Wednesday 25 January 2017

From MichaelD: 16 French Foreign Legionaires (80 points)

One of the projects I'm using the challenge to get completed is a French Foreign Legion force. I've already got about 20 or so and I'm also working on some Tauregs for some skirmish gaming action.
So here are the newest additions to La Legion. These are Artizan figures.




Had a bit of a problem when I realized that the blue I had used for the great-coats was a bit lighter than what I had used previously on the rest of the group, but I think I'll go back and fix that later. The bugler here I got right, because I had realized my mistake by the time I'd started him.


I especially enjoyed doing the command figures. They had a lot of character, and I'm happy with the way they turned out.


ByronM: Very nice figures and paint job on them.  In regards to the blue, it is your call on adjusting them, but I will give you the same advice Curt gave me when I complained about having done that on some of my first Napoleonics... 
No two uniforms were the same in real life, and even if they all started the same, they saw different amounts of wear and cleaning, so rarely looked even close the the same after a few weeks, then faded or colour shifted due to dirt, sun, cleaning, etc, - You are perfectly fine leaving some different colours.
After that advice, I started painting big units like that different on purpose.  While I keep them close to the same colour, most of my units have a least a few members with far different colours on them, including completely different coloured pants, as most of the time at least one squad member would have ripped them or replaced them.  While not "standard issue" or normal, I think Curt's advice makes a lot of units look more real, than flowing the official uniform standard.

15 comments:

  1. nice job and another interesting subject

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  2. Nice Michael - I have the same :March or Die" boxed set in the garage screaming for attention too. I would echo Curt & Myron's advice about colour fade, especially in the North African sun - but at the end of the day if you are happy with them (I would be!) then thats all that matters

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  3. Good stuff ... I keep looking at these and go hmm should I shouldn't I ... your not helping.

    The advice re various colours and dyes is IMHO spot on

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  4. Very nice figures. I agree with Byrin on the cloth colour (that's twice today, it'll never happen again). I got the same info from my wife, who sees and quilts and works with fabric a lot. Even straight off the loom no two batches of cloth are identical. That's why yarn and cloth list the dye lot n the labels.

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  5. "You have become soldiers to die, and now I will take you to where soldiers die!"

    Lovely work on these Legionnaires - and indigo is a notoriously hard dye to fix, so fading is inevitable (see also blue denim), especially in the field. Well done!

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  6. Cool! Foreign Legion! Great sculpts, and excellent brushwork.

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  7. I love seeing FFL! This is excellent Michael. I'm not sure if I warrant being quoted, but I maintain that uniforms are often not that; uniform. Especially after some time on campaign. I often used multiple shades and variying washes to give a unit a 'lived-in' look.

    I've painted a couple of these as WWI French officers and agree, they are wonderful figures. Well done!

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  8. Well done Michael. I have been a fan of these FFL figures for a while, but keep putting off buying them in a rare bit of self-control. So I'll just happily enjoy your fine work on them.

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  9. Great looking troops, love the blue

    Ian

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  10. Cracking. Don't forget the dog (or Sargent) at the bottom of the hero's bed when the place gets set on fire! (Beau Geste!)

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  11. Great looking legionnaires lovely characterful painting.
    Best Iain

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  12. Very nicely done, they look just like I imagine FFL to do.

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  13. Thanks everyone for the comments!

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