28mm Brigade Games - Napoleonic - Dismounted French 30th Dragoons

 Here's a small unit of 10 dismounted French Dragoons - le 30e Régiment de Dragons. They've been on the desk for years, partially completed. French Cavalry, in particular, took a beating during this campaign. and long before a single flake of snow fell. I made the snow patchy to indicate overcoats weren't yet required. Also, there aren't any vendors who seem interested in doing dismounted cavalry in winter gear in any quantity. I'd love to have some Hussars with their pellisses on and buttoned up, shooting carbines, waving sabres. No market for such a thing I'm informed. 

I really need to get to the French Voltiguer company for this game, but as you can see, I like to flit about. I'm committed (sorta) to not adding new things to the workbench unless I finish something already on it. 

Some WIP shots

Some action shots

Overall, they came out fine. I feel like I just learned that there was a dismounted horse holder. I would have liked to have included that here, but I don't own that one. 

I'm not sure what's next - possibly some odds and ends, buildings, trees, maybe some female camp followers.

In any event, thanks for looking - questions, comments and followers are welcome and encouraged! I'm doing more and more on Facebook so follow my page there too! https://www.facebook.com/One-of-My-Men-Became-Restless-100659928063858

28mm North Star - Silver Bayonet - from the 1st French Unit

 These are my possible entries for North Star's Army Painter: John Blanche Series - Painting Contest. One can only use paints from the two sets in that series. Priming and basing allow for some other colors. 

There are two categories - the first is in a Grimdark style. These are based on historical uniforms so not sure they should be there despite sticking to the rules. The other category is for a non-Grimdark style, bright, cheery colors. I'm not sure which ones I'm going to submit to what category yet.

The rules also stipulated that the models must be from North Star so I got that much right. I actually bought two sets of the First French Unit. One explicitly for the Silver Bayonet (round bases.) These models below, however, are for the 1812 campaign and will be integrated into those models. The other four models I threw in with my Peninsula forces, a thing I've painted very little of. 

Which of these should I submit?

A

 

B

C

D

Then these are just for angles:

The Officer

Veteran Hunter

Heavy Cavalryman

The Grenadier

Here's the wet pallet for this project. the red/orange in the lower right hand corner were for a different project but the top row and left side are all John Blanche. I'm a stingy painter and generally try and milk out every last drop. YouTube painters always mix up a huge batch for ONE miniature. Uh Uh. Not my style.

Here are some of the paint recipes I used: 

• Skin: Ruddy Terra, I mixed in Ivory White to get to the highlights
• Coats, Curaissier tunic: The Darkness - mixed in Ivory white to get the highlights, followed by the wash, Grimdark Shadow.  
• Metal - I was limited to Emperor Gold for gold and Heavy Metal for silver. To lighten the gold, I added in the Heavy Metal. To lighten the Heavy Metal I tried putting in Ivory white to poor effect. After the contest - I'll do the highlights properly with a bright silver.
• Wood on firearms: Banshee Brown, Ruddy Terra
• Reds: Fiery Vermilion over Blanched Berry. I added in Moonbeam Yellow to the Vermilion for the final highlight
• Black (boots, hats): They were primed black but I highlighted that with Ironclad Gray. The bicornes got a coat of Grimdark Shadow at the end. 
• White: Ivory White followed by thinned Grimdark Shadow then I went back and highlighted the edges and tops with Ivory White. 

On to more Napoleonic civilians and camp followers! As always, thanks for looking - questions, comments and followers are welcome and encouraged! I'm doing more and more on Facebook so follow my page there too! https://www.facebook.com/One-of-My-Men-Became-Restless-100659928063858

1/72 Pegasus Hobbies - Russian Farm Houses

 Along with the Hovels and the Old Glory Russian buildings I also have some from Pegasus Hobbies, the two model kits seen here as well as the pre-painted Russian and Ukranian houses. They're a tad small but perfectly representative. These had been mostly finished for a few years now but doing the recent Rendra Timvbered Outbuildings made me want to revisit the thatched roof which was quite dark and lighten them up to be more in accord with the Renedra ones. After futzing with that, it was a small step to finish the chimneys, doors, windows and some weathering and la! Complete.  

A very angry Perry Peasant seen here for scale. The life of a serf is hard enough, but especially so with these one room dwellings you have to stoop to enter!

Front or back door?

 Sometime my "Hey Squirrel" approach can pay off. As I said, these were 80% done, and had been for many years, so just needed a little push to take them over the line. Had I to start them from assembly I likely wouldn't have bothered in 2024. Like this one, I have countless projects in varying levels of completion for when my motivation is something less than peak, I can reap the benefit of finishing a project without having to also start it in the same session. I'm sure I'm not alone here. 

The Renedra ones are in the same shape as these were a few weeks ago so it'll be nice to do the apertures, roofs, and chimneys and be done with them. For 2025! 

As always, thanks for looking - questions, comments and followers are welcome and encouraged! I'm doing more and more on Facebook so follow my page there too! https://www.facebook.com/One-of-My-Men-Became-Restless-100659928063858

25mm Old Glory - Russian Storage Shed

More battlefield litter in the shape of outbuildings for the 1812 campaign. This one is part of the "Early Russian Buildings" range, but appears to have a metal roof which seems unlikely until maybe a WW2 setting. In any event, this was a quick and satisfying project. 

The roof was some done via wet blending with a dark gray and rust to give it a nice weathered patina. Then I spotted on some unmodified silver to show the roof was beautiful metal at one point. The touches that make it really come alive to me is some thinned down Algae Green Speedpaint in the crevasses, then thinned Brownish Decay Speedpaint along the foundations and in other spots here and there. 

A very angry Perry Peasant (for scale) rushes out to meet the invaders.

 

Here it is betwixt the two Renedra Timbered Outbuildings bringing the uninhabitable structures up to three.

As always, thanks for looking - questions, comments and followers are welcome and encouraged! I'm doing more and more on Facebook so follow my page there too! https://www.facebook.com/One-of-My-Men-Became-Restless-100659928063858
 

28mm Renedra - Timber Outbuilding (Updated 12/31/24)

 A quick idea, that actually was relatively quick! I borrowed some techniques from YouTuber's Sword & Brushes for this one.

I started from a different spot as this was primed in dark brown. I just painted the wood in a cream color followed by Speedpaint Gravelord Gray. Highlights were just drybrushed grays.

I then used Speedpaint, a diluted Algae Green to suggest light mossy patches in the likely spots. Then I darkened the bottom edges with thinned down Speedpaint Brownish Decay.

For the roof - I basecoated in another cream color followed by Speedpaint Pallid Bone. To define the tiered structure I thinned down Army Painter Bootstrap Brown and dabbed that between each later. In the deeper spots I used thinned down Army Painter Brigadine Brown- just enough to stain some of the straw patches. Then the entire roof was drybrushed with Army Painter Ancient Stone. A final highlight of Army Painter Ice Yellow was drybrushed over the edges and ends.

All in all, it came out nicely. It doesn't really match my other wooden structures for Russia but it is an "outbuilding." It could also be used for Medieval/Fantasy stuff on its own though it is a little bit small. Still, lovely piece.

 12/31/24 Edit - I found the other one, then assembled, primed and painted it to join it's companion. 

Erm, assembly could have gone better, but one will likely never notice the gap here. In any event, I wanted to capture the base coats - this was over a black prime.

I employed the same techniques as above. The outcomes were so close, even I can't tell them apart!

At the same time I did an Old Glory Russian Storage Shed in the center. That's two Russian Farm Buildings from Pegasus Hobbies in the background.

As always, thanks for looking - questions, comments and followers are welcome and encouraged! I'm doing more and more on Facebook so follow my page there too! https://www.facebook.com/One-of-My-Men-Became-Restless-100659928063858

28mm Napoleonic - Horseflesh Scatter, Markers or Objectives

Seven more dead horses. Yes they can can convey a fallen mount, but during the retreat they represent life saving loot markers. I don't recall the manufacturer of a few of these - if anyone recognizes them, drop me a note in the comments, please.

Three of these (this one and the own below it) must be from an Ancients range? That looks like a broken off spear head on the model below.

These two are the only ones that read as "Napoleonic" because of the gear and are from Front Rank "Light Cavalry".

Three carts from Things from the Basement. These initially carried off loot taken from Moscow nobility, but they might be more useful carrying off wounded comrades.

Four of the same sculpt seemed a bit much so I'll use these two for the Peninsula instead. Again if you can identify the manufacturer of unidentified horses, let me know and I'd be happy to credit them.

 

Thanks for looking - questions, comments and followers are welcome and encouraged! I'm doing more and more on Facebook so follow my page there too! https://www.facebook.com/One-of-My-Men-Became-Restless-100659928063858