Assorted Artillerymen, and a call to the Colours

Not a large amount  of hobby activity to report recently, sadly - some 'real life' stuff  took up last week, for a start. This week I have made a start on sorting and re-basing sone more vintage Minifigs Seven Years War figures - specifically looking at a box of artillery men and guns. I acquired no less than 115 gunners and 14 guns, though it's not guaranteed that the guns actually match the gunners!  

I've got a selection of the gunners soaking in water to remove their rather varied bases - some plain cardboard, some heavily textured, even some aluminium! (the latter may need to go in the freezer to break the glue bonds). 

 

This first batch includes 24  figures with blue coats and mid-blue breeches and waistcoats, which have Minifigs code numbers PSW22 to PSW25: Prussian Horse Artillery. 

They puzzled me for a while,  as modern sources like the Kronoskaf website suggest white breeches and waistcoats for Prussian artillery. But I also looked in my vintage copy (published 1974) of Christopher Duffy's The Army of Frederick The Great, and in his appendix list of regiments, under Artillerie there appears a single line :  Plain blue coat, light blue waistcoat and breeches.  So I think I know which reference their original 1970s/1980s owner was using!  I should add that there are no less than six gun models with Prussian-style blue carriages, clearly intended to be crewed by these chaps. So my Prussian forces are not short of artillery..      

 

The second batch includes a couple more groups of figures,  the first with blue coats and red breeches, which I strongly suspect represent French artillerymen. They are attached to aluminium bases and flocked, so as yet I have not been able to see the code numbers on the bases - these may be revealed after a spell in the freezer and a clean up! 

And finally, another batch with blue coats, red facings and buff-coloured breeches: 

I wondered if these are AWI figures, representing either British or American gunners - and then I noticed the relevant Osprey book has a picture of an AWI Hessian gunner which looks a good match.  But I'll take any useful suggestions... 

from Osprey MAA543: Hessen-Hanau Canoneer

And that's about it for now on the great re-basing project. I will admit it has rather taken over all hobby activity, I really need to vary things aa bit, maybe even put on an actual game!  Perhaps I will be suitably inspired by attending the Newbury and Reading Wargames Society's Colours  wargame show, tomorrow at Newbury Racecourse.  There looks to be an interesting selection of games and an impressive list of traders, and having once before ( 2018? )  I know the venue is good. I have tentative arrangments to meet a couple of friends and will be on the lookout for Steve J in his (hopefully distinctive)  yellow hoodie!    If you know me and are at the show, I'd be happy to say hello and have a chat, and of course I'll take my camera and hope to show a few pictures of whatever games take my fancy, in my next post here. Until then, keep well everyone.