Sunday 26 June 2016

1st Battalion Dnieper Regiment



I've got my Highlander finish but haven't been able to photograph them as the weather is rather wet . But luckily I'd got the next Russian unit already photographed , they are the 1st Battalion of the Dnieper Regiment.


As you can see they are in the Russian summer/full dress uniform without the more usual greatcoat .


I rather like this uniform , but don't think it was seen or used much in the Crimea as most of the action was in the Autumn and Winter of 1854 .


However the original purpose of the Crimean expedition was to help the Turks in Bulgaria , the Allies landed at Varna on the Bulgarian coast only to find that the Russian threat had diminished due to the Turks beating then at the siege of Silistra and diplomatic pressure from Austria .


However ! if I was to squint at history a little bit I could base a campaign in this area - so the Russians could wear their rather pretty Summer uniforms .


And the British Guards could wear their Summer uniform which had white trousers I think - how cute would that be !? . The Light (Cavalry) Brigade did a disastrous recce inland from Varna which resulted in a heavy loss of horses due to the hot weather and incompetence and of course that's were the Allies first contacted Cholera .  So I'm not stretching history to much and it gets me away from a lot of the clichés associated with the actual Crimean campaign .








18 comments:

  1. Not sure about the Guards in white pants but the Russians are very attractive with greatcoats off,

    Very good idea about a campaign setting. It would also allow for more Turkish involvement with better troops.

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    1. The photo is of British Guards in Scutari , the trousers look very light coloured - gonna have to investigate more !, Tony

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    2. Oh they certainly had and wore white trousers for hot weather, I meant I don't care for the look! I like the Oxford better,

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    3. Ah! I see what you mean. Wonder if the Line used white as well.?, Tony

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  2. Love,love,love Crimean-era Russians in green tunics and spiked leather helmets!

    Best Regards,

    Stokes

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    1. The green uniform is much prettier than the greatcoat version, Tony

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  3. Cracking stuff Tony - I was looking at using chaps in great coats as line and in the summer uniform as guards. As the line/guard uniform is very similar particularly at 1/72 scale, I thought it might make things a bit clearer.

    A beautifully clean, bright paintjob too.

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    1. Yes I have both sets of figures and will use a mixture of them I think, Tony

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  4. The Russian summer uniform is smart!

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  5. Much nicer than all those drab overcoats ! , Tony

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  6. I'm liking this 1/72 stuff....paints up well and is dirt cheap!

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    1. Yes you get 48 figures to the box, enough to ditch the odd weird pose and still have enough left for a unit, Tony

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  7. Lovely job, love the pose of the officer...and the paint brush!

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    1. Thank you , Yes Strelets do some good poses and a few awful ones as well - you have to sort through the spures and ditch the odd ones , Tony

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