Did we even get spring?
After a three month march we're a bit closer to the
battlefield. With my new job (big smile) I have slowed down a bit on
the hobby time but this is ok - everything comes in stride. So now I
present a couple hobby updates for the first of my french soldiers: 2nd Battalion,13th Line Regiment.
I found out early that my normal army painting style was
not going to work. I had to line them up exactly the way they would be
on their bases as order and organization were key to figuring out the
colours.
Colours of the French line soldier:
As
with all historical miniatures, there comes a bit of research. A big
thanks once again to Jason for helping me pour over the internet and
loaning some of his "Library of War" to find examples and documentation.
:)
Normally I'm a big Vallejo man but I've recently
started to using the colour range Games Workshop has to offer. I started
with Kantor Blue base paint and added black to get the base coat going.
Then I built up the layers with the Kantor Blue and lastly did some
minor edge highlighting with the addition of GW Space Wolves grey.
The white pants and straps were simple. I started
with Vallejo Deck Tan and built up with white. Easy to do although
lengthy because of quantity.
Shakos and Boots.
For producing black I varied the models with different amounts of GW The
Fang and/or shadow Grey added to black. I would sometimes do a final
highlight with just Shadow Grey.
The Guns were simple with Vallejo Air
steel. I found out painting with air brush paints are also really nice just
to paint with a brush- especially the metal paints. For the browns-
Vallejo flat earth highlighted with Vallejo Desert Yellow. I did one
Badab Black Ink wash.
With
the brown and yellow pants/shakos I played with a variety of colours
including Vallejo Flat Earth, Leather brown and Burnt Umber. Most of
them I added Vallejo Yellow Ochre or GW Ushabti Bone to build up the
highlights. I usually did one wash which was either Gryphonne Sepia or
Delvan Mud.
Lastly I should mention that when
it came to the Blacks, Browns and Greys (Coats) I did not keep a
standard with the colours as I wanted to give the appearance that every
man is trying to take care of his business as best he can.
I ordered my flags from
GMB Designs and I was very pleased with the turn around time and result.
Lets get on to the bases! I used SuperT glue and it worked great for both Plastic and metal figures.
Now
we need to to fill in the bases to make them natural with the little
round raised areas of the miniatures. For this I used Apoxy Scuplt like
Jason did
here. My Apoxy Sculpt is black in colour.
After the AS has dried it was time
to add effects and the ballast. I decided to wait on adding fallen
branches, rocks and/or enemy effects for the first go. I just kept the
ground simple. White Elmers (PVA) Glue works the best for ballast.
Last update for this post is the first layer of paint. The base I
decided to use was flat black interior house paint. Since this has to be
brushed on the house paint works really well for locking the ballast
down and acts as a great primer for the next colours.
Ok, the next post should be the finished Battalion and so it should be up a lot sooner then 3 months. :)
Later,
E
.
