Sieges: More recruits for the "Cast of Hundreds"

 For the last two days I've been working on rescuing figures from the Painted Spares boxes to assemble some of the 3-man infantry companies I need for my WSS siege games.

Apart from their much-envied ability to stand on a narrow walkway behind the walls or in a trench, these fellows are needed to carry out trench raids, to perform guard duties for sapper teams and (in the case of the garrison) for policing duties, to control the excesses of a hostile civilian population. 

As I mentioned in my previous post, the emphasis here is on retouching pre-painted figures, mounting them on slimline 50mm x 20mm bases (a new size for me), and trying to make them as versatile as possible.

I have now knocked together 5 "battalions" of 4 companies each thus far - I'm pleased with them - I might need a couple more. They aren't going to win many prizes, but they will only get out to play every now and then, and it beats the bejesus out of leaving them to fester away in the spares boxes.

Here's what I've finished off this afternoon. The figures are all Les Higgins castings of considerable age, and they were all owned and painted by other collectors before they came to me!

 

The 5 battalions of siege companies; from the rear, there are 2 rows of French, 1 of Austrian grenadiers and 2 of British grenadiers

 

 

Some of the British grenadiers; synchronised throwing of grenades always reminds me of Dad's Army, and such an activity might be a bit old-fashioned anyway by the time of the WSS, but in a siege a grenade might be just the thing to chuck over a wall or into a trench. Very shiny fellows indeed

 

 

Some very nicely painted Austrian grenadiers I picked up on eBay when I was still an occasional shopper there. It really doesn't matter, but I challenge anyone to come up with an Imperial infantry unit with green facings in this period. It's OK - sleepless nights reading and searching online have turned up a suitable identity, which I find quite gratifying. In fact there were two such - both from the Fränkische Kreis (Würzburg area) - one of which wasn't raised until 1711, which is a bit late, but one is right on the money; the 3rd Franconian Circle regiment was present at 1st Höchstädt, Donauworth, and the siege of Landau, green facings and everything. It's original commander resigned when he inherited the Margraviate of Brandenburg-Ansbach in 1703 (as one would, of course). He was replaced by one Johann Friedrich Mohr von Wald, who sadly only lasted a year before he was mortally wounded at the Schellenberg in 1704, so the colonelcy then passed to Georg Philipp von Boyneburg (you must remember Georg Philipp? - his mother used to wash our stairs...). Anyway, you've been introduced

 

These are from the more faded end of Eric Knowles' French army - I've used most of the good ones already for line regiments, but these guys cleaned up well enough for this siege job. They are especially useful, since they can also stand in very nicely for Dutch, Austrian, Danish, and a whole stack of German principalities, many of which I haven't even heard of

I've still to put the magnetic sheet under all these; oh yes - may I please give an appreciative shout-out to the lads at Warbases, who got the new 50x20 bases to me in 24 hours.