After the slogfest to get through the Russian Guard Cossacks, I thought I would try a good ole French line unit in their brand spanking new 1812 uniforms. 1st up, the French 17e Regiment d'Infanterie de Ligne. I have just about finished up the elite companies and command, with 12 more fusiliers waiting in the wings. Here are some WIP pictures:
I cheated and bought the flag from the Flag Dude at this year's Siege of Augusta. It's actually one of his 15mm flags, but he intentionally makes them oversize, so I thought it worked quite well with the larger Der Kriegspielers figures. Though I enjoy making and painting flags, I must admit I rather enjoyed not having to do so for this battalion.
Nice job, I've always found French infantry tricky to paint. Not having a particularly showy uniform they demand a decent job on the belts and straps. However they do look good en masse - I shall keep a look out for the fusiliers.
ReplyDeleteRob, absolutely agree and think I made a poor choice to outline the belts with an archival ink pen rather than undercoat with black. These were partially painted when I got them so made that decision. I may try the other method for the fusiliers, which only have the one crossbelt, so may be easier to cope with! Looking forward to seeing them in mass, though I do think the elites at least have a very appealing uniform design. The fusiliers not so much, but to really set them off you need all that white and red piping.
DeleteLovely work, Dave. Are those DK 9s?
ReplyDeleteWM, they are indeed DK 9s. I was remiss and should have mentioned these actually came from you, and are the first viable French Battalion I was able to procure. Thanks for getting me started!
DeleteI believe you are correct Matt. I'll have to take another look once I get them off their sticks. I should really note that before the painting begins! Just got a battalion of middle guard cleaned of all their old paint, so I am very excited about diving into those. They are DK 16 I believe. I'll have a few conversions for command, but think they will fit in nicely.
ReplyDeleteDavid, I think you might’ve misunderstood. I wasn’t criticising the straps just bemoaning how critical they are on French infantry. I use a black pen for outlining with far less of an excuse - my figures are 30mm not 20mm. One trick I have used for white straps against a white uniform is to use a pencil. This appears grey and less harsh than a black line does when separating two areas of white. The varnish kills the graphite sheen completely so they look rubbish until varnished. I seal with a light spray of varnish before brushing on a heavier second coat to avoid the brush smearing the pencil.
ReplyDeleteRob,
DeleteI was with you the whole way, and was criticizing my own technique, as somewhat inadequate to the task. I love your idea of pencil, but may actually try a compromise with the fusiliers and paint a mid-grey undercoat instead of black. Thanks for the inspiration!
David, you may have misunderstood. I wasn't criticising your strapwork only bemoaning the the fact that the French have so many white cross belts on white lapels (I suppose it gives them something to wave in extremis). I struggle with cross belts and my figures are 30mm not 20mm, yet I still use pens to outline them. One thing I do for white on white is to use pencil as that gives a grey line that is less stark than black. The graphite sheen disappears when the figure is varnished leaving a nice grey. I do seal the pencil with a light spray of varnish first before applying a thicker coat with a brush as other wise I think brushing on varnish would smudge it. Good luck and keep those posts coming they are appreciated.
ReplyDelete(I did post earlier from my iPad but that often goes astray.)
Not this time. :) For some reason I am not getting notices in my email when people comment, so apologies for the slow replies.
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