Quick Update - I'm a victim of my own pics - 6-24-13

So I posted those pics of the Spanish and I thought, man I'm really not in too bad of  shape with the French. I have 5 Infantry Units and 2 Cannon. That's a big Division. Just need two more for a game. So I started pulling fig boxes out and on sunday evening, I got 3 cav units (Cuirassier, Dragoon, and Chasseur) cleaned and built and mounted on paint sticks, and got 8 cannons and crew cleaned and prepped for building, and started building infantry units. I have 2 Inf antry units on sticks, and a bunch more to sort.

Not using HaT 1/72 minis, but this pic painting is spectacular

So I think I may be painting some french cannon and cav to go with the infantry I have completed. Put, I think I will be painting a unit of Infantry first to bring me up to 6 Infantry Units.

Based on the Barons comments, if I can get a couple of infantry units, the three cav units and a couple of Cannon, we could do Joseph's Kingdom of Spain Allied with French versus British.

It would line out like this I think.

Joseph I Spanish:
3 Line Infantry
1 Militia Infantry
1 Converged Grenadier Infantry
2 Foot Cannon
1 Dragoon

French:
4 Line Infantry
2 Legere Infantry
4 Foot Cannon
1 Curiassier
1 Dragoon
1 Chasseur

Versus

British:
6 Line Infantry
4 Light Infantry
4 Foot Cannon
2 Horse Cannon
1 Dragoon
1 Hussar
1 Lt. Dragoon


That would be 19 British units Vs 21 French allied Units. Based upon quality would probably be a good game. BRits would be 3-4 Divisions, French 3-4 Divisions.

At full build out, The Allied British/Spanish Army includes 9 more British Units (3 Cav, 2 Highland, 1 KGL Inf, 3 Cannon), and 5 more Spanish Units(1 Cav, 1 Inf, 1Militia, 2 Cannon), and the French is a total of 18 Infantry 10 Cannon, and 6 Cav.

Lots to go. About 1/2 way there.

My original Army Workup for the French. It has expanded by 50%.

And just a little insight. I have never painted 1 French Napoleonic Uniform. I have never been on the French side of the lottery when picking armies for painting Nappies. I always got someone else. I have Painted the Brits a couple of times now and truly love that army. But I have never gotten the chance to paint them. So I am looking forward to getting to know the uniform and how to paint it. I also have never had the chance to paint the French Cav, so that should be a real treat. Can you imagine, a Nappy enthusiast never painting a Cuirassier uniform? Or an Old Guardsman?


Thank you Angus, I get to stare at your beautiful work as reference.


Maybe its time to start.

Pics when there is progress.

Happy Brushing!

28mm Spanish Napoleonics for Black Powder - Irlander Unit

Here is the completed Irlander Unit for my Spanish Army for Black Powder.

I am doing the Spanish Units at 20 figs, instead of the 24 for my normal units. But I may go back and do the extra stand. Not sure.

Banners and Basing when I am done with the Army. I will do them at the same time with the British.

Regiment Zargossa(Green Facings) is next, Then the last unit will be Cordoba (Red Facings), and two extra grenadier stands from Regiment Princesa(Black facings, light blue jacket, red piping) for a converged grenadier unit, when you take all the grenadier stands from the other units.

I have a nice large militia unit to do after the regular infantry. So that's 4 line, 1 converged grenadier, and 1 militia unit. That's 1 big division, or two small ones for Black Powder. Add a couple of cannon and cav units and I am all set.

Thanks for looking.

Spanish Napoleonics - First Line Unit complete

OK, So I know the photos are gonna be crap cause i took them quickly with my iPhone, but here they are, quick shots of the first completed unit: Regiment El Rey

 Here's a few of the sticks that are ready as well. Artillery in the back, And the light blue is the start of Regiment Irlander(baby blue with yellow facings and lapels, beautiful). Theya re like the Classic San Diego Chargers of Nappies. In front is one of the Grendier sticks. Those two stands will probably be a red faced unit, for Cordoba or Guadalajara and so will be converged grenadier command stand, then a green faced stand, and a black faced stand.

Overall, these are a dream to paint. they were clearly made with a painter in mind, and they finish very nicely. Bravo Front Rank.

Spanish Napleonics-update

A quick, no pic update on my Spanish Napoleonics. I have the first two units, El Rey and Irelander, base painted. El Rey is almost finished except for metalics for braids and buttons and gun metal barrels. I think I will finish both units by the end of the weekend. I also have extra grenadiers to do a converged grenadier unit, and I need to clean two more units of line infantry.

So when complete, the Spanish Army will consist of: 

So there you have it. the next phase of the Nappy Project. I have all the figs ready to go, except 1 militia unit and two line units. 

The Baron nears completion of his French unit, so I am anxious to see it. That will make 5 French units. Once I finish the Spanish, I will start the long road that is the French. I of course will have to do the Portugese when they are done. 

So what next?... Spanish Of course - 28mm Penninsular Spanish

What to do next, well, i was going to do those last couple of cannon for the British, but I flipped the page in one of my uniform books and there was the Spanish Artillery. So I did some research, and these amazing illos and minis turned up, so I was jazzed to get started on my own. (all images from the web)

Love these illos

Eagle Miniatures

Eagle Miniatures

Beautiful Illo

Eagle Miniatures



From the excellent Touching History gent. I was lucky to pick up his book on making terrain for the Penninsular Campaigns. This is is one of his setups at Partizan I believe.

 So I got all of my Spanish down, got faces and hands based painted and inked, then decided to do what I never do. I did a test fig. I was trying to work out how I wanted to do teh white uniform, and I just went from there. All told about 30 minutes trying to figure out the uniform in my mind and what everything is on the sculpt. These are Front Rank and they are a joy to paint. Clean and crisp. A real painters figure.

Well here he is, the first Spanish Regiment which could be either Rey, Reina, or Corona:

Finished...15th King's Own

Here's some pics of the completed 15th Hussars (King's Own) unit to help flesh out my cavalry division for the British Penninsular Army. They give me a great deal of closure. I have a couple of arty units I am going to do, but this allows me to feel like I can finally finish all the bases at one time, at least for this phase of the Brits. I must say, they are one beautiful looking army.

I took a couple better pics of the 16th Lt Dragoons as well.

British Napoleonics - 15th (Kings Own) Hussars

I have been making some good progress on the next British light Cav unit, the 15th Hussars. A beautiful unit, they were in the Pennisula from the beginning. Here:s a couple of reference pics:

Reference from Osprey - Chap in the Center is from the 15th



Painting of the battle of Sahagun Spain 1808



An action figure. But it shows clarly the detail of the uniform



Reenactment Group for the 15th

I have completed eveything on the figs from the neck down. Now its time for faces, collars, busbies, cords and bags. Should be just one evening and they will be dine. Pic when they are.

That will leave me with 3 cannon and crew and I will have completed the first and 2nd phase of my British Penninsular Nappy Project. Still in the wings, but maybe there for a bit are another 3 units of Cav, 2 Highlander units, and 3 Infantry Units that are certain to become KGL(as will one or two of the cav units).

French Napoleonics...a trade

This is kinda long winded and rambling on a hot KC monday morning before the MLB All-Star game. Its kind life and gaming stuff with no pics. So read at your own risk.

So I have been blessed with an amazing gaming group, a best friend who really is to blame for all this mini madness some 25 years ago, and a brother in law who is an incredible painter and all around obsessor of toy soldiers in a way I could never attain, try as I might.

I have spoken many times about how many of the Baron's and mine own experiences are shared ones, both in gaming and in life. But I never speak much about my brother in law, who was my friend first and then bro in law, and how over the years my bro in law has opened up many new horizons for me on the gaming front, as well as show me, by his own actions, how to be a decent, selfless person.

It was he who really amped up the GW obsession at a time when GW was putting out things like Man O War, and Blood Bowl, and Necromunda, as well as 2nd and 3rd edition WHFB and 40k. He had a small but respectable shop he opened on the weekends cause it wasn't his first job, and he had a loyal following. He would be the classic Old West barkeep. Talking to everyone and friends with everyone. Generous to a fault.

He was the one who introduced me to real historicals. The BAron and I dabbled in DBA, but found it lacking. And as the Baron was devouring history and his own personal obssession with gunpowder and pointy sticks, I was being introduced to wars and battles on an (at the time to me) unfathomable scale. 10's of thousands of men and horses with horribly inaccurate guns and gruesome conditions, fighting in full dress uniforms with giant hats and plumes and lace. It was all so...dignified and horrifying at the same time. And so my first case of Nappy Fever was born.

Since those first days of gaming with my bro in law, he had a tradition in his gaming circle of horse trading. This has gone on since the day I met him. Its a special thing to watch as traders try to eek out every last piece of value for their painted/unpainted figs and terrain and books and magazines for the at thing they just had to have. In the years I have witnessed it, I have seen amazing trades, and amzingly bad trades. Most are in the middle, but you can't stop a man from his own obsession, and many times I have seen that ruin a person's collection. But for those of us who have been doing it for so long, it all has a way to even out in the end.

And I tend to not mention trades and trading on the blog. But the fact is, as much as I love to paint, I am terribly slow, and I have way to many periods that I will never get to. So I do actively purchase and trade for figs, mostly painted, some unpainted. I have gotten over the last few years, through purchase or trade: a huge amazingly painted viking army, three large gangs of Necromunda guys, with more lead to paint myself, a hundred or so ancient GW/Marauder rougue trader era painted figs, 2 small 15mm ECW armies, a large 28mm ECW army, a small 15mm sci fi army, and small collection of 28mm WWII. Several years ago I traded for my bro-in-law for an entire collection of 15mm Nappies and 15mm Civil War. Pretty varied stuff. All of it very good wargamming quality or better(some much better).

But you will notice there is no 28mm Nappy in there. That has always been the holy grail. That has always been the one period I would be painting myself, or I would have figs from a very limited palette of people: my bro-in-law, his best friend Mike, or the Baron. And It was a project I never assumed I would fully finish in my lifetime. And I was OK with that.

Well a couple of things changed that for me. One, Black Powder. Finally a ruleset that allows a gentlemanly game that's fun and could be finished in 3-4 hours. Two, the painting I did on the Pennisular British this winter/spring. I could finish this to a scale and degree I would be happy with. And I don't need to get huge masses of troops on the table. So as I have written in this blog, the Nappy project is in full swing. I reached out to some of the guys in the BG's who would have interest in doing a unit or two of French so we could get to the table quicker. The Baron is even gonna paint a unit of French. we may get there yet. I was predicting at least 5 years to have the British, Spanish, French, and Portugese.

Well, as horse trading always is, you never know when it will come up or why. On a fluke Sunday afternoon, as I was painting some 15mm fantasy(this was only 2 weeks ago), my bro in law came over. we were talking and he was looking at all of the boxes of unpainted lead on my shelves. I never have anything he is interested in. But he saw some old GW stuff I had amassed over the years. A bunch of it. He decided he would like to trade for it. and I couldn't blame him. It was great stuff. It was still in the blister. And it was all right there. I let him know that I would only really trade for a couple of things. Painted Nappy French, and an old Spanish Village I wanted back I had traded to him a while ago. He tried some other things, but he knew I only wanted painted stuff in exchange.

Well, 2 weeks to the day later, and many late nights, he painted 3 units of french line in campaign dress, and a couple of cannon to throw in the deal. He knew I wanted 4 four units so he threw in a legere unit he had already painted. and the Spanish Village. In return he got 6 stuffed shoeboxes of in the blister GW figs. We both placed great value on what we had to offer the other. In the end we both were very happy with the trade. I must say that over the years, this is the most even trade we have ever made. It hurt to lose those  figs, but I may actually have a painted French Army in a year. That's inconceiveable.

Oh by the way, did I tell you the figs are beautifully painted. No. Well they are. I'll post them when I get them based up.

So completing a French Army is possible now. Sometimes it just takes a little push and a start. Well a full Division is a good start. And if the BG's paint a little we'll have a second one. I guess I need to get started on the other Division. The Spanish may need to wait. I still have a couple of Highland units to do for the British. But I am excited about the next year of Nappy Fever.

British Napoleonic Infantry - 4-18-12(pics)

Well, well, well. I am sure since my last few posts have been all text you can't believe I have pics. Well I do. I snapped a few shots of my Brit infantry before heading in this morning. Pics were quick so I apologize for the washed out color a nd a couple of blurry ones. Also some shots of the workshop. some look better small. A bit shakey. I have to get a tripod.

the first shots are a bit of the process I go through to knock them down.



Pants on all and jackets started



roughing in belts and lace

 

Just details left to paint(cuffs, collars, muskets)



rear is done

and the latest unit of Guards and The Royal 4th.

the complete 4 line units

Unit 1

Unit 2

Unit 3

Unit 4



Adding in the Light infantry and Rifles, 8 units of 24 fig/6 stands each



95th rifles

Lt Inf Unit 1

Lt Inf Unit 2

Lt Inf Unit 3

Mtd Commander

Mtd Brigade/Army Commander

Mtd Cmd 2

Laid out in Reinforced thin, red, line

 A few notes: There a numerous things done right in the figs and the paint. But there are a few things that stickler Nappy Gamers/criticizers will point out. I know those issues. But after all is said and done, I am painting these for wargamming, not a museum. Hope you enjoy them.

I got the pants base painted on my next 50 figs, as well as faces. So that is the missing stand for the 3rd Lt Infantry unit, and a Unit of Guards (I assume I will do the 2nd), and a Unit of the 4th (a Royal, but not Guard unit, for the blue facings). Then its on to the Highlanders. Been researching the best way to get at Gordon's and the Black Watch kilts. They are the same government pattern with different over stripe. I will ignore the switch to trews and the terrible nayure of campaigning in a kilt and presnt all of mine in kilts and with pipers. Cause I want to.

And one more note on the commnad stands. I really want to have both the regimental and the royal flags for each unit. So I may need to paint up an extra flag bearer for each unit and replace somebody.  or pack somebody else in. We shall see. I plan on using WARGAMES FLAGS! for there flag sets. A huge variety of British Flags and they look nice.

I will be doing all of the ground painting and detailing as an army. So that's why there are no painted bases. I will be using my standard base covering, then my 3 part color system, then I am going to have some fun with Silfor grass tufts, field flowers, and such. Hope you enjoy.

Leadaddict