Return of the Warrior

I was at the SESWC Claymore show yesterday in Edinburgh with Geoff (I may post some pictures of the show later on).and it reminded me again that I had intended to try to up my article rate on this blog (circa one post a year doesn't really cut it).   It also reminded me that one of the things I was going to write about was the apparent demise of many of my favourite miniatures (I hate the term 'minis') manufacturers in recent years.

15mm Cossacks, by Warrior Miniatures

Age, economic circumstances, global pandemics, ill health and whoever happens to be American President at the time have all taken their toll on manufacturers I have used and liked, and there have been a few whose loss I have been really quite sad about.  However, the good news is that this list isn't quite as long as I had thought it would be...

The first of these was the 'disappearance' of Roundway and Naismith, after their departure from Navwar.  I had always liked the Roundway 15 Napoleonic Russians and French (Naismith had their uses) but sadly they seem to have gone forever.  Then recently there has been Magister Militum and in particular their range of Chariot 15mm ancient figures.  It took me 15 years to collect and paint my DBM Lydian army but there are still a few small gaps (noting that by the time I'd finished, DBM had gone out of fashion).

Some indifferently painted Lydian auxiliaries, by Chariot Miniatures

Nevertheless, the good news is that there have been a couple of manufacturers that I thought had gone, but are now back (or rather they never went away).  The first of these is Navwar, which has an unparalleled range of 1:3000 warships amongst other things.  Sadly Tony Anderson died a year or so ago, but the operation is still carrying on, although there was a brief period when their website was down which made me fear the worst.

Navwar SMS Scharnhorst and squadron on homemade sea mat

However, the main thing that has prompted me to write this are the very glad tidings that Warrior Miniatures appears to be back in action, after quite a few years of nothing but a sign on their website saying they weren't taking orders due to ill health.  I'm so glad they are fit and well again, not to mention my gladness at the thought of those Russians and French I'm about to order from them.  Hallelujah.

The Württembergers are Coming

Having painted quite enough 15mm Napoleonic Russians for the time being (see various previous posts, plus this glorious AAR representing their first outing), I decided that having an opposing army of my own on hand might be useful.  I suppose I could have gone for the obvious one, the French, but decided that something from the Confederation of the Rhine might be more interesting.  Enter Württemberg.

Warrior Austrian infantry painted as Württembergers

Then there was the question of what figures to use.  As my Russian army is pre-1812, I decided Württembergers in helmets rather than shakos would be more appropriate.  Not easy to find in 15mm, but then I realised that early Austrians would do just as well if painted up properly, and the simple yet very effective range from Warrior Miniatures would be just the job.

Württemberg 1st and 2nd Regiments

From what research I managed, I discovered that at that time there were nine line regiments in the Württemberg army, with distinct facings and flags.

Württemberg 4th and 5th Regiments

I therefore decided to paint just the 1st, 2nd, 4th and 5th Regiments because that matched the number of figures I'd bought and also the 3rd Regiment had dark blue facings which I knew would turn out the same as the tunic colour.  However, for the typical size of wargame I would be likely to run (e.g. using scenarios from One Hour Wargames, where six units in total is usually the maximum) I considered this enough to be getting on with.

Württemberg Light Infantry in open order

In addition to the line regiments I also painted up some Austrian infantry in shakos (each with its green 'turban') as Württemberg light infantry.  As you can see I had them deploying through an area of cleared woodland, the tree stumps being made from cloves liberated from the kitchen spice cupboard.

Württemberg Chasseurs a Cheval (Regiment Herzog Louis)

For cavalry I used Warrior's Austrian Cheval Leger and finished some as mounted Chasseurs a Cheval (green uniforms with yellow facings) and others as Württemberg Chevau-leger (blue uniforms with yellow facings).

Württemberg Chevau-leger (1st Regiment)

I also painted some of Warrior's Bavarian foot artillery as Württemberg artillery.  The helmets are probably not quite right but at 15mm who will notice.

Württemberg foot artillery

Finally, there was a general or two to paint.  I think these were Warrior Prussians but again who would be able to tell the difference.

A Württemberg general

Having completed all these I felt inspired to maybe add to the collection, such as getting some French allies for my compact Württemberg army.  However, sadly Warrior Miniatures is not currently active, although I have heard rumours that it will be coming back on-line sometime in 2025, which I really hope happens.