Monday, 15 May 2023

A Long Wait Between Posts

May is going to be a VERY slack month for post counts - it's taken me two weeks to get a few figures painted, for some reason!

Anyway, tonight I have the second completed Great Northern War Swedish Cavalry Regiment using Warlord plastic figures. This is the Vastgota Cavalry Regiment, chosen for their orange facings, which sets them apart from the vast majority of Swedish troops who almost universally wore blue coats faced yellow.

Swedish name: Västgöta kavalleriregemente (Västgöta regemente, I6) 

The regiment was first established in 1628 as the Västgöta Mounted Regiment (Västgöta regemente till häst). The regiment was linked to the Allotment System in 1691.The regiment received the name Västgöta and Dals Horsemen (Västgöta och Dals Ryttare) in 1634. In 1655 the name was changed to Västgöta Cavalry Regiment (Västgöta kavalleriregemente).

The regiment's history goes back to the "fanor" that was raised in the province of Västergötland in the 1500's.As a result of the Constitution adopted in 1634 the Army was reorganized. The regiment was then referred to as the "Västgöta and Dals Horsemen" ("Västgöta- och Dals ryttare"). The regiment was allotted with 1000 "rusthåll". Hence, the Regiment had 1000 cavalrymen organized into 8 companies. All of the "rusthåll" were located within the province of Västergötland. Of those were 791 located in the county Skaraborg, 208 in the county of Älvsborg and 1 in the county of Göteborg- and Bohuslän.

The Official Regimental Colors: Yellow and black


(I chose to use the flag to the right, as its seems to have been in use for the majority of the period I am interested in)

Victorious Battle Campaigns(segernamn)

  • Skara1611
  • Skillingahed1612
  • Wallhof*1626
  • Dirschau1627
  • Stuhm1629
  • Burgstall1631
  • Breitenfeld1631
  • Lützen1632
  • Warschau*1656
  • Tåget över Bält*1658
  • Lund1676
  • Gadebusch*1712





So at last, a bit of progress, and now I have got started, there should be a couple more posts this week - but I will certainly be struggling to get to double figures for May!


38 comments:

  1. Great looking cavalry unit and nice flag, I can never keep up with your output so your at least giving me a chance!
    Best Iain

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    1. Thanks Iain - its not a competition (or Facebook!), I know, but I do usually manage 3-4 post per week - whereas this is my second in May and we are halfway through the month!

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  2. Nice looking unit Keith 👍

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  3. They certainly are ready to advance, you have a good looking unit to show for your efforts. One good post is better than three drivers in my book.

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    1. Thanks Joe. I forgot you really need to do these boxes in pairs, as you get 6 standing horses and 6 galloping in each pack of 12.....but I can live with one squadron beings stationary and the other in motion!

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  4. Good looking horsemen, Keith! Nice flag choice too. The month of May will be a low figure count for me too. I have completed nothing yet.

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    1. Thanks Jon! You, at last, have your travels as an excuse, all I have is idleness and lack of motivation, for some reason.

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  5. A fine looking unit Keith, lovin the orange cuffs!

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    1. Cheers Ray, the orange colour was nice for a bit of a change!

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  6. Worthy replenishment, Keith! However, I have often seen images of the Västgöta kavalleriregemente with yellow lining.

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    1. Thank you Valentine. I am just going to pretend I didn't read that last part😉

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    2. Entirely appropriate to ignore posts you don't agree with!
      Best Iain

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  7. Glorious unit and time well spent Keith.

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    1. Thanks Richard, even if it was an inordinate amount of time for what was achieved!

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  8. Superb looking cavalry Keith. Like you I used the later flag on my 15mm Swedes

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  9. A fine-looking regiment Keith. The flag came out beautifully as well.

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    1. How did I miss replying to you earlier Lawrence ?! Thanks for your supportive comments as always.

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  10. Good choice on the flag Keith as I think it's the nicer of the two and the cavalry look great too:). I'm in the mood to paint etc but still can't after my secateurs incident, which is very frustrating!

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    1. Owwww...did you have to remind me of that incident Steve...now I can feel it again! Hopefully it heals soon and you can get on with one of your several projects!

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    1. Cheers OB, I fear Valentine (above) may be correct re the unit....the trouble is, I started the, two years ago and couldn't remember who they were supposed to be! I think I will probably leave them as is, though....

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  12. Great looking unit with a interesting history.

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    1. Cheers Ben, pleased you enjoyed the post.

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  13. Nice work on the Swedish Cavalry Kieth- I'm amazed by your productiveness- your output is astounding. Cheers. KEV.

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    1. Lol...flattery will get you nowhere Kev...my productivity the last couple of weeks has been non existent ..... But I have passed through that phase now, I think. A couple more posts are likely this week.

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  14. Wow they look superb - very nice!!!
    I am very lazy painting it takes me ages as I don’t really enjoy it but when I get into it it and all the equipment is set up it’s calming and relaxing. Hope you will achieve your objectives. Thank you for sharing and best wishes. Quinn

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    1. Thanks Quinn and welcome to my blog! I am usually quite good at putting in regular painting sessions and getting through the unpainted lead/plastic, but every so often, I have little periods of inactivity. Seems like this is at an end now though.

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  15. Don’t worry. You’re still posting more than I am by a long shot. Talk about a downward comparison. 😀
    Good looking miniatures. Everyone knows that cav takes extra long to paint anyway.

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    1. Lol...yes, I am in competition with my own self imposed expectations Stew! You are also correct about the effect of horses on painting speed!

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  16. Another lovely unit Keith…
    May seems to be quite a distracting month… I am seriously unfocused at the moment… it of course doesn’t help that there at least half a dozen birthdays being celebrated among my friends.

    All the best. Aly

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    1. Thank you Aly. As it happens, it's my daughters birthday in a couple of days and as I type this, I am awaiting the order to move, as we are out for a family dinner tonight to mark the auspicious day....assume she is doing something with her friends on the actual day!

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  17. I know this lack of enthusiasm for hobby all too well. LOL At least you post more than I do.

    Lovely unit of cavalry mate. I like the flag choice too.

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