Perry Napoleonic Russian Infantry - WIP +2

Pulled a marathon painting session today and managed to finish the main parts of the uniform; facings (cuffs, collars, etc.), equipment straps and shako cords (less the officers' silver cords and sashes).

Still need to paint the buttons on the jacket, including cuff flaps. The command groups also need work - particularly the musicians. After the uniforms, muskets will be painted, as well as most metal parts - including the Pavlov's mitre faceplate.

Just wanted to update the progress on these figures. Again, very, very basic painting which will be given the Minwax stain treatment. Thanks again for stopping by and wishing you all the best.

Perry Napoleonic Russian Infantry - WIP +1

Just a quick update; painted the flesh (face & hands); brown for the hair and mustaches on the grenadiers; black for the shakos, grenadier plumes, shoes, backpacks, sword/bayonet scabbards, as well as undercoating the bayonets and mitre plates for the Pavlov guys; and also had to painted the green coats - to inspire me :).

So far so good; production-line block painting. Next will be the white (silver for officers) shako cords; gray-brown for the greatcoats; red for the cuffs, collars and turn backs; brown and gun metal for the muskets and metal parts - shako plates, officer swords, sword hilts and scabbard tips, etc.

Just wanted to post this as I may not be able to get to them until the weekend - back to the salt mines tomorrow. :) Wishing you all the best in health and hobby endeavors!

Perry Napoleonic Russian Infantry - WIP

Managed to put together and prime 10 24-man battalions. Of which, three are combined Grenadiers battalions - one each in 1809 and 1812 kiwer, and one Pavlovski as well. The other seven line infantry battalions are in both kiwer as well (3 in 1809 and 4 in 1812). Most will be in summer white gaiter-trousers; but I might paint a couple up with winter black gaiters for variety-sake. I'm still debating if one will be Jaeger in winter uniform with green trousers.

Just wanted to post a quick update to show you where I'm at on this project. Best wishes to all and hope you all are having a great start to 2021.

"Workbench" Update - 2021!

Actually, I don't have a workbench per se, as I just use our dining table - which also doubles as my telework desk too. Anyway, just wanted to post a quick update to let you all know what I'm working on for the start of the new year. First up the Warlord Games British (captured) Mark IV tank needs finishing up.

So far, just dry-brushed a light gray-blue over a darker gray undercoat. A little bit of camo will be added, as well as crosses - once the decals arrive (hopefully, they'll fit as they are for 1/72nd aircraft).

Also, an ebay purchase of a 1/48th Pz.Kpfw KV-1 kit by Hobby Boss. A first by me with this manufacturer (made in China). It went together very nicely with few parts; similar in quality and build to Tamiya, IMO.

I cut the commander's hatch down the middle to have them opened, as I plan to add a figure there later. As you may see, there are also some brass parts included. The tracks are multi-part (like Tamiya kits), and nicely detailed with realistic sagging over the support rollers.

Finally, the start of a Napoleonic Russian army. The Perry Miniatures Russian Brigade Deal arrived yesterday. Incidentally, I placed the order on Dec 29, and looks like it was shipped just last Friday via DHL. It was tracked and only took 4 days to arrive here in Washington State - the left coast of the USA. Pretty impressive! And this was "Standard" shipping too.

As some of you may know, the "Brigade Deal" comes with 6 boxes of infantry - 240 figures total; and also 3 mounted metal commanders and two cannon/crew. However, one of the cannon was missing, so I sent them an email which I'm sure they'll end up sending me the missing item. I also added Pavlovsky Grenadier heads and 4 separate command sprues. I plan to have 10 24-man battalions; one of which will be Pavlovsky Grenadiers, one Marine, one Jager and the rest line infantry wearing a mixture of 1809 and 1812 kiwer. I will need to pick up a few more flags, as the set only comes with flags (2 per unit) for 4 different regiments. I can use most of them as there is a "Colonel's" flag on each sheet which can be used for one of the units, and another unit with just the two regimental flags. Makes me realize how much easier it is to "flag" French units.

Thanks again for stopping by and wishing you all a great start to the new year!

Warlord Games FT-17 Painted

Finished up painting the tank - had to use a Frenchman from an earlier era for scale as I don't have any WW1 French figures yet.

It's a great kit with minimal parts that go together nicely. The track assemblies for each side have pegs and holes in the body for easy placement.

A wash of Future floor wax with some Vallejo ink/stain was used over the whole tank. I went over the rivets and seams for a deeper stain.

The tracks are finished fairly clean, with no mud or debris one them. Way too clean for the battlefield, but I tend to keep weathering to a minimum. The exhaust should probably be rusted/corroded too.

Also highlighted the camo very lightly too.

Again, a top-notch resin and metal kit which I can highly recommend.

The British Mark IV is next, but am awaiting the arrival of some decals for crosses before starting on it.

Another out-of-period scale/size comparison below:

Thanks again for dropping by the blog, and wishing you all the best for the new year.

Warlord Games FT-17 - WIP

Just a quick update on the FT-17. Did the basic camo.

There were various camo patterns, as well as colors used. The FT being so tiny,  I didn't want to overwhelm it with colors, so only used three. 

After painting the tracks, weathering will follow.  Thanks for stopping by and wishing you all the best.

First Post Of The Year - Warlord Games Great War Tanks - WIP

Worked on these fine Warlord Games resin and metal kits today; an FT-17 and a British Mark IV. Check out all of the nicely detailed rivets.

With a couple of 28mm Wargames Atlantic figures for size comparison. That FT-17 must've been a tight fit for the two-man crew.

Great sculpting and clean casting on both of these. Just a few metal parts that went together without issues. The FT's turret and the Mark IV's guns can rotate.

Comparison shot with with a Panzer 38(t) in 1/48th scale.

Very few parts, and they went together very well. As they came without instructions, I had to refer to pics on the Warlord Games website to make sure how they went together - also the line drawing of the FT-17 below for the rear skid plate assembly.

I plan to paint up the Mark IV as a German captured tank like the one below.

Hope you all are starting the new year off nicely, and see you around on the blogosphere!

Farewell To A Most Unusual Year - And A Recap Of Projects Completed

Farewell to 2020 - quite an extraordinary year and end of the decade. Personally, it wasn't all bad as I got to telework from home most of the year. This, coupled with the "Stay in Your Cave!" mandate from the Ephors resulted in a lot of painting projects getting done. Some of which I would never had considered otherwise (hint: ECW and revisiting Macedonian-Successors). Gaming-wise, I only played in one actual game; a Bolt Action Tank War game in January - just before the pestilence descended upon us. Since I've pretty much been painting non-stop as a distraction, and figured I should catalog the work here for posterity. Here they are in a somewhat chronological order.

Warlord and Perry Napoleonic British and French, Swiss and Polish, as well as some Nassauers and KGL. Some of the figures came with the Warlord Games La Haye Sainte set.

The Warlord Games La Haye Sainte MDF kit - this was something I was hoping to host at our annual big con, Enfilade in May; or possibly later in the year at a game at Fort Steilacoom. Alas, it remains to be seen when this can happen.

The Bolt Action Tank War game I hosted in January. At the time, no one had any idea we'd soon be locked away from each other and all face-to-face gaming a cherished memory. 

Thanks to a buddy gifting me a sprue of Victrix EIR figures, I went ahead to build a small EIR army with more Victrix and some Warlord Games Auxiliaries and Aventine Archers as well.

Of course, the Romans needing an appropriate opponent, I had to build a Celt/Gaul/Briton army too. Most of the figures are Warlord Games with some Victrix and Renegade (2 chariots) filling in.

Odds and sods in a not exact chorological order of work: a Mitrailleuse gun and crew from Spencer Smith (30mm, but fit well with 28's) to support the FPW French; some 60mm plastic Romans and Celts from Expeditionary Force - just a whimsical sidebar project; Victrix Polish Lancers; Victrix Macedonian phalagites and heavy cav wedge; and finally the actual first figure I painted in 2020 - a 120mm Verlinden resin figure of Henry Plantagenet.

Early in the Fall, one of our local gaming stores (The Panzer Depot), announced a going out of business sale where I picked up a couple of boxes of Warlord Games ECW figures. This soon led to me getting a Warlord Games Battalia starter set - then it was downhill from there. I just picked up the "To Kill A King" supplement too - so another project I'd love to get on the table.

Finally, a few more plastic infantry completed in December: Wargames Atlantic WW1 Germans; Warlord Games French Napoleonics and Victrix British Napoleonics - courtesy of the figures gifted to me by another buddy - one who regrets ever considering multi-part plastics.

So, all in all a strange, but not all bad year - at least for painting projects. Another thing which I ended up realizing was how much weight I gained from staying home more. Staying at home had me eating a lot more than when I would be at work. Maybe it was the boredom, or the uniqueness of staying home so much. I've since slowed down and now watching how much and what I eat.

As far as 2021 projects - besides awaiting the release of the Wargames Atlantic WWI French, I just placed an "Army Deal" order of Napoleonic Russians from the Perrys. The state agency where I work has us teleworking through the new year, so figured I will have more brush time ahead. Wishing you a safe and awesome New Year!

Warlord Games French Line Infantry

Hope you all had a great Christmas and enjoying the last few days of the year. Had few days off for the holidays and managed to paint up a box of French Line. Just had to have at least one French unit in full gaiters. Admittedly, the black undercoat process whilst leaving bits of it for "black lining" can appear a bit harsh to the eyes, and not to everyone's tastes, but it's a quick way to paint up Napoleonics, IMO.

I did have some Old Glory 2nd Ed. in full gaiters before, but sold them off a few years ago. I actually like these a lot better as I'm a fan of plastics, and they size up better with Victrix and Perry.

The tri-color is a spare from the Legere set. The ones that come with this Line set are the older style "lozenge" colors. So, if you look closely you'll see "Legere" lettering.

The set comes with 4 metal command figures, including two officers. I swapped out one of them for a spare private. The other officer pose seemed a bit too animated and didn't match the marching poses of the rest of the figures.

The metal eagle and "ribbons" that come with the French infantry sets are a nice touch.

The ammo pouches come with nicely sculpted details: crowned "N" for Fusiliers, grenades for Grenadiers and hunting horns for Voltigeurs. The set comes with only 5 "elite" figures (with epaulettes and two cross belts) and needed 8, so I converted 3 Fusilier figures by adding Green Stuff for epaulettes and cross belts. Otherwise, an overall great set if you like your French infantry in full-dress.

This will be my last project for 2020 and will post an end of year wrap up for my next post which I haven't done in the past, but this has been an unusual year and I managed to complete quite a few projects. Until next time, wishing you all good health and happy hobbying!

52nd Light Infantry and 32nd Foot - Mostly Victrix & A Few Perry and Warlord Games Plastics

Per the previous post, only the trousers and jackets needed painting. There really wasn't much areas for the jackets as the straps and equipment cover most of it. The trousers were given a dark gray base coat and then highlighted with whitened gray. Probably a little too dark gray for the period, but not planning to redo them.

I didn't have a flag for the 52nd, so used another regiment's that looks the part.

The flags aren't Victrix and are slightly smaller - which makes them fit a bit easier as the cords at the finials make the fit pretty tight. Not sure who makes these flags as they were also given to me by my buddy along with the figures.

The facings for the 32nd are supposed to be white, but I used a grayish color to offset the white lacing on the cuffs and collars.

Working on these reminded me how much I really do enjoy Napoleonics. So much so, that I picked up a Warlord Games French Infantry box off of ebay. Wanted to paint up at least one unit in full dress - with gaiters and all.

So much for now - thanks again for stopping by and wishing you all a Merry Christmas!

Victrix (& a Couple of Perry & several Warlord Games) British Infantry - WIP

Figured I'd make a post as it seems its been a while since my last one. While awaiting the arrival of some Warlord WWI tanks, I started on some plastic Napoleonic British infantry. My buddy had given me several boxes of Victrix plastics which he said he'd likely never work on (another one of those who realized he highly prefers metal figures). These will be two units -  one the 52nd Light Infantry and the other the 32nd Foot. Both units served in the Peninsular and Waterloo campaigns.

Starting with a black undercoat, painted up the straps, lacing, equipment and muskets, as well as flesh. The next steps will be the trousers, jacket and facings. Kind of a reverse order of painting, but with the black undercoat used as "black lining" it allows me to see the details more clearly. It's a method I've used for many years after being told about by a Canadian buddy, Doug Hamm (some of you may know of his blog, Dots of Paint).

As noted in the title, I used a couple of Perry and several Warlord Games spares. For the 32nd Foot guys, I wanted all of their shakos with cords and plumes - which are Victrix. I used a bit of Green Stuff to build up the collar for the Warlord Games bodies as their head/shakos have the collars molded as part of them. The three makes work well together; although the Perry backpacks are wider than the Victrix ones. I was able to find enough shouldered muskets arms in the various boxes.

FRONT ROW (left to right): Victrix (V), Warlord (W), Perry (P), V, W, V, W, V.

The 52nd Lights have metal Victrix heads, as well as musician arms - also given to me by my buddy.

Hoping you all are enjoying the last few weeks of the year and also a great Christmas.

Wargames Atlantic Great War German Infantry - Completed & Based

After the Minwax stain was dried, some highlights were added to the cloth folds, as well as faces. A very nice project with a simply designed uniform with little equipment (no back packs, etc.).

30 figures with a lot of head and arm combinations/options. A great plastic set, IMO.

The bases are 25mm rounds from Litko; some with Army Painter "barbed wire" attached.

The squad (or half squad) above is the only one with gas masks on.

The remaining figures will be in either two 12-man squads or four 6-man half squads.

Again, the pickelhaube was likely not seen on the battlefield in the last years of the war, but I had to include a couple as they look too cool to be left out.

This set was a nice change of pace from ECW, and quite enjoyable to work on. Looking forward to the release of Wargames Atlantic's French set. Until then, I may have to acquire an FT-17 and a British Mark IV (captured). Thanks for stopping by and checking out the blog. Wishing you all the best this holiday season.