The Loose Association of Wargamers

Finished this battalion today based on the grenadiers of the Kurköln Wildenstein Infantry regiment 1750ish.
Figures from the Spencer Smith figure haul of the other week.

Flag by David at "Not by Appointment".




















Willz.

Another respectable unit. (Were black bears out of season when their hats were "sourced"?)

BaronVonWreckedoften wrote: ↑Wed Apr 17, 2024 11:15 am Another respectable unit. (Were black bears out of season when their hats were "sourced"?)

Cheers Baron,
The info I got stated that they wore brown bearskins.


Willz.

Another unusual regiment with a great taste in flags, Willz. Have they been blooded yet?

BaronVonWreckedoften wrote: ↑Wed Apr 17, 2024 11:15 am Another respectable unit. (Were black bears out of season when their hats were "sourced"?)

At a guess- black bear skin was imported and therefore expensive, having to come from Asia or North America. Brown bears could still be found in Europe and so the pelts were cheaper. So for tight-fisted, archbishop electors who suddenly have to meet their Reichsarmee responsibilities, they'd be an attractive option. "Damn fashion, Colonel! I can get five brown colpacks for the cost of one black one!"

Interesting fact: until the British captured New France and its lucrative fur trade, the grenadiers in Protestant countries all wore cloth mitre caps, with or without metal front plates, whilst those of Catholic countries (possibly because they were further south and/or contained forested mountain ranges) wore bearskin caps.

Spanner wrote: ↑Fri Apr 19, 2024 2:29 pm Another unusual regiment with a great taste in flags, Willz. Have they been blooded yet?

BaronVonWreckedoften wrote: ↑Wed Apr 17, 2024 11:15 am Another respectable unit. (Were black bears out of season when their hats were "sourced"?)

At a guess- black bear skin was imported and therefore expensive, having to come from Asia or North America. Brown bears could still be found in Europe and so the pelts were cheaper. So for tight-fisted, archbishop electors who suddenly have to meet their Reichsarmee responsibilities, they'd be an attractive option. "Damn fashion, Colonel! I can get five brown colpacks for the cost of one black one!"

Jean Luc Pickard sees an opening in the market brown fur dyed black,"ching ching"


Willz.

Spanner wrote: ↑Fri Apr 19, 2024 2:29 pm Another unusual regiment with a great taste in flags, Willz. Have they been blooded yet?

No not yet Spanner, I may field them in May.


Willz.

Absolutely lovely, as always!

I've noticed that bearskins that we would think of as black (French, Austrian, etc) are often referred to as 'brown' in sources. This could mean that they were actually visibly brown, or it could mean that they were a very dark shade of brown that appeared black in normal lighting, but would eventually fade to brown instead of grey. However, judging from the few available pictorial sources, the Koln Grenadiers' caps were apparently at the browner end of the spectrum.