Happy New Year – projects for 2015

An indication of what's to come in 2015.

"Der Alte Fritz" - Minden Miniatures.

This final blog post of 2014 will be dedicated to a brief look into the hobby year to come. 

These past few weeks have given me plenty of time to index my projects, creating an overview of which projects should be laid down, projects that need to be finished and also reflection on projects I’d like to start in the foreseeable future.

The father of Prussian two-front-war.

Frederick the Great.

At the same time I’ve had a look through my History/Hobby devoted library and chosen a few titles that I felt deserved a read, and would help create additional inspiration for the painting projects in the pipe line. Enough said – here is the list:

PAINTING PROJECTS FOR 2015

French infantry skirmishing 1870.

The Franco-Prussian War (Continued in 2015): This collection is at the very heart of my historical interest. I love this period of German unification and the drama on the French side with the collapse of the Empire, the Commune and the Republican struggle to continue the war against the occupation. It’s a conflict that casts long shadows all the way up to 1914, and perhaps beyond. I’m planning to extend my collection in 28mm, and dare I say, I’ll be making an announcement soon that will interest anyone who is into this period.

Prussian Grenadier, Seven Years War.

Minden Miniatures.

The Seven Years War (Newcomer for 2015): This is the period that got me into painting miniatures. As a young teenager I started out painting Revell’s 1/72 SYW plastics. The time has come to close the circle so to speak, and revive this old interest of mine. I’ve chosen Minden Miniatures' range for the project, with compliments to Richard Ansell’s amazing sculpts, which are in my opinion the finest out there in terms of anatomical and proportionate sculpting. My good friends Jesper and Rickard have a big SYW collection in 28, so by adopting their basing system I hope to add to their ranks and thus get to game quite fast with the minis.

The "Skagerrak" will rage on in 2015

More ships and even Zeppeliners to come!

WW1 Naval – The Battle of Jutland (Continued in 2015): Yes, my love for the crisply sculpted iron clads from the shipyards at GHQ has not diminished, and the collection for this epic sea battle will be expanded in the year to come with additions such as The Seydlitz, The König but also some of Scheer’s Zeppliners will be appearing over the horizon of the North Sea.

Charging Swedish Horse Guards - The Great Northern War.

The Great Northern War (Continued in 2015): This project was started in late 2014, and will be continued in the year to come building on the amazing GNW products coming out of Warfare Miniatures. This collection will be painted as part of a larger club project, anchored in our Stockholm Wargaming Club with participants such as Jesper, Michael and many other skilled people involved. We’re aiming at the Russian Campaign of 1708-09 with battles as Holowczyn, Lesnaya and Poltava as possible games to be explored.

"Nach Paris!" German WW1 Infantryman.

The Great War in 28 mm (Newcomer for 2015): For me this period is a continuation of the epic struggle between France and Germany in 1870-71, and naturally I need to explore this now with the centennial for many of these behemoth battles ringing in with the new year. I plan to focus on the early part of the war with The Battle of the Frontiers, The Battle of Mons and The Battle of the Marne as my primary targets. I will probably mix Mutton Chop Miniatures and Great War Miniatures for this project, paired up with some good books on the subject.

The St. Petersburg Grenadiers paced forward to meet the French.

Borodino 1812 (Continued in 2015): I will continue my work on this the most beautifully uniformed of all wargaming periods. I look very much forward to painting up my Great Redoubt, bought last year from Grandmanner in cast resin, and to continue my work on the wonderful miniatures from Victrix and Perry – Oh, by the way I saw Victrix will be releasing French artillery soon. An evident buy for Salute in April I imagine.

20th Massachusetts - a.k.a The Harvard Regiment.

ACW – Army of the Potomac (Continued in 2015): In 2013 I painted a playable sized Army of Northern Virginia in 28mm for used with the Black Powder rules, all arms included and mayor commanders now finished with the addition of Stonewall. For 2015 I need to switch North and continue my work on the boys in blue. This labour of love will be accompanied by the excellent Pod Cast on the American Civil War hosted by Rich and Tracy. I strongly recommend this Pod Cast for anyone interested in some audible entertainment while painting – they do an amazing and very detailed job. One could say the are the Shelby Footes of Civil War Podcasting.

BOOKS ON MY NIGHTSTAND IN 2015

The House of Krupp, by Peter Batty. Published 1966 by MS & W Ltd London

During the Second World War the RAF unloaded 36.000 tons (!) of bombs on a specific area in Essen no larger than 8 square kilometers. Within this area lay the Krupp works.  A symbol of sublime German engineering, but also of feared and legendary guns such as “Long Max” and “Big Bertha” the House of Krupp offers an insight to the family behind the name, tracing their roots back the 16th century. The Krupp conglomerate was destined to rise to its zenith during the industrial age under Bismarck, the Emperor and later the Third Reich. It’s a fascinating, personal and tragic story of the family, the guns and the business all intertwined into the politics of a turbulent age for Germany and consequently the World. It’s a book I very much look forward to reading.

The Franco-Prussian War 1870-71, Volume 2. After Sedan. By Quintin Barry, published 2006 by Helion & Company.

This brick of a book offers 520 pages on the second part of the war, which saw the formation of a new French Republic in the wake of the Emperor’s capture at Sedan. This new republic’s first act as a government was to renew the declaration of war on the German confederation! Much to Moltke’s dismay, the war would continue as hundred of thousands of French recruits and voluntaries would be drafted and offer legendary resistance in battles such as Coulmiers, Loigny, Belfort and the battles of Orleans. The book also offers complete orbats and a meticulously detailed account of the battles and the politics that shaped this second part of the Franco-Prussian War.

The Battle of The Frontiers, Ardennes 1914; by Terence Zuber. Published 2007 by The History Press in Charleston.

I was tempted to go for the “Guns of August”, but came across this more resent and interesting book on the first battle(s) of the Great War. With my interest in the Franco-Prussian War, I was surprised to see that infantry tactics had not changed dramatically, while artillery and automated fire had improved hundredfold since the days of Gravelotte and Sedan. The consequence of this unbalance would prove fatal to about 700.000 soldiers in the period of august and September 1914, as cavalry and formed infantry charged Vickers guns, and lessons learned would result in the stalemate of the later trench warfare.

Rossbach & Leuthen 1757, by Simon Millar.
Published 2002 by Osprey

The well known format from Osprey’s Campaign range, dealing in this case with these two defining victories of Frederick the Great. No further introduction is needed really. It will be a good read to get into the details on the battles and the orbats, which are always helpful when targeting units to paint.

PROJECTS LAID DOWN

Republican Romans: I've had to abandon this project, as other things came in the way, and since I'm more or less alone at the club on this period. Thus the collection containing wonderful 28's from Agema have been put up for sale here.

Bolt Action: We played a lot of these games about a year ago, but since then it has been taking the backseat to other projects. I painted two complete forces. One for the French and additionally for the Germans selecting the famous Fallschirmsjägers. For sale here.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

With all the above, my painting table seems set for 2015 with projects I look very much forward to initiating or in most cases continue my work on.

I thank you all again for your readership during the past year, and hope to see you again online in 2015.