I'd like to show you today what do look like the 1:100th version of a recently released WSS flags set, held by the appropriate flag bearers kindly provided by Eureka miniatures. These are the flags of a catalan austrophile unit, known as Our Lady of Rosary IR.
According to Archduke Charles regulations of 1706, colonel flags were to be white with an image of Virgin Mary, while design and colour of regimental ones were left to the unit colonel-owner's will.
Once again, we have spent some time retooling our 1/72 Schneider 155mm howitzer - in order to produce it in white metal from now on, rather than in resin as so far. Also, we've made the model kit slightly simpler and sturdier by casting gun barrel and its carriage jointly, as a single part.
Please note the different positions of gun barrel with regard to its carriage, depending on the kit involved - travelling position in the IGC Sadurní tractor boxed set, while ready for fire when a single gun pack.
Despite the change, prices remain the same.
(Spare resin gun barrels and carriages will be still available for some time at request - just drop us a line if so)
I've just released three new 1:600 scale Age of Sail flag sets, now those of the Holy Roman Empire, the British White Ensign (1707-1801 version) and John Martel pirate. As customary amongst us, each set comprises one large ensign, two medium sized flags, a bow jack and a commission pennant.
All three can be found at our website, 17th century and/or 18th century naval flags sections.
I'm pleased to let you know the release of a new set of War of the Spanish Succession flags at 1/56th, 1/72nd and 1/100th scales together as usual. The new set stands for the Catalan "Our Lady of Rosary" Infantry Regiment and comprises both King's and Battalion's colours. This hardened unit was composed mainly by former members of Charles VI's Catalan Guards, who in 1713 rejected evacuation to Naples and chose to stay and defend their homes instead.
Also, I've released a small guide giving some orientation on history of uniforms, flags and the unit itself, which is already available on www.minairons.eu website as a PDF file for free download.
Our range of 1/600 scale Age of Sail ships will keep growing over 2021, with at least two or three new model kits. The next one we've forecast is the beautiful mediterranean xebec whose 3D printed prototype you can see here.
Most likely, ultimate model will be entirely made of white metal - not just masts and sails, as in previous models of his range, but hull too.
We're going to bring it into moulds in the next weeks, so it can be reasonably expected to be ready by late Winter or early Spring.
Hope you like it!
True, after a longer than desirable interlude, this new year we're going to resume creation of more Spanish Civil War figure sets in 20mm. What we're going to release first is the set of Moroccan artillery crewmen whose greens can be watched in this post.
This new set is ideally intended for crewing AT or infantry guns - the kind of artillery Moroccan troops enjoyed. As a sample of what they can look like in action, here below you have them manning a Zvezda plastic PaK-36 AT gun.
I cannot venture a deadline for their release yet, although it's my aim to do it before Spring.
Hope you like them!
Our first release for 2021 is a new 1/600 scale Age of Sail model ship - that of an early frigate dating back to the second half of 17th century.
Model itself consists of a resin hull and nine white metal parts for masts and sails, as it can be seen in the picture above.
The whole kit comes in a box that includes a set of 1640-1653 Catalonian Secession War ensign and flags, and can already be obtained at Minairons website.
I've taken advantage of these relatevely calm days, at the end of year, for painting a sample of the recently released Austo-catalan Mountain fusiliers, whose pictures might be of interest of some among you. They've been painted accordingly to Archduke Charles' regulations, as described by F. Castellví, who was a contemporary Catalan military chronicler exiled to Vienna after the war.
Following Castellví's descriptions, the standard uniform for Mountain fusiliers was a brown or musk coat with regimental facings, a red waistcoat, blue wide-legged trousers and a particular kind of gaiters called calcilles, made of leather or some tough fabric. It was usual for them to wear a strong, light-weight footwear made with braided esparto fibers, known as espardenyes (sp. abarcas).
Figures from this set have been painted following such pattern, as if belonging to Ebro Riverside Regiment, whose facings were red. However, it wasn't that unusual for some regiments to use blue instead of brown coats, and other variations are known too. As for 'miquelets' in French service, the uniform pattern I've most often seen includes blue coats with red facings, red waistcoats and blue trousers; hat laces would be white rather than yellow. Spain only created regular 'miquelet' regiments later in 18th century - and these used that very same colour schema too, albeit with red hat laces.
Horn blowers (or should I better say "sea shell blowers"...?) are known to wear a blue feather on their hat. Officers were expected to dress right as their men, and possibly most did so; although it is known for at least one to have dressed a red coat - a colour that regulations reserved in theory to generals only.
Following Vallejo's catalogue, base colours used in this particular job are: 70.985 Hull Red + a drop of 70.951 White for coats, 70.908 Carmine Red for waistcoats, 70.903 Intermediate Blue for trousers, 70.819 Iraqui Sand for gaiters, 70.950 Black for hats, 70.953 Flat Yellow for hat laces and 70.818 Red Leather for beltings. Otherwise, the officer wears red coat, royal blue trousers and white stockings.
As for what is known to-day, variations on the above described pattern were as follows: Guardian Angel, or Manuel Moliner's, Regiment: yellow facings, red trousers; St. Raymond of Penyafort, or Ermengol Amill's, Regiment: blue coat, yellow facings, red trousers; St. Vincent Ferrer, or Joan Vila's, Regiment: blue coat, red facings; Jaume Molins' Regiment: blue coat, red facings, off-white waistcoat and trousers, white gaiters; Segimon Torres' Regiment: unknown; Antoni Muñoz's Regiment: facings possibly yellow, rest undetermined; Joseph Marco's Companies, red facings perhaps red, rest undetermined.
Less can be asserted about irregular 'miquelet' units; for instance, the so-called Aragon Volunteers Regiment was reportedly dressed in blue coats, with also blue or white waistcoats and trousers (no facings known); General Moragues' and Colonel Llirós' guerrilla troopers didn't seemingly wear any uniform at all, although some iconic votive offerings preserved at the Seu d'Urgell town's Diocese Museum do show some dressed in musk or red coats, red or light brown waistcoats, and brown or musk trousers.
