Sunday 3 August 2008

Better late than never...


You'se talkin' to me, dude?...

Unless you're Marshal Grouchy, I guess. I underestimated just how long it takes to do the details- the musket straps, piping, shako plates all took a lot more time than I anticipated. Nevertheless, I am happy with the results and everything is falling into place.

How the heck Iannick could paint so many, so well, and so quickly is beyond me. I doff my chapeau to him in admiration!

Here is the first instalment- the carabinier company of the 28th legere. These guys were real swine to paint up- lots of fringes and the red chevrons on the shakos took a steady eye and a lot of patience. If the weather co-operates I'll give them a coat of spray varnish and mount them on their bases early next week.

More to come- the
voltigeur company next, and then the centre companies which were a LOT less fiddly!

4 comments:

Iannick said...

Good job! I really like what I see. Your details and piping are nicely done. You are a perfectionnist when you paint, am I wrong?

They will look absolutely lovely based!

Thanks for the comment! I must say I'm getting faster at painting, especially well-known units like French de Ligne. I've hit a "cruising speed" that combines I think just the right amount of perfectionnism and efficiency.

Iannick said...

Oh, I wanted to ask you; should we give ourselves a week extra for the other part of the pact? Might leave more room...august 17th is already not far away...

Robert said...

"You are a perfectionnist when you paint, am I wrong?"

No, you're bang on, unfortunately! If the detail is there I want to paint it. But as you say, there has to be a trade off with efficiency.

In my case, starting with a black undercoat will make a BIG difference in saving time, as will getting myself some decent brushes and hobby paints- I use Ceramcoat craft paints now for the most part, and while many are fine (I like their metallics very much), others- particularly whites, greens and yellows- cover poorly and a lot of time is spent with second coats to get a better coverage- tricky when your dealing with straps and crossbelts.

I think I'll break down and order a bunch of Vallejo paints which should speed up things a little.

A week later is a good idea, and although I've already undercoated the chasseurs the extra week will also see me with a few days summer break to get more done. Let's say Monday, the 25th?

My wife is making dark hints about not wanting to spend every weekend at home with me chained to the painting table! But it's all for a good cause, isn't it?

Iannick said...

Perfect, the 25th sounds good.

And of course it's for a good cause! Tell your wife your honour is at stake.

btw, I use mostly Vallejo, and I love them, BUT, stay far away from their white (grainy chalky mess) and their black (glossy, really glossy). The rest is very good; if you want vibrant yellows, blues and pinks, they're a great bet.

For white and black, I use Games Workshop.