Wednesday, 20 November 2013

Murawski Miniatures Krakus painted by Francesco Thau

All I can say is a big "wow".  Please don't take my word for it though - have a look yourself!

 Officer and 2 of the 3 troopers available
 Standard bearer: apparently they didnt use trumpeters or standards.
 By all accounts if was a "follow-me" sort of thing.
 According to some sources the Krakus, made up of the landed gentry and their tenants, were some of the best light cavalry available to Napoleon in 1813.
 Polish horse stock was some of the best in Europe at the time.
 The Krakus were born in the saddle and used to defending what was theirs.
 There is some confusion as to the horses however as Napoleon mentioned some mounted on small ponies. All other references I have seen refer to the Krakus as battle cavalry and this is how we decided to portray them.
 The standard of painting here by Francesco is staggering.
Many thanks to Francesco for sharing the pictures. The Krakus, and an entire range of Grand Duchy of Warsaw Poles are available from me and Murawski Miniatures.
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10 comments:

  1. Phil20 November 2013 at 12:54

    Great looking figures, and presentation...

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  2. Chasseur20 November 2013 at 19:16

    Beautiful! Both painting and basing.

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  3. Glenn21 November 2013 at 02:32

    Amazing figures. These paintjobs really make the figures sing. I especially love the vibrant reds, which make them pop.

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  4. Bayard21 November 2013 at 21:26

    Amazing painting, but horses are too big. Napoleon called them: "pygmy cavalry", because they had very small horses. I think that someone mentioned it before. Anyway they look great ;)

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  5. RTB22 November 2013 at 08:40

    Dear Bayard, I mentioned that in the text but that is the only mention, By 1813 the Krakus were used as elite line cavalry; if you check the drawings and paintings from the time most references are of the Krakus on excellent horse stock.

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  6. RTB22 November 2013 at 08:54

    Whoops! One last point regarding the Krakus; Napoleon when he mentioned the pygmy horses also referred to their civilian / scruffy dress, yet it is known (if we can ever be sure) that they were uniformed by late 1813. This would suggest two different units. Our research would suggest uniforms as the figures are pictured, and line horses rather than ponies. Feel free to disagree but what is not in doubt is that a pony does not make a line horse and thats how the Krakus were used.

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  7. Raglan22 November 2013 at 18:32

    Those are mighty fine!!!

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  8. Kukke22 November 2013 at 18:46

    Excellent painting!Wish they were mine... :(
    Great job.

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  9. James Fisher13 December 2013 at 22:03

    Ditto your 'wow'. It's nice to have some in the krakuska and some in the circassian cap.

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  10. Der Alte Fritz17 December 2013 at 13:59

    Wows all around for all of the figures, but the brush work on the horses is what really caught my eye. Outstanding!

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