Thursday 26 March 2020

Limbers!

Hi all! It's been a challenging week here in New Zealand, with the country going into full lockdown today thanks to this damnable virus. I've been working long days being in healthcare, though now via telehealth rather than in the frontline so consider myself very fortunate. Huge respect to all the doctors and nurses in the thick of it, and all the staff keeping food system, security and so on operating.  Glad too we have a government here that actually listens to the scientific evidence and acts on it. Best wishes to everyone out there and let's get through this!

My painting output, not to mention gaming, will be much limited for the next month at least due to work demands. Nonetheless I thought I'd show the bunch of limbers I've been working on for several weeks, and finally finished last weekend. 

Half of them are simply more of the same, i.e. more Austrian (above front left) plus French Line and French Guard Limbers as below. 

I also added some more types though, which I'll detail further in this and some follow up posts.

First up there's this French train team from Black Hussar Miniatures. These are intended for use with their forges, limbers, wagons and so on, but I decided to just get these for now. I tend to use pairs of horses for foot artillery (as though they are being prolonged) and 4 horses plus a limber for horse artillery. This also helps make it very clear on the table what things are.

As can be seen it's a nice pose with the driver of the wheel pair of horses (those closest to the wheels of the limber etc they will be pulling), in the process of mounting his horse, while the driver of the lead pair of horses waits patiently. (The middle pair of horses in a six horse team is the 'swing pair' incidentally).



Next, I also bought a couple of Dutch limbers, though I have painted them in a generic "1813ish train in shako" uniform that is close to that of a number of French allies of the time, so they can fill in as needed. E.g. Duchy of Warsaw, Confederation of the Rhine or more French. Murawksi minatures also make Polish drivers that would go well with this set though I didn't have any for this pair.






I have also been reading the kindle version of this book, which I recommend!

Thanks for looking, stay home and stay safe! Next up will be Saxon and Bavarian Limbers as I get another opportunity to post.

29 comments:

  1. Mark, you had a great time in quarantine))) The result is excellent!

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    1. Thanks Dmitry well this was before quarantine but will see what next month holds, locked down but still working!

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  2. What a huge investment of time...and money...must have gone into this splendid collection of limbers...not an investment I am prepared to make myself but you have done a beautiful job on these Mark!

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  3. Superb work. I am a huge fan of these famous not so unuseful minis.

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  4. Very impressive results, Mark! They will definitely make your games more immersive :)

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    1. Thanks Dmitry, yes I think they add something!

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  5. My hat is off to you regarding your efforts at limbers and horse teams. They are very well painted and based. Well done!

    I too have limbers and teams for all of my guns. Not only is it aesthetically pleasing it also reflects the reality of the depth of an artillery battery's support echelon.

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    1. Indeed they definitely serve both those roles, many thanks Duke!

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  6. Wow! This is an impressive display, Mark! Few pieces I avoid more than painting limbers. A necessary evil, I suppose but I don't relish the task. I do enjoy seeing your beautiful display, though.

    In Washington State, we are "officially" in full lockdown mode as well but have been sheltering in place and social distancing for almost three weeks.

    Stay safe and try to maintain your strength through your increased work loads!

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    1. Thank you Jonathan, and yes I feel the same aversion to limbers, but feels extra good to get them done! :) Stay safe!

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  7. Impressive work, Mark! My congratulations.

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  8. Great stuff Mark. Does the artillery book go into the tactical employment?

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  9. Great work Mark, a fine collection of wagons and limbers. I just wish we would heed the advice in Australia and get on with it. We could have been two weeks further down the track if we had only made the decision earlier (which they are still prevaricating over).

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    1. At least they have taken the decisive step of banning half hour visits to the hairdresser Lawrence 😉

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    2. Thank you Lawrence, yes we've been watching the Australian situation with some alarm, best wishes!

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  10. Well, I've bought a few more limbers over the past several years... and actually managed to complete one!

    I am envious of your governments' rational and timely response, unlike our piecemeal "I take no responsibility for anything" approach in the US. How it is possible that the dolt in charge has had an increase in his approval ratings is simply beyond me; he has done just about everything possible to make matters worse, and when he hasn't, it's been too little to late, and "ask me *nicely* for help.

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    1. Cheers Peter and yes I feel for you! Doesn't look good over there. :( Best wishes.

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  11. Lovely looking limbers! I aspire to limbers but I'm not there yet!
    Best Iain

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    1. Thanks Iain, yes took me a few years to get around to starting on them too!

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