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Post by chillatbmth on Dec 21, 2014 10:44:26 GMT
Yeah -- a log not a blog. For the first time in well over 20 years I'm not working in a bakery or retail so I will have almost 2 weeks away from the tyranny of spreadsheets and databases sat at a desk in the council this Christmas. The fiendish plan is to show that even a numbty such as myself can occasionaly start and even finish the odd project. The project in hand is the starter pack of late British Napoleonics from Baccus. Reece says he is cranking the battalions out at a rate of one every 90 minutes and Baccus site says you can paint 500 men [125 strips] in 5 hours plus drying time -- I doubt if I can match eithers speed or quality, but once the proper painting starts I might try to tot up the time. Day 1 [Saturday 20th] Search high and low for lollipop sticks, that is Wilkinsons, WH Smith's, 99p shop and finally a very big Tesco where they're called Craft Sticks and cost a lot more than they need to. Retire home - after collecting little one from girlfriends, uncork a Chianti Riserva 2010. While that is breathing - yes even cheap reds should have a little time to relax. Found PVA in the garage and tried to open it, gave up with me hands and got the mole grips out -- did the job...... eventually. Stuck some bases to a stick, had a sip, repeat many times but sometimes the order changed to sip, sip, stick, sip and it was a close run thing between the end of the bottle and the mini lead mountain. Progress at end of Day 1 See the attached file - as it is not on-line Day 2 The plan is to lightly undercoat in white ready for painting, currently the undercoat spray is on the radiator warming up. Santa has been asked to bring a day-light bulb but I might have to go to Maplin, if I can't wait that long. Day 3 - Is gaming night, nowt will be done Monday. Did anyone notice the little quote in the newspaper about stop being a perfectionist? Attachments:
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Post by nemesis on Dec 21, 2014 16:49:27 GMT
Woot! way to go chaz. Im sure once you get into them and slip into a rhythm, it wont take you too long Good stuff matey
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Post by comstar on Dec 21, 2014 17:23:02 GMT
Keep going Chaz this is what i need to do to get my lead pile to shrink
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Post by chillatbmth on Dec 24, 2014 16:50:23 GMT
Day 5 - First real day of any painting.
Spent 1 1/2 hours outside (because the light was better there) painting the grey trousers on all 10 battalions of foot - that's 480 legs, eighty more than a millipede can have. Would have done more but a) the light was fading and b) was in danger of getting frost bite. god my fingers are cooolllldddd.
Saturday is pencilled in as the day I try to paint their red coats - but there seems to be very little coat between the belts, back packs, ammo pouches and water bottles - may prove to be more tricky than I first thought.
I'm not counting the Bank Holidays as I will not be allowed to sneak off to my den.
An Elf did phone me at work to ask if I needed a BC or SC fitting --- looking hopeful that I may get a day night bulb tomorrow.
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Post by chillatbmth on Dec 27, 2014 23:03:50 GMT
Day 6 - 3 1/2 hours painting RED tunics and black boots on the 10 battalions -- of course drummer boys got yellow tunics instead. Next time I will do this area first on the infantry as I will have to touch up the trousers as some paint ran. You see I'm mixing PP mixing medium in to thin the coat down a tad and help it run. I also changed down the size of me paint brush so that I did not swamp the area. But I am going to have to paint the cross belts white so priming in red for future British / Hanoverian reinforcements might be the better way forward. tomorrow should be an easier day I will not sit outside but stay close to the daylight bulb - boy what a difference it makes, I can see some of the detail on these wee models - far more than is on the H&R - but they're easer to paint up quickly. In the picture the back strip is placed backwards so you can see how much space the backpack takes up. Attachments:
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Post by chillatbmth on Dec 28, 2014 14:52:59 GMT
Day 7
Two and a half hours painting black hats and back packs. Soul destroying whilst doing it but when looking at them it is starting to come together - could get away with sticking them on green bases and start playing but must stay focused.
god - how did the sculptor get SO much detail on them ? Where they done as 3 ups with extra deep undercuts?
How do those commercial painters get such good results? But I'm going to buy some flat bushes like the guy at Baccus uses as the round ones soon lose they're points and I have to keep stopping, clean and lick back into shape.
Running total seven and a half hours so far.
Now add another 15 and that will be my target time for the infantry. So 22 1/2 / 10 battalions would come out as 135 minutes a battalion -- not so much longer than @memesis 90. Then I can get on with the cavalry, artillery and some officers which I'm saving till last as by then I should be a little better at painting.
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Post by madphil101 on Dec 28, 2014 15:31:45 GMT
I treated myself to a winsor and Newton series 7. £11 lighter but it's like painting with angel feathers!
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Post by chillatbmth on Dec 29, 2014 22:13:21 GMT
Day 8 one hour, fleshing in the faces
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Post by nemesis on Dec 30, 2014 9:57:59 GMT
Yeah daylight bulb= Heaven Im actually painting in the evening for an hour when its dark outside, only because of the daylight bulb they are mint
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Post by madphil101 on Dec 30, 2014 16:13:17 GMT
When I went to the Gamesday replacement thing I found the led natural light lamp the pros use and " acquired" one. Best not to ask more... It is like 80 miniature dimable suns all of my own....
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Post by chillatbmth on Dec 30, 2014 23:12:58 GMT
Day 9
Grey coat roll on top of back pack and touch up trousers where needed. Black bayonet holder thing and black ammo pouches done -- would have been easier to paint their backs black and paint in the red.
Also done the guns brown - could not work out where the stock ended so painted a stock beneath the carrying arm as the guns were very long in those days.
I will do some more blocking in tomorrow and then a photo update.
extra 2 1/2 hours today.
Running total now at 11 hours - just over an hour per battalion
Advice wanted - what is the correct colours for the flag pole and the drums?
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Post by madphil101 on Dec 30, 2014 23:56:00 GMT
Not sure it matters but Waterloo or peninsula?
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Post by chillatbmth on Dec 31, 2014 10:41:11 GMT
madphil101I'm building up for Waterloo but at the end of the day it is a red coated unit to fight a battle, so it could appear in either theatre. Even the Zulu had better watch out -- as I could be tempted if someone has 6mm Zulus. Some of my units will be getting white trousers as I understand that makes a difference but I'm no Nap nut -- but Hanoverian Landwehr had British cast offs which is the easy way to get red coats wearing white trousers into either campaign. This is something I wanted to do for over 30 years yet back them it was 25mm Minifigs or Airfix and the rules were for smaller combats (maybe a Brigade a side) with lots of record keeping. Now was that 6 on the Voltigers and 3 on the line or was it the other way round.
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Post by chillatbmth on Dec 31, 2014 13:48:05 GMT
Thanks Hal 8999.5
I had a feeling you knew more about this period
-- as your younger brother once said
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Post by madphil101 on Dec 31, 2014 18:50:35 GMT
I can't do that Dave.
Controversial but I thought the British drummers wore a golden yellow-orange but can only find 1 picture in funken to back that up and nothing in writing. I can give you all the eppaullette and turn back colours for all the regiments but if you are painting them in 6mm you've gone proper historical mental.
Immediately next to the funken orange drummer (yellow drum, white laces) is another guy in red with a blue drum (white laces, crest in gold).
I'd do standards dark wood. That's my penny's worth. One of my friends lectures on the peninsula and has a PhD in it. Want me to get chapter and verse? (He can probably give you the names of the drummers at Waterloo...)
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Post by madphil101 on Dec 31, 2014 19:34:24 GMT
BNRPK18 at front ranks website.
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Post by madphil101 on Jan 1, 2015 7:01:38 GMT
I had only painted French... I remember lots of green...
As to chaz's problem I think it comes down to the group rule we had which was that painted models look cool and the rule of cool wins. If you tell me my third company ultramarines have the wrong colour trims I get to punch you for being too picky unless everything you are using is painted correctly. We've only had praise since implementing that. Except for my coaching inn with no chimney....
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Post by chillatbmth on Jan 1, 2015 11:57:14 GMT
Thanks chaps for help and hopefully not confusion.
I do have the F&L books but for what is on the table - they're going to be my core units until more arrive . I'm trying to keep the colours on the bright side else we may never see them when on the table. Also I don't know how dulling the washes will prove to be. I'm not going 100% accurate or nothing would get painted but aiming for close enough amongst friends. So i'm not repainting yellow coats buff for Iniskilling as a later better painted unit could be them. After all this is the first time in many a long year (read as decades) I have attempted painting this scale or this period.
Currently stroking some red on the tuffs at the side of the hat.
I do once remember hearing of (could be urban myth) of a rather heated agreement over the colour of officer lace.
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Alien Dave
Friends of the Wyvern
I don't like snipers!
The Dave
Posts: 1,843
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Post by Alien Dave on Jan 1, 2015 12:00:33 GMT
I doesn't matter what colours you use Chaz, just as long as you leave one figure unpainted to avoid getting banned for fielding a fully painted army... Agree about brighter colour palettes. The smaller the scale, the brighter you need in my limited experience. As for accuracy, just remember most people have brown eyes (for when you get to painting them in)...
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Post by chillatbmth on Jan 1, 2015 15:25:31 GMT
After 4 hours I'm taking some piano time for a break. So what else have I got done? Well, wash of goblin green on the base, shining silver on the muskets, blue water bottles, hands, cuffs on drummers, brass hat badges - not that well done, running total now at 15 hours or 90 minutes per battalion which is the finish mark for nemesis But I'm wondering if the cuffs and collars really would add anything in this scale. The big question is to:- wash before or after painting the cross belts white, going to experiment on a strip. Progress photo below Attachments:
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Post by nemesis on Jan 1, 2015 16:44:13 GMT
Good stuff matey I wouldnt have done black boots , gonna get lost if you flock. crikes, you done different colours for the drummers, that smore than me
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Post by chillatbmth on Jan 2, 2015 15:40:27 GMT
Finally finished a strip of infantry - did it so that I could get a photo up Cheers for the help, advice and encouragement I have received and the project is not yet over. Last night I put an army painter soft tone ink on this strip then today painted the tops of the plooms, gave them buff cuffs and collars but these have not come out to well in the photo and tried that chain below the badge on the hat with varying degrees of failure. The very last step was using a very white, white [PP Morrow white] for the cross belts -- the bit that I think really finishes off the model and I think it is more striking going on over the wash -- but the wash helped me to find the straps on the model. I did think of doing the white shoulder pad but if I could not see the detail to paint it, why bother. I think the models are busy enough for table top standard and would leave the professional jobs to perfectsix. I have put a grey - brown on the four guns, not GW graveyard earth but a greyer brown from PP. Cursed the fact that I stuck the guns to a stick in all 3 places with PVA - that was overkill. Hopefully these will be done quickly along with the crews as I will need a break, every so often, from finishing off the other 11 sticks [55 strips] of infantry. Fortunatley buff and yellow seem to be a very popular facing colour for line regiments so these can mix in anyway. Running time for the infantry -- should be under target but not by that much. Attachments:
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Post by chillatbmth on Jan 3, 2015 23:04:11 GMT
Day 13
I think the number said it all - one of those one step forward and one step back days.
Tried to change half the drummers from yellow to buff coats and added a couple of chevrons to their sleeves -- not a great result as can also be said for the facing colour on the officer tunics.
With the other 11 sticks Touched up the hat badges and added the chain, cuffs and gave up on the collars -- who is going to see them anyway. Washed , 55 strips of figures with army painter soft tone ready for a morning of painting white cross straps tomorrow - if the light is good.
Read the Baccus basing instructions and dark brown rather than goblin green is the recommended colour to work best with their basing system so tomorrow it is goodbye goblin green and hello scotched brown then at some point paint the edges of the 60 x 30 bases green - or use an aerosol, maybe.
The end is in sight for these 10 battalions of general purpose line infantry - or 5 brigades in the big battle set of Baccus rules.
I have also put some colour and washed the 4 guns for the foot artillery today, crew to follow during the week.
Must get into the habit of an hour plus piano practice and another hour of painting in the evenings else this will stall like so many other projects.
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Post by simonkretz on Jan 4, 2015 19:22:05 GMT
Looking good chaz.... once i have finished up my ww1 stuff i will have a go at getting some french done
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Post by chillatbmth on Jan 4, 2015 23:53:14 GMT
Ta
Day 14 cross belts done took the best part of 3 hours for the infantry
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