Sunday 24 February 2008

Kornberg And The Three Freds

Called me biased if you will (I have been called a lot worse), but I happen to think that every range of Seven Years War cavalry ought to start with: SYWAC1 - General Kornberg. Readers of Charge! will recognise this gentleman at once and I hope will echo my sentiment. As far as I am aware, the General is entirely a creation of the book's authors, although he bears some resemblance to Conan-Doyle's Brigadier Gerrard. Despite this I think he's a figure of some significance in wargaming history. Not only did the General figure in both the example battles given in Charge!, but the splendid regiment of cuirassiers featured in the book was named after him.


So it comes as some surprise to find that there's no 30mm figure that I know of which looks quite right to represent him. Examining the photos in Charge! itself is not much help: there's no figure in any of the photos that I'd be certain was him. The Stadden range does include a figure of Seydlitz, but as he's modelled as a pedestrian that's really no great help. Perhaps because I am currently up to my eyeballs in cuirassiers, this is a problem that has been exercising my mind. With so much already to do, it would be absolute madness to start on yet another mini-project, but to inaccurately paraphrase Queen Victoria, "there is no prospect of good sense in this house". And it so happens I think I have a figure that would form good material for a General of Cuirassiers.


Some time ago, due to a fluke event, I became the proud owner of three mounted Frederick The Great figures. Now while I am happy with the sentiment that you can't really have too many of these, nonetheless that gives me two more Fredericks than would be historically accurate. So one excess Frederick has already emerged from a confrontation with craftknife and milliput to find himself a Colonel of Dragoons. The last remaining spare Frederick has been left unscathed until now, but its fate was sealed when I looked at the following Karl Rochling print.



Rochling: Seylitz at Rossbach


The feature that first caught my eye, was the very ornate saddlecloth which is very similar to that for the Frederick figure. I'd find it pretty hard to create that sort of detail. The sash on the Frederick figure is outside the coat, which is conveniently correct. The one thing my Frederick figure lacks is a Cuirass, and that (and its straps) is a fairly simple thing to add with milliput.



Stadden Frederick the Great (on a Suren Horse) with cuirass added.

6 comments:

WSTKS-FM Worldwide said...

Good Morning Andy,

I envy your skill with milliput and cannot wait to see your General Kornberg all painted and ready to go. He is an impressive conversion.

Best Regards,

Stokes

abdul666 said...

A very original initiative and a very promising conversion.
Compliments,
Jean-Louis

Bluebear Jeff said...

Andy,

Don't you love it when a plan comes together?

I just finished adding cuirasses to a number of figures . . . but I just did mine with a paintbrush.


-- Jeff

Andy Mitchell said...

Given my track record, my first reaction when plans work out is astonishment :)

I've just finished painting it, so tomorrow I'll put some more photos up.

Steve-the-Wargamer said...

..now that I'm looking forward to, as my conversion abilities are allied to Jeff's ie. I paint them on!

Most impressed with the members of our hobby who can make green stuff do what it should, rather than (in my case) what it wants to do..

Der Alte Fritz said...

That is a nice conversion of the Frederick figure. I believe that it is actually the Suren Frederick. The Tradition (Stadden) range lists a mounted Fred, but they always send you the Suren Fred when you order it. At least that is what the US distributor in Minnesota told me.

I'm considering taking the Stadden Seydlitz (on foot) and cutting off his legs and affixing the torso to the Stadden Prussian mounted colonel (who will get sawed off at the waist). The two halves should marry up nicely, but it will be a lot of work.