My pals and I are putting on a SYW game at the Brisbane EXPO next month.
This will be an Allied (British, Hanoverian & Prussian) army against a French one - all in 20mm & 1/72.

It will be a large game - my French have 20 battalions of infantry, 10 cavalry regiments, 8 batteries of artillery and 3 skirmish units. Their enemies have something similar. We will be using our home brew rules: 'A Glorious War'.

So, where did I get my French? This army started several years ago & I am currently just finishing a final Etranger battalion.

The heart of it are 20mm French infantry from Wodensfeld.
https://willwarweb.blogspot.com/2009/07/wodensfeld-miniatures-syw-french.html
These are a huge range of figures in the earlier war uniform. No turnbacks.

I have added Etranger infantry units using a Burt Original figure - a one-off SYW figure with turnbacks & using Wodensfeld command figures to lead them. The Skirmish infantry (Arqubusiers de Grassin) are also privately made figures.

Cavalry were a challenge. As the French were a ittle old-fashioned, I got by at first with Zvesda GNW cavalry & dragoons. Later, the Red Box Jacobite ranges provided excellent mounted troops.

Artillery figures were taken from the Revell Austrian artillery range.

High Command came from everywhere but the nucleus were Wodensfeld & some privately commissioned figures.

Figures have been modified, head swopped & carved as necessary. Paint modifications obviously.

You can see some photos of my army here:

https://www.looseasswargamers.org.uk/viewtopic.php?t=2603&hilit=SYW+French+army+on+the+march

I HAVE a point - not just showing-off. IF Strelets was to embark on a French SYW project, I'd add to & even replace units of this force. But YOU can improvise, modify, scrounge and create your own army right now.

For example, if I didn't have my fantastic Wodensfeld figures, I'd have bought Strelets' WSS figures & trimmed cuffs etc. with a scalpel.

One of the aspects of this hobby is to be creative.

OK - enough. See you at the EXPO.

donald

A superb collection Donald. I commend you on your ingenuity and flexibility in creating this force.

I see you have some red coated troops..Irish or Swiss perhaps. Did you manage to also squeeze in a wee unit of blue coated Royal Ecossais to take the battle to the Sassenachs and their Hannoverian masters?

If not, as you said, perhaps Strelets could come to the party in future. This would also please those who would like some French for the North American sideshow.

Regards
Danny

Thanks, Danny. The Etranger regiments are there to put a bit of colour into the army - they are 2 battalions of German Bentheim & 2 battalions of - as you surmised - Swiss Diebach.

I am currently working on a La Marck German Etranger battalion.I'm using HaT Prussians for this & they seem to work well.

I would love to do the Royal Eccossais who have, with stiff competition, the best French SYW flags.
For two reasons I haven't. Firstly, the fusiliers wore Scots bonnets. And secondly, one of my pals already has. He used the Red Box Jacobite sets as a base, & did head swops etc.. They look great!

The potential for Strelets to do a large range of F&IW sets is immense. And the crossover for some of the French & some of the British to fight on the Continent wouldn't hurt either.

My hope though is also for a Strelets cover of the Russian army in the SYW. No-one, metal or plastic, does it & though I have mapped out ideas converting existing figures, it would be nice to get something like the Strelets WSS range.

donald

You may well get your wish Donald, as something is already happening, at least in the 'big gun' dept:

http://pub33.bravenet.com/forum/static/show.php?usernum=2833323740&frmid=6&msgid=1112351&cmd=show

Perhaps more of these will be revealed when the delightful Friday Teaser returns next month?

Best wishes, James

p.s. It is always a delight to see your Seven Year's War figures. I look forward to seeing piccies of the game down the track.

The EXPO game is on at the Exhibition Showgrounds 22 & 23 November, James.
Say the word & you get a command - it'll be a monster game!

I need your opinion. I'm using Zvezda GNW cavalry (mounted & dismounted) for French dragoons in the SYW. What's your opinion on using the Strelets' WSS ones?

donald

Gee Donald, I don't know how useful I will be since my interest in the Seven Year's War begins and ends with the French & Indian War/Guerre de la Conquete (for which I have in 15 mm figs collected in the early 90s). THAT, of course want stop me from havin' a go! :grinning:

Generalities
I have some of the Strelets French dragoons in hats (252)—as well as British (255 & 256)— to use as Austrian dragoons of the Austro-Turkish War of 1716–1718. They are even more gorgeous than they look on Plastic Soldier Review. They are comparable to the Zvezda figs in size, although a bit more 'thick set'.

Specifics
While not a focus of mine, even I am capable of looking at my copy of Funcken's "La Guerre en Dentelle" and at the fabulous Kronoskaf website. From this I reckon that they are parfait, but for one aspect. Horse furniture, coats of the troops, hats, equipment all seem fine, but the sticking point may be the cuffs. Strelets' figs are sculpted with the more voluminous cuffs of the early 18thC. Of course at the scale, once painted and formed into a unit on the table this may well not show out as much. One could always trim them, but a bit of sacrilege and extra effort.

Conclusion
For mine, as one who is prepared to allow some latitude, I'd likely use them, or at least get a box or two and see how they come up/compare when painted, 'cause they are lovely and it'd provide a bit of variety in figs and poses. Since you want them as French, you will be able to use those in the Wee Willie Winkie-style caps (251 & 253) as well!

Dunno wether these musings help?

Best wishes, James

Thanks, James. You are a knowledgeable gent and any opinion of yours is worthwhile.

I currently field 2 regiments of French SYW dragoons - using the Swedish and Russian GNW dragoon sets.
I asked my pal, Al* the same question after I posted the query above.

Al* searched the web for 1/72 & 20mm figures that might match the unit & period. He even found a metal manufacturer I hadn't been aware of (- I didn't like the figures: squat & ugly). He ran an analysis of the Strelets' sets, the Zvezda sets, & also the possibility of modifying Napoleonic sets. This was cross referenced with Kronoskaf (the best online resource for the SYW imaginable).

There was a lot of data supplied by Al*; very specific to aspects of the uniform & he rank-ordered the sets/figures for me, with cogent reasons, needed mods and a % match with the period and unit I wanted.

Al gave the Zvesda Russian GNW figures a 90% match: if I trimmed the cuffs and the top of the boots & substituted a bonnet du police for the tricorne, found smaller horses & painted the figures appropriately, a near perfect match. The Strelets figures were applauded for their modelling but scored lower/needed more work to historically fit the target. Your conclusions were fairly similar as to the Strelets' sets.

So, I am OK now with the 90% match & may replace these GNW proxies only if Strelets makes a French SYW set of dragoons.

donald

*BTW....Al is my pal, Artificial Intelligence. Not perfect - Al didn't like poses that were too active & gave the Strelets "On the March" pose credit for this. But Al is a useful resource.
NB I didn't invite him to take a command at the EXPO.

Dear Donald,

Interesting, but then again, not that interesting. As with everything AI, it seems clever until you look a little bit deeper. You coulda come to the same conclusions and I suspect had done already.

The output, esp. from the large language models is akin to a senior student's essay in your former world or a first year's essay in mine. Seems really good, but then you realise that it is a whole heap of phrases cobbled together (words in the case of AI), that there is not depth to it, no understanding behind it.

"Neither artificial nor intelligent", as one expert notes with caution. It's a great tool for rapid screening of info. Some labs have used it to generate potential new proteins. Around 95–99% of what was produced was junk, but the small percentage of good stuff was worth pursuing—by intelligent monkeys who knew something. Not surprising really for a computer model that searches info in conjunction with stochastic sampling.

There is great potential as a tool: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-03246-7
There are many potential negatives to be aware of and to guard against: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-03222-1

Let's bring this back to the subject of this forum!

AI has never painted a figure, it does not know what a figure is, let alone a paintbrush. It has never had the thrill of sending a cavalry charge across the table, of seeing a carefully constructed plan crumble before one's eyes, packing up the figs afterwards and sharing a beer and a laugh with friends before, during and/or after a game! You definitely would not want to offer it a command.

I am honoured that you did to me. I can't make it over your way in the short-term, but it is on my long-term plans and we'll catch up for game/beer/banter about figs, wargaming and history when I do.

Now, time to head to the shed to do some painting. I may even have something worth showing here in time...

Best wishes, James

Hi, James.

I linked your reply to Al & he told me not to believe you.:stuck_out_tongue:

Seriously though, AI is just one more tool for the hobby - like contrast paint or 3D printing.
Overall, I agree with your overview of the phenomenon.

I often like a range of opinions on things I am not sure of. In the past there was a miniatures forum that had many erudite members of whom you could ask about WW2 British Armoured Division composition or Thirty Years War flags or if the Sea Peoples had bowmen etc. Sadly, nearly all of those people have left that forum over the unhinged political spoutings that regularly engulf it.

The Strelets' forum is, of course, quite small but there are several here whose opinions & knowledge I respect. And the forum concentrates on the important things in Life: small, plastic figures.

donald