Sunday, February 7, 2021

Eureka Gendarmes #2 - Herzog von Hessen


    This is the second unit of Gendarmes by Essex that I purchased as part of their 100 club 10+ years ago; there remains lead for 3 more such units! 


This unit is named for another fallen  wargames freind, Peter Hess.


Peter was an active promoter of Pike and Shot/Renaissance era miniature wargames, and usually could be found running one or more .large games from Renaissance history at every Historicon. 


I played in one of his games from the Swiss Burgundian Wars (I believe it was Morat, June 11, 1476), and enjoyed it immensely. 


Subsequently, Peter played in one of my Hussite Wars games using my Own Band of Brothers, 2nd edition rules. The back and forth battle over the Wagenburg was tense, and Peter said it was one of the most fun games he had ever played in. 


For Historicon 2009, Peter sponsored a series of game for the 500th Anniversary of the Battle of Agnadello, April 1509, subtitled "500 years of Obscurity". The Battle was run with multiple times, each with a different set of rules; I ran the version played with Band of Brothers, 2nd edition. If I recall correctly, as happened historically, the French prevailed in every case. That year a group of 6 of us also ran 6 battles from the 1809 campaign Razyn, Teugen-Hausen, Eggmuhl, Aspern-Essling, Wagram, and Hof (in Saxony - Jerome's Westphalians, etc vs various rebel factions supported by Kienmayer's Austrians). 


I was shocked to learn of Peter's passing less than a year later, he had no signs of ill health whatsoever in 2009. 


Peter used "Hessians@aol" as his email, so this flamboyant unit is named in honor of him. 

22 comments:

  1. A nice tribute there Peter, and a fine-looking unit. In spite of your Ceramcoat tip (I did end up purchasing a tube and a few others, by the way) I still involuntarily shudder when I see lots of yellow.

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    1. Because it's such a pain to apply I should hasten to add, and not because it doesn't look great!

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    2. LOL! The yellow used here is indeed the Delta CC "Straw Yellow". I didn't find it a pain to use at all! :-)

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    3. Ceramcoat Straw Yellow is a staple in this household too! It covers pretty well too.

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  2. Colorful troops! Nice tribute to your friend. Too bad a decade does not always treat folks as well as lead soldiers.

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    1. Yes, there is that, Joe. Our armies are more durable than we are!

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  3. This is a fine flock of preening canaries, Peter. You won't misplace them in the heat of battle. Nice work!

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    1. "You gotta be tough to carry off a costume like this!"

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  4. Very colourful unit lets hope their performance on table belies those yellow streaks they have :-)

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    1. We'll see. Gendarmes can be pretty awesome, though!

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  5. They’re going to be a shot magnet on the table! Clever way of distracting your opponent 😉

    Beautifully done!

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  6. That's a great looking unit and a fitting tribute to your late friend.

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  7. now that is flamboyant mate!

    I do love the eureka gendarmes, I only have one unit perhaps in the future I will add another!

    cheers
    Matt

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  8. Very subtle, eh? :-)
    I must confess that I am very happy with how these came out. It may motivate me to do the remaining 12 at some point!

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  9. Suitably flamboyant Peter, I look forward to seeing you give them an outing on the tabletop.

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    1. Thanks, Oli. The Renaissance collection is definitely due for a turn on the tabletop, even if solo!

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  10. At first view of your lead photo, I thought; Peter now doing renaissance? Then I read your post. A fine touch Peter and a wonderful tribute to a friend and one who shared the passion.
    Regards, James

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    1. Thank you, James! My Renaissance collection is fairly extensive (at least for the Great Italian Wars of circa 1492 - 1559, with extension back to the Late medieval era (HYW, Hussite Rebellion, Swiss-Burgundian Wars, etc).

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  11. Lovely looking gendarmes! Suitably named and colourful enough to be French! I'm painting gendarmes at the moment and really enjoying it!
    Best Iain

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    1. Thanks, Ian~! there's certainly little reason to sparfe the color with the French and Imperial versions of them!

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