Painting Warlord's Epic Battles: Revolution "Hessians" for the Seven Years War

 

Dear Reader,

Like so many other hobbyists, Warlord was kind enough to send a few sprues of their new Epic Battles: Revolution range to me for review. I picked them up on Monday afternoon, and have painted three stands. As I noted in my early review, I think these figures will be good for the AWI, but I actually think they will be great for the European Seven Years War. Let's dive in. 

First all all, the figures are modeled in such a way that they are very easy to paint, and paint quickly. I was able to paint and base these 60 figures between Monday afternoon and Wednesday morning, despite working a full day on Tuesday. I sprayed them black, and didn't really spend much time highlighting or shading, just thin base coats to get them ready for the table. You can see the results below.

Now, you say: those troops don't look very much they are from the American War of Independence at all. You'd be correct. They are painted as Prussian IR 6 (Grenadier Garde), Prussian IR 13 (Itzenplitz) and Austrian IR 4 (Teutschmeister) from the 1750s/1760s period. I am extremely pleased with the suitability of using these figures for the Seven Years War era: there are some very minor uniform changes, but on the whole they look great.

Modularity

With a range of sprues, it is very possible to model a variety of units with minimal effort: for example, I chose to represent one of the few Prussian grenadier units which carried flags during the Seven Years War. Most did not. You could make for the AWI, for example, the Hessian Grenadier Battalion von Rall, which carried flags, using the excess flag bearers leftover from your Continental units. You'll have flexibility with extra drummers, officers, and soldiers to modify your units how you need them.

Excellent Molds

With a few errors (such as the bayonets, or minor quibbles with the officer designs) aside, the figures are designed in such a way to allow for quick painting and shading with minimal effort. It is very easy to pick out the facings, waistcoat, crossbelts and waistbelt, and breeches, even if they are all the same color, and leave black to produce a shading effect. This pleasantly surprised me compared to other Epic Battles ranges, and even the 15mm figures that I normally use for the Seven Years War.

In conclusion: I remain very excited for the possibility of using the figures for the Seven Years War. I look forward to expanding my collection when they release. I'll be painting up the British and Americans next, to see how much of this holds true for the AWI.

Thanks for Reading,

Alex