Wooden Hussars and Forest Canopy

The two latest additions to my 6mm MDF French Revolution Rivoli project are both Austrian hussar regiments.  The No 11 Erdody Hussars and the No 30 Wurmser Hussars.

Unfortunately, neither my camera nor my camera skills are great.  So this is the first of perpetual apologies on this matter.

This second image probably gives a better view of the little MDF troopers.

There is a surprising amount of detail burnt into the figures.  The sleeves on the pelisse follows the laser engraving.

With these I have almost completed all the figures for the two armies at Rivoli.  So my attention has turned to the terrain.

At this scale I would prefer to show forest canopy rather than individual trees.  Here are my efforts so far.

Basically, I cut some wire mesh and bend the legs which will get painted a brown colour.

Dark green or brown felt is cut a little larger than the mesh and glued on.  I first followed a suggestion to use scouring pads, but found this cleaner, easier and gives good results... in my opinion.

Then various shades of scenic foliage... you know the stuff you can get from railway modelling shops, is glued onto the felt  Spreading the glue on the felt will help stiffen it.

Once it is all dry I spray the foliage with watered down PVA glue to stiffen it ready for abuse by gamers.  This can take a while to dry, so don't expect to use it the next day.

And here is it with 6mm figures by it.

The Small World

My small wargaming world is limited indeed.

So, the small world consists of 28mm French Revolutionary armies,  French and Austrian.  The collection is small, but space and budget always meant that was going to be the case.

The most recent outing can be found in a report on the Battle of Montenotte at Don't Throw A One.

French Revolution Grenadiers - Elite Miniatures

The world now drops in size to the Franco-Prussian War in 15mm.  The collection is far from complete, but has been with me the longest and brings me joy... as do the rules I use.  They don't get out much, and I must do something about it.  The last time can be found here and here.

French Grenadiers

The occupants now get even shorter.  In 6mm, I buzz around with World War Two aircraft.

Two Spitfires chasing a Do-17

I suppose that the main part of the collection is based around the Battle of Britain, though I have later aircraft as well.  These don't get out of the hangar much, mainly because I am conflicted between using my own rules and Check Your Six!

In the same scale are my French and Austrian Seven Years War armies.  I mean to get the Prussians etc. but other projects and my slow painting turnover have been big obstacles.  These guys saw action last year in a lockdown play by email encounter.  You can catch this here.  I use Koenig Krieg ver.2 rules and love them.  So simple, yet give a good flavour of the period.

French Infantry - Picardy Regiment

And lastly (I said it was a small world), is my latest project.  Again in 6mm, and returning to the French Revolution are my French and Austrian armies specifically for the Battle of Rivoli, 1797.  If you look closely at the Austrians below, you'll realise that they are not metal but MDF.

Austrian infantry and artillery

These are 6mm MDF figures sold by Commission Miniatures.  96 infantry figures for £2... I could not resist.  They are almost like flats, and have a certain old fashioned charm to them when painted.  

You're probably thinking why have two collections of the same period in different scales.  Well, this one is so that I can fight those bigger battles that just can't be done with justice by 28mm.  I'm looking to use an adapted Volley and Bayonet with these... so, very much army level and command.

And there your have your first insight into my wargaming habit.