Sunday 26 June 2011

Napoleon and Chums

Like many I have been having a hard time with blogger to the point I was just going to give up on it. I have followed all the advice fellow bloggers have given me but still I cannot post comments on others blogs. huff! And there are loads I would like to comment on! Also it seems that my followers have disappeared from the screen?



Anyway I have been working all weekend and I have a short break this evening before starting back shift again tomorrow. I didn't plan on painting until my wife mentioned that I hadn't painted anything in a good while. Since we've been away in the Philippines my brother David has been rattling through his Perry French (3 battalions and 3 guns plus crew finished and they look cracking) and he was telling me the other night on the phone that he had ordered up a howitzer, limber and a few command sets (1 of which was Napoleon). He wasn't sure about having a go at Napoleon yet and I said I would give him a go.

So over dinner Mai produced a little black box with the above Perry figures that David had passed onto her the other night while she was visiting . Mai suggested I chill out with a glass of red and get my paints out (I love my wife :-) So for the 1st time since we got back I got stuck in. Gave the figures a fast clean up and glued them onto some bases, blackened them up and blocked in some colours. I have only spent 2 hours on painting them so far as I want to knock them together pretty quick and I'm glad to say I'm really enjoying them. The camera hasn't picked up the shades great but they are there. In closer inspection I could have spent a bit more time on the clean up but I am sure David will be pleased with them when they are done. Hope I don't upset anyone here but I have to say I am finding the 28mm Naps much easier to detail and also faster to paint than 15mm AB figures.


I'll just add they have given me the chance to try out some Foundry flesh I picked up at the Falkirk show. I used the native American tones mid and light with a final bit of white added to the light for the highlight. I must say I am very happy with them so far

(cheers for the tip R)

17 comments:

МаксимС said...

Hi! Very nice. I like it!

Giles said...

Great work, Paul. You've nailed that Perry Napoleon figure.

I find that Blogger now lets me post the odd comment, but only when it feels like it. Very annoying.

Giles

The Angry Lurker said...

Very nice job sir.

Stryker said...

Hi Paul - he looks superb! I'm finding that I can use Blogger fine with the Firefox browser.

Ian

Ken said...

Hi Paul,

Looks good, your Napoleon is full of character. I've yet to paint the little man in 15mm.

Cheers

Ken

MiniMike said...

That's an impressive start at 28mm Paul. He sure looks good and I love the way he looks. Looking forward to see this finished. I'm curious what you think about it being faster than 15mm after painting a 36 man battallion. Should be interesting.
About the commenting, this does not solve itself I'm afraid. Try installing a different browser (firefox or chrome) if you did not already.

Paulalba said...

Thanks guys,
He is a nice figure to paint.

Thanks also on the Firefox tip Ian I can once again post comments on blogs!!! Still cannot see my followers on my own blog? Any solutions to that 1?
Regards
Paul

Ken said...

I think the pose may be from the Rod Steiger Waterloo movie 'We'll begin the attack there... at hougemont!'

Christopher(aka Axebreaker) said...

Lovely work!!

Christopher

Paulalba said...

Thanks Christoper,
I think I will do the odd 28mm from time to time for fun.

Hi Ken,
I think you are right with the scene he is sculpted from.
Regards
Paul

Captain Richard's miniature Civil War said...

Great Napoleon, Paul

Paulalba said...

Thanks Captain,
Feel he is not bad for a 1st proper 28mm figure in a while.
Cheers
Paul

Paulalba said...

Well thanks to you guys I am able to leave comments on other blogs again (firefox) and with a little bit of fannying around I managed to re-insert the followers gadget.

I must admit the blog felt a little naked after so many people had taken the time to follow it.

Now all I need to do is get painting again to justify so many people taking the time to follow my blog.

Awe ra best
Paul

Peeler said...

Looking good! Like yourself, my Blogging is difficult at the moment, and My Followers have vanished, though are still numbered ... I suppose it will sort itself out eventually. Hoping so anyway!
Regards,

Paulalba said...

Hi Mr P,
Missed you comment. Yeah blogger has been a real pain lately, the followers section seems to just disappear and reappear at any time.
Cheers
Paul

Gael Ridire/Irish Knight said...

Great job painting! So do you paint the figure all black after priming? I've gotten a little better at shading, but still have a way to go. I'm just awed by how well some do the painting (like yourself). I recently got some dwarves from Redbox and ordered one fig from Reaper/Dark Heaven. The Reaper site said it was 28mm dwarf and it looks like a freakin giant. Learned that it is 32-35mm. Really bummed cause I now have to find other figures, and some ideas have changed. Was really disappointed with Redbox but when primed the detail really came out.

Paulalba said...

Hi Garry,
I use black as my basecoat/primer. I know a lot of people do there undercoat grey or white but I prefer black as it helps me see the detail better for painting.

I find it much easier to start from dark and work to light with my colours. I used to base coat mid grey and them block in darker areas but it meant covering all the grey. With the black you can always let some of it show through on darker shades.

It is easy to see the improvement in your painting fron your first figs to now. Keep trying out new ideas until you find a style you are happy with. I have just started with 28mm again and plan on doing a lot more.
Cheers
Paul