Bavarians & Saxons in 15mm

My compatriot's secret project is coming along well as I have submitted to him all the necessary research. At this point, it is all about the rules so we are going back and forth in emails on that subject to make sure they will fit the armies of the late 19th century. Inspired by the project, I have decided to finish painting up some 1870 Bavarians in 15mm I had started as well as painting up a Saxon Jäger.

LtoR: Bavarian Command (FPW36), Saxon Jäger (FPW50), & Bavarian Line Infantry

Old Glory Bavarians Skirmishing (FPW38)

I used a slightly darker Bavarian blue color to catch the faded look.

As I mentioned in the captions, these are all Old Glory figures that I have had sitting around for close to 3 or 4 years now. The only issue I have with the OG Bavarians is that the Command have epaulets on their shoulders and according to all the pictures I have seen of Bavarians in 1870, they did not have epaulets. Warfare in the Age of Steam, one of my favorite blogs, has some great plates showing Bavarian infantry in 1870. The Osprey on the Franco-Prussian War units of Prussia is also useful.

"Get up you fools! They are sculpting me with epaulets!"

The OG figures I did will be joining some unknown (UPDATE: Figures made by Minifigs. Info thanks to John Leahy over at TMP) 1870 Bavarians I had bought off eBay a while back that I stripped and repainted. The sculpts on those are far more accurate as they come with full kit and I wish I knew who made them. Downside of the eBay figures is that they only come in 1 pose (advancing). The OG figures come in several different poses.

Old Glory Bavarians (15mm)

• Historical Accuracy: 7/10
• Pose Quality: 8/10
• Pose Number: 8/10
• Sculpting: 8/10
• Mould: 8/10

Overall, I am happy with the figures and how they painted up but there are some issues with them. The biggest issue is the sculpting around the shoulders. It almost seems as if the sculptor was unsure as to what to put there so on some poses you see hints of an epaulet while others have shoulder wings that are more like a single dot. This could be from the mould needing to be redone or even possibly just an awkward sculpt. The mysterious epaulets can be fixed with a hobby knife or file. I also like the look of full kit, which these figures lack. Some of the figures don't even have bayonet sheaths.

The Minifigs Bavarians from eBay.

As for the Saxon Jägers (FPW50), it doesn't look like OG15s carry them anymore sadly but you can get them from other distributors who have packs laying around. They are good sculpts and easy to paint as their uniforms were dark green jackets with black trousers (which is also a downside as any detail gets lost anyway). Next up are some Württemberg infantry, a mounted officer, some General Staff and another regiment of Prussians. Also a ton of basing!