Streltsi

As part of Ivan the Terrible's revamping of the Russian military, he created a new type of soldier, the Streltsy, which in Russian means "the shooters."  Until that time, Russian armies were built around all-too-often unreliable levies of noble cavalrymen and their retainers, with infantry being relatively scarce and of poor quality. No one knows exactly when the Streltsy were first deployed, but we know that there were at least 3,000 of them by 1550.  They would be the mainstay of the Russian military from the time of Ivan the Terrible until the reign of Peter the Great, who suppressed and forcibly disbanded them around the turn of the 18th century, though more for political than military reasons. 

The  real life Streltsy were volunteers, who enlisted for life, and who were paid cash for year-round service (it was the inability of the state to do so on a consistent basis that led to the Streltsy becoming landowners and getting involved in other economic activities, which drew them into politics to protect their financial interests, and it was political scheming against Peter the Great that led to their downfall).  They were armed with a firearm, a sabre, and a large two-handed axe with a massive crescent-shaped blade that also served as a musket rest (it was called a berdiche  axe). 

Interestingly, being a Streltsy was also a hereditary position, so the sons of a Streltsy automatically became Streltsy upon reaching manhood.  The generational nature of the Streltsy probably also contributed to their increasing involvement in politics over the course of their existence.

In WHFB, the Kossars are Kislev's regular soldiers and they fulfill the role that the Streltsy did in real life, fighting with  bow and great axe.  GW did, however, create a couple of really cool Mordheim figures called Streltsi who can be armed with either crossbows or musket, which forms the bulk of the unit below (the commander is a Mordheim "Champion").  WHFRP says that the Streltsi were originally Kossars from Eringrad whose commander was so impressed with the Empire's black powder weapons that he re-equipped his own men with muskets instead of bows and that men from all over Kislev journey to Eringrad to train with firearms and  earn  the title of  Streltsi.  I would imagine that, while the Streltsi are pretty rare in Kislev, the Tzarina could afford to raise and keep at least some number of these specialized troops.

As you can see, the unit above is drawn up in two ranks, so both  can fire.  In front of them are stakes I've made from cocktail toothpicks (I made these years ago for an historical miniatures game and they are painted Bestial Brown - now Mournfang Brown - washed in the old Chestnut Ink, with Bleached Bone tips). 

Frankly, a unit of Renaissance black powder troops in the open without cover would be toast because of the slow rate of fire and inaccuracy of their weapons.  This is why Renaissance Russian armies fought behind wooden palisades with wheels called the gulyay-gorod ("wandering town") and the early Cossacks fought from circled wagons.  So, I thought it appropriate to at least give my Streltsi the possibility of deploying behind something that might even the odds a bit in melee ( -1 to  hit for attackers crossing the stakes under the last edition of WHFB). 

The troops are painted largely the same way I painted the commander of the Pushki; Atldorf Blue coats washed with Drakenhof Nightshade (I'm out of the old Asurmen Blue). The pants and caps are  Khorne Red, but I decided to brighten them with a layer of Khadof Red Base (a P3 paint), and them washed the area with Carrosburg Crimson.  The fur is Ceramite White heavily washed with Nuln Oil.  The gloves, which are a major feature on the Streltsi, are Dryad Bark.

The officer has one of the big Mordheim Kislevite swords (the detail at the end of the hilt is painted in Retributor Gold, from the new Citadel metalics range) and a repeater pistol from the Empire Pistoliers/Outriders set.  While such weapons are incredibly rare even in the Empire, an elite unit of handguners in the Tzarina's own service could probably source a repeater pistol for its commander.

The one interesting feature on the Streltsi are the right legs, which are wrapped in some sort of leather strips, presumably because the soldier doesn't have a shoe.  One a figure or two, this is a nice feature, but a little odd for every figured in a unit.  I thought about filling, sanding, etc. to make them look like the other leg but I'm not that good a modeler and would rather spend the time painting more figures. I painted that area Baneblade Brown then washed it pretty heavily in Argax Earthshade.  The left legs have leggings that Steel Legion Drab washed with Seraphim Sepia and shoes that are painted with Rhinox Hide.

One final note; the unit's base is made from the WHFB basing kit, but the borders are plastruct pieces, just like I used for the Reiters (though these pieces are a little bigger).