One of my readers asked me if my publishing of the American Revolution Journal was an indication that I was losing interest in the Seven Years War and Old Fritz. My enthusiastic response is that my interest in the period has never been greater! The recent deluge of new "mm SYW Prussians and Russians and Cossacks from Guernsey Foundry ("GF") have played a significant role in stoking up my interest in the period. Simply put, these are some of the best figures that I have ever seen, bar none, and the attention to detail on each figure is nothing short of amazing.

As of this writing (August 1997), I have just completed painting a 20-figure battalion of Infantry Regiment NO. 6 ("IR6"), the Grenadier Garde battalion of the Prussian army of Frederick the Great. The figures used were from Guernsey Foundry. Each figure is in the Stack March pose and there are 4 or 5 subtle variations in the faces, i.e. some are looking to their left, others straight ahead, a couple appear to be yelling, and others are stoic looking; oh, and one has a bandaged head and yet another is doffing his mitre cap in salute to his nibs, Frederick, no doubt. My battalion is rounded out with a snappy-looking drummer with a leather apron, a fiber (it's about time someone finally did a fifer casting for this period), an NCO holding a spontoon in his right hand and pointing his cane with his left hand, as if to hold the fellow next to him in line as everyone dresses ranks. I call this NCO Gerhard - he just sort of looks like a Gerhard. That's one of the neat things about these figures, each pose seems to have a unique face, giving it a degree of personality. Additionally, all of the Prussians have Germanic-looking faces, while their Russian counterparts look like, well, Russians!

Finally, there is an NCO standard bearer in tricorne hat and a scowling colonel, or inhaber, commanding the battalion. Early in the SYW, the inhaber would have been Colonel Wolf Friedrich von Retzow (from 1745 to 1760). Wolf (what a great name) was succeeded by jor General Friedrich Christoph von Saldern in 1760 as inhaber. By the way, IR6 is the only single battalion regiment (aside from converged grenadier battalions) in the Prussian army of this era; all the rest of the regiments, except for IR3 and IRIS, which had 3 battalions, have 2 battalions. The converged grenadier battalions were composed of the two grenadier companies from two different regiments, giving the grenadier battalion a total of four companies. Therefore, when you see, for example, a reference to the von Hacke (3/6) grenadiers, this means that the grenadiers are detached from IR3 and IR6 and are converged into a single battalion under the inhaber von Hacke.

This was one of the oldest regiments in the Prussian army, having been formed in 1675 to fight against the Swedes. Later they were named the "King's Regiment" or "Long Fellows" because King Frederick William I populated the unit with men well over six feet tall, with some of the men approaching seven feet in height. When Frederick the Great became king in 1740, he retired most of the longshanks and reduced the regiment to a single battalion. His own regiment, IRI5, became the official Kings Guard, but IR6 retained the title of Grenadier Gardes.

Their first action (War of the Austrian Succession) was at Hohenfriedberg in 1745, where they were brigaded with the other guard regiments under the command of Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick. They were part of the last infantry attack, losing 184 men as they pushed the Austrians out of the villages of Thomaswaldau and Hohenfriedberg. They also fought with distinction at Soor, also in 1745, where they stormed the Austrian battery on the Graner Koppe, losing one-third of their men.

During the Seven Years War, IR6 fought at Rossbach on November 5, 1757 and at Leutha~ they took part in the storming of the fortified cemetery held by the Rot Wurzburg regiment for the Austrians. The regiment lost 36 dead and 156 wounded. Their losses were even greater at the Prussian catastrophe at Hochkirch on October 14, 1758. Here, the Austrians unveiled a new tactic of converging columns attacking the Prussians from multiple | directions. Frederick was surprised and virtually surrounded at Hochkirch. His army had to fight its way out of the Austrian trap, sustaining heavy losses. IR6 lost 335 men in one of the counter-attacks.

Von Saldem became the new inhaber in 1760 and is noted for the kindness that he showed to him men - unusual in the Prussian anny under Frederick. They fought at Leignitz on August 15,1760 1 with slight losses and again at Torgau on November 3rd of that year. At Torgau, they were pant of Zeiten's corps, which struck the Austrians on the Suptitz Heights in the flank and rear, thus deciding a battle that had been all but lost for the Prussians. The attack cost the battalion 346 men. The battalion closed up its service in the Seven Years War at Burkersdorf (I 762) and Reichenbach.

The battalion wore the typical Prussian blue coat with red turnbacks, cuffs and collar. No lapels. The waistcoat and breeches were a straw yellow (i.e. not as bright a yellow as those worn by IRIS Gardes. I used Howard Hues British Brown Drab as the undercoat and highlighted it with Howard Hues Planking colors) and the gaiters were black, although theoretically, these might be white during the summer. The coats did not have lapels but did have rectangular button lace. Such detail is probably too much for 25mm figures. NCO stocks were red. The enlisted men, NCOs and musicians wore a mitre cap, brass in color, with a red mitre bag or sac in the back. The pom-pom at the tip of the mitre was white with a red center. NCO and musician pom-pons were black and white. The of ricers wore black tricornes edged with gold tape and their button lace was more elaborate than that of the enlisted ranks. Officers also wore a silver waist sash and carried a spontoon. Sword sheaths for all ranks were red-brown as were the musket straps. Cross belts were white. When painting Prussians, I like to prime them black, then layer over a coat of black acrylic. Then I use Ral Partha Dark Blue and highlight with Ral Partha Royal Blue. The result is quite pleasing. One benefit of black priming is that your gaiters, cartridge boxes and tricorne hats are already finished once you start to apply paint. I also like to outline the white cross belts, which is an easy process when the belt is already black. One simply paints a white stripe down the middle of the cross belt and behold, you have instant black outlining. The white belt really stands out against a black background.

You can still obtain the excellent book, The Infantry Regiments of Frederick the Great 1756- 1753, by Dorn and Engelmann, for more information on this and other regiments in the Prussian army. There are both German and English language text versions of this book. Both include unit histories, color uniform plates and color regimental flags. I believe that Emperors Headquarters in Chicago or Article of War in Skokie, Illinois have copies available. This is an excellent source of information on Prussian uniforms and is a must have book for anyone building a Prussian SYW army.

lt seems that my painting schedule is driven by the latest offerings from GF. I received some samples of the Prussian fusilier figures from Guernsey Foundry, and considering how much I enjoyed painting the grenadiers, I thought that I would give the fusiliers a try. Prussian fusiliers have a similar appearance to Prussian grenadiers, except that the fusilier mitre is shorter in height than the grenadier mitre. Also, the cartridge box for the fusilier regiments does not have grenade bomb insignia on the corners of the flap, as do the grenadier pouches. Other than that, the two look much the same.

Frederick inherited four fusilier regiments from his father's army and promptly converted them into musketeer regiments. After Silesia was conquered in the 1 740s, Frederick raised 16 regiments from this and other newly-added provinces. These men were theoretically of smaller stature than the sturdy Brandenburgers and Pommeranians that formed the core of Frederick's army. As such, Frederick initially issued them shorter muskets, called fusils, and the shorter mitre cap, which still inspired awe in the opposition, especially in the brilliance of sunlight. IR's 33 through 49 are the fusilier regiments in Frederick's army. Those regiments numbered 50 through 56 were impressed into Prussian service from the Saxon army which surrendered to Frederick at Pima in 1756. Most ofthese units deserted en masse at the first opportunity, within a year, and were relatively worthless as far as Frederick was concerned. The remaining fusilier regiments were a mixed lot in terms of quality. Some, such as IR5 (Prince Henry's Regiment), IR39 (Jung Braunschweig) and IR41 (Wied) had distinguished service records; while others, including IR33 (mass desertion at Prague), IR46, IR36, IR37 and IR38, among others, get captured time and time again. Wargamers can downgrade the quality of fusilier units in comparison to musketeer units, with some justification. However good or bad these troops were, a realistic Prussian SYW wargame army should include a fair number of fusilier regiments, and what better figures to use than GF figures?

The GF fusilier figures come without lapels, so that limits their use to Infantry Regiments 33, 38, 41, 42, 46, 47 and 48. One could also use these figures for Hessian troops in the American Revolution.

I ordered 60 figures this morning to create 3 battalions of 20 figures, or a 600 man regiment at my 30:1 scale. GF promised delivery within 10 days, which is very good for transatlantic orders (at the time I typed this article, the figures had arrived within the promised amount of time). The person at GF told me that orders are normally shipped sooner, but that they were a bit backlogged with post-Historicon orders to fill. No complaints on my end because I have always found the GF service to be first rate. They also take VISA orders so it is a simple matter to order by phone from the states. Dial 011-44-1481-714241.

My samples included a standard bearer, fiber and drummer, pioneer with axe (zimmermann) and two NCOs with haltered - one is marching, the other is standing at ease with the butt of the pole arm resting on the ground. I also received three march attack variants ( one with bandaged head, one drinking from a canteen or bottle, and one normal, of which there are several head variants). The detail on the front plate of the mitre is unbelievable: I can see the Prussian eagle, some crossed flag poles, a scroll and a crown on the plate! The cartouche on the cartridge box, coat and gaiter buttons are also visible as is the ramrod and hardware on the musket strap. Overall, the detail is superior to that on any other figure that I have seen for this period and this makes painting the figure so much easier, regardless of ones painting ability.

While on the phone with GF, I also took the opportunity to order 3 battalions worth of Russian musketeers and I battalion of Russian grenadiers. All figures are dressed for campaign, in that they have discarded their green coats and are wearing the long-sleeved red waistcoat. Since most of their battles were fought in the summer, this might be typical battle dress for the SYW Russians.

The samples that I received are gorgeous and they have compelled me to start a SYW Russian army. Using Brent Oman's theory that you can represent any historical army with about 12 units, I will endeavor to keep my Russian army to that size. For larger scale actions, I can team them up with my vast Austrian army (36 battalions of infantry and 15 cavalry regiments). Accordingly, I plan to paint 6 musketeer battalions, 2 grenadier battalions, and 4 units of cavalry (I hussar, I dragoon, 1 horse grenadier, and I or 2 Cossack units). GF hasn't produced Russian battle cavalry or artillery yet, but I assume that these elements are in the pipeline for future release. They do have Cossacks though, and lots of them, both mounted and dismounted.

At any rate, by the time I am finished painting the Prussian and Russian infantry on order, it will be well into 1998 and GF will probably have the missing elements available. Speaking of which, I also learned that the first batch of Prussian hussars in fur busby and mirliton are it available. (Subsequently to the writing of this article, I receive a sample of each figure and there simply are not enough superlatives in my vocabulary to describe how much I like these hussar figures. I painted the busby toting hussar as Hussar Regiment No.2 (Zeiten's hussars) and the mirliton figure as one of HR7, the Yellow Hussars. Needless to say, these two units will become a welcome addition to my SYW Prussian army. I am guessing that the rest of He hussars will be available by the time this article gets into print, what with the thee lag from deadline to publishing date. Note also, that these hussar figures could also be used as Russian hussars.

If you would like to learn more about the Seven Years War, the War of the Austrian Succession or the French & Indian War, then you should check out a copy of the Seven Years War Association Journal. This 72-page booklet (MWAN-sized) is published four times a year and is laden with information on the military history of the period, uniform and flag information, and current news about new products including rules, books, figures and other gaming accessories. Our group also sponsors an annual convention each March or April in South Bend, Indiana and is also the sponsor of the Tricon Convention held in Boston in the Fall. These two conventions are unique in that they are the only wargame conventions devoted entirely to one historical period, i.e: the 18th Century. This year's Tricon convention will be held on October 25-26th, 1997 in Concord, Massachusetts. Contact Byron Champlin at 154 Rumford Street, Concord, NH 03301 for more information. Here is your chance to attend a convention and see nothing but scores of games devoted to that era when soldiers wore tricome hats: from the Age of Marlborough, to the SYW, the American Revolution and the French Revolution. I have often wondered why ACW and Napoleonic tamers don't stage a similar period-only convention format. It's the best way to showcase history and I can only hope that my comment will plant the seed of an idea in someone's mind.

If you are interested in the SYW Association Journal ($30.00 per year) or the American Revolution Journal ($25.00 for 4 issues over 2 years), then write to me, Jim Purky, at 3127 park Place, Evanston, IL 60201 for more information. Likewise, if you have any questions shout the SYW in general, please drop me a line and I will do mv best to find the infonnation that answers your question.