just for a larf - comparing French Napoleonic artillery figs

Just before I pass the 18mm figures on to their owner, I thought it would be a laugh to set them up beside some of my older figures.  (apologies if the picture isn't too great - that's me rather than the figures.)  And so, here we go ... 

On the left are my second generation minifigs from over 30 years ago. Lovely little figures, and still marching over tabletops. In the middle are Essex, which I though for a while were 'big' 15mm. And on the right are the new Napoleon at War 18mm figures. Just shows part of the changing face of 15mm and now 18mm Napoleonics.

Part of me wonders what rules the little guys will marching under in the future. For example, over the last 30 years and more, my Minifigs have marched to; Bruce Quarrie's rules, Newbury, WRG 1685-1845, To the Sound of the Guns, In the Grand Manner, Empire 3, Empire, Napoleon's Battles, Shako, Principles of War, General de Brigade, Age of Eagles, DBN and some other DBA variants, Napoleonic at War, and have been used as counter substitutes in the boardgames Napoleon's Last Battles and Napoleonic Command and Colors. (and there's probably some others I've forgotten). 
But, at the end of the day, I just hope they keep on marching for a long time to come. 

Finished French battery

That's it finished. Guns are just placed for the moment. I'll glue them on the base after a final review tomorrow.  

Nearly there, part 2

That's the figures done. Just the bases to do. All in all, I think the figures came out fine, though my photos may not do them full justice.     

And the limber. I'm not sure about the layered paint effect on horses though, so I did these with a mixture of wash and layer. Hopefully they'll look reasonably realistic.      
 

And the battery with the guns temporarily in the proper place.  

And the figures back on the painting tray. Last job is to finish off the bases and varnish the figures.  

nearly there

Almost done. Last bit of painting was all buttons and plumes. The figures are basically completed - unless I find something I've missed. 

Still to finish the limber horses and all the harnessing.  

And a bit closer on an artillery stand.  

another update on the French battery

Moving on. The highlights were added. It looks OK.

And a bit more. Belts and pack straps, and gun barrels. Next will be to complete the gunners and move on to the horses. It's now starting to look like what's wanted.   

And more on the French battery

Now some paint splashed on the guns. The first photo was taken under artificial light. 

The red has been added for turnbacks, cuffs and epaulettes. Dark red base coat and for 2 bases on left, a bright red on top. I think the difference is visible in the photo.  

And some paint splashed on the barrels and grey base for metalwork. Even with my normal technique of washes, I always undercoat metal with yellow or grey.  

A bit closer. I reverted to a wash effect on the guns. Couldn't help it. I just thought the effect of controlling the flow of the paint with brush and varying amounts of water was far easier than covering the guns with a heavy coat and then highlighting later. I'll see what it looks like later.

A bit more

Splashed on some paint.

Did a blue base coat on the uniforms, then a mid-blue highlight. At times, it's hard to see the mid-blue, so I'm not sure if it was light enought. I'm cautious about putting on a highlight that's too light. 

A closer view. The mid-blue highlight shows up better here. 

New project - well, almost.

One of the guys at the club gave me some Napoleonic figures to paint. Figures from the Man at War range for the Napoleon at War rules done by the chaps in Spain. The figures are big 18mm and probably should be called 20mm.  

For a while I've wanted to try a variation of the black undercoat and layered colours type of thing, so this provides the chance. But I still can't bring myself to use black, so I'm using an old undercoat variant of white undercoat followed by a thin wash of umber and black.    

Here's a picture of what they look like at the start, just after I'd given the base white undercoat the wash. I hope to post the progess of these figures as I stumble through a different painting technique.  

French foot artiller battery. 4 gun stands and 1 limber stand.  

And a bit closer on the limber. The artillery pack comes with an additional gun for the limber - just for the look of the thing.   

Club night - missing posts

Missed a few posts, so quick summary of the last few weeks.

Great Northern War in 28mm using Impetus Baroque. Russia and Swedes with 3 Russian commands vs 4 Swedish. Good fun as always. Swedish victory by the end. 

A boardgame on Rome and it's expansion and empire. Can't remember what it was called, but very similar to History of the World. The game actually needed a bit more development as the main 4 Roman players each had one colour for their counters, but all the minor nations and barbarians controlled by the players were different colours. After a few turns it was very confusing knowing who controlled which nations. I grabbed our club dice box and we marked all our nations with a die colour similar to our main faction colour. It was interesting game though, as each player controlled one Roman faction throughout the game and one barbarian or minor nation each turn. But it won't replace History of the World as a club favourite. 

Napoleon's Battles. Played the introductory scenario that came with the original Avalon Hill version of the game. Good fun again, and I managed to successfully throw away the French army against stout Austrians. I really have to get a card or post-it to put on the table that says - "artillery bombardment, bombardment and bombardment again, before sending in the infantry". 

Boardgames again. A game called 7 Wonders. It may currently score highly on Board Game Geek, but for me, it's an almighty yawn. Gawd, it was dull - another game trading stone and timber and cloth for other stuff to eventually build something. Just like the last euro-game which involved trading stone and timber and cloth for other stuff to eventually build something, and the euro-game before that which involved trading stone and timber and cloth for other stuff to eventually build something.  

Command and Colors Napoleonics. Big 4" hexes and 15mm figures instead of wooden blocks. Played the Rolica scenario. Three of us playing, with two games in the one night. We just reset the scenario after the first game and swopped sides and players. Both excellent games, though the British lost both games.

Next time, Flames of War. Late War 1750 points.