Here at last

I lobbied Strelets to produce proper old school Austrian cuirassiers for the War of Spanish Succession to be fair, not just me). Well, they obliged and produced two sets, called "Austrian" and "Bavarian" but honestly they've got the same kit, just different poses. I ordered a load before Christmas, together with some French Dragoons I'm also going to use as Hungarian Hussars. 

After doing some Ottoman units, and finishing off some Battlefield Society work, I have at last found time to paint a few.

They are magnificent sculpts, and my painting doesn't do them justice. The detail on the figures is well defined, with lovely animation. There is one major problem. For whatever reason  - possibly due to pressures from the War in Ukraine - they are boxed with horses sculpted for an earlier set of figures. This means, not to be unkind, that straight off the sprue the men simply don't fit on the horses. The saddle roll, for example, is where the skirts of the buff coat needs to be.

Because the horses are soft plastic this is an easy problem to fix. A few minutes with a Stanley knife removed the saddle rolls, and slimmed the sides of the horses. In terms of preparing the figures for painting a lot less time than sticking a box of hard plastics together. 

It may also be the case that they have had slight issues with production for the same reason, and there was a little bit more flash than I've been accustomed to seeing from the recent Strelets production. But, like whatever. They're working in a city that is being bombed and shelled, and I'm complaining about a small amount of plastic I can easily remove with a X-acto #1 blade.

Anyway, back to the figures I actually painted. I've been selective from the boxes to put together a troop that is charging whilst waving swords. I've avoided using the flag bearers, drummers and trumpeters as they have more exotic uniforms, that are definitely WSS. I had the mad thought that these chaps might do double duty and end up in a plastic 30 years war army as well. The middle figure is an officer, and he has a classic 18th century curly wig protruding from the back of his helmet, but whose to know?

I like the figure in the middle, leaning back slightly to control his horse.

The varnish seems to have collected on the sword blades more than normal when you look at them on the photograph.

According to Kronoskaf.com all cuirassier regiments had the same flag. Which is handy, as I've printed out a sheet of them.

I am really pleased with these figures. Just need an excuse to get them out on the table. Perhaps if I can get another coupe of units done I can give them a run in with my sipahis.