These guys have been patiently waiting on my painting table while Ligny has been raging. They will become the French 1st Line and probably my final French Hinton Hunt infantry project. They are a mixture of copies, Clayton castings, and a couple of vintage. I was struggling to find good castings of voltigeurs/grenadiers via ebay but did eventually come across 20 or so FN16 in greatcoats, heavily coated in gloss paint. After getting the old paint off, one vintage figure was revealed among the copies. Hopefully their imperfections will be hidden once I've done with them. i'll crack on with them now that Ligny has concluded (more of that to follow)
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| I use Vallejo acrylics with Humbrol black undercoat (I got hold of several pots of black humbrol cheap). In the early days I only used polyurethane clear varnish as an undercoat as I read in a modelling magazine that it countered white metal corrosion which apparently was rife. I've never had a problem with it! I also tried white undercoat for a very short while but I was never content with the finish. I've used Foundry brushes for many years now as I find they keep their points well. I dread to think what my brushes were like in the 70s and it's miraculous that I achieved any fine detail in those early figures. |
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The origins of this chap are lost in the mists of time but he is destined to become an eagle bearer. He looks to be a copy and has had a new head added by the previous owner. (the glue was very evident and he looked like he was wearing one of those airline neck pillows) On closer inspection I found a sash around his waist. Now, as far as I know French officers didn't have sashes apart from General staff so his torso is probably from another nation. A quick scour of the excellent Hinton Hunter blog did not reveal any contenders. Anyway, I will paint his sash rather than attempt to disguise it and use some artistic licence regarding the colour scheme.
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I’d say they are coming along nicely Simon. You’re right about brushes in the 70s. I bought mine in the local model shop and they weren’t very good but then my ability to paint detail wasn’t very good either so it probably didn’t matter!
ReplyDeleteThanks Ian. I think my mantra is "don't look too closely!"
ReplyDelete'One vintage figure among the copies' is something I've seen a few times. My assumption every time was that he was probably the master figure!
ReplyDeleteI suspect acrylics may be a bit kinder on brushes. My Humbrols wreak terrible damage.
I hadn't thought of that figure theory but it makes sense. Regarding brushes, the fact that I can clean them in water frequently probably does help extend their life.
ReplyDeleteThey're looking good, and it must feel good to be on the final lap when it comes to French Line Infantry - not the easiest to paint, but they do look good en-masse. I recently painted a unit of FN16's as Fusilier-Chasseurs of the guard with blue greatcoats - all they needed was having their plumes made a bit bigger. I intend a couple of line units in greatcoats as well when I ever get round to it.
ReplyDeletePS on brush tips, did you listen to the Yarkshire Gamer podcast when he interviewed someone from ProArt? If the brush tip is starting to open up you can dip it in a mug of boiling water for a bit and it will sometimes recover come back to a point. I've tried it, and it works provided the brush is not beyond help. When they don't I cut the stray bristles off with my trusty Stanley knife.
DeleteThat's a usefil tip, thanks Rob
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