Tuesday 29 December 2015

From Curt - 28mm Napoleonic British Foot Artillery Officers (20 Points)


Spastically true to form, I currently have around eight projects on the go, each in a bewildering state of completion/evolution/devolution. Nonetheless, not one to deny yet another diversion, I discovered when planning for our Boxing Day Napoleonic game, that I was in 'desperate' need of another British command stand to boss around the rankers. Of course I realized this the night before the game.  Not to be deterred, I decided that, sleep be damned, I would get it done in time for the tabletop the next day. (Yes, this sleep deprivation thing is becoming a common refrain it seems...)

Well, to make a long story short, I did manage to coax these figures to a point were they could be presented with only a trace of chagrin. But as these things often work out, Peter arrived for the game, beaming like a Bishop, with one of his British command stands in tow, and I thought it would be rather churlish not to use his for the game. Yes, one has to be somewhat sanguine about these things. I reflected that while my figures did not make it to the miniature battlefield, I still got the satisfaction of completing a few new models for the collection (albeit in a self-induced flap). So all is good and right in the world. 


Anyway, I'm prattling, so let's move along. What we have here is a Napoleonic command stand featuring a pair of British foot artillery officers in their 1815 uniform. Being a naturally licentious race, the English officers are seen here gawping at some comely Belgian milk-maid, presumably captured in a Vermeer-like haze in the middle distance, near some boring berg called Waterloo. That, or they may be ranging in their guns at a distant French battalion, but that's not nearly as interesting.


These 28mm figures are from the Perry metal range and were quite nice to work with. Like the rest of my Napoleonic collection I've affixed them to a metal base as I like the low profile they provide. I had a milestone marker knocking around and thew it on the base for visual interest (yes, riveting, I know). Otherwise the basework is my regular trope of texture gel, gravel, flock and tufts.




The last couple of shots are of the officers with one of my foot artillery bases (painted ages ago when the earth was still cooling). Sorry, to my everlasting shame I had no Belgian milkmaids at hand, something which sorely needs to be corrected. 


20 points for me!  Woo! Kyle? Miles? Keep your eyes on the road, I'm just getting warmed up here... ;P

59 comments:

  1. Very pretty! And that's just the (not shown) milkmaid :) sorry to hear about not using them, but you can guarantee that if you hadn't painted them, fates would have conspired to mean you needed them......

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    1. Yes, you're perfectly right. It had to be done to make sure we were in the money.

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  2. Very nice work! And nice to see some larger scale Napoleonics as well! Gotta love those Perry sculpts as well.

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    1. Thanks Samuli! Yes, it was nice to lash some paint on a few Napoleonics.

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  3. While Napoleonic's hold little interest for me I do find these figures utterly enchanting.

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  4. Sleep is for the week! Dapper looking chaps

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    1. Are you saying you only sleep on weekends? :-)

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    2. At moment I'm sleeping all the time. "Sleep is for the week" is an album by Frank Turner

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  5. I think the story behind them is even better than the paint work. :-)

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    1. Lesson Learned: Always have a good story in case the content is lacking. ;)

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  6. Great palette and the basing makes them just about perfect!

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  7. Excellent work Curt! :)

    Knowing English officers, I think they are far more likely to have spotted a fox - "View hallooo! Tally ho!"

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    1. Not to be indelicate but I think that many officefrs of this period thought that wild game and the fairer sex were very much one in the same. :)

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    2. Well, I guess she may have been a "Foxy Lady" (cue Jimi Hendrix...)

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  8. Lovely Vignette
    Actually you have gave me an idea for my Napleonic project (to be undertaken after the Fallschirmjager )
    Stay tunned

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  9. A very nice submission and I do feel you breathing down my neck as your painting pace accelerates. I can almost hear that mighty 4 cylinder engine purr as you shift aggressively from park into first gear......

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    1. 1st gear? I'm still trying to figure out the parking break...

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  10. I could never manage Napoleonics - there's far too much detail to get wrong. That's why I admire work like this all the more - well done, Curt!

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    1. Thanks Evan. Actually, once you get the sources on the uniforms (and there are many out there now) it's like painting-by-numbers.

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  11. Lovely figures Curt. You did ask me to bring a command stand if I had one...
    Cheers, PD

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    1. Yes, but you never responded to my note asking for one before the game...

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  12. Nice work and remember it's a marathon not a sprint!

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    1. But for me, in comparison to you rockets, it seems like a drowsy shuffle!

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  13. Really great work, Curt! Minus 50pts for not including the milkmaid! ;)
    The arty officers look really nice, in truth it may be a few years before I even think of tossing in Nappies in the challenge. You guys and gals have raised that bar pretty high! ;)

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    1. Yes, a milkmaid on a distant hill would have been perfect...

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  14. Excellent brushwork dude! Always good to read of others who have a whole bunch of projects on the go at the same time...

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    1. Thanks Greg! I hope to see some of these come to fruition in the next few days.

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  15. Very handsome models, especially considering the overnight nature of their production.

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  16. Nicely done. +1 for Belgian milkmaid.

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  17. Excellent work Curt! Your Naps are always a treat.

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  18. Really nice painting work. The blue colour is fantastic!

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  19. Very very nice, so who needs sleep

    Ian

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  20. Lovely brushwork.
    Who makes the best Belgian milkmaid figures?

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  21. Awesome brush work Curt! I like how you always seem to tell a story with your bases.... and that's without the belgian milkmaid.

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    1. But a comely milkmaid always helps the story along, I think. :)

      Thanks Nick!

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  22. Very nice! The mile marker really pulls the whole base together. ;)

    As for the Belgian milkmaid figure, I'm reminded of a story Robin Williams shared about Jonathan Winters:

    We shared a love of painted military miniatures. He once sent me four tiny Napoleonic hookers in various states of undress with a note that read, “For zee troops!”

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    1. I miss Mr. Williams - he always made me smile.

      Thanks for the comment David!

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  23. Lovely work Curt!

    Just remember that starting Monday the adjudicators come on board and some of this will be off your shoulders.

    Have a Happy New Year!

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    1. Thanks for the note Anne!

      YES! I really can't wait as it will provide me a bit of breathing space to work on some of my own projects. I always enjoy working on the Challenge but this new format will allow me to experience it more like a normal participant.

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  24. Blimey, Curt, those are gorgeous!

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    1. Cheers Barks, that's very kind of you to say.

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