“Here we think of nothing except military affairs. Last Monday the Dieppental battalion, 500 strong, was inspected by the imperial commissaries. Nine hundred horses and 169 wagons for the artillery, and 19 large anchors for warships, also arrived; while the same day, the foot marched out along the Tabor road to the suburbs, and went down the Danube next morning. On Tuesday 3 craft from Steyr came in, with 2,000 cannon-ball, and many thousands of smaller shot. Half of the Scherffenberg regiment (with 1,020 men) also arrived, and marched through the city … Today, half the Mansfeld regiment (again 1,020 men) were stationed outside the Burg-gate at 9 0’clock, when the Emperor went out of town to hunt; he took the opportunity to inspect them. They were well clad in grey, with blue facings …” – Observer in Vienna, April 22, 1683, quoted in John Stoyer, The Siege of Vienna: The Last Trial of Cross and Crescent (New York: Pegasus Books, 2006), 63.

I’ve recently been expanding my collection of Imperial units for the game By Fire and Sword. I’ve been working on completing at least two regiments of Holy Roman Empire infantry. The first will be painted as Imperial infantry for the Vienna campaign of 1683, while the second would be for Imperial infantry for the 1657-60 Northern War in red uniforms.

Given it is the more famous engagement, I decided to start with the troops from the later Vienna campaign. Using the first hand account of the uniform of the Mansfeld Regiment quoted in Stoyer’s book, I decided to use the Mansfeld regiment as an example unit.

I started by cleaning and preparing the miniatures. I then glued them with PVA glue to a couple of cheap old rulers to provide a base to hold while I painted. I then primed the miniatures with Games Workshop Chaos Black Primer spray. For the uniform coats, I base coated with Vallejo Model Color Basalt Grey. To add definition, I then went over with a coat of Games Workshop Nuln Oil shade. Then I highlighted with either Vallejo Model Color Sky Grey or Vallejo Game Color Ghost Grey. This gives a variety in color which reflects that uniform dyes weren’t quite so precise and that the coats would appear different shades due to natural wear and appearance. The cuffs and other visible facings were then painted with Vallejo Model Color Prussian Blue, shaded with Nuln Oil, and then highlighted with a Prussian Blue/White mix. Next painted were faces, hats, trousers and stockings, and shoes. This were of various colors, but I’ll give an example of each below.

KODAK Digital Still Camera

Faces: Vallejo Game Color Beasty Brown Base, with a Beasty Brown/IWM Paints 77-705 Flesh mix as a first highlight, leaving only the lowest recesses not covered. To give definition, Games Workshop Reikland Fleshshade was shaded over the base layers. Then a final cheek/forehead highlight of pure IWM Flesh was used, sometimes mixed with white on the nose bridge and forehead.

Hats: I varied between gray, black, and brown hats of various shades to reflect that these would often be a multitude of colors. For a basic example, I mixed Basalt Grey with Vallejo Model Color Chocolate Brown to give a brown-gray tint as a base coat. I washed with Games Workshop Agrax Earthshade for definition, and then highlighted with a White/base color mix. Sometimes, I edge highlighted with a extreme white/base color mix to give a “pop” to the hat rims.

Trousers: For red trousers, I started with a Vallejo Model Color Red base coat, shaded with Games Workshop Carroburg Crimson shade. I then highlighted with Vallejo Model Color Scarlet.

The results of this process you can see below. They are finished, needing only to be varnished and based before they are tabletop ready.

KODAK Digital Still Camera