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Tuesday, January 23, 2018

Hessian Jäger Amusettes


An  Amusette was a very high caliber rifle that could be anywhere from 90 to 200 caliber and weigh some 50 plus pounds! Due to it's weight it was often attached to fixed walls or gun carriages. However it wasn't so heavy that single infantry men couldn't carry it and in fact they often did, but if possible in teams to help with firing, loading and carrying.



Typical amusettes were huge at around 7ft in length to a standard 5ft Brown Bess musket although they could be shortened to make them more portable. They could fire up to 10x the distance a normal musket and with accuracy. A standard musket could fire up to 50 to 100 yards and an amusette could fire 500 to 1000 yards giving it not only greater punch but range as well.



When available these weapons proved popular in North America during the AWI because they could go places artillery had difficulty in traversing in the hilly, wooded terrain that commanders had to deal with.


A few Hessian Jaegar re-enactors showing Amusette's in action
Hessian Jaegers were elite light infantry that served in the German mercenary forces hired by the British Crown in the fighting in North America and gained a reputation for excellence. It's recorded that the Jeager's did have some Amusette's and were used in some actions, but as to how wide spread or often is difficult to say.



The figures are 28mm from Perry Miniatures painted using Foundry paints with some Vallejo and Mig pigments for some dusting.



Thanks for viewing!
Miniature Company- Perry miniatures


36 comments:

  1. These are stunning Christopher! Great work.

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  2. Nice work--and interesting to read about these weapons.

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  3. Nice colors and work
    awesome weapon, just like a modern arquebus

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  4. You've done a great job on these ones, painting and basing...inspired!

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  5. Outstanding brushwork and an interesting history of the weapon.

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  6. Very interesting weapon system, and beautifully painted, Christopher. It has a modern tactical appearance.

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    1. Thank you kindly Dean. I'm not sure how effective the wooden Manlets were, but maybe they just helped hide the jäger. If anything it does make them look even more interesting.:-)

      Christopher

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  7. Very fine work on those Christopher.

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  8. Beautiful, Christopher! I have a few of these that need painting.

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  9. Amazing work. They looks fantastic!

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  10. Stellar painting Chris! Is the blue paint on these based on historical sources or has it 'just' been a flight of fancy? No matter the reason, they're gorgeous.

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    1. Thank you very much Nick! More or less historical in that their gun carriages were Prussian blue or blue gray so I used Foundry's Prussian gun mid blue A,B,C, but added a tad of white to the C to get a little more contrast.

      Christopher

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  11. Great shading. Color on the limber portions is spot on.

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  12. Beautifully and skillfully painted.

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  13. excellent paintwork and basing!

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  14. Bloody lovely stuff, I always love your work.

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