From PeteF: Millsy's Millpond - Old School Minifigs Prussian Landwehr - The Fightin' 3rd Westphalia (171 points)

It is always a pleasure to revisit my wargaming roots and paint some true 25mm marvels, cast in a lead alloy that reflects an approach to health and safety that also gave us lawn darts. Back then, from time to time my brother and I would commandeer the dining room for a day or two, lay giant boards across the table, deploy my dad's Minifigs and our Airfix  and battle it out with dice (and notepads, detailed accountancy being an important part of 1970s/80s wargaming).

The French army is my main "focus" but if you like the 100 Days, surely you have to have some Prussians? Sometime last year (2018) a gentleman out east was breaking up and selling their (mainly) Minifigs collection to pay for their healthcare (the US health system really sucks). Their illness meant that they were unable to continue painting and collecting. In addition to the unpainted French I picked up enough Prussians for three or four battalions. The collector had a ginormous collection including a Waterloo battlefield - there are still some painted pieces of his on EBay (nicely painted Minigfigs are generally out of my price range).

These casts of 2nd generation 25mm Minifigs had a lot flash and lumpy bits to cut and file off (lead alloy dust... mmmm!) - they were fun to research and paint. The Prussian army was not nearly as colourful and diverse as its Anglo Allied and French counterparts. The books have them in a lot of blue coats and greatcoats. The only other colours on these are green (for Westphalia) and white (for the 1st battalion of the regiment). There were 22 regiments of landwehr on the 100 days campaign - each with 3 battalions - so I should probably shift to a different scale if I want to represent them all.  That said, if you know anyone looking to unload their Minifigs...

This is another small step to painting all the Minifigs (not just mine - they must all be painted). It is also a step along the Path of History  and my second stop on Challenge Island. But now I foresee a balloon ride in my near future might take me on a different path.

I experimented a bit with the painting - doing more contrasted highlights on the blue than I usually try and simply applying a black (nuln oil) wash to the white trousers. I blacklined the straps, which I don't typically do - it's very time consuming and easy to screw up. I added the crosses and discs on the hats, which are not part of the cast. Overall I like the effect although I might try something different with the flesh colours next time (fortunately not a big part of these casts).

I hope the original owner would be happy with this paint job. 5 x 24 infantry (120 points) Millsy's Millpond Challenge (30 points) with at least 10 bonus points for pre-1990. These might well be pre-1980 for another 10 points. 10 points for the background story. So 170 or 180? 

Happy New Year and may the next decade be one of paint and prosperity.

________________________

Oh, another unit of old school Napoleonics? Yes please! 

That is a very sad story about the original owner who had to sell his collection to pay for his healthcare.  Definitely not a situation any of us would like to face. 

These look brilliant, Pete. I think you nailed the iconic Prussian Blue and I like how your blacklining really makes the details pop - something that benefits these more minimalist figures.

So, 171 points, which includes all the Millsy's Millpond fixings, plus an extra point for the brave banner. 

Lovely work, Pete!