Holger Eriksson

Whilst in the Great Northern War period I thought I'd mention Swedish figure sculptor 'HE' - he worked in the 50s using mainly wood to create very elegant and sometimes semi-flat figures that have a period charm that suits the subject well. Aesthetically pleasing they lack detail but have a feel for the horse that is quite superb. 40mm moulds can be bought from Prince August - or 30mm castings can be acquired from Spencer Smith Miniatures.

54mm figures here at http://www.hefigures.com/ also photos of the man himself

Battle of Raevka 1708

Russian film about this battle - called Rajovska in Sweden - fought September 10th 300 years ago. Today is the anniversary of Lesnaya in Belorussia.

Flying the flag for the period

Had a nice mention of this blog here on this forum... the chap says he doesn't know who I am so maybe I ought to explain... I am an ex-reenactor - I started off in 1985 doing the tercentenary of the Monmouth Rebellion as I live in the West Country. Decided to try and keep the period alive when the tercentenary passed by forming the 1685 Society in the late 90s - this sparked off quite a bit of interest in the late 17thc spawning many other groups. Got approached around 2000 by the late David Chandler about a Blenheim tercentenary so I formed the Blenheim forum which brought together all the reenactors of the period worldwide. I have retired from reenactment though I do like to keep up with all the news. Here's me at one of the last events I attended at Blenheim palace in 2004.

Vauban sites

There has been a wave of interest in the works of Vauban in France since UNESCO designated several sites as of world heritage status with many forts seeing an increase in visitors. This slideshow shows some of the diverse sites associated with the great man.

Zvezda Swedish Dragoons

New figures. You may regard plastic 1/72 figures as mere toys but Zvezda are one of those manufacturers who do make superiorly sculpted models and they are gradually getting through the later Great Northern War period with a well made range. Website here

Plastic soldier review list of GNW sets

Preparing for Poltava 1709

The Great Northern War battle Poltava is one of the landmark battles of Russian history and so next year's tercentenary is going to be important with groups from all over the Ukraine and Russia attending including of course our friends the Preobrazhensky Life Guards.

Sans pareil 1690

While on the subject of 1690s America and the Compagnies franches de la Marine - France's colonial troops -the only French Marine group for the late 17th century I know of is based in St Malo France, led by Huchehault - website here. I'd like to see groups in New England and Canada too - maybe one day...

Oldton's Company of Baltemore Rangers

No... it's not a picture of a Great Northern War Russian dragoon...it's a 1690s Colonial Ranger on the lookout for Indian warparties that might be raiding the locality.
You may think Rangers were something to do with Robert Rogers but this group covering the 1690s prove otherwise.
Website here.
I know that late 17th century reenacting is growing in the Americas...be nice to see some French Marines for the 1690s... I know there are a good number of Native reenactors interested in this period - it certainly has a lot of potential.

Reiver Castings

28mm figures for the period of the late 17th century and Great Northern War. Looks like quite a comprehensive range and worth considering if you are building an army in this scale for Beneath the Lily Banners.

'King Charles XII attacks' movie

Movie on the siege of Fredriksten in 1718 featuring Norwegian Great Northern War reenactors. I'm a little shaky on the translation of the text but if you watch it you will probably be able to follow it and it is spectacularly well done. Fredriksten - 1718 - the siege that saved Norway(English language)