Behold an update! The French!

Here, the blog owner appears from his man-cave to unveil the scribbling he has made upon bits of metal.....


It's true that I've been gone, but I've also been hard at work (painting)! Really!  There's been talk with my co-author of the blog to see if we can create a website to better organize our projects, but I'm waiting to see what he has in mind.

In the meanwhile.... my paint brushes have been furiously at work. Speaking of paintbrush, I did try out one of those Windsor & Newton brushes at 00 / 000 size that people have been talking about on various blogs. They're definitely quite something else - but there's this bizarre fear within me about "wasting" these brushes, and would rather use the Citadel Fine Detail brushes. It's irrational, I know. But even if the Citadel brushes lose their tips after a few months of furious painting, I still like them. All habits die hard.


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I did make a post on the Pendraken forums regarding my work with miniatures, but out of respect to the guys there, I try not to link non-Pendraken products. Whereas Battlefront have straight out and went ahead to ban / delete threads that contain non-Battlefront 15mm WWII products, I find their way of doing it rather insulting, in a way. Pendraken don't have that policy, even if their annual painting competition disallows non-Pendraken products - but the reasons behind that are a matter of common sense.

The current "French Army" in its "complete" form. At the moment it's divided into three brigades:
First Brigade, consisting of 6 infantry battalions and reinforced with 2 artillery batteries.  The brigade consists of 3 line infantry battalions, and 3 leger battalions. They're essentially split into a Line Infantry Regiment with 3 battalions, a Leger Regiment with 2 battalions, and a Leger Regiment of 1 battalion.

Going from left to right, looking at the "complete" army, is the Cavalry Brigade.

The cavalry brigade consists of 2 hussar regiments (1er and 2eme Regiment du Hussards), and 2 Chasseurs-a-Cheval regiments (1er and 13eme Regiment de Chasseurs-a-Cheval), along with a horse artillery battery.

There is also a regiment of lancers that are out of place but are added in this placement photo because it's currently not part of anything, much like the Dragoon and Eclaireurs-de-la-Garde that currently act as "bodyguards" for the General de Division. Eventually though, I'll be adding another 2 regiments of lancers to have a lancer brigade.

The lancer models, from Magister Militum I was surprisingly pleased with, and felt they had the right proportions, and were also easy to paint. I ended up doing some surgical work on the porte-etendard and painted my own flag in its stead.

The final brigade, is the second infantry brigade. Consisting of 5 battalions of infantry, of which four are line infantry (two regiments with 1st and 2nd battalions each), and one Leger battalion in skirmish/open order to represent the more "veteran" Leger. Regiment wise, the flag was painted to represent the 9eme Regiment d'Infanterie Legere. This brigade too, is reinforced with a foot artillery battery.

All in all, this totals the French army at 11 infantry battalions, 7 cavalry regiments, 3 foot artillery batteries, and 1 horse artillery battery. The skirmisher stands have not all been completed, with several stands still need doing (depending on the ruleset used).

In addition, I have another 2 line infantry regiments left to do (though not sure whether to paint them up as the Swiss or one regular line and the other Joseph Napoleon), and one combined line grenadier battalion.

Eventually, I'll also have to paint up another brigade general and equalize the brigade around a 4-5 battalions per brigade mark.

That's it for the French for now!

Austrian reinforcements...

After much slaving away this week, I've managed to lessen my painting pile by two battalions for the Austrians.

I had a couple days off this week, so that easily translated into 8 hour painting sessions (okay, maybe not that extreme) to get most of this done without reducing quality. I did however, manage to find ways to increase the speed of painting, using a mix of washes and less intricate colors and detail that would otherwise over-crowd the figures. As in, I'm not sure I really need to paint up the Hungarian lace on the upper thigh for each individual Grenz trooper, for example.

Also finished up the work from the week before by adding flock, so this is what they end up turning like:

1er Regiment d'Eclaireurs de la Garde

57e Regiment d'Infanterie de Ligne (Elite Line Infantry)

The Eclaireurs came out okay, but I still have my doubts on Magister Militum. I ordered French Line Lancers from them because the preview screenshot showed better proportions - so we'll see how I feel when they arrive. But I think they might be the last Magister Militum "troops" I'll order (aside from personalities and generals, that Pendraken dont stock); their proportions are just something that feels off.

The Elite line infantry unit, which is to say, regular line infantry with mixed greatcoats had the effect I was looking for. Campaign worn, but badass. I really like that look, as it makes it look much more realistic than troops in pristine uniform. Now the challenge... how to differentiate them from my future french units that have greatcoats, but are considered as veterans. Hmm, that's something I'll have to think about (different flag pattern maybe?) or paint up the Swiss.

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For the Austrians, I added the second battalion to my 'Hungarian' regiment, IR19 "Alvinczy". The painting of the flag almost became a nightmare, but the end result was pleasing.

So. Small. AAAARRRRRGGHHHH

Hmm okay, this actually looks good.

I had my doubts whether I could pull this off because of how intricate Austrian flags are. For my Grenz, I decided to go with orange facing (no reason in particular, I already did light blue for the line infantry, and felt green would be a little hard to see? Red seemed to be overdone by looking at pictures on Google), and thus came to represent the Grenzregiment n.3 "Carlstädt-Oguliner".

The flag seems to fit quite well

Close up of the Grenz

Part of me feels that maybe I should've taken an actual order of battle, like say, Wagram, and rebuilt the roster, but I feel that that's a little too detailed / button-counting for my taste, as I'm primarily painting for the enjoyment, and the eventual possibility of playing casual games, and not specifically refighting a specific battle with the exact regiments being modeled. 

And so, the Austrian army for now:

Avant-Garde Brigade/Division

Oh, oops. I noticed just now that one of the Austrian stands are a bit camera shy and facing the other way....

I still have the 2nd battalion of the Grenz to paint, and that's all I have in my collection for the Austrians to do. That said, I have already made an order to start filling up the gaps. The addition of a general will round off this Avant-Garde brigade or division (havent created the proper roster), and I have ordered enough components for a regular infantry brigade from Pendraken to support the above: x4 'German' line infantry battalions (or 2 regiments), with their position artillery and brigade general.

Likewise for the French, I have a brigade of 4 battalions (2 regiments) with their artillery battery and general arriving within the next few weeks.

I still have a French general, the Elite line infantry battalion and artillery battery left to paint to complete my Elite infantry brigade.

More pictures!

Got a new phone, so this means better pictures! What better way to show off my horse artillery... than showing them with their brigade together?

In the cooker:

I've also just about finished my 1st Scout Lancers, or rather, their correct title: 1er Regiment d'Eclaireurs de la Garde from Magister Militum. I had bought these models a while ago. I think they turned out okay, even if I dont like the sculpts - I think a little flock and proper base will make a difference too.

And then next to finish (with the basing) is my first battalion for the Elite Line Infantry unit. These are coming around quite nicely, also have some skirmishing stands for them not in the photo. They appear a little clean at the moment, but I'll be adding some grime to them when I do the basing, it should make them more "campaigned".

And that's it for now - started work on the Austrians again to switch it up a little to make sure I'm not bored by repetition!

An update! And about damn time too.

So, an update!

I've been away on business trips, and then a 4-week holiday, and then back, but lacked motivation to much of anything. Now that's all done, here's a little update...

But first of all, some better pictures of my horse artillery!

I think these pictures do the painting more justice, as opposed to the previous shots.

So at the moment, I'm currently working on two projects:

1. Finalization of my French army for Napoleonics - notably the Elite Infantry Brigade (Lasalle Rules). I finished my elite light infantry earlier, so now I'm in the process of doing the Elite Line infantry, specifically the 57e Regiment d'Infanterie de Ligne. One battalion finished, one more to go.

And then maybe an optional Young Guard cavalry regiment (Eclaireurs) just for shits and giggles.

And then finish off my Austrian army. Nnnnnngh so much to do.



Also painting up some Gemans for a Nachtjager list. These guys are awesome! As you can (maybe) notice, I'm trying to get the two types of splinter camo all painted. I love how these guys are turning out so far, and once I add them to the ruined urban bases, they'll be fantastic!

I think they came out a little blurry :(

Christmas update: Part 2 - French Additions

Part Deux of my Christmas update, this time showcasing the progress I've made with the French. I wrote in a previous post about adding some Elite Infantry units that had a mix match of great coats. I decided to test that out with a Legere unit. I know I know, I vowed to stop painting these because I have far too many unique snowflake units. Buuuuuuuuuuut.... I will be adding two battalions of Elite Line infantry so.... that make's up for it. Yup.

Excuses, I know.

I've seen several people go for the Swiss or the converged Grenadier battalions for their elite, but I wanted something more... campaign worn. Dirty, ragged, and definitely veterans from several seasons of campaigning. These would not only look different from the general mass, but would also *feel* different. To make them even more unique snowflakey than they already are, I went ahead and decided to perfect the arts of finicky 10mm conversion.

What's that you may ask?

Well, making the standing chasseurs kneel, of course.

True, this is quite finicky, as it involves clipping the left leg (front leg) at the groin, and the right leg at the knee, and then glueing them back. I did manage to "perfect" this however. For the front leg, one will want to shave the top of the knee ever so slightly so that it fits right under the elbow (like a proper modern kneeling firing position). Add green stuff to close the gaps and model the thigh. You don't need to be super good at the detail work (I sure am not) as you can "fake it" by painting shadows. Besides, once you start adding flock, you wont notice the imperfection. One will also want to place the right leg so that it forms about a 90 degree angle with the front leg. Thats the best way to do it without it feeling wierd. Apply painting to again, fool the eyes.

The end result? Looks damn good, especially when you start mixing models together.

Obligatory image that highlights my handpainted flag I am proud of.

Kneeling troops, someone wearing shako covers, other wearing great coats, its different enough that it makes up for the lack of poses. I can't even complain, these look so good put together.

While I do intend on having my Line battalion being formed up in close order, these ones represent veteran/elite light infantry (if you squint close enough you'll even make out the "9" on the flag, as it's meant to be the 9e Regiment d'Infanterie Legere, "Incomparable"). I also decided to go with 24 mixed models, rather than my customary 32 to represent either a broken firing line (fire fight), or to represent skirmishing troops. I'll just declare at the beginning of the game which formation they'll be in.

Adding to the collection... much needed GENERALS!

Sure, they're from Magister Militum due to lack of figures from Pendraken, and yes, I'm not a huge fan of bizarrely proportioned horses from MM, the generals came out quite OK. I decided to make two General de Brigade (one infantry, one cavalry), and one General de Division with his staff. 

Mucho pictures below, so feel free to view them at your leisure and don't be afraid to write a comment :)

And I think that's it for this year 2014. Quite productive, and hopefully 2015 will be as well.

See you next year!

French army juuuuust about finished

Good news everyone! I have fixed the poison slime pipes almost finished my French army for Lasalle.

My core division is now done with 6 battalions (3 Ligne and 3 Legere), and a light cavalry brigade (2 chasseurs-a-cheval and 2 hussards). This has allowed me to begin working on my next army - the Austrians, an Avant-Garde division to be precise.

Current state of the army

Light Cavalry Brigade on the left, Core Infantry Division on the right

The two Chasseurs-a-Cheval regiments I'm really happy how they turned out. I was debating on which colors to use for the facing, and after much debating on between red, orange and yellow, I settled for orange and red. I think the regiment with orange facings really look totally cool. I think the red made it a bit generic, but still, I think they'd totally fit right in my army too.

I also finished off the 3rd battalion of the line infantry (though I may have the battalion flag colors... wrong? Was the third battalion flag red, or blue? Such things I probably should've researched more). Also finished up the second battalion of my light infantry regiment, as I prefered how the colors look, compared to the first iteration of the color scheme which I felt was a bit too dark. Ended up giving the second battalion a little more "old school" pre-1805 style etendard.

Chassuers-a-Chevals

Legere battalion 1 and 2

All in all, I'm mighty proud I started a 10mm napoleonics project. I was really uncertain earlier on how it would size up and look, and in the end, I think it adequately give a 'massed' feel. I also concluded that I wont be doing anymore Legere like I did using mixed figures in a "engaging formed line". The white piping on the boots and all those extra details felt absolutely tedious as hell, and was not fun at all. Besides, I think my current 1 Line to 1 Legere ratio is a bit too much, and I'll be trying to go for a 3:1 ration from now onwards. Legere regiments were less common after all.

Core Infantry Division

Light Cavalry Brigade. Dragoons aren't pard of this brigade, but I wanted to paint them up anyways

I still haven't painted any generals, as I'm waiting the arrival of the ADC (Adjudant-Chefs Aide-de-Camps) pack from Magister Militum as well as excellent bases from Renedra (http://renedra.co.uk/ - seriously check those guys out for cheap and excellent plastic bases in all formats). That way with some ADCs, I can have a nice diorama style General de Division, and brigade generals from appropriate branches (cavalry general, infantry general). As I'm also working on some of my own rulesets that is more about leadership and command & control, having additional aides and generic ADCs would be excellent as well to have around. My generals will be based on circular bases, 20mm and 30mm if I remember correctly what I ordered.

I also have some more French infantry (Pendraken) and voltigeurs (Magister Militum) that will be arriving - those will be painted up and put into an Elite Infantry Brigade. I plan on using mixed miniatures of the line and line in greatcoats to make a proper rag tag group of veteran soldiers, probably of the 57e Regiment d'Infanterie de Ligne, and use the voltigeurs pack as the 9e Legere in irregular/skirmishing formation. After purchasing Austrian Jaegers from Magister Militum, I think I prefer the more varied poses in their skirmishers.

I also have a regiment of the Eclaireurs-de-la-Garde-Imperiale arriving from Magister Militum, but thats more of a non-army list related project. I've always been interested about that regiment, and of course, I love variation and unique snowflake units.

For my Austrians... I derped and did not take them with me to take pictures, but I'll post some pictures when I'm done with them. Suffice to say, they're looking pretty good. I'll see about getting some pictures tomorrow.

Also have some pictures of my finished Flames of War German armored cars, but that'll be in a different blog entry for the sake of organization.

Quick update on this week's progress

A little update on my work so far from my week-long holiday (until this Thursday 20/11) -
Finished one line infantry battalion. Finished one line Chasseurs-a-Cheval regiment. Second regiment is being undercoated as we speak - and I should be finished with it tomorrow evening I think.

So thats like what, 3 regiment/battalions (ie 12 bases) in a week? Quite productive I'd say! During my work schedule, I was fitting in maybe one infantry battalion (4 bases) per week! Though I do have to admit, I can't bring myself to do French infantry back to back. It's just too tedious and mind numbing in a way - so I'll be working on my last and final french infantry (legere) battalion this coming weekend, before switching to work on Austrians.

That said. . . . my magister militum order for French generals arrived! Woo! Though... I expected a little more variety in the French generals pack. It's a 12-model pack, but come in two poses of six each. They are I suppose meant to be division and corps-level generals so I'm okay with that. I ordered an Aide-de-Camps pack to spice things up and to give me brigade level generals for my armies and my upcoming ruleset (which I really need to work on, instead of painting....).

I think I'll be using spare cavalry and officer models as well as ADCs in various colorful uniforms. But I'll keep those for a rainy day when I don't feel like painting the same camo, oops, uniform color (too much Flames of War!) over and over. I noticed that having one-off general/hero models brings back the desire to paint when suffering from a mild burnout. Painting an entire battalion or platoon of tanks when suffering from a mild burn out just makes it worse - but painting a unit of two recon cars, or a single hero figure makes painting fun again.

Anyhow, pics of my progress! They haven't been based because that can wait. I just want to get painting done.

I really enjoy hand painting flags now. And painting the trumpeteer was just fun.

I was a bit apprehensive of going orange at first, but I'm really happy with how it turned out. You can really feel that effect of massed infantry too. I love it.