1/32 Wurttemberg Fusiliers 1799-1811
Dated: August 11, 2009
Painted Wurttemberg Fusileers 1799-1811 period. These are the 1st regiment with yellow facings/piping, enjoy.
Regards
Dave Morris
England
These German Duchy of Wurttemberg figures are excellently sculpted works of art. They are in my opinion amongst the best in 1/32nd plastic model soldiers. They are the correct stature being neither too bulky nor too skinny like so many other figures I have come across over the years.
They are easy to prepare for painting with very small amounts of flash that require trimming. On some of the figures I could not find any flash marks. I decided to add the backpack to the figure with superglue before painting, however, you could paint this seperately and then add to the painted figure later.
I undercoated them in quick drying Revell no. 5 Matt White to show up all the details and then began the painting session using Humbrol enamels and some Acrylics. I always paint the flesh areas first followed by the coatee, shako and trousers, backpacks,boots and then the facings/piping which in this case was Yellow to represent the 1st Regiment. I then painted the cross belts, the musket in dark brown and gunmetal with brass fittings and some dark shading to add realism.
Then its really a case of adding the finer features like the eyes and the buttons/badges plus the hangars (small sabres) and then a general touch up of any smudges or messy splodged areas. My final act was to dry-brush the raised areas on the helmet comb and the backpack with Matt White. This gives a mild animal fur highlighting. I finished my figure bases with scenic scatter, but you could use other mediums to achieve your desired effect.
The Wurttemberg Infantry of this period 1799-1811 was very colourful and they stood out because of the combed leather helmet. There were Eight Regiments in 1811 -
facing colours:
1st - Yellow facings / Yellow piping
2nd - Orange facings / Orange piping
3rd - White facings / White piping
4th - Pink facings / White piping
5th - Light Blue facings / White piping -- (this is the Regt depicted on the box front)
6th - White facings / Red piping
7th - Red facings / Red piping
8th Straw-Yellow facings / Straw-Yellow piping
buttons were white for the 1st - 5th Regiments and Yellow buttons for the 6th - 8th Regiments.
In 1802 the Duke Frederick signed a treaty with the French after being former enemies. The Wurttembergers served in many campaigns with other Confederation of the Rhine Allies under Napoleon. 14,000 of them including cavalry and artillery were lost in the 1812 Russian campaign. In Nov 1813 the Duke changed sides and joined the Austrians once more becoming Napoleon's enemy.
You should try painting a box of these soldiers, whether you collect 1/32nd or 1/72nd as they are enjoyable and look great on a display shelf or as part of a diorama.
Many thanks to Mr. Dave Morris.