"Easiest 15mm Napoleonic Figures to Paint?" Topic

We have had a plethora of "best 15mm figures" recently, but sometimes the "best" turns out to be the most difficult to paint (at least in my case) due to all the details included on the figure.

I get discouraged when painting figures with a lot of details due to fatigue and a lack of progress. It seems like it will take me forever to paint up a 15mm Napoleonic army. And if you have to provide both sides, well…

So the question is;

Which manufacturer produces the easiest 15mm Napoleonic figures to paint, and why?

Which manufacturer's 15mm Napoleonic figures are the most difficult to paint and why?

Easiest to paint – AB. Lot of details sculpted and ready to paint.
Difficult to paint – any plain figure.. it is like to paint all this details on clear paper.

Honestly… I don't think there is a real answer…

Many people will tell you that AB are "unforgiving" but as Sho Boki says, all the detail is there to be painted.

I find ABs a mixed blessing to paint.

I find Blue Moon paint fast.

I find Old Glory 15s are hard on brushes.

I find Battle Honors 15s similar to OG15s though some parts of them are easier.

I expect milage varies.

Cheers,

The Bandit

Old Glory for the same reason as the AB. Minifigs are harder because of the light sculpting.

easiest – in terms of knocking them out quickly is any figure in a great coat with minimal. No lapels, waistcoats, pants, gaiters etc…and with shako covers, no plumes, braids plates et al.

"No lapels, waistcoats, pants, gaiters etc" = no napoleonic.

When I first stared I found Essex figures painted very easily. The details are there and very crisp.

They are modeled with the Bardin Uniform which makes it easier.

I would say Essex and Minifig are probably 'easiest' in terms of applying paint. Falcon 15's are probably in the same category although I haven't painted one in years.

As far as satisfaction in the final product goes, I'd have to say Lancashire are probably the best, followed by AB and Capitan.

MY all time favorites are the old Heritage Napoleonic castings though… crisp, proportionate, and a pleasure to paint. I still have my 15mm British army… going on 35 years now!!!

Minifigs are easiest to paint in my view. Very plain and not too much in the way of extraneous detail. Not to say they're not great figures, although the 'Attacking' figures can be more lunge than guard if you know what I mean!

But be warned, they are slightly smaller than AB…

I have just painted Old Glory, Battle honors and Old Heritage 15mm Nappies. The heritage to me where the easiest. Follow by Battle honors than Old glory.

Heritage.

battle honors,

old glory.

more here: link

Speed painting for the upcoming battle of Leipzig

It depends on your style of painting as raised details work better with the dip method.

Any figure in a greatcoat!

You may find it easier if you paint on a schedule, knocking out so many figures a month. You can feel satisfaction looking at what you already painted and knowing where you will be in x months – it will all be over by Christmas!

There are production line methods that can shave time off the job.

You can also pay to get at least some of them painted. I stock the Blue Moon figures and sell them painted, there are other services who do the same.

Sample AB figure. All sculpted parts are sharp and therefore very easy to paint.. but saddlecloth and sabretache are plain – not so easy to paint.

May be the correct question for topic sound – best figures for skilled painting and best figures for robust painting?

Beautiful figure!

Wow! Sho Boki you are a genius sir!

Beautiful figure painted beautifully.

If you didn't know it was an 18mm figure, what scale would people think it was?

Staff trumpeter of 'Isum'?

Thanks guys!
Yes, staff trumpeter of "Isum".

For me its takes five years to research and decide, bought AB figures and move to 15(18)mm scale or not. Finally I do this and all other scales and figures becomes obsolete for me.

And I agree with Seneffe – figures, less perfect than AB, lower the value of collection.

"No lapels, waistcoats, pants, gaiters etc" = no napoleonic.

No, those are the 'emergency' figures you painted up the night before the Big Game because you didn't get the real figures done in time!

They could also be used as blinds, should your game use them…

I really struggle painting Napoleonics, haven't figured out how to paint all the details without slopping paint all over the uniform!

Ive painted just about every manufacturer from Minifigs to AB.

Whilst you cant fault the quality of the AB figure, I have come to the conclusion that unless you can paint to the detail of sho Boki above, i just cant do their figures justice. I have them and pleased with the way they turn out, but nowhere near the level id like to achieve.

My favourites are BH and CGM, Old Glory and Fantassian for the range. My issues with the last two are the excessive flashing and, in some but not all, a 'rough' cast.

I have adopted a black undercoat system then highlight from there using the dark areas to act as shading. The system still works with White coated units, (Westphalian, Italian etc) but it just means I have to paint more carefully.

The British (and Danish) Red i have a problem with and usually end up giving them 2 coats. (I use standard hobby acrylics).

Just spray AB Figures white and they still look like the bit – and that is it – what makes them so precious – in my opinion.

You don't need to label them – a French cuirassier looks like one as coming out directly from the Napoleonic time.

For that reason they paint so easy

Hi

Warrior figures are pretty easy to paint because they have a minimal amount of detail – although they have quite deep cuts to the sculpting (which generally helps when painting) – that said they have very weak bayonets and for this reason I would be cautious about using them.

I have painted most brands of 15/18mm, although not the latest Blue moon (I have painted Old glory though) – they look like a real nice figure with deep cut sculpting, not overly detailed and have bayonets which look likely to stay put – I would give them a go.

My experience of painting over a thousand AB figures (from when they were originally released) is that the extra detail did take EXTRA TIME to paint – why would it be any other way?

I also like Lancashire games figures for ease of painting, although the basic French fusilier figure is in a kind of 'port arms/running' position and the thought of having several hundred of that pose is frightening!

I have painted several thousand 15/18mm over the years and one thing is clear: 15/18mm figures (irrelative of detail) can take a substantial amount of time to paint and this will be lessened or exasperated by your skill level and/or inclination to paint every detail, shade, dry brush, wash, dip or whatever.

About 2-3 years ago I got back into 15/18mm and bought a bunch of sample figures (French line fusiliers) from practically every manufacturer I could think of – I took my time and painted them all – I ended up using Essex, Lancashire & Warrior figures.

I was not happy with at least 3 manufacturers because of excess flash – this can be a real time consuming chore.

I could go on – at the end of the day I would consider two things – what figures you enjoy painting (get some samples) and developing your painting style/technique so that you can paint your figures a bit quicker (post a question in the appropriate forum for advice on speeding up your painting).

This a great thread. If not the best on TMP. Great advice, now to paint and good description of the many 15mm figure from around the world.

Not one bad reply or nasty comments. This is what TMP is about..

"teper1961" has it right with regard to AB and indeed Battle Honours figures. I would go further and suggest that a poor, rough, hasty approach to painting such figures looks worse than on simpler figures. And the Russian Trumpeter is superb.