Jon Smith Modellbau - Trooper, Kings Ulan Regt 1st Hanovarian, 1914

Jon Smith Modellbau

54mm - 1/32nd scale. Resin Cast.

Prussian Trooper, Kings Uhlan Regt. No. 13 (1. Hanoverian), Western Front, 1914 The figure depicts a young trooper of one the Prussian Lancer line regiments in the opening months of the Great War. The Lancer, or Uhlan regiments derived from the old Prussian Towarcys units, with their strong Polish - Bosnian links and armed with the lance were primarily used for foraging and scouting duties in East Prussia. The Kings Uhlan Regt. No. 13 (I. Hanoverian) was formed in 1889 and was garrisoned in Hanover, Lower Saxony. The regiment belonged to the X Army Corp and Colonel-in-Chief was the German Kaiser. Contents: Figure (6 parts) 2nd Head (Field Cap - Feldmütze M1910) Cavalry Pattern Sword M1889 - Kavallerie-Degen M1889 Emblem Model Plaster: Base Wall Pillar The Heads Head 1: A man in his early twenties with the typical, fashionable moustache of the time. He wears his lancer Tschapka helmet with a slight tilt to one side. Regulations stated that the Tschapska should be worn with the visor 3 cm over the right eyebrow and 5 cm over the left. Colour: the helmet without the cover - black leather, with brass rim edges (can only be seen were the cover has slipped up at the front). Cover - rush-green (In practice these covers would fade within a very short time and the result was a light beige, or grey colour). Head 2: This is a head of a younger trooper wearing the field cap, his face grinning with pride, as he stands amongst the ruins of a church entrance somewhere between Le Cateau and Landrecies only hours after British troops had evacuated the town. The late summer months in the opening stages of the war were particularly warm, dry and like many of his comrades his hair has been cropped short. Uniform Field Cap: Feldmütze M1910. Made out of a field grey material with the band and piping in the white facing of the Uhlan Regt. No. 13. The two metal Kokarden badges at the front are - top: Die Reichsfarben: black, white and red (from outwards to the centre) and - bottom: represents the state were the unit was raised - e.g. Prussia - Preussen: black, white and black (Lower Saxony was Prussian). Bavaria - Bayern: white, light blue and white. Brunswick - Braunschweig: blue, yellow and blue. Hessen - Hessen: white, red and white etc. Later in the war some units covered the band with a strip of darker material. From 1917 a new field cap was introduced with a dark green band for all arms, but both types were worn along side each other. The field cap was worn extensively throughout the war, both in the rear and front line areas. The troops would wear them in all different shapes and styles. In fact it was commented by the Officer Commanding the Sniper School in the British First Army area, how well the German field cap, with its floppy and uneven edges, blended in with its surroundings. (The British caps were far larger and flatter on top, reflecting the light and hence attracting attention). Lancer Helmet M1889/94: Tschapska M1889/94.The typical lancer helmet of the period with similar designs in most other European countries at the time. Made out of lacquered, blackened leather with a small visor at the front of the helmet, which was trimmed in the same button colour metal. On the right hand corner of the flat top - or mortar-board was the attachment leather toggle (on some helmets a hook) to which the cap line - Fangschnur - would be fixed. The cap line would not normally be worn with field dress. The chin- strap on the helmet is underneath the cover - the outlines can just be made out on the figure's helmet. In the field these helmets were protected with a reed green cotton cover, with slits for the toggle and cockade. At the rear of the cover was a rubber cord to ensure a good fit. The long cockade, or Feldzeichnen was made from wood with a cloth cover and positioned at the front left angle of the mortar-board. All Prussian regiments had black and white cockades (officers had silver cord instead of white). The reverse of the cockade was black and when fixed to the helmet would sometimes tilt inwards, underneath the board. Ulanka M1908: The field gray Ulanka M1908 was the traditional tunic worn by the Uhlans in the Great War. At the front the breast garment, or plastron had a row of 6 buttons (Neusilber or Tombak - depending on regiment) at each side and opened only on the right. The pear-shaped shoulder straps on the field gray Ulanka were in contrast to the peacetime variants generally disliked by the troops and earned the name of "flyswats". They were too short in length, lost their shape and appearance (the piping would wear-off) and in the main regarded as "unmilitary". The tunics were piped in the facing colour of the relevant regiment around the stand up collar, shoulder straps, breast garment, along the back and sleeve seams, around the rear vents, the Polish style cuffs and the bottom edge. Regiment number or cyphers would be on each of the shoulder straps - normally in red. On the Ulanka itself, the structure and fold of the creases follows the standard form copied from various photos of Ulan troops in the field. It is always better when gathering reference material to use original photos of troops who have been actually wearing their uniforms over long periods of time, as most garments (as indeed all types of clothing, depending on the material used) will crease and fold in roughly the same way. Some reference books, especially for collectors of uniforms are helpful for colour-reference and information etc., but will not always portray an accurate picture of how the uniforms appeared after many days of being worn. Iron Cross 2nd Class: Attached to the first buttonhole on the right side of the Ulanka is the white/black/white ribbon of the iron cross, second-class. This award was given out quite freely, sometimes to whole units at a time. Cavalry Breeches M1908: Reithosen M1908. Made out of a field gray material and normally would not have the piping on the sides of the breeches. The extra inside leg material, or booting was also of a gray colour, but could occasionally have a green gray tone. Cavalry Boots: Kavalleriestiefel. The cavalry boot was made out of a light brown leather, with the shaft reaching up to just below the knee and slanting back 6 -7 cm to the rear. The creases around the lower leg and ankels have been copied from the original items and of cause photos from this period and seem to follow roughly the same pattern. Colour: at the beginning of the war the boots had a natural light tan, which was then often darkened by coats of dubbin. From late 1915 onwards, boots and other leather equipment in the German Army were issued blackened. Spurs: Anschlagsporen. With the issued cavalry boot belonged the rowel spurs for NCOs and other ranks in all mounted units. (Except in Bavarian units, which used the buckle-on version) These were made out of iron or plated steel and had a mandrel or spike, which was hammered into the back heel of the boot, along with the two arms nailed on each side. The spur had a very small spiked wheel at the end of a slightly curved neck. Weapon Cavalry Pattern Sword M1889: Kavallerie-Degen M1889. Apart from a few exceptions this was the standard sword of the cavalry carried by NCOs and troopers. The main characteristics being a long straight weapon used for thrusting rather than cutting. The knuckle-bow (hilt) made out of steel incorporated the national emblem of the contingent, or State - in this case the Prussian eagle. The grip (handle) was in a black hard rubber, with 2 metal screws holding them in place. Note: with a bit of care and a thin, sharp blade it is possible to hollow out the gap between the grip and the hilt. Here the resin has been cast extra thin. Also, within the hilt itself and inside the locket (small ring for attaching sword to belt) are areas of thin resin, which can be hollowed out. These can best be seen by holding the item in front of a light. On the Jon Smith Modellbau website - www.jonsmith-modellbau.com - are a series of photos showing the sword duing the painting stage, with the hilt already cut out. Sword-Knot: Faustriemen. Attached to the handle and hanging down one side of the sword behind the locket is the sword knot. Originally used to avoid the loss of the weapon in combat, i.e. attached to users wrist, but later taking on a more ceremonial role enabling the rank and squadron to be identified. The knot was comprised of 4 parts: strap Riemen - light brown or red-brown leather, slide Schieber - plaited light or red - brown leather, crown Kranz - see table below and tassel Fransen - white. Miscellaneous The Emblem: The emblem can be used to decorate the base, or wooden plinth after the figure has been finished. It depicts the White Horse of Lower Saxony - the German state in which Hanover is the capital. This white horse on a red background, or Sachsenroß, originated from Saxony, one of the southern states. Today one comes across this Sachsenroß incorporated within many local company logos, official stamps and even on car license plates. The Base: The base supplied with the figure depicts part of a Gothic church archway damaged through artillery fire in a small town, close to the fighting between Le Cateau and Landrecies in northern France. The bricks, plaster, pieces of timber from the old wooden door and part of the roof are heaped around the steps. Pieces of one of the concrete door pillars are lying smashed in front and the whole area is covered in plaster and brick dust.