Workbench more Poles and Cossacks for The Deluge and Nail Art

Another busy week of painting mainly Poles and Cossacks and I am starting to near the point where I can form actual units from the painted figures.

I have particularly focused on Cossack Pikemen and Polish Pancerni with a few other bits along the way this time, mainly to try get some units nearer completion.

With advice from chum Paul Robinson I have also experimented in nail art, more on this later.

In terms of finished units I think I am a few figures short of two Cossack infantry units and 2 Pancerni cavalry Banners (Companies) so great progress.

The Cossacks continue to be a motley mix of manufacturers, from left to right below are Perry Retreat from Moscow, Essex with a Perry head, TAG at the rear, Redoubt Enterprises and at the far right another TAG figures. I am a little unsure of the Perry peasant his head looks too Russian to me, I will see how he looks when mixed in with a bunch of other figures on the bases.

This TAG figure is from a Mounted Polish command pack, initially I wasn't sure how I would use him but a change in my thinking for one unit had me re-assess this. I have a unit of Light Cavalry in Blue Grey, one of the few uniformed units. Re-looking at them they fit far better as Dragoons than Light Cavalry to me. So I plan to give them a different flag and re-purpose them meaning I need a dismounted version. The Officer of that unit is a re-purposed Pancerni Officer in chainmail and a really good fit with this chap so I now have the first of my dis-mounted Dragoons, albeit a pretty awful photo.

Not forgetting my other projects I have also got these two chaps done for the Sikh Wars project. The Muslim tribesmen I have a bunch of these now but I will be mixing them with the Plastics once available. The Foundry Sepoy is the first of the next battalion faced white with white trousers making it really bright.

The old Foundry figures still stand up well against more modern figures such as Perry's.

I have completed a bunch pf Pancerni, just 4 more to do and that will give me two units of these colourful riders.

A trumpeter for each unit was first, one TAG and one Foundry the latter is on a Redoubt horse.

This Redoubt horse is the first to share with you having received some nail art. In short there are a number of manufacturers make water slide decals of the type we will all be familiar with but designed for nails, lots of geometric designs as well as flowers etc. Many of these are ideal for my purposes on the saddle blanket, chum Chris Charlton is taking the idea further for the covering on an Elephant Howdah which should look really cool.

Important to get a background on which the particular design you are using will show up. That has worked on some more than others but looks OK on this one.

The next two are my Essex rider on a generic horse, originally I think Ebor, plus a Redoubt rider on a Foundry horse. I think the size of the Foundry horse is really obviousley small here, the original Foundry rider on a larger horse fitted in really well. I doubt I will use another of the Foundry horses for the Pancerni.

The nail art on the Foundry horse is really obvious although its probably not one I would repeat when I do more of them.

The next three are from left to right TAG, Redoubt on TAG horse then another Redoubt this time on original Redoubt horse.nice figures that work really well and all three have nail art decals on the blankets.

The left hoses has come out quite well with the pink contrasting with the blue, the middle horse I realised the designs were fairly pale and thin so needed a really bright cloth to set them off, its worked quite well but helping me understand what works and what doesn't. The last one in Green with different coloured triangles probably works best of them in terms of standing out on the table top. The Pancerni often carried shields so I have added these in for most of the latest lot.

This Cossack I was particularly looking forward to painting and it did not dissapoint. Originally a Gripping Beast Arab light cavalry man for the crusades, by selecting the best head and torso then adding an arm with a pistol I think he makes a great Cossack or Pole.

Its a really nice casting, both horse and rider and I am pleased with the outcome. Three more of these "Arabs" to paint up for the Deluge.

Lastly is this Polish Dragoon. Another of the small but lovely Essex figures, the foot versions are just too small to use with 28mm, however by adding this guy to a 28mm horse he fits in quite well with other ranges.

I will need a whole unit of these both mounted and dis-mounted so work goes on to find appropriate figures (Mounted I am mainly sorted) the horse is Ebor and looks suitable as a Dragoons nag to me.

So as I write I have another couple of Cossacks and Pancerni on the painting table and hopefully not too far away from glueing these to bases in order to pass them to the basing department when we are finally allowed to see each other again.

I hope you like these and are enjoying this little "side project" no doubt I will return to the others in due course as the butterfly decides to move on for a little while, but for now enjoying the colour of these Eastern troops.