Russian Jӓgers & Officer 1812

I'm a bit behind with my posts here, these figures were finished a couple of weeks ago. 

Russian Jägers were light infantry who were known for being superior marksmen and agile fighters. They could form line units (indeed I intend on adding a Jäger Line unit to my force at a later date) but their primary use was skirmishing in open order. In many ways, their uniform was very similar to that of regular line/musketeer units. The main visible differences were black leather belts rather than the white of musketeers and grenadiers, and dark green breeches rather than white. These models all wear the soft forage cap which was used, as far as I can tell, by most branches of infantry. Indeed North Star (who make these figures) describe them as Musketeers/Jägers so they could be used for either type, just with different colour belts showing the difference. 

The Wargamers Secret Weapon

Without this my hobby would have withered years ago. Indeed, it's such a secret I forgot to post it on my blog on Sunday 😆

Three products that change how I paint forever

I've been painting miniatures for over forty years, so it is inevitable that my style of painting and the products I use will have changed over the years. But what are the three products that have changed the way I paint and have become permanent features on my desk?

Russian Line Musketeers 1812

My second entry to the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge was on Sunday with these Russian Line Infantry for 1812. Once again they are wearing the 1808 pattern ‘stovepipe’ Shako, this time covered with an oilskin cover to keep them clean on the march. I will eventually get some infantry with the 1812 Kiwer Shako but many regiments hadn’t adopted the new style before the French invasion. One thing my troops have in abundance are Greatcoats. So as well as making my figures considerably easier to paint than the French troops, they were also much more comfortable in the harsh conditions of the Russian winter. Ironically as my boys are warmer than the Frenchies the greatcoat is also a great way to show the cold by dusting its lower edges with frost.