Savage Swans…

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This is the first post as I start to prepare the units for the WD3 Imagi-Nation game next April. As a starting point I plan to do a unit loosely modeled on the AWI British Legion but under the command of Oberstleutnant Seamus Gunter von Donovan, an Irish type adventurer in service with a Germanic type State. Generally known as Donovan’s Legion they have cultivated the sobriquet ‘The Savage Swans’. The plan being eventually to have a combined force of infantry, cavalry, artillery and skirmishers. 

However to start I have the following miniatures from RSM:

 

Which given my current painting rate will be plenty to get done by April! Apart from the trauma of adapting my painting style to 28/30mm I first need to decide on the uniform. Using templates from the Not by Appointment blog I’ve come up with some initial ideas.

This first is close to the British Legion in colour (I’ll not be going for Tarleton helmet). Trousers and waistcoat probably variations on buff, brown and white to give some variety.

The second option is more French/Austrian in origin with a white/offwhite coat and green facings etc. The white option possibly being more in keeping withe the ‘Savage Swans’?

  
And finally a buff and green, again influenced by the AWI and Lee’s Legion.
I don’t really want to paint up samples with the RSM as I have no spares. I suppose I could try and few on spare 15mm figures as I have no shortage of them! Anyway, there we have a start. Comments gratefully received.

7 thoughts on “Savage Swans…”

  1. The first design would allow for dipping which would speed things along. The white is very French and your lads might not stand out if a lot of others have gone with a French inspired look…

  2. I'm embarking on a similar project and also starting with uniform choices. I like your first example with the green coats. They'll be far more eye-catching than the white. Good luck!

    cheers,

    Dave

  4. Welcome to the marvelous world of 18th C. Imagi-Nations!

    All three are pleasant -so, what about a 'Legion' following the SYW Chasseurs Britanniques in Anglo-Hanovrian service, with each battalion (mixed, including its contingent of dragoons) in its own uniform?

    Then, if I had to choice I'd favor the buff and green as the most original at least seen from the European theatre): the 1st looks 'jaeger' (or AWI Loyalist) so is less remarkable, while the 2nd looks 'dangerously' Austrian or French -I suppose Donovan is Catholic, but is it the case of the whole unit?

    Then for contrast I'd favor 'red' crossbelts and ammo pouches (either like 'red Russian leather', or the 'ruby leather used for their boots by officers of the young army of the newly independent Ireland.)

    If I may, two points of wider application:
    – beyond an imaginary *unit* do you 'have' (plan to build) a whole Imagi-Nation (this'Germanic type State' where Donovan sold his experience and skills?) -and then, what is its name?
    – you multiply labels, this post is labeled according to the unit it depicts and it's may be helpful indeed, but may I suggest you create a 'common label' for *all* your posts devoted to 18th c. Imagi-Nations? Your blog is vast and rich, multiple topics are dealt with, it would make retrieving / selecting all your posts devoted to this special subgenre far easier -with time, hopefully you'll have dozen of messages dealing with this peculiar topic, scattered among other subjects.

    You see, I'm preparing to add a new 'Fict' link on my blog…

    Cheers
    (and,it goes without saying, Season Greetings)!

    Jean-Louis
    aka Louys de Monte-Cristo

  5. Hi Andy – got to say that the Green/Black looks really good and very dashing. Tarleton may have had many failings but he knew a thing or two about style…

  6. It's true that for centuries priest were nicknamed 'crows' (behind their back) because they were all in black, but it does not imply the reciprocal to be true, i.e. soldiers having to be (mostly) in white to be 'swans'. They can be "Savage Swans" because despite the origin of their inhaber they are not 'true' "Wild Geese" or / and because they feel more elegant and 'majestic' than other regiments of exiled Irishmen…
    (and not all swans are white, anyway).

    Hope your two next units will be nicknamed 'the Peacocks' (with a little of Ara to enlighten the breast) and 'the Parrots'. hussars or Grenzers come to mind, but if you feel really audacious you can dress like peacocks an unit with an uniform of 'classical' Western European cut. As a middle term, the Grassin with their dress combining 'normal' and 'exotic' features would be propitious to such a colorful attempt (who said 'Rainbow Warrior'?). Of course you can cheat and paint them all in dazzling white 'because there are white peacocks' but we would be disappointed…..

    Btw personally I *hate* black gaiters. How flamboyant the rest of the uniform could be, when seen 'en masse' they darken the uniform and make the unit look dull / gloomy.

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