Battlefield Building

Another week of preparations for Lutzen at Salute.  The focus this week has been on some of the buildings which will help to form the backdrop of the battle.

As I mentioned in a previous post (https://theviaregia.blogspot.com/2019/01/progress-on-all-fronts.html) the Lutzen windmills are an iconic part of the battlefield, and we are planning to have three models to represent them on our miniature battlefield.  We are using the Sarissa windmill model.  Now a complete windmill is alright, but I also wanted to show a partly dismantled windmill to represent the possibility that the Imperial troops scavenged materials from the windmills.  So, I ordered an extra Sarissa windmill, and went to work on making it only partly built, easy!

I left off the top floor and the 'sails' and left the bottom floor open to the elements.   The mdf kit is made to look like it is made of planked walls, so I altered these to make it look like some planks had been removed, giving an irregular/wrecked look.  I also carved the inside walls (normally not visible) to show the plank effect inside as well.  I then used bits of the mdf sprue and off cuts to represent the wood that was in the process of being removed.  I put some piles in the building, and made up some neat stacks to put on the base, as if they were ready to be taken off for some important Imperial purpose.

This is the final model before priming.  It looked a bit empty without anybody actually ransacking it,  and so I raided the pile of odd artillery crew and other open handed figures in the lonely corners of my lead mountain.  A few light conversions later and I had a motley wrecking crew.  Dixon, Warlord and Perry figures I think.  I also found some resin cast piles of planks in the bits box which looked like they would fit as related scatter terrain.  The terrain then got a prime of Humbrol Dark Earth spray, and the figures a black undercoat.  I've painted up the windmill to match the completed 'whole' model;  dry brush of grey on the exterior, washed with Army Painter dark tone, and dry brushed with lighter grey.  I've used a sand colour to represent the freshly sawed/broken wood, and the wood from the interior of the building.

As well as the windmills, many of the pictures of the Lutzen battle show the 'Miller's House'.  This was next to the large Imperial artillery battery, so close that at one point members of the Swedish Green brigade were supposedly able to shelter behind it from the fire of the battery.  I have used one of the lovely 4Ground timber framed cottages as the building.  I have added some temporary fortifications around the building to help in its defense.  These defenses are made up of scraps of MDF, some resin barrels, and some of the great collection of Warfare Miniatures' accessories.  There are gabions, fascines, wooden chests, and even a table and chairs. All glued down to a Warbases terrain base.    I have left out windows (assuming they would be knocked out to provide good fields of fire), and also added some holes in the roof for more firing positions.  It should be a tough nut for the Swedish attackers to crack!

Here is the model, once again before it was primed.  I really like the superb array of mdf building we can now use, but the one thing that I am not too keen on are the roofs.  I have started using tiling sheets from Warbases to tile the roofs.  This looks great, but is a real time hog - very fiddly.  I also ran out of tiling so have more on order.

A final note, not entirely related to Lutzen.  I can't remember the blog/podcast/YouTube video in which I saw this mentioned, but I have heard that the GW shades/washes are slightly different to the Army Painter ones; they apparently wash in to the crevasses and do not stain the overall colour so much as the Army Painter washes which are closer to stains.   I have bought a box to experiment with.  They do seem nice to use, and seem to work as described.  I haven't performed any scientific comparisons, though. Any one else any thoughts on this?

Until next time!

Progress On All Fronts

Preparations for Lützen are progressing on all fronts.  Every available shelf and surface is devoted to terrain and units being finished off for Salute.

One of the famous landmarks for the battle is the group of windmills, near which the Imperial army’s main artillery battery was set up.  It is always nice to have some ‘vertical space’ on the table and so we have to include these.  To represent the windmills we agreed on the Sairssa mdf model.
https://sarissa-precision.com/collections/old-europe-28mm/products/postwindmill

We plan to have two complete and one partially dismantled.  Each is an impressively sized model and so we decided to keep the number to three rather than risk taking up too much space with what is in effect ‘back drop’.  Some accounts say that some, or all, of the windmills were dismantled by the Imperial troops to help construct the artillery fortifications.  We’re giving a nod to this by having one partially dismantled.  

Here is the first of the windmills;  painted up.  I have added Warbases roof tiles to the roof.  Still some details and basing to be done.

There are also lots of troops underway.  Here are some of the units recently through the ‘basing workshop’ and now ready for flocking.

Protestant German Harquebusiers.  Warlord Games Plastics.  

Imperial Foot Command.  Mixture of Warlord, Foundry and TAG. Lovely colours by Flags of War.

Swedish Light Guns.  Warlord.  I am going to need quite a few of these.

It’s not all work, work.  I have treated myself to a late Christmas present, The Pieter Snayers, Battle Painter book, translated in to English.

Wow.  A beautiful and fascinating book.   Pieter Snayers was a contemporary artist who painted many of the famous continental actions of the early and mid 17th century.  Each picture is full of detail which is fascinating to the TYW wargamer.  I will try and write a proper review once I have stopped leafing through it, with a silly grin on my face, saying “wow”.

Until next time!