A little love for my subscribers...

13th Chasseurs

 I have been focusing the majority of my posts over at The Guns of April blog lately.  And feel I have been skimping a bit on my own blog.  Sadly I am down to zero hour, and have been getting a good amount of help from a few fellow hobbyists.  Normally, I cringe at the thought of someone else painting my Toy Soldiers, but at the same time, feel honored when people help.  Like the above unit.  All but the Commander are painted by the talented Dave Taylor.  I could provide a mile long list of excuses as to why I am so far behind on the project. But Dave stepped in and just asked for models to paint to lend a hand.  A great guy and a great friend!  I have a little work left to do on the unit, like touch ups on the Commander's horse, and getting the standard done.  Sadly I can not find my GMB Flags and need to order some Chasseur flags ASAP now.

1st Battalion of the 6th Legere

 Here is another previously unseen unit of mine.  This time I can't say someone painted the unit for me.  But my good friend Rob Villnave came down to my place (an hour plus drive each way) to lend a hand for a few hours here and there.  Rob was a huge help with basecoating models.  The ability to actually get paint where it needs to go, without it going everywhere else is a huge help.  Rob is a talented painter in his own right.  His Flames of War armies are beautifully done!  And he has some French Napoleonics of his own that should be shown off as well.  I did all of the detail work on these guys over 2 weeks.  These have been dipped using Army Painter's Strong Tone (Medium). However I always go back with the base color to use as highlights.  I still need to finish the Halberds for the 2 men guarding the Eagle.  And touch up the command base and pom poms on the rest.

2nd Battalion of the 6th Legere

And finally the unit you have seen me working on for so long.  This is my first complete unit for the Army.  Not much to say here as you have seen this one often through its many stages.  No dipping on these guys.

Horse Artillery

And lastly my Horse Artillery.

Anyhow.  I have a little over 2 weeks.  And roughly 35 models to go...  So why am I blogging to you guys again? ;)

At least I have a 4 day weekend.  Perhaps I will do a series of live updates from the workbench.  That seemed to help me get my Fallschirmjager Army done for AdeptiCon last time I went.  And that was over a weekend.  Oh damn... I actually have a few tanks to paint to!

Horse Artillery and a question...

At last! Something is finally done!

Hello all!  I just put up a quick update over at The Guns of April that I actually need a little feedback on.  Head on over and give it a look see if you can and let me know what you think!

B

Random pieces and progress.

My Chasseur a Cheval test in his current stage

 So I figured a little something is better than nothing, right?

I managed to get a lot of base coating done this past weekend.  18 more Legere in long coats are base coated and nearing completion with that portion.  I am going to end up "dipping" this specific unit.  For those of you that do not know what "dip" or "dipping" is, you are in luck! I will do a little tutorial on how it works later this week.

Some time ago on a very prominent hobby blog for primarily science fiction and fantasy war gaming, a discussion was had about a product from a company called Army Painter.  One individual know-it-all proceeded to tell everyone how it was a horrible product and anyone that uses it could never produce a piece of quality.  Needless to say, I beg to differ.  In fact I can honestly say that I have seen it used with stunning success in the Historical War Gaming Community.  No, the two models featured tonight do not use this process.  But I will post a step by step on how I use it soon.

And the Horse Artillery is coming along

My goal for this week is to complete 30 infantry models. The Chasseur a Cheval above, and if things go well, the Horse Artillery Crew for the above Cannon.  I'd love to have them based up as well.  But I need a restock on some basing supplies.

Speaking of restocks, I had to order some Grenadiers from the Perry Twins over in the UK.  And with them a few extra goodies to help scratch a hobby itch I am having.  More on that later ;)

Well my night is winding down.  Cold Wars is in just under 2 weeks.  Yeah, it's a bit of a hike to get to.  But I am debating on bringing some of my French on over to the painting contest to see if any are up to par.  I am not overly optimistic, but the theme is 1812, A World At War.  So the boys fit in nicely.  Maybe I will try and finish Foy.

B

An update! Finally!

My Light Infantry are coming along nicely...

I'm not dead! I promise!  The wife and I bought a home back in December and everything happened so fast. 3 days after signing we had to be out of our apartment so it was all chaotic.

This is how I spent most of January...

Throw in all the renovations I've been doing and sadly my painting has suffered :(

My new painting work area before I filled the desk with clutter :)

But I am back.  Fortified in my very own man cave!  Complete with a new painting table!

Dave Taylor praying to the dice gods while my French surround him...

And thankfully I did finally get a game of Black Powder in!  But I failed my French and lost one of my Brigades :(

Anyhow, I will get more updates for you guys as I can.  But it's back to work for this guy! 58 days and 116 models to finish... this is going to be rough!

B

Trudging along with the 2nd Batallion of the 6th Legere

2nd Batlallion of the 6th Legere's Command

Just a quick little snap shot.  I got my shipment from GMB Flags just yesterday! I was like a little kid at Christmas!  This was my test base for my light infantry.  Today I will spend a good several hours of solid paint time now that the Thanksgiving holiday has wound down for me.  I had to cater a small feast for 13 people.

Anyhow stay tuned.  I will have some more updates shortly.  I even started to put a bit of paint on one of my 13th Chasseurs.  I have opted for the Elite Company models for these.  I just love the Colpacks on those models.  I do have the Cylindrical Shako's as well. I can make that final decision later.

The Guns of April and my French Leger

The Guns of April Project coming to AdeptiCon 2012!

 Greetings all! I am still alive and yes I am still painting.  I have just been somewhat lazy.  Well not really lazy.  Just different priorities.  The wife and I are in the process of buying a house which is lengthy and stressful.  And to top it off I have returned to school in my spare time.  Throw in overtime at work and I have been a busy boy!

BUT, not too busy to continue my great hobby!  Painting toy soldiers!  I have signed on with a very talented pool of hobbyists to bring a nice bit of Historical War-gaming to AdeptiCon this upcoming year.  We will have more details on the where and when but we have space reserved for our project which will take place one evening there.  With the personalities involved, just watching the game should be great fun.  I know I am excited to participate in it.  But I must also point out that there is some serious talent among the painters and I an honored to be a part of this.

I have been volunteered by my fellow commanders to take the lead on the French Army.  So be on the look out for more work in progress shots and maybe even a few how to's.  If you want to follow this project have a look at The Guns of April.

My first unit of French Leger (Light Infantry) will be lead by these fine fellows!

Up for Auction this week...

Sadly it is true.  I am listing some of my Napoleonics up for auction on Ebay.

 First up is this fine fellow.  General Sir Lowry Cole.  

This fine fellow can be found here:

Sir Lowry Cole Auction

 And here is the centerpiece to my auctions this week.  My 95th Rifles.  I have had this unit painted up for just about 2 years. Not my best work by far but I am still proud of them.  It actually pains me to see these lads go.  But I figure they would be better off in a good home, constantly fighting battles against the French.

You can add to your long range firepower and accuracy by adding this lot to your army! The auction can be found here: The 95th Rifles