Steve Brumwell wins Washington Book Prize!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Just a short note to say that my mate Steve won the George Washington book prize last night. Full report here http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/style-blog/wp/2013/05/22/stephen-brumwell-wins-george-washington-book-prize/

 

I am so pleased!

French Fancies

Its been another long while since I posted. Its not that I haven’t been idle, it’s just all been a bit slow.

That’s the ME for you.

And the Chickens.

Go look at Mrs Ateliers blog http://sneaky-chicken.blogspot.co.uk/.

Its about Chickens.

 

However I have got some painting done and I have been to Salute and bombed in the painting competition. Disappointing of course, and that added to my lack of engagement with the event as a whole. Picked up some stuff, saw lots of stuff. Said hello to Eureka. But was left feeling a little let down.

Ate well at Belgo though.

 

So on to the latest models. Back to Napoleonics and a change of scale. My photography skills really don’t do the figures justice. I am immensely pleased with them, Ney in particular. I right enjoyed doing his base.

AB miniatures really are the dogs bollocks aren’t they? I have painted some Battle Honours – eons ago it seems – but this is my first time with their 18mm pals. I look at them with awe. I just don’t know how Barton does it on such a small scale. To my mind they are considerably better than most 25/28 mil stuff. The detail, the animation and the ART!!!! They are so natural of pose, and capture the period so very well (like TAG’s and Emile Horky’s 30 years war figures).

 

I hope that their owner will enjoy them! As ever if anyone wants anything like these doing, feel free to contact me.

Braves des braves!

 

General LaSalle

 

The ADC in the foreground is an awesome figure to paint

 

 

I just can get enough light on the models, and/or get the focusing correct. Perhaps I should take more time. Or talk to John. I’ll talk to John. He’s the fella that knows.

I have got a few more vignettes coming up. Napoleon, Davout, Lannes, and various divisional generals. Hopefully I will get my act together a little bit and be more regular with the blog.

Hey ho!

 

 

 

‘..and is there honey still for tea?’

I am increasingly intrigued by the ideas contained in Very British Civil War. As a subject it contains a rare combination of actual history, opportunity for imagination, and complete silliness which provides a neat barrier between gamers and the very real issues faced by (my) parents generation in the lead up to the Great War against Fascism.

Generally, I am very uncomfortable with games of WW2., and this is not the place I want to explore the why’s and wherefores . Suffice to say I don’t like Nazi’s, either dead ones or the Stafford Games sort (allegedly?).

However there is something altogether comical about Moseley, his harem of upper class idiots, and the BUF. They are just silly. Violent and hateful, but silly none the less.

It will come as no surprise therefore that the side I would go for would be the left of centre groups- but NOT I emphasise, the communists.

I decided to plan and create a roving formation that could fight anywhere in the country (for the sake of the COUNTRY), made up of workers, trade unionists, Methodists and educated middle classes. They would be formed into the ‘Kier Hardie’ Brigade, of which my force would be of the 1st Bradford battalion, of the Bronte Regiment – cos that’s where I am from.

I have had a lot of fun thinking up a history and organisation of the regiment against the background of a grim northern city.

The problem then arose, because I don’t really have access to gaming these days, and so before I got too involved I decided take a step back from the project.

So a dozen figures painted with nowhere to go, except alas, eBay. I still have a 1/50 scale traction engine and some scale corrugated aluminium sheet to add armour for later ( unless someone wants it!)

 

Rupert Brooke’s 1912 poem, ‘Grantchester’ seems quite appropriate as a lament of the world about to be lost in 1936, as it had been in 1914.

Here are the boys

C company (Bierley)

I would dearly like to revisit this project at some point, but with no prospect of gaming it, it seems a bit pointless to progress.

Unlike the Saxons., One can never go without the Saxons- I have so many to paint and would love to see them completed.

I have recently completed some fortifications as a commission. They were built to match the little vignette I made last year.  A very interesting little project  -a half dozen run of gabionage hexagons. Much of the gabionage was hand made, but I had to get some metal Gabions  from TAG. I did have some resin ones which were shocking in terms of quality, and when you try to clean them up the break easily. I hate resin. Never again.

So metal gabions , resin gabions (the ones I could rescue) wire, milliput/greenstuff/procreate, wood, and real soil. etc

Sassanid Shennanigins

Here is the latest commission completed. Based around Aventine’s lovely Sassanid general and dismounted cavalry, plus a bit of imagination.

The Shah takes the surrender of the Roman Emperor, and has thoughtfully placed many Roman objects around – weapons, armour, shields, amphorae and standards and so on to make him feel much more at ease.

Behind him, a religious ceremony gives thanks for the victory – note the basket of pomegranates, the fresh flowers and the flames – essential for a Zoroastrian service. The bearded priest has covered his face as is required in this religion.

Behind them all floats the ‘Derafsh Kāviān,’ the great flag, guaranteeing victory. Originally a gold painted piece of leather, it has now grown in size covering several hides and is covered with gold and jewels.

As far as the modelling is concerned, the priest and that set up is Baueda, Roman shields are A&A, transfers by LBM (I was NOT going to paint 30 Roman shields), weapons and some standards from a kind gentleman from Antwerp.

The main Roman standard is  hand painted based on mosaic of Alexander the Great (ohh the irony!!!) The Dracos are hand modelled as are the two sets of of armour. The vases and amphorae are a mixture of bought and made.

The Shah is a bit converted, and all Sassanid shields are  painted.

The Zoroastrian priest has had a beard and face mask added, the fresh flowers are by me, the pomegranates from the spares box. The flames and smoke in the braziers are home made

The ‘Derafsh Kāviān’ is made from green stuff, miniature gold balls, Indian jewellery and coloured plastic jewels/

The wooden frame is made from wood and wire.

The little cliff is cork and the whole base is milliput, real soil, Silflor tuft and mat, and ground cork and scatter.

Currently I am doing some more Napoleonic generals, and some earthworks.

Arkebusiers von Kotterisch

These brave little men form part of my Saxon horse contingent – More able horsemen currently sit in a box waiting for me to finish them.

The figures are TAG. The officer is one of the most lovely figures I have ever seen.

The flag bears the arms of the Kotterisch family as well as the recorded emblem of the units standard.

The Berlin State Library helped me track this one down. The internet is wonderful, but you cant really beat a helpful librarian!

 

 

Oh and the ‘works’

 

As Burkhard suggested…

Ok so its the wrong camera and the wrong lighting and its on my painting table etc etc, but here is a aerial view from behind.

a good view of all the chaps

In the trenches…

I have finally had a chance to paint the rather lovely French engineer models made by Westfalia Miniaturen. Unfortunately only two of the three made it to the diorama alongside two Perry’s and a Foundry. I used a little kit from Architects of War for the tools. Two of the gabions are some sort of resin models I got somewhere. I used Renedra wattle and wooden fencing as earth bank re-enforcement. I have handmade wattle works in the past but thought I would have a go with the plastic kits. I bent both sections by placing carefully bending the sections around a jam-jar and keeping it in place with a rubber band, then placing it in a container of boiling water. When it cools it comes out curved – much easier and safer on the fingers than making it myself

The other four gabions are hand-made using wire – I wanted half filled structures for the collapsed part of the work  and two unfilled ones as head protection. I made a little sheepskin covered mantlet out of wood, Milliput and Green Stuff.

The lonely engineer now seeks employment somewhere. I will have to think.

I was hoping to have some pictures of my Seven Years War Imperial cavalry regiments, – 12 of them in total – but some of the figures have gone missing.  Some Austrian Dragoons and some Saxon Chevau-leger and maybe a couple of stands of Curassiers.

Deserted I guess. And who would blame them?

Current  commission works are the  Sassanid General and some more Napoleonic Generals. If anyone wants me to do anything as a commission please get in touch, especially if you want something a bit more interesting than just  ‘figures on a base’

The French ambulance is nearly done and I am planning the next set of vignettes that will be built and go on eBay. I am also going to start repairs on my 1/600 ACW fleets some of which are quite badly damaged and will need masts and rigging replaced. I am not sure I am looking forward to that. I might leave the rigging off this time.

Yes I think so…

Anyroads some pics of the ‘works’

From the enemy viewpoint

From the left flank – note the shallow damage from cannon shot – this may need a bit more soil on it.

From the left rear. A Voltigeur waits to have a shot.

Right rear view. A sharp shooter squints down his barrel, while an officer gets a good look with his telescope. Another engineer squeeses in to get a view, whilst a curious artilleryman looks on. Perhaps a wager is involved?

White Spirit…

Here are the Austrian infantry for my Imperial Army of the Seven Years war. I am not sure what needs to be said that I haven’t said before.

The Flag of I.R. Platz is correct. Why it was quite different I do not know.

The regiments were selected on a whim apart from I.R. Toscana where I just liked the idea of buff belting contrasting with the uniforms..

Some units have a regimental artillery model which I neglected to photograph. I will catch up with this when I do the cavalry.

I have also photographed the grenadiers of the army. They turn out to quite a sizeable force in their own right. There are probably too many of them really in scale comparison with the infantry regiments and for some reason that escapes me at the moment I didn’t give every regiment a grenadier co – or it could be that I simply cannot find them.

The grenadiers of the Reichsarmee are particularly nice. I had to do quite a bit of alteration here and there because many of them had subtle differences from the straight Prussian or Austrian uniform.

Please feel free to comment.

I.R Platz

Platz flag

Hoch und Deutschmeister

Marquis de Los Rios

Prince Esterhazy

Prince Charles

Duke of Tuscany

Prince de Ligne (I think)

Not sure who these fine fellows are

These are the Hoch und Deutschmeister (again!)

Forget who

I think these are Graf d’Arberg

Grenadiers of the Reichsarmee

Grenadiers of Austria

More Grenadiers of the Reichsarmee

More Grenadiers of Austria

Now where did I put those cavalry…

Genius at work…

Here is the military genius that was His Serene Highness, Frederick Michael, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld, Field Marshall of the Imperial Armies. I decided to do a model that reflected  his gravitas, his cunning and his innate understanding of the ‘Arte of Warre’ – or failing that, that matched his own opinion of himself and so built a large base of  him arriving in style  on the battlefield to make a ‘telling manouvre’ (a la Bernadotte!).

I suppose the only thing that suggests  the extent the range of his martial abilities is to compare him to his rivals for command of the Imperial Army, the stalwart Francis I, by the grace of God elected Holy Roman Emperor, forever August, King in Germany and of Jerusalem, Archduke of Austria, Duke of Lorraine, Bar, and Grand Duke of Tuscany, Duke of Calabria, in Silesia of Teschen, Prince of Charleville, Margrave of Pont-à-Mousson and Nomeny, Count of Provence, Vaudémont, Blâmont, Zütphen, Saarwerden, Salm, Falkenstein, etc. etc. An exceptionally well qualified man by dint of being married to Maria Theresa.

Or the indomitable Prince Charles Alexander of Lorraine (Grand Master of the Teutonic Order, and Inhaber of I.R. ‘Hoch und Deutschmeister’), perhaps the greatest general to lead armies on the plans of Europe. Indeed many may argue that his Generalship was soly responsible for the rise of Frederick the Great.

It just goes to show that despite having a very competent army and any number very capable generals, the powers behind the throne managed to select these three buffoons (lovely word) to lead the Imperial Army, until desperation gave way to clarity and they appointed someone who knew what they were doing.

General Nadsady

another view

Graf O’ Donnell

Forgotten who this is…

another General

Burgunder Booty

A change of military pace here on Atelier-Robin and  with some trepidation, here are some pictures of figures I painted some time ago.

I have had an interest in Charles the Bold since visiting Switzerland in 1980 and gawping at the museum displays and over the years have amassed a decent library about him and his court – especially the flags captured in 1476-77.

So when I was asked to paint this army I leaped at the chance.  I am especially proud of the flags. I admit some don’t work as well as the others and there needs to be some explanation.

At least two of the Burgundian infantry flags are wrong. Unfortunately I was relying on Osprey and ‘wargaming’ books at the time. It was only when in correspondence with Rune Kramm of  http://www.krigsspil.dk/ that I worked it out. There seems to be an unfortunate trend within the hobby that sees people simply copy the mistakes other people make without checking, and call it research. I have learned to be both very wary of some things produced as ‘guides to’ and folk who produce flags for figures.

Some of the Italian flags for this army were simply made up by me. Reprehensible I know, but there is a form of logic at work here, if a bit skewed. Some flags are known and I have done those. Other flags I did are based either coats of arms (which are accurate) or mid-late C15th, paintings and allegorical drawings, which looked ‘right’. The figures had to have flags and I would rather trust my own judgement as to what looked right, based on fairly extensive research, but ultimately compromising on accuracy.

There are other pictures in the Burgundian section of the gallery.

Actually alythough I call them MY Burgundians, I painted these for my friend John.

Italian Mercenaries. The claw is definitely the correct emblem of one band of mercenaries, the other flag is copied from a C15th painting. Behind are some Flemish town flags ( I think!)

Two more ‘allegorical’ flags from Italian artwork of the C15th.

This picture has the two incorrect flags on it. In the pikes, the blue flag with the rounded fly and the red flag with the Burgundian cross are both incorrect for the Burgundian Wars. They were captured by the Swiss later. The red flag next to the blue one, is reconstructed from an incomplete fragment in the Swiss flag collection.
In front you can see two more correct Italian heraldic banners.

A Burgundian company flag with (I think) St Thaddeus. Other flags in the background are made up Italian mercenary flags using allegorical images and some ‘non’ Ordonnance Gens d’Armes

This is a converted ‘murder’ piece. One of those over sized ‘handgonnes’ that could do as much damage to the operators as the enemy. The Pavise was inspired by some of the figures painted by the St Petersburg Collection from Russia. These are obscenely good 54mm figures. It is supposed to be ‘St George’ which was Charles’ personal Saint. Its a shame it doesnt quite work in 28mm. Take a look at the St Petersburg Collection. It will make you weep.

Flemish chaps!

This is Charles. On one side is the Ducal banner, on the other his personal standard.
The figures behind him look like Italian mercenaries.

This is Edward IV. I love the way his personal banner came out. The Royal Standard looks a bit crappy in this photograph – I simply cannot get my head around painting Fleur de Lys and the leopards just wouldn’t come out properly.
The scenery in the backgound – tents trees and wagon fort were also made by me.