Eureka Miniatures Quick Painting Guides Wars of the French Revolution Austrian Grenzer 1792-1798* (*Although dated up to the official introduction of the new Austrian uniform of 1798 the following notes are applicable as late as 1800 when many Grenzer regiments were still wearing the old pre-1798 uniform) Introduction The Grenzer (or frontiersmen) were Austria s border protection force, raised to defend the reconquered southern lands and the extended Danube and Save River frontier from invasion by the Ottoman Turks in the early 18th Century. However, in time of war the Austrians could not resist taking battalions of Grenzer away from the frontier and temporarily reassigning them to the regular army on campaign to act as light infantry. This was a role the Grenzer excelled in during the War of Austrian Succession (1740-48) and the Seven Years War (1756-63), but traditionally conservative and wary of the irregular nature of these units, the Austrian authorities steadily strove to regulate and control the Grenzer s organisation, tactics and appearance probably to the detriment of their fighting effectiveness. By the outbreak of the Wars of the French Revolution in 1792 the Grenzer Regiments had been formally incorporated into the regular army for over twenty years and were subject to official uniform regulations at least when on campaign with the rest of the army. This guide for figure painters is not intended to be definitive just our interpretation of the available evidence, which is sometimes incomplete and contradictory. Painters are free to adjust anything to their own preferences. Where appropriate I have included the details of the colours I used to paint the Grenzers in the photographs accompanying this article. These recommendations are based on the excellent Vallejo hobby paints (from their Model Colour range, unless otherwise indicated) which are also available from Eureka Miniatures. All the figures shown here were undercoated in a white foundation before commencing. Those painters who favour the additional level of deep shade provided by the popular black undercoat method should hopefully still find my suggestions useful, but be aware that the final overall effect can appear darker with the black foundation. Painting Grenzers The first thing to keep in mind about the Grenzers is that they wore two different uniforms depending on what they were doing. When on border protection duty they wore the Hausmonter or frontier uniform, the appearance of which was regulated to a degree but the expense of its manufacture and maintenance were largely the responsibility of the soldier. The frontier uniform was, to all intents and purposes, home-made, and its ad-hoc appearance reflects this. When mobilised for campaign service away from the border the Grenzer were supposed to leave behind their home-spun frontier uniforms and equipment and present themselves at depots to be reequipped with an official approved campaign uniform, or Feldmonter, appropriate for service alongside the line infantry regiments. We will start with the campaign uniform (Feldmonter) which by 1792 was almost identical to the uniform worn by the Hungarian line infantry.
Part One: Campaign uniform (Feldmonter) Coat & waistcoat: as common to the whole Austro-Hungarian regular army the waist belted, lapel-less coat introduced in 1769 was white in colour, with cuffs (pointed for the Grenzer), collar and turn-backs picked out in the identifying facing colour of the particular regiment. The pointed cuffs were decorated with a small white tassel and tape around the cuff button (called Bärentatzen). The waist coat, worn beneath and often just visible on the figures below the front of the coat, was also white. As with all but the finest officer s uniforms this was not a pure white and most likely a pale grey in appearance or perhaps (with the grime and dust of campaign) off-white with a hint of beige. Neck stocks were black. Buttons could be yellow metal or white metal in appearance again depending on the regiment. (See the table of regimental distinctions below). For painting white uniforms I prefer the dusty white / pale buff look as opposed to the cleaner, white / grey appearance favoured by some painters. I block paint all the white uniform areas of the figure in a base coat of Vallejo Model Colour 821 (German Camouflage Beige). I then switch paint ranges to the Vallejo Game Colour range and re-paint over all the raised detail in 34 Bone White, but taking care to leave some of the darker Vallejo 821 as a shade colour, outlining all the belts, and in the uniform s creases and recesses. I then add increasing amounts of white to the 34 Bone White and paint again all the raised detail steadily building up the white to the intensity I want for the highlights, but still taking care to leave the shade colours (the Vallejo 821 and some of 34 Bone White) visible where appropriate. I never paint pure white although I might get close to it on the officers uniforms. I use the 34 Bone White for the intermediate stage because I like the Game Colour paint s thinner, slightly translucent qualities for this technique, but if you prefer to stick with the one range of paint try 819 Iraqui Sand from the Model Colour range as an alternative.
Regimental distinctions (facing and button colours): the following table provides the facing colours for cuffs, collar and coat turn backs (with Vallejo paint recommendations) and button colour (Y = yellow metal, W = white metal) for each Grenzer regiment by Infantry Regiment (IR) number / name. *Sometimes mistranslated as poplar green as in the tree, when Paperl is actually a Viennese dialect word for parrot, which in German is usually Papegei (information from Dave Hollins). These are the known distinctions in 1792 and they remained unchanged until the last years of the Napoleonic Wars. The accurate replication of some of the facing colours is a subject of debate. Fortunately, acknowledged experts on the Austro-Hungarian army like Dave Hollins have done a lot of digging in the Austrian archives and have been willing to share that information. The Vallejo paint recommendations in the above table are a combination of my own (based on Dave s work) and interpretations I have stolen over the years from various websites and bloggers such as Terry Webb and Andrew Saunders (check out Andrew s Loki s Great Hall blog). Some of the above colour interpretations are not controversial: shades like Violet, orange and dark brown are reasonably self-explanatory, but Rose-red was in reality a strong pale pink, while Crab red should be a red-brown (929 Light Brown on its own might suffice but I mix 818 Red Leather with it). Pike-grey had a distinctly bluish hue, and Carmine-red was close to Vallejo 802 (Sunset Red) but should perhaps be toned down a little by adding 945 (Magenta). Pale mauve translated from gris de lin, (literally linen grey but most likely a reference to a greyed shade of the violet Flax flower) is a washed-out grey/purple colour Andrew Saunders suggests mixing a little 812 (Violet Red) into 928 (Light Flesh) (I have not tried this, but it looks about right). Most controversial of all is parrot green which many painters interpret as a fairly bright, attractive mid-green, but surviving uniform examples suggest something more grey-green, while other sources add a hint of yellow-green producing a rather insipid colour! Andrew Saunders suggestion of one part 885 (Pastel Green) + one part 806 (German Yellow) given above produces the grey-green of the extant (but much worn) museum uniforms as does the possible alternative of 035 (Dead Flesh) from Vallejo s Game Colour range, but for me these are just too devoid of any actual green! Try adding a touch of 954 (Yellow Green) to the above suggestions to lift them a little, or I have experimented with a base of 967 (Olive Green) lightened with 885 (Pastel Green) and again just a touch of 954 (Yellow Green) at the end to make things a little less grey.
Straps and leatherwork: were all whitened leather or white cloth (waist belt with sword and bayonet scabbard hanger, cartridge box and back-pack shoulder straps) and should be painted to match the coat (see above). The actual cartridge box was black leather (with brass badge), and the sword and bayonet scabbards were black leather with brass fittings. Musket straps were white. The brown leather water bottles were often hung on a brown leather strap or rope. I tend to paint my brown leatherwork as quite a bright tan colour, starting with any mid to dark brown base (871 Leather Brown or 822 German Camo Black Brown) overpainted with 981 (Orange Brown) leaving some of the darker brown as a shade colour around where the straps and leatherwork meet or overlap. The tan effect might be a little too zingy for some, but there are no hard and fast rules here. Alternatively, the oblong metal water flasks (when issued and carried by some of the Eureka figures) were white metal (hung on a white cloth strap). I paint these with a black base and then flick or dry-brush 865 (Oily Steel) or 864 (Natural Steel) over them. For an extra highlight add a hint of 997 (Silver) along the upper hard edge of the bottle and the top of the stopper. Trousers: by 1792 these should be blue Hungarian trousers (quite a strong mid-to-pale, almost sky blue), as specified in the 1783 regulation which replaced the old white Croatian trousers. I paint these all over with a base coat of 963 (Medium Blue), to which I then add some white and repaint first for the main intermediate colour (leaving the 963 Medium Blue visible in only the deeper creases and various nooks and crannies), and then I add a little more white to the same mix for a final pale blue highlight. A few internet searches for images will quickly produce a variety of interpretations of this colour, very few of which are actually wrong as I suspect the shade of blue varied depending on length of wear, fading and dirt. Hungarian trousers were often embellished with yellow and black striped side seams and decorative knot details above both thighs. If you have the patience to attempt these, paint the seams and basic knot shapes in black and then dot in the pattern over the black with a bright yellow as finely as you can, but do not worry if looks a bit messy and untidy at this stage. I then find it easier to go back with my base blue 963 (Medium Blue) and carefully paint along the seam edges and around the knots to make the black lines thinner and to mask over where my yellow dotting might have transgressed beyond the black stripes. You will also most likely have to re-spot the blue inside the loops of your knots. Inevitably you will have to go back and fine tune or re-do some of your black lines and yellow dots and then tidy up again with the blue (probably several times over!) but with perseverance you should end up with something that looks passable. When doing details like this it is worth remembering that for the most part these figures will be viewed from a few feet away, so do not get hung up on everything looking perfect. Often just a little impressionist painting suggesting what is there does the trick!
Headwear: officially for the campaign uniform this should have been the false fronted, black leather hat (kaskett) with brass badge on the front and a left side wool disc (yellow outer / black centre) often topped with a sprig of oak leaves as a field sign. However, some Grenzer units on campaign opted to retain their tall, cylindrical felt hats or klobuks (shakos) from their frontier uniforms possibly out of choice or perhaps out of necessity because of a lack of available kaskett hats. The klobuk shako is also black sometimes unadorned but often with a yellow/black disc mounted on the front and the sprig of oak leaves above. Whether you choose to recreate your Grenzers on campaign in the kaskett hat or the klobuk shako is a matter of choice, but it is possible both types were worn by different Grenzer units in any typical Austrian army of the period. Incidentally, one or two secondary sources incorrectly show the klobuk with a peak (visor) at this time, but this was not introduced until right at the end of the Revolutionary Wars in 1801. Packs and greatcoats: most of the Eureka figures have leather packs (fur side out) which can all be painted in various shades of brown, but Grenzers were also issued with inferior quality grey canvas packs. If you are keen, and good with such things, on some of your figures you might want to try smoothing modelling putty over the packs to hide the fur effect (or remove the detail with a file) and then paint the packs accordingly in a selection of dirty greys. However, I have painted the packs as they are sculpted, in a variety of different fur browns. I paint the whole pack in a base of 871 (Leather Brown), 872 (Chocolate Brown) or sometimes 984 (Flat Brown) and then highlight the raised fur detail in any combination of 818 (Red Leather), 843 (Cork Brown) or even 977 (Desert Yellow for a particularly light fur finish) but really any shade of red to yellow brown will do the job. And do not feel you have to paint all your packs multiple different shades by all means paint them all the same shade of brown if you wish (I often do)! All pack shoulder straps, fastenings, and the straps securing the greatcoat on top of the pack were white. The greatcoat itself should officially have been the standard Austrian army issue item in grey and you may wish to follow the regulation, but as with the headwear it seems many Grenzers chose to keep something from their distinctive frontier uniforms in this case their famous red hooded cloaks. So if you are looking for a way to differentiate your Grenzer units in white campaign uniforms from their brethren in the line infantry try painting the rolls on top of their packs a strong shade of red. I tend to shade reds using browns, so my base colour for the cloaks is 982 (Cavalry Brown), mostly overpainted with 908 (Carmine Red), and finally highlighted with 947 (Red). Shoes/boots: black
Hair: the common old 18th Century military practice of powdering and curling hair had been abandoned by the Austrians in the 1780 s (contrary to what some sources suggest), but the hair was officially supposed to be tied back (with a black ribbon) in a long queue. Officers were however still supposed to wear whitegrey wigs. Although not regulation, Grenzers are often depicted with long side braids and prominent moustaches. Black and dark brown hair colours were dominant amongst ethnic Grenzers, but the occasional fair haired Germanic settler from the north might be mixed into the ranks. Weapons: My usual method for painting muskets is to start by base painting all the wooden parts in 872 (Chocolate Brown) and then streaking / highlighting this a little with a richer brown to simulate varnish like 846 (Mahogany Brown) but again, this is a matter of personal taste. All metalwork is painted black (the barrel, barrel bands, lock / hammer, side plates, trigger guard, and the bayonet) and then highlighted with 865 (Oily Steel) or 864 (Natural Steel). As a last touch I dry-brush a little 997 (Silver) onto the edges and point of the bayonet. Sword hilts should be base painted in black and then picked out in 801 (Brass). Officers and command figures: Grenzer officers usually kept to the proscribed uniform regulations and as such were almost indistinguishable from the line infantry officers. Their men might have worn the klobuk shako but officers would not have copied them only the regulation black kaskett or a bicorne hat. Officers wore a long white coat with regimental facing coloured cuffs and collar, unbutton to the chest in order to reveal the coloured waistcoat underneath the colour of which matched the facing colour. The waist belt across the waistcoat remained white though. I employ the same method to paint white cloth as I described for the rank-and-file figures, but as mentioned above, here I paint whiter to represent the officer s better quality (and cleaner) uniforms. Officers often wore white gloves. From 1783 Grenzer officers had been instructed to wear the Hungarian style uniform so blue trousers were worn (see above). Musicians and standard bearers can be painted the same as the rank and file. Drums were variously decorated, commonly with the hoops painted in alternate sloping black and yellow stripes. The body of the drum might be any colour on occasion something resembling the regiment s facing colour perhaps. NCO s wearing klobuks were identified by a narrow band of yellow or white material (depending on regimental button colour) running right around the klobuk, just below the top.
The sharpshooters: these can be painted as described above, but there are a couple of extra details. The cuffs on a sharpshooter s white campaign coat, specifically the rear (pointed) edge of the cuff, were sometimes decorated with white scalloped lace, and the same white scalloped lace occasionally decorated the outer edge of the false front on their kaskett hats (when worn). The sharpshooters were also set apart by their special shoulder satchel in which they carried their Doppelstutz double barrelled (under-and-over) weapon and its ammunition. These bags and their shoulder straps could be grey, sometimes a dark grey close to black, or possibly a very dark brown. NB Eureka customers should note that in some cases the Sharpshooter figures are supplied with a separate ramrod for the Doppelstutz which is cast onto the base of the figure. This needs to be carefully removed and glued into place by the peg into the location hole provided on the figure s chest. In reality the ramrod was hung from a leather strap attached to the front of the shoulder strap of the ammunition satchel. I found it easier to paint most of the ramrod before gluing it onto the figure, and then some final touching up once it is in place. The ramrod was iron so should be painted a dull metallic colour, and the attaching strap at the top leather brown.
Part Two: Frontier uniform (Hausmonter) First some general points: as mentioned earlier, Grenzers on frontier service were not provided with any uniform by the State and were responsible for their own appearance. The frontier uniform was governed by a broad set of instructions to impose some conformity but the multitude of locally produced items, frequently augmented with personal equipment, made for a very varied appearance within those general parameters. The principal difference from the campaign uniform is that all Grenzer rank-and-file on frontier service wore the Klobuk shako, not the kaskett hat, and the coat was brown rather than white. Coat: the frontier coat was made from brown cloth cut to resemble the white campaign coat but often of cruder manufacture, and missing most of the regulation embellishments. With the latter point in mind, you should probably consider filing away the Bärentatzen from the cuffs (the white tassel and tape detail, plus the button) and leave the pointed cuffs smooth and plain (NB I chose not to remove these from the brown coated figures in the photographs because this is how the figures are supplied by Eureka and I felt any after-market conversion by me might confuse potential buyers). Collars and cuffs should still be painted in the appropriate regimental facing colour as before but the coat turn backs were usually left plain in the brown coat material. Any warm brown shade will do for the coats, but not too dark. I paint them first in 984 (Flat Brown) and then highlight this with 875 (Beige Brown). Regimental button colour distinctions were maintained. When visible beneath the coat a variety of waistcoats or more often than not just a domestic shirt were worn. These would most likely have been white, off-white, or grey, but as the clothes under the coat were invariably civilian items there is an opportunity here to add a small splash of colour on a few of the figures. Neck stocks were black.
Straps and leatherwork: few regulation white belts and straps were worn on the frontier, they being mostly home produced versions in black or brown leather, or sometimes just cloth in a variety of neutral natural fabric tones. You might choose to paint the shoulder strap of the black cartridge box white (perhaps because these were one of the few pieces of regulation equipment that might have originated from the Imperial depots?), but generally the frontier appearance of the figures will be improved by painting the waist belt, sword and bayonet hanger, and back-pack straps in black and different shades of leather brown and do not be afraid to mix black, brown and white belts / straps on the same figure. (Try to use a shade of brown that stands out from the background colour of the coat). Shoulder straps (cartridge box and back-pack) can also be black or brown (instead of white), but occasionally paint some of these grey or buff to represent cloth or canvas items. The sword and bayonet scabbards can be either black or brown leather as well. Musket straps might be white or brown. If you are looking for more ways to make the frontier version of your Grenzer figures plainer then another option is to cut away the badge detail from the cartridge box flap and file smooth. Trousers: were usually regulation blue Hungarian, but home-made versions, often white, in a Croatian or Hungarian style still persisted. Frivolous additions like the yellow/black side seams and decorative leg knots of the campaign uniform were less common on the frontier uniform. Headwear: on the frontier, the rank and file Grenzers only wore the black cylindrical felt klobuk shako, and often without any decoration at all, so you may wish to file / cut away any discs or oak leaf field signs from a lot of your frontier figures so they have just plain klobuks. Packs and greatcoats: paint packs as previously described in the campaign uniform section, although more probably with black or brown leatherwork rather than white (as mentioned under Straps and leatherwork ). Greatcoats were not issued for the frontier Grenzers wore their traditional red hooded cloaks so paint any cloaks being worn or rolled up on top of packs accordingly. Shoes/boots: a wide variety of domestic footwear was worn on the frontier so black, brown or tan are all appropriate.
Hair: the same as described above in the campaign uniform section. The long hair braids were more common on the frontier because of the relaxed regulations. Weapons: same as described under the campaign uniform section. Officers and command figures: the same as described above in the campaign uniform section. Officers on the frontier were expected to wear the full regulation campaign uniform. Most officers on the frontier probably wore bicornes, but kaskett hats might have been seen on a few officers heads about the only occasion a kaskett would have been seen on the frontier. The sharpshooters: all the above comments for the frontier version of the uniform (brown coat, white or blue trousers, only the klobuk shako worn etc) apply here, but the cuff scalloped lace details mentioned in the campaign uniform section were most likely not a feature of the plainer frontier coat. And that s it but finally : with a little artistic licence the klobuk shako wearing versions of Eureka s Grenzer figures can be painted to represent passable representations of a few of the Austrian army s Freikorps units from this period. These are as follows - O Donnell Freikorps faded green coats with dark red facings, scarlet Hungarian style trousers with decorative yellow knot detail at the top of both thighs, white straps and belts, yellow metal buttons, grey greatcoats on top of the packs, and black shakos with a disc (when present) of yellow with a red centre. (Some sources show a black-over-yellow double cascading pom-pom mounted on top / front of the shako above the yellow / red disc. If you want these you will have to get creative with wire and modelling putty!) Laudon / Grün-Laudon Freikorps faded green coats with dark red facings, green Hungarian style trousers with simplified yellow knot detail (more a v shape above each thigh than a knot), brown straps and belts, yellow metal buttons, grey greatcoat, and black shako with a disc of yellow with a black centre. (Sources do not show this unit wearing a waist belt, and there are no coat pockets, but otherwise the uniform is very similar to the Grenzers. I would paint the waist belt the same green colour as the coat so as not to emphasis it, and try to remove some of the pocket detail where visible on the figure).
Serb-Slavonian (Mihailovich) Freikorps brown coats with scarlet facings, blue Hungarian trousers with red or yellow knot detail, black straps and belts, white metal buttons, grey greatcoat, and black shako with a disc of yellow with a black centre. (The shakos sometimes sported a black feather crest on the front. As with Laudon, strictly speaking this unit does not appear to have worn waist belts, and there are no coat pockets). ****** John Chadderton, June 2017