Monday, October 13, 2014

2nd Maryland Regiment 1781


Just recently finished this regiment of American Continentals the 2nd Maryland Regiment 1781 formed soon before the Battle of Guilford Courthouse. The original 2nd Maryland had been amalgamated into the 1st Maryland sometime after Camden.  The performance of the reformed 2nd Maryland at Guilford Courthouse was pretty awful and exactly the opposite of the 1st Maryland who performed outstanding. However, to be fair the 1st Maryland was composed of hardened veterans and the 2nd Maryland at the time of the battle was raw troops. So, why did I do the 2nd Maryland 1781 and not an earlier version you may ask, well the answer is simple in I wanted to do a regiment in brown with red facing. Anyhow, I wouldn't get overly concerned about unit titles as my figures serve for various regiments as needed and I only give names to units as it sounds better then "more
Continentals".:-)   I don't get to concerned if I make mistakes as they often are not used as the regiment in question, but unit histories can help in creating credible uniforms instead of winging it.

The figures are another thing I'd like to talk about in that they are a mixture of Perry metal and the new plastic. I won't discuss the Perry metal as I have done this before so on to the plastic. The ones in coats are the new Perry plastic Continentals btw. Generally speaking I'm a "metal head" and will likely always be so for various reasons, but I am warming up to plastics especially as the quality continues to make leaps and bounds and of course the big savings one gets in the pocket book. I also like the fact that they are reducing the amount of components to make a standard figure as I hate the assembly process. However, for those wanting extra bits they have plenty to make individuals of your troops. The figures are a bit slender making painting a little trickier, but the casting is very smooth with little flash and in terms of clean up better then the metals.The detail is pretty impressive and the figures take the paint quite well. The posing is somewhat limited, but with enough variation to keep it interesting for marching troops and I really like the natural positioning they did use. If you want firing then you will need to get metal or try some of the new WGF AWI plastics which has firing poses. I suppose my only major complaint is it only has 4 of the 38 figures in the box with hunting shirts and that is way to few IMHO. First off hunting shirts are my favourite uniform of the war and second they were an extremely popular uniform of regulars and not just militia or riflemen. Even taking into account you can not please everybody I believe 16 of the 38 should have been in hunting shirts just because it was so common. This of course can be fixed by buying metals and WGF in hunting shirts, but it still would have been nice if this was already solved by including enough in the first place. With everything said I think the Perry plastic Continentals are well worth the buy and I really do recommend them for building up your forces.The lovely flag is GMB designs.

Usually by this time my butterfly habits kick in and I need to do something else, but in fact my enthusiasm still remains very high and so if you like AWI I think you will continue to enjoy the posts as I have a lot more planned to do.

Thanks for viewing!:-)
Miniature Company- Perry Miniatures




46 comments :

  1. Fantastic results Christopher. Another stunning unit!

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  2. It is true positions is just a little bit, but it fits right in this overview.
    Brown shade will bring an earthy feel.
    I admire always in harmony, harmonious colors, which are painted "vividly".
    In addition, as always, I admire these trees, shrubs, and terrain.
    :) but in this case also, the words skill
    This text is like a business letter or a polite complaint.

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  3. What an outstanding body of mean, really great work Christopher.

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  4. Another terrific AWI unit Christopher, great painting and basing, and you cannot beat GMB flags for quality.

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    1. Thank you very much Chris and that's true you cannot beat GMB flags!

      Christopher

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  5. More outstanding AWI work, Christopher. Interesting to see a mix of metal and plastics within the same unit.

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    1. Thank you kindly Jonathan and yes I do like to mix figures for variety.

      Christopher

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  6. Awesome work Chris. I really like the brown uniforms with the red facing. Please remember me to have a closer look at them next to time I come round.

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  7. They look amazing and now you are making think I need to do some AWI

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  8. stunning looking unit you have here Christopher....great figures plus painting.... two thumbs up!

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  9. Stunning unit - most impressed :)

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  10. Excellent work there Christopher!

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  11. Fife & Drum has quite a few Continentals in hunting shirts and they are now available in the UK through Crann Tara Miniatures (and no assembly required. :) ) I'd be happy to send you some samples at no charge if you would like to give them a try.

    Jim

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    1. Hi Jim as you know finding Perry figures in hunting shirts is not a problem as I can get some through metals and extra sprues, but rather my point was it's more convenient if you can it in one box.

      As to free miniatures I'd be happy to try them out.:-)

      Christopher

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  12. Lovely painting Christopher - the color scheme is really well balanced and the GMB flag just crowns the work you've put into these minis. More!

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    1. Thank you very much BP and GMB flags sure are a gem!

      Christopher

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  13. Fantastic! Proof in the pudding is I cannot pick out the plastics, which is testament to your painting and Perry!

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    1. Thank you kindly Monty! Yes indeed the Perry's sure are honing their craft to a razor point.

      Christopher

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  14. Fantastic regiment Christopher! Mixing metal and plastics is the way to go for great variety in units.

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    1. Thank you kindly Cyrus! It sure does help fill out units cheaper and give the all important variety.

      Christopher

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  15. Nice painting! I'm sure you've already said somewhere, but what game are these based for?

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    1. Thank you very much Andrew! They are based for British Grenadier and Black Powder.

      Christopher

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  16. Fantastic looking unit Christopher!

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  17. Hello Christopher, good to your Boys presented here, but I hope to see them soon in action! Greines from cologne!
    Sascha

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    1. Thank you kindly Sascha! I hope your new work place is working out.

      Christopher

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  18. Great looking troops, Christopher. I'm always impressed when I see how nice otherwise subtle and earthy colored uniforms look when painted so well like these. Best, Dean

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  19. Hello!
    as always you made a beautiful unit.
    I never imagined that at the time the 2nd MD had the brown uniform, thanks for the useful information.
    Regards
    Simone

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    1. Thank you very much Simmy and happy you found the info. useful.

      Christopher

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  20. Hello Christopher!Your painting skills are excellent. Love both your pictures and your blog.I think your blog is very personal is very positive and stand out in a positive way.I will start following your projects from now on.

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  21. A very cool looking unit and a very good brushwork. Perry miniatures are hard to paint but you mastered this again.
    Cheers
    Mike

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    1. Thank you very much Mike! They are a challenge, but pay off when finished.

      Christopher

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