Tribulations of a Gentleman of Quality

As the photos show, Infantry Regiment Furstenberg has finally achieved the proper number of rank and file. It is, however, entirely missing the proper complement of officers and musicians that should accompany them. The obvious solution here would be to buy Stadden figures to fill this gap, but - for vanities sake - I'd prefer to make the entire regiment from my own figures alone, and so the regiment must wait upon my slow and erratic sculpting.

In the meantime, General Lentulus has been temporarily appointed the regiment's Inhaber: one lonely Suren figure amongst a homecast rabble. He has so far remained amiable and, indeed, remarkably tolerant of the situation, running through the regiment directly through the regimental agent and its NCOs. As this has occasioned frequent travel away from his comfortable Viennese town house during the harshest of winters, his zeal might be applauded. But enquiries have found that not only is Lentulus profiting handsomely from the salaries of the missing men, but he has been able to dine out every night owing to the attentions of families anxious to secure a place for their sons in the Imperial Army.

It would appear likely that, regardless of its state, the regiment will be pressed into action this next campaigning season. The current financial crisis has hit the economies of both Hessian states hard, but while Rheinfels struggles to meet its debts, and its army has gone unpaid for some months now, Marburg appears to have obtained money from an unknown source. It is rumoured that British agents have arranged a secret treaty and that, in return for a generous subsidy, the Prince of Marburg will break with the Empire at an opportune moment. If this is the case then loyalist Rheinfels, with its unpaid and mutinous troops, will be vulnerable.

Hmm... Looking at the photos, I think the figures look best when viewed from the rear. I hope this isn't some kind of evil omen: an indication of the view the enemy will most often see due to a tendency, on the regiment's part, to flee in the heat of battle.

I have cast, and am currently cleaning up, the figures for the first company of a second imperial regiment. My current plan is to paint this as IR Wildenstein (Kurmainz) unless some particularly attractive uniform from another Reichsarmee regiment takes my fancy before I start painting.