GSD204 & GSD205 Valencian regiments guides, redone

While reviewing the newest informations about the Austrophile regiments of Valencia (both City's and Kingdom's), for if something in my own painting guides had to be mended or completed, I have noted with dismay these were in flagrant contradiction with the pre-existing source I had based my own work on. Plainly, while my former source assigned blue coats to the Valencia City regiment and green coats to the Valencia Kingdom regiment, this new encyclopedic research I'm currently reviewing does exactly the opposite --even specifying the precise shade of green used!

After some hard thought and a side verification with a couple of additional sources, in the end I've chosen to give credit to the far more comprehensive work of Boeri, Hernàndez & Riart, even if this meant having to redo the affected painting guides from start to finish. As hastily as I've been able to, here you have ready for free download the painting guides GSD204 City of Valencia I.R. and GSD205 Kingdom of Valencia I.R. at our Free Stuff page (or you can download them right here, by just clicking on their respective image).

No corrections are compulsory to our flag sheets xxGSC204 or xxGSC205 after this review, apparently.

GSD203 Queen's Own I.R. painting guide, updated

I have just completed my review of the GSD203 Queen's Own infantry regiment painting guide, following the revealings given in the latest paper on this subject. I have found no mistakes in it, thankfully; but I've found instead a lot of supplementary information allowing me to give a more complete picture on this particular unit uniformology and history, until its ultimate reformation in Milan after the 1713 withdrawal.

Therefore, I'm glad to let you know to have already updated and uploaded a new v2 version of Queen's Own I.R. painting guide (GSD203), which is available for free download at our Free Stuff page.

No amendments are necessary to our flag sheets 10GSC201, 15GSC203, 20GSC203 or 28GSC203, either.

GSD202 Ahumada I.R. painting guide, updated

There are major changes in my painting guide for the Ahumada infantry regiment, after reviewing the latest research that Boeri, Hernàndez & Riart published in recent dates. The only information I had at hand so far was that one given by Kühn and Hall referred to this regiment's uniform and equipment in 1716, once that unit had been withdrawn from Spain to be redeployed in Naples, and later Hungary.

Now their whole uniformity history is fully known since at least 1705, and this knowledge may deliver you a few surprises! This is why I have just updated and uploaded a new v3 version of Ahumada I.R. painting guide (GSD202), which is already available for free download at our Free Stuff page.

No amendments seem necessary to our flag sheets 10GSC201, 15GSC202, 20GSC202 or 28GSC202, thankfully.

GSD201 Catalan Guards painting guide, reviewed

Following my announcement as of yesterday, I've just reviewed my painting guide for the WSS Catalan Guards regiment, for if anything had to be mended, as a result of the latest research published by Boeri and Hernàndez on the Austrophile armies subject.

A few notes have been added here and there, although in the end the forementioned guide has suffered no major change, fortunately. Similarly, our 10GSC201, 15GSC201, 20GSC201 and 28GSC201 flag sheets remain untouched.

Anyway, this particular painting guide (GSD201) new v3 version is already available for free download at our Free Stuff page.

WSS guides & flag sheets upcoming updates

A voluminous new book on military history, dedicated to the Spanish Austrophile army in the War of Spanish Succession, has recently come into my hands. Authored by Giancarlo Boeri and Francesc X. Hernàndez, this extraordinary 479-page work is lavishly illustrated with hundreds of full-color drawings and diagrams by the celebrated artist Francesc Riart. Although published in Catalan language only, for the moment, under the title of "Els exèrcits de Carles III i Elisabet de Brunsvic" (="The armies of Charles III (*) and Elisabeth of Brunswick"), this one book is an essential addition to the library of anyone passionate about this conflict, which shaped the turbulent makeup of contemporary Spain.

The collaboration of these two undisputed experts, Boeri and Hernàndez, has shed new light on the military uniforms and vexillology information on the units serving the Habsburg cause —to such an extent, and of such quality, that has made me feel compelled to revise each and every one of my WSS painting guides, and possibly even this or that one of my published WSS flag sets in every scale (1/144^th, 1/100^th, 1/72^nd and 1/56^th, currently).

This is a job I'm going to do without any special hurry, logically, although I will try to keep it at a steady enough pace. Eventual news will be duely shared in this blog as they come.

(*) Current Spanish Historiography does not recognize as legitimate the "III" regal numeral of Charles Habsburg as king of Spain, referring to him instead as just "Archduke Charles" or "Pretender Charles", while assigning that numeral to Charles Bourbon & Farnesio (1759-1788). However, while it might be true that Charles' hurriedly pressed coronation in Madrid —during the ephemerously triumphant 1710 Allied counter-offensive— lacked most of the elements contributing to normality and legitimacy, nevertheless it can't be overruled that Spain wasn't a unified kingdom yet at that time, so his previous coronation as king in the Catalan-Aragonese States in 1706 was, unlike that one of Madrid, fully legitimate and following all the prescribed steps before the "Corts" or Parliaments of Aragon, Catalonia, and Valencia. Besides, his effective rule from that point in Catalonia and Balearic Islands was long enough (8 and 9 years, respectively) not to be ignored as if it didn't exist. Therefore, maybe he can never be truly acknowledged as 'Charles III of Spain', but he was legitimately 'Charles III of Aragon' indeed. This is why of the book's name, transpiring a philosophy I do adhere to.

Prepping an eBay store

In the last months, I've observed from time to time some potential buyers backing down, after a first e-mail contact exploring both payment and shipment alternatives; an issue that, after some thinking, I've found to be reasonable after all. Arguably, when a transaction is performed directly from user to user via e-mail only, there is no much buyer protection beyond simple personal trust --and, sadly, one can never give it for granted...

Therefore, I've decided to open an eBay store in the expectance it will give potential buyers stronger feelings about transaction protection and items traceability. Sure that eBay's own policies are a bit tighter, but this is the least you can expect in exchange for security. On my side, it will no doubt represent some added cost, but I'm eager to endure it for the time being, if this helps fellow hobbyists to make up their mind.

About the eBay store itself, it is already active and running, although far from complete --there were a lot of thingies in Minairons' catalogue, so I'll still spend some time uploading products there.

Warriors of Athena QRS

Performing now just as a hobby dedicated retiree, I'm pleased to share a new PDf file for free download --today, a Quick Reference Sheet for Osprey's Warriors of Athena, a recently published skirmish wargame set in Mythical Greece that has soon caught my attention. Such QRS can be freely downloaded from here.

I've published it in Catalan language only, for the moment, with the aim to help disclose the game among my gaming friends and fellow nationals --although I do not discard to publish it in other languages too in a future.

As it can be seen thorugh the image above, this 2-sided sheet is plentiful of writing rather than tables, because I've envisioned it mainly as a combat basic rules compendium, which I believed might be most wanted by a newcome to the game. Perhaps at a later stage, once the basic combat mechanics are mastered, it might be more practical a different kind of QRS --with fewer rule extracts and more quick glance tables. We'll see.

20mm SCW figures, resurfaced

Good news for 20mm SCW gamers, for our former range of white metal figures are now being gradually re-released by their sculptor --so that they now begin to show in the sculptor's own website, Xan miniatures.

As said, this is going to be a gradual process and not all troops in the range are available right now, because Xan is checking and revamping them one by one. As he told me recently, it's also likely for some new figures to be added to the range.