Harald Hardrada

I have just finished reading a very interesting article in the new magazine "All About History". The magazine is very accessible with numerous illustrations. I thought it might make an easy read and was not expecting to learn very much. 

Well, I was pleasantly surprised by a very informative article about the life of Norwegian Viking, Harald Hardrada and his amazing career prior to the Battle of Stamford Bridge on 25 September 1066.

I had only ever heard about Hardrada's attempt to seize the English Crown at the same time as Duke William of Normandy's successful attempt. His life had become a footnote. This article gives a fairly thorough account of his time in the lands of the Kiev Rus, in Poland, Estonia and later in the service of Byzantium.

The magazine is worth a look. I found some of the spelling and grammatical errors disappointing. Hopefully these will be corrected. However the range of articles is very wide and the subjects are often quite unusual. Let's see how it evolves.

Generallieutenant Johann Adolf Freiherr von Thielmann and Staff: Eureka 100 Club

Nic Robson has launched a new 100Club listing: Napoleonic Saxon Command Set with General Thielmann

You can place an order request at:

http://eurekamin.com.au/product_info.php?cPath=87_88_95&products_id=12695

Please place your orders and spread the word so that the concept can be launched successfully. It requires 150 orders for a 100Club project to go into production. I have agreed to help with the research and design.

I believe this will be the first time a set of Saxon Generals and Staff will be produced in 28mm. The set will be the perfect compliment to Eureka's Garde du Corps and von Zastrow Cuirassiers.

Here he is in various representations during his varied service.

Generallieutenant Johann Adolf Freiherr von Thielmann, 1812

I am looking for information on the uniform worn by Generallieutenant  Johann Adolf Freiherr von Thielmann in 1812 and at Borodino in particular. All I have right now is this card by Herbert Knötel.

Herbert Knötel card: Saxon General Officer

Any information would be appreciated.

Austrian Grenadier Cap 1813

In response to a TMP question, I am posting this image by Patrice Courcelle of the Austrian Grenadier's bearskin "bag" colour/pattern per the 1813 Regulations. This was kindly provided by a TMP friend when I was asking the same question.  The reference, and credit, is "Ceux Qui Bravaient l'Aigle"

Sächsische Garde du Corps 1812

For my 100th post to my Blog in 2013 I offer a preview. My next unit will be the "Sächsische Garde du Corps 1812". The raw material is the amazing Eureka set of Garde du Corps figures.

As with the von Zastrow's, I will be following the careful research of Peter Bunde and his amazing Brigade Uniform Plates.  These are easily made available in the US by Buddy Hoch at Triangle Miniatures.

Kürassier Regiment von Zastrow: Finished!

Here is the completed Kürassier Regiment von Zastrow with my custom flag added. In 1812 the Regiment formed part of Generallieutenant Johann Adolf Freiherr von Thielmann's Brigade, in Général de division Jean-Thomas-Guillaume Lorge 7^e division de cuirassiers.

Per Hourtelle, there were 627 effectives in the Regiment at the start of the 1812 Campaign. At the Moscowa, the Regiment fielded about 400 effectives. It is at this reduced strength that the Regiment is depicted here in four squadrons.

The unit was painted by Carl Robson using Eureka 28mm figures.

The von Zastrow's were considered to be one of the finest Heavy Cavalry regiments in Europe. I think Carl has done them justice.

Kommandeur: Oberst Trutzchler

Friedrichshafen G-III

I just received my first Reviresco 1/144th scale kit: the Friedrichshafen G.III German bomber from WW1. I now have a good collection of Wings of War/Glory 1/144th scale aircraft, including the Gotha referenced in an earlier post. I was looking for another "heavy" bomber. Also after Jeff told me he was familiar with Reviresco, I wanted to examine the kit for myself. This model is interesting in that only the front fuselage and a few parts are cast in metal. The rest of the kit is made of pre-printed card stock with the German-style lozenge camouflage already nicely presented. Nevertheless it looks like a daunting task to assemble correctly and I may be asking Jeff for more than just advise!

This will make an interesting addition to our already exciting WW1 tabletop battles.

The Reviresco web site is well worth a visit. They sell 1/144th scale pilots and observers for their WW1 aircraft which I also ordered and look very good. I see a lot of Wings of Glory fans use these metal castings to re-equip their model aircraft.