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Post by marcoenrico on Jan 7, 2016 14:47:21 GMT
I bought from Perfect Six cannonballs and started incorporating them into bases of artillery. Link: link
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Post by bruce on Jan 7, 2016 16:30:14 GMT
Very nice Marco. I love these little touches. So...what color were cannon balls? I painted mine black, now I am not sure. Bruce
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Post by marcoenrico on Jan 7, 2016 17:29:45 GMT
Since iron used shortly after the production they had no time to oxidize, so they were colored iron. I like those the rifle butts. But these I colored too bright. Marco
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Post by tim on Jan 7, 2016 23:15:33 GMT
Cannon balls are cast iron, naturally black as they come from the mould and form a crust on the outside. Another point is that by the Napoleonic wars most nations were using pre-made cartriges with the powder and ball encased in a canvas bag so unless the guns were an odd size (siege guns, or coastal forts maybe) you would not see stacks of balls on the battlefield. Another exception to this was on board ship where seperate charges of ball and powder were used. The balls were stacked near the gun and the powder brought up by the powder monkeys (young lads) from the flame proof magazine as required. Another semi humerous old English saying derives from the thing that the balls were stacked on that was also called a monkey and was made of brass. When the tempratures dropped below freezing the monkey would shrink faster than the iron balls and they would fall over. Hence... 'Cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey' Here endeth the first lesson on cast iron founding, the co-efficient of expansion/contraction and colloquial English phrases Apart from that, good work Marco!
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Post by bruce on Jan 8, 2016 1:39:21 GMT
Thank you for this Tim. Suddenly I now realize that H&R gun crew figures for French Artillery have guys carrying two different sizes of cartridge. I was never sure of what they were carrying but based them attending the guns. They also have a guy carrying what I thought was a cannon ball in a holder of some sort in each hand, now I think of these are water buckets! Will carefully re-read Colonel Elting's chapter on artillery for sure and try to be more attentive to what I am doing! Bruce
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Post by marcoenrico on Jan 8, 2016 11:42:05 GMT
Thanks Tim. Good lesson. I provide to paint a dark color.
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Post by Richard on Jan 8, 2016 19:57:57 GMT
I think Tim was trying to say that every stand should have at least 2 stacks of cannon balls wink wink
R
Great lesson how did the store the cannon ball on the battlefield
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Post by tim on Jan 8, 2016 22:23:54 GMT
They didn't have loose cannon balls on the field Richard. They used premade cartidges (ball and powder in a canvas bag) hence the part of an artillery crew was the 'pricker' the man who stabbed a hole in the powder part of the bag through the vent and inserted a quill fuse or fine powder. This was then ignited. In the French army the cartidges were kept in a cofferette (small wooden box)that served the gun in action. It sat between the gun's trail when in transit. As for the other nations I'm not sure, the British kept theirs in the limber I think.
Tim
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Post by bruce on Jan 9, 2016 3:21:49 GMT
Well, I got something nearly right! I have been putting one of Richard's small crates on my artillery bases as well. May put some cannon balls outside the Leven Forge building or create some sort of armory with them. In any case they do look cool. Bruce
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Post by Orlog Subedai on Jan 9, 2016 21:00:14 GMT
Hah! I scoff in the face of historical accuracy! I think the stacks of balls are a nice touch.
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Post by bruce on Jan 10, 2016 3:02:53 GMT
You are wise as well, Subedai, and there is room for all of us in our stylized world. Bruce
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Post by profjohn on Jan 30, 2016 20:39:08 GMT
I paint them black with a quick wash of unstirred gun metal.
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