The Army of Frederick the Great (3 Viewers)

[theBaron]

Well, we're snowed in here in Bethlehem, the first proper snow of this winter, and what better time to post some more pictures from my collection! I've shoveled several times, made some soup, and had a couple beers (Brooklyn Brewing Co.'s dark chocolate stout, a Christmas present from friends), and uploaded some pictures. So, here goes!

First, the old devil himself, der Alte Fritz, Old Fritz, as he was endearingly known, to his troops, and to the Berliners who saw him ride past every day:

This casting is by New Hope Designs, from their series based on Osprey's "Men At Arms" series, which I do not hesitate highly to recommend. I liked the pose of this figure, the dynamic king, directing, always hands-on. Here is another angle:

You can recognize New Hope Designs figures by the octagonal base. And if you have the figure in your hand, the bases are marked underneath as such.

Here is another figure of Frederick that I have, this one, depicting him out for a walk with his beloved dogs:

This kit was made by William Murray of NJ, who traded as "The Old Guard"
Alone among the officers, Frederick usually wore his coat closed, with his waist sash over it, because he felt the cold, and, well, he was the king, so he could wear his uniform as he pleased. One contemporary compared him to a Scottish chieftain, for the way he wore his uniform, to emphasize his connection to his army, the way a laird related to his clan.

Next up, another member of the royal house, the king's younger brother, Prince Henry:

He was an able field commander, by some accounts, more skilled than Frederick himself, though my own reading is that they were equally talented but with different emphases in their generalship. Henry commanded his own army, in the "central" front of Saxony and Bohemia, during the Seven Years War. Prince Henry displayed great personal courage; for example, at the siege of Prague, when Regiment 13 stopped at the edge of a river, for fear of drowning, he himself plunged in, to show that it could be crossed, and so, restarted their advance.

Here is another picture from another angle:

This figure is another Puchala casting, and is based on a sketch, I believe, by Menzel. I added a little bit of Miliput for groundwork, which let me push the map table and figure into the base.

More to follow...

 

[1879fanatic]

Brad,
Which Christmas present was better, the NYB beer or the digital camera?
I think it may be "the gift that keeps on giving alyear long"!
Great stuff. Love the map and table...was that part of the casting for the figure?
Mike

 

[theBaron]

Here is another Stadden casting, of which I have so many. This was a custom casting that I ordered, depicting a mounted Prussian officer:

I've painted him as a general wearing the uniform of Infantry Regiment 5, "Alt-Braunschweig" or "Brunswick-senior". This was the home regiment of the Duke of Brunswick, though he and his regiment served in different theaters. That was often the case in the Prussian army; a regiment's colonel-in-chief very likely was a general who didn't necessarily lead the regiment himself.

Here is another angle:

If I had do it over again, I might order a slightly different pose, such as a rearing horse. But I recommend these Stadden figures to anyone who paints his own. They are still available in the Tradition catalog.

Here is another Stadden figure, this one, painted as an officer of engineers:

I think the casting was actually supposed to be a British officer, but uniforms were so similar from one army to the next in the 18th century, that I was able to make this one a Prussian engineer, without any modifications.

Another angle:

He's studying a map of a fortification. The engineer corps in the Prussian army was a semi-civilian corps, since the science and mathematics necessary to the profession were considered almost uncouth by the nobles who made up the rest of the officer corps. As a result, engineer officers were sometimes looked down upon as bourgeois, or little better than tradesment. They also sported variations in their uniforms, such as waistcoasts embroidered in civilian fashion, marking them out from the other officers. They were also often employed on civil engineering projects.

Here is another of the great generals of the Prussian army, Ferdinand, the Duke of Brunswick:

This is another portrait figure by Ulrich Puchala.
The Duke commanded the "Allied" army of Hannoverians, Hessians, Brunswickers and Prussians on the "western" front in central Germany during the Seven Years War, keeping the French and Reichs- armies from the Prussian heartland. His greatest victory was at Minden in 1759. After that point, the French never really threatened to invade Brandenburg again, during the war.

More to follow...

 

[theBaron]

Some figures with flags...

This is a company officer of the "Itzenplitz" regiment (Nr. 13), with a company flag:

This is another Stadden casting. I think I got this one off eBay; he may originally have held a spontoon in his left hand, but the pose suggested to me an officer seizing the colors and encouraging his men on to the attack.

Regiment "Itzenplitz" was nicknamed "Thunder and Lightning"-it rhymes in German, "Donner und Blitz", and was known as a hard-fighting and hard-drinking outfit.

A couple more angles:

I made the flag using my standard method, laminating a couple of sheets of tinfoil with CA glue. I outsmarted myself-I thought the flag would look cool with the folds, not thinking that I would have to paint the detail deep in those folds Still, I was happy with the way it turned out. I like this figure's look of grim determination.

Here is an ensign, or Fähnrich of the Winterfeldt regiment (Nr. 1), carrying the Leibfahne, the colonel's color:

While the colors of Prussian regimental flags usually had no significance, there was one constant. The Leibfahne was white with a center in the color of the field of the ordinary regimental colors. So for Winterfeldt, the Leibfahne is white with an orange center ground, and the company colors were orange with a white center. Scrollwork and lettering usually matched the regiment's button color (gold for brass, or silver).

Here is another view of this figure:

This is another of my early castings, using Prins August molds. I cast this one, maybe 18 years ago. That was before I had learned that officers didn't wear moustaches, except for hussar officers or Cossacks, so I painted one on this one. I hadn't yet settled on a good casting alloy, either, so the figure's details are rather indistinct. Still, it has the toy soldier look, that I shoot for.

Here is a Fähnrich with a company color, from Infantry Regiment Nr. 9 "Kleist":

This is another Puchala figure, which I modified slightly. The original carried a color wrapped in its oilskin cover. It was relatively easy to modify the right arm to hold a full staff with color instead.

Here is a view from the back:

Again, the flag is foil, laminated with CA glue. In fact, this might even be a candy wrapper, from a Reese's miniature.

Another Fähnrich and company color, this time, from Infantry Regiment 18, "Prinz von Preussen":

"Fähnrich" came from a nickname going back at least to the Thirty Years War, "Fahnen-Heinrich"-"Flag-Henry", applied to the younger officers detailed to carry a company's colors.

A rear view of this figure:

This regiment was commanded by another royal brother, Prince August Wilhelm. After Frederick reprimanded him-unjustly, as it turned out-for retreating after an action in 1758, he retired from the army and died soon after. But it was his son who would succeed his childless royal uncle, as Frederick William II, and from him, the remaining Kings of Prussia and German Emperors descended.

Next installment follows...

 

[theBaron]

Some more infantry...

A soldier of Frederick's royal bodyguard regiment, IR 15:

This is another Puchala figure. From the back:

Though he wears the tricorn, the "hatmen" of the Guard were ranked as grenadiers, and ranked with non-commissioned officers of the line regiments. They were known as Flügelgrenadiere, "grenadiers of the wing", as opposed to proper grenadiers, who were called "grand grenadiers" in the Guard.
This figure wears the full lace dress coat, worn in Potsdam in peacetime. But the Guard served in the field, for which they wore a simpler uniform, without much of the expensive silver lace.

A Prussian Jäger, (right) next to his counterpart from the army of Hessen-Cassel:

The Prussian is a Stadden casting, the Hessian by Lasset. In this pic, you can see how Stadden sculpted his figures more robust than did John Tassell. Also, for the Stadden, the rifle is more accurate than the longer weapon that came with the Lasset casting. Jäger carried rifled muskets, hunting rifles, really, that were shorter than the smooth-bore muskets carried by the regular infantry.

Here's a shot of the back of these figures:

If you look closely, you can see how I tried to reproduce the steer's horn used for their powderhorns.

A pair of grenadiers:

Another pairing of a Stadden figure (on the left) and a Lasset figure. The Stadden figure I painted as a grenadier sergeant of the 27th Infantry Regiment. The figure may have held a musket in his right hand at one time, but I added a half-pike from brass rod, and his Spanish cane from a piece of wire.

The Lasset figure on the right represents a grenadier of the Hessen-Cassel regiment "Prinz Carl". On his shoulder belt, he wears the match case that grenadiers originally wore to carry a piece of burning matchcord, when their principal purpose was to carry and through hand grenades at enemy positions.

Again, you can see the difference in style between Stadden and Tassell:

A general in the uniform of the Winterfeldt regiment (nr. 1);

This is another copy of a pewter figure, the same as one I showed in one of the other threads. I can't remember who made this figure, but I remember that he was one of a series of pewter figures depicting the Revolutionary War. and that they were mounted on short pedestals, which were painted black.

Rounding out the infantry figures tonight is a sergeant on recruiting duty:

This is another figure by Ulrich Puchala. He is a sculptor of unique talent, who produced his own catalog of 54mm figures for years, covering the Seven Years War, the Napoleonic Wars, WWII and the Bundeswehr. He has since moved on to produce 120mm figures, but his 54mm line was purchased by Müritz-Miniaturen (http://www.mueritz-miniaturen.de), and I recommend them to anyone who paints and who collects Seven Years War figures. They are excellent.

Another angle of the sergeant, who is from Infantry Regiment 17, "Manteuffel":

The table came with the kit; the plain wooden Teller with a hunk of brown bread and a sausage represent an early modeling attempt on my part, using Miliput.

Companies performed their own recruiting, in Frederick's army, until just before the end of his reign. Each regiment had a home depot area, but the company commander would detail one of his lieutenants and some non-coms to travel through Germany and enlist men, specifically for the company. It was said that the captains strove to put together the best-looking and best set-up men that they could, and the quality of the company and the regiments reflected that.

Next, some cavalry...

 

[theBaron]

Now we look at some of Frederick's cavalrymen...

First, the great general of hussars, the "Hussar-King" himself, Hans Joachim von Ziethen:

This is another New Hope Designs figure. It represents Ziethen in the gala uniform of his regiment, which includes the dramatic pelt. I've painted this slightly inaccurately, however, based on an erroneous source. The pelts were a gift to the regimental commanders from the Queen Mother, Sophia Dorothea. But Dorn & Engelmann in their book, "The Cavalry Regiments of Frederick the Great", noted that they were tiger skins (op cit, p. 120). However, every other source, from illustrators Menzel and Knötel, to those units in the Imperial Army who wore the traditional uniforms on ceremonial occasions, notes that they were leopard skins. But I wasn't about to go back and repaint this and the other figures I have.

Here is a rear view of this figure:

Ziethen was considered a master of light cavalry and light infantry tactics, as well as being an able field commander in the traditional sense.

Here are two of Ziethen's regimental officers, this time, by Stadden:

The tiger/leopard skins were worn by the first three officers of each squadron in the regiment, and later, also by the regimental staff officers.

Here is a shot of all three figures:

I intended to illustrate with this pic the point I've made elsewhere about scale and variations among manufacturers, for figures of the same scale. The New Hope Ziethen is a true 54mm, and comes close to capturing his small stature, while the Stadden figures are a little robust for hussars of the day. Typically, the Prussians recruited smaller men, 5' 6" or shorter, for their hussars, believing them to be nimbler and more agile than larger men. Still, this is a pretty cool-looking figure, no matter who makes it!

More cavalry figures to follow...

 

[theBaron]

Another of Frederick's hussar commanders, Colonel von Belling, and one of his men:

The figure of Belling is again, an Ulrich Puchala casting, and it really does look like contemporary portraits of the man. The figure of the Belling hussar is from Imrie's old Hellenic series, and it is based on a Menzel uniform study of Belling's regiment.

Here is another view of these figures:

Belling's regiment was one of two "Black" hussars in Frederick's cavalry, so called after the color of their pelisses and dolmans. They also wore a death badge, a reclining skeleton with a scythe and hourglass. Because of this badge, they were known as the "Whole Death" regiment. They served mostly in the north, in Pomerania, against the Swedes, who still maintained a foothold on the German coast at the time. It was Belling's regiment who captured a young man in Swedish service, named Blücher (neigh!!!!!!), who then enlisted in the Prussian army and went on to great fame in his own right.

Another Hellenic hussar casting, painted as a hussar of the Malachowski regiment:

As you may have noted by now, regiments in the Prussian army were known by the names of the commander at the time, though a system of numbers was attempted by the Old Dessauer in Frederick William's time.

Here is another view of this figure:

This casting actually represents a French hussar of the late ancien regime or early Republican period, but such is the nature of hussar uniforms that with almost no change, it can be painted as a Prussian, Hungarian or Russian hussar of the Seven Years War as well (or any of the smaller German states, too). I have three more of these on the bench right now (maybe I'll put up pics of those as an SBS).

More cavalry follow...

 

[theBaron]

Up next, some of the heavy cavalry, the Kürassiere...

Here is a color party of Regiment "Seydlitz" (Nr. 8):

These are also Stadden figures (surprise, surprise!). Kürassiere carried standards, so their ensigns were called "Standartenjunker". Here is a Standartenjunker accompanied by two troopers.

Here is a back view of the figures:

This color party would accompany the regimental commander, the great Seydlitz himself, but I haven't yet found a good figure of the man to include in my collection. It's the scale issue again, this time, the fact that Seydlitz was relatively tall. Also, the only really accurate portrait figure I've seen so far is by Puchala. The Stadden figures labelled "Seydlitz" in their catalog don't look anything like him; and they all look like all of their other Kürassier officers.

Seydlitz was responsible, more than anyone, for bringing the Prussian cavalry up to the same level of proficiency as the infantry, by the time of the Seven Years War, and was the author of several victories, such as Rossbach, or actions where he turned the tide, such as at Kolin. After the war, he was given the Inspection over one third of the cavalry regiments, for which he set the tone until his death in 1773.

Here a trio of Kürassier officers, all Staddens:

Each is the same basic casting, but I can change the colors and represent different regiments.

Two of the officers are from the bodyguard regiments, the one of the left, from the Regiment Gensdarmes, and the one on the right, from the Gardes du Corps. The Gensdarmes wore the black cuirass, had red facings, and blue Chemise or waistcoats, while the Gardes du Corps wore polished steel cuirasses, with red facings and red waistcoats.

The figure in the middle is from the 2nd Regiment, "Prince of Prussia", but also known as the Yellow Cuirassiers, since their coats retained the yellowish colors that the old buff leather coats of the regiments of horse wore in the 17th century. Officers also wore a ruffled fringe in the facing color, around the edges of the cuirass, had gold plating applied the edges, and wore a gold-plated gorget attached to the breastplate.

Last post of the evening to follow...

 

[theBaron]

Here is one of the Princes of the Empire who took service with the Prussian army, Duke Friedrich Eugen of Württemberg:

He commanded the 12th regiment of dragoons, and also served as a commander of detachment, which functioned almost as corps did in the Napoleonic wars.

Another angle:

This is another very accurate portrait figure by Ulrich Puchala, after a Menzel portrait.

The service some German princes in the Prussian army was sometimes problematic, as their home states often supplied troops for the Imperial army, and it happened that they could face their own subjects in battle. Württemberg supplied a contingent for the Swabian district of the Reichsarmee, for example, and the Hessians provided troops for the Rhein district, but also had regiments serving under the Duke of Brunswick against the French and Reichsarmee in Hannover and Westfalia.

Here is a picture of the Duke with a dragoon of his regiment:

The dragoon is another Stadden figure, and this illustrates the difference in size and scale that I discussed before, and it illustrates how Stadden figures are relatively robust in their sculpt. It also shows once again how the same basic casting can be painted to represent any one of a number of states and regiments. This is the same casting as I've shown in some of the other pictures of Prussian dragoons, and in Stadden's catalog, it was intended to be a Brunswick dragoon of the Revolutionary War!

Well, it's a quarter past two, so time for bed! I hope you've enjoyed this latest batch of figures from my collection, as much as I have enjoyed sharing all this with you!

Prosit!
Brad

 

[aujj65]

Well, it's a quarter past two, so time for bed! I hope you've enjoyed this latest batch of figures from my collection, as much as I have enjoyed sharing all this with you!

Prosit!
Brad

Brad, how many more do you have? ........apart from the marvelous figures that you have painted your commentary gives us an insight into a very interesting (& complicated) period of history.

Thanks

Jeff

 

[PolarBear]

Brad

This is a wonderful and very different collection. Thank you for sharing the history of this era in miniature.

Randy

 

[beating retreat]

Hi Brad nice collection enjoyed reading the history with them, thanks for sharing
Regards John

 

[theBaron]

Brad,
Which Christmas present was better, the NYB beer or the digital camera?
I think it may be "the gift that keeps on giving alyear long"!
Great stuff. Love the map and table...was that part of the casting for the figure?
Mike

LOL! I think I love them both equally, Mike! You know, it makes me realize that I am blessed with loving parents and good friends. When stuff goes wrong, I remind myself of that.

The beer is pretty good....

 

[theBaron]

Hello, again, everyone, I had some time to take pictures of some more of the figures from this collection, and without further ado, here they are.

This figure is another Puchala casting, a Prussian Jäger:

The figure is based on another Adolf Menzel sketch, I believe. Because of the dynamic pose, I had to make more of a base than I have for the others.

Here's a side view of this figure:

The bush is a piece of fine root from a real shrub I dug up in my yard, brushed with white glue, and sprinkled with old tea leaves. I also sprinkled tea leaves on some areas of the base, too. I like the way it turned out, and I've thought about using that technique on more of my figures' bases.

Here's another Puchala casting, this one, a portrait figure of Hans Carl von Winterfeldt:

Winterfeldt had a long career, including service in the Russian imperial army, and after returning to Prussia, he recruited other Germans serving in Russia to come take commissions in Frederick's army. He was also the closest thing Frederick had to an intelligence chief, using his many contacts throughout Europe to gather information

I have to include a shot of the map table, which came with the kit:

If you look closely, it's a map of Silesia, with the surrounding territories, the prize of Frederick's wars.

More to follow...

 

[theBaron]

Here is yet another kit by Ulrich Puchala, this time, an officer and his Bursche (batman):

This is a great little kit, and just further illustrates how talented Ulrich is. I recommend his kits, from any era, to anyone looking for well-sculpted figures.

Here is rear view:

For this kit, I made the table myself, out of a scrap of balsa for the top, and matchsticks for the legs. I needed something on which to lay the officer's hat and cane. Eventually these figures will have a place in a larger display, that is on the drawing board.

Next up, a group of figures, with another figure of the great king himself...

 

[aujj65]

Brad, well these are certainly something different and very well executed.

Jeff

 

[Spitfrnd]

Those are very nice Brad, especially the last set.

 

[theBaron]

Here, Frederick receives a report from one of the many adjutants attached to the royal party:

These are Stadden/Tradition figures, with the seated figure of Frederick by Puchala. These were all eBay finds, by the way.

Here is another shot of Frederick:

This is another great portrait figure, based on a Menzel sketch, but it was a bear to put together. The hard part was getting everything the king's feet, the chair's legs, and his stick to all touch the same base at the same time. At the same time, his left arm had to rest on the chair's armrest. I think his arm doesn't quite touch, but in the end, it's a cool-looking piece, I think.

The officer making the report is a Stadden casting:

I think he is supposed to represent a British officer circa 1741, but again, because the uniforms were so similar, I was able to paint him as an officer of the Hannoverian army, from the Regiment Garde zu Fuß, or Foot Guards.

The Hannoverian army was allied with Prussia in the Seven Years War, since her ruler, the Elector George, was also King George II of Great Britain, who was embroiled in fighting with the French, as we know, in North America, but also in the Caribbean and in India. George ruled his province from London, however, through trusted ministers and representatives of the Landtag, the Hannoverian parliament, since the act that brought the House of Hannover to the British throne included a stipulation that Great Britain would not be bound to fight for the Electorate, and vice versa. But the personal union of King and Elector meant that there would be a de facto coordination, if not a legal one.

In any case, the figure's pose, with the piece of paper in one hand and pencil in the other, suggested to me an officer reading from a sheaf of notes.

Like their British counterparts, Hannoverian officers wore their sashes over their shoulder, instead of around their waists, as most of the other German armies did. And many of the infantry regiments wore red coats. But the cut was decidedly more Prussian than the British coats of the day. So if I want to make Hannoverians, instead of using the current Tradition castings of the British army, I would use my Prins August molds and cast them.

Here is the figure standing behind the king in the picture above, another Stadden casting:

I've painted him as an officer from the Alt-Braunschweig Regiment (IR 5).

Here's a rear view:

This figure already had the pipe, which I though looked pretty cool, though it's not entirely of accurate shape for the time. I added the cane, since his right hand was held behind his back but was open.

Here is the fourth figure from this group, a Tradition casting of an old Stadden design:

I think that this figure is in the Stadden part of Tradition's catalog as a figure of Prince Henry, but it doesn't really look like him, anyway. I have another copy of this casting on the bench right now, half-finished.

Coming up, fulfilling a promise to Jeff...

 

[theBaron]

Here you go, Jeff, as promised, the Green Hussars!

(along with hussars from two other regiments!)

The hussar at the left of the picture is from the Belling Regiment (see earlier post in this thread), and is another Puchala casting. The other three castings are by Dolp in Germany, I buy these online at Scholtz' Berliner Zinnfiguren, www.zinnfigur.de.

The second and third figures are from the Green Hussars, the regiment of Friedrich Wilhelm von Kleist during the Seven Years War. Kleist commanded this regiment, but also commanded a Freikorps as well, and was one of Frederick's most able commanders of those irregular units. The third figure is a portrait figure of Kleist himself, though it's not sold as such.

The regiment itself was raised under Frederick's father, who was so impressed with a squadron of hussars that he saw while on a visit to Bayreuth, that he commissioned a squadron of "Prussian Hussars", as they were first known. Originally recruited from Hungarian deserters and Poles, in the belief that "a German doesn't make a good hussar," later that prejudice was proved untrue. The requirements of the service-independent action, scouting, picket duty-meant that reliable men needed to be recruited, and many hussars came from middle class families, and were often well-educated, and looking to make their fortune.

Here are the figures from the back:

The fourth hussar is from the 4th Regiment, the White Hussars, originally raised as lancers in 1741 in Poland by Colonel Natzmer, but soon discarding the lance as unfamiliar to the Hungarians who were later recruited.

Dolp is another maker whose figures I recommend. He produces figures in varied and lively poses.

One more group of figures for today, coming up next...

 

[theBaron]

Last set for today, these are more figures made in Germany, by the Archiv Verlag, "Archive Publishing". They are sort of the German version of the Franklin Mint (excepting, of course, Franklin Mint's German subsidiary), and though they specialize in printed material, they have commissioned figure sets, this one, on the Army of Frederick the Great.

Here are five figures from that series, which I have repainted:

From left to right, they are a Jäger, an officer of the 7th Dragoon Regiment, an officer of the Regiment Garde, an officer of the 7th Hussars, and another copy of the Jäger figure.

This series is a mixed bag; some of the castings are very good, like the dragoon officer and the Guards officer. Others have roughly sculpted features, like the hussar officer and the Jäger casting. The cheeks on those figures are almost squared off-think Darth Vader's mask.

Here's a back view of these figures:

I added the hat for the Guards officer; I don't think he was missing one, they just cast him without a hat, but with his hands clasped behind him, as if he were holding one. Another bit of quality-control missed, in my opinion.

The figures were painted in matte colors, and are cast with a small base, to which is glued the larger square base. Underneath is inscribed the figure's number in the series, a brief description (like "Dragoon officer"), and then the number of sets issued (1000).

I think their process could be compared to Del Prado, that is, some are done very well, others not so well. But since I'm stripping them and repainting them, anyway, I don't mind at all. When I have the whole set done, I'll put up pictures of them as a set. They were also issued with little certificates, like Franklin Mint does; I have one of the certificates, but I'm not too worried about tracking down more of them.

I hope you've enjoyed seeing this latest batch, I am getting to the end of this part of my collection, at least as far as completed figures are concerned. But I have a lot of kits and castings, and a lot of paint, so they won't be running out anytime soon.

Prost!
Brad