I have managed to complete three more Continental Regiments toward my AWI project, a couple of days before the end of February which was the self-imposed deadline I had set myself:
The majority of these are Perry plastics with a few metal command figures thrown in to make up the numbers. First up, the 2nd New Hampshire:
Given the preponderance of hunting shirts in the Continental army I thought it about time I mixed in a few such figures in a regiment and the 2nd New Hampshire seemed to fit the bill nicely:
I also decided to give themtwo flags. I realise that most regiments most likely carried only one standard but, as the GMB flag packs come with two (albeit many of them speculative), it seems a shame not to use them both on a few regiments here and there:
The 2nd New Hampshires appear to have been a green-faced regiment which looks quite nice on the figures, although a little less-distinctive in the photographs:
Next in line is another Massachusetts regiment; Gist's regiment. While most of the OOBs for British Grenadier call for American regiments of 20 figures or less, a unit of 24 figures does make an appearance here and there:
This is the second brown-coated regiment completed thus far and, even though they don't fit the usual blue-coated stereotype, I much prefer painting them as the highlighting is more distinctive. I again sprinkled in a liberal helping of hunting shirts:
I also had to have a regiment carrying some stars and stripes. The two packs of Betsy Ross standards I purchase from GMB will however remain unused due to there being no apparent record of their having been actually carried:
Last up is the 1st Connecticut, without tricorne and waring red coats. The variety in the AWI uniforms always keep me interested in what the next regiment will bring, even though I am essentially painting the same set of figures:
While I find gluing together plastic figures frustrating at the best of times, I appreciate the variety of poses which can be achieved. The Perry figures are well thought-out and not difficult to put together, and the manner in which the muskets are carried can convey many different impressions ranging from a well-disciplined unit to one that has been on the march for a long time:
That said, I was a little unsure whether my posing on the officer ended up looking like he is trying to stop traffic so he can get the regiment across a busy intersection:
None of these posts would be complete without the by now ubiquitous casualty dials. Unfortunately the one on the right looks a little like a layer cake due to the fact that I used PVA glue and it slid around a little, but it still looks fine when viewed from above. It will be superglue all the way from now on though:
That is now one hundred and eight Continental figures completed, with just over four hundred to go:
It is now over a year since I started this project, and I expect I'll be going for at least another three months. I am however relieved I saved the Continentals for last.