Calpe Miniatures
25mm Napoleonic wargames figures, meticulously researched, finely sculpted

Prussian Horses

Prussian Horses: Walking

These replace the seven original horses. These horses have the same proportions as the artillery horses and are shorter and stockier than the original horses. The figures above only fit these horses. They are all in walking and trotting poses.

Prussian Horses: Charging

At one stage of the gallop all four of the horse's legs are off the ground. I am pointing this out as I get more comments with regard to the horses than I do for any other figure. The pose mentioned above is impossible to sculpt without some form of support structure as it would not cast or stand. Most of you will understand this simple fact and yet I will get those who complain about the 'runners' and 'grassy bits' that allow a dynamic galloping pose to both cast and then stand.

I have given these horses a lot of thought and time. All poses are taken from actual photos of horses and I have selected each pose so that in combination they give an accurate representation of the various (castable) stages of the galloping movement. The raised legs are supported by two types of metal supports, textured and plain. The plain supports can be snipped off using a side cutter (available from most good model shops or Games Workshop outlets) if you want to improve the dynamism of the galloping horse. This does weaken the stability of the casting so you pay a price for increased realism, but the option is there if you want to take it. Do not remove any of the textured supports (the grassy bits) and on no account remove more than two supports. It is best not to remove two supports from the same side of the figure although in some cases (H11) this is not possible. Snip intelligently!

Horse poses are difficult to describe. I am going to describe the position of the front legs in order to distinguish one horse from another.

Prussian Horses: Dynamic

At "Colours" (the wargames show in Reading) last September I came across some excellent horses on the Bicorn stand. I asked Andrew Barrett who the sculptor was and was informed that the horses were the work of Alan Marsh. I contacted Alan and asked him if he would be interested in sculpting some horses to match the ones in the existing range. He agreed to put some horses together using my horse "bits" to ensure uniformity. This is actually more difficult than sculpting originals as Alan has managed to match the work of another sculptor (your truly) rather than sculpting freely in his own style. I think the results speak for themselves. Alan's work on the three dynamic horses is particularly good. I hope Alan will agree to sculpt some heavy horses in the near future to mount the heavies for both the Prussian and French cavalry.

Please note that although Alan used my horse torsos, the placing of the horse musculature and harnessing can hinder the "fit" of the troopers on the horse. This is easily sorted by placing the nose of a set of needle nosed pliers between the legs of the figure and gently pulling the handles apart. This opens the gap between the legs and leaves any marks on non-visible surfaces. Do this when required in discreet stages; you are looking for a snug fit not a loose figure.

Prussian Horses: Standing

Prussian Horses: Command Sets

A number of customers have asked me to make the horses I sculpted for the command packs generally available. I can see no reason for not doing so other than to remind you that these horses were made to fit specific figures. As a result I cannot guarantee the snug fit my cavalry figures generally have on the horses already in the range. Having said that, I have been using some of these 'general's' horses with standard cavalry figures for some time and they work very well as long as you are prepared to file or fill a bit. Skills all of us should have. See the new picture of the Pommeranian landwehr unit.