome cuirassiers. This heavy cavalry, armored and mounted on the largest horses, was the shock cavalry of the Russian army. They were feared on the battlefield by infantry and cavalry alike, and able to run straight over most targets... as long as those targets weren't infantry squares!

The troops in this unit are rather nice looking, with their green and white and armor, with red piping making the armor stand out a bit. Their commander is a severe looking fellow with a nasty stare. The musician, whose trumpet is wrapped in a white and unit-appropriate green cord, rides at his side.

This entire unit is 25mm Foundry.