"This isn't easy." Topic

So I've more or less given up on my 28mm 19l805-1807 period.
It takes forever to paint.
So I thought maybe 10mm. But no, only magiser militum makes 10mm for that period. And not that impressed with them.
6mm doesn't give enough details, while with 15mm, I'm back with to much detail and it taking to long again.

Have you considered using paper soldiers?

For 15s you can paint the base uniform color and not worry too much about details that you can't see when you put the figures on the table. Cuffs and turn backs get a quick stripe in the appropriate color and you move on.

For 15s you can paint the base uniform color and not worry too much about details that you can't see when you put the figures on the table. Cuffs and turn backs get a quick stripe in the appropriate color and you move on.

I can't do that, if the details are there I must paint them. So 15mm gets 3 layer at minimum. So does 10mm, but they are smaller so it takes a shorter time to paint.

Since pendarken doesn't make the correct figures, I'd use Alder 6mm, but I loose like 50% of the muskets.

Adler figs are great but there is also Baccus

Not a fan of the baccus style, paintd many of them before, and not my ting. And as I said with alder I loose 50% of the muskets.

Have you looked at GHQs 10mm line? They are quite nice.

if you talking about the peninsula Pendraken is releasing an entire line of peninsula range

No I'm talking about 1805-1807 period.

Have you looked at GHQs 10mm line? They are quite nice.

They don't make the correct miniatures.

So I thought maybe 10mm. But no, only magiser militum makes 10mm for that period. And not that impressed with them.

Lancer Miniatures do them in 10mm. French, Prussians, Russians and Austrians. Great international service and nice sculpts. Fit in well with Pendraken.

link

They do take a while to paint, it is true. My own Napoleonic stuff has taken far longer than I expected it to. But, the result will be worth it in the end, so I'm going to keep going.

I'm now 46 units into a 77 unit project. I've had a bit of a spurt recently, doing 8 units and some command in the last six weeks, and I feel I've broken the back of it.

Think of the result and keep going.

Some of the recent additions

Would you consider fielding your line infantry in greatcoats (Austerlitz, Pultusk, Eylau all in winter)? I don't know about figure availability and it won't help with the cavalry, generals, etc. but could save some time with all that French piping…

Lancer Miniatures do them in 10mm. French, Prussians, Russians and Austrians. Great international service and nice sculpts. Fit in well with Pendraken.

Yes, that does look like the best option( though I'm not very convinced by the paint job on the sight) one option is to use lancer for the infantry, and Russians. And use pendraken for some of the French cavalry that can be used for the earlier period.

They do take a while to paint, it is true. My own Napoleonic stuff has taken far longer than I expected it to. But, the result will be worth it in the end, so I'm going to keep going.

I'm now 46 units into a 77 unit project. I've had a bit of a spurt recently, doing 8 units and some command in the last six weeks, and I feel I've broken the back of it.

Think of the result and keep going.

Some of the recent additions

I already have 28mm napoleonic projects for the peninsula, pluss 2 other smaller scale 28mm Sharp practice napoleonic stuff, too. Not to mention the 8 or so other 28mm periods I do. I simply haven't room to store it all as is.

Would you consider fielding your line infantry in greatcoats (Austerlitz, Pultusk, Eylau all in winter)? I don't know about figure availability and it won't help with the cavalry, generals, etc. but could save some time with all that French piping…

I don't know if many do French in great coats and bicorne, and it would be boring. But for the Russians it's even harder. Only elite miniatures (which I don't like) and brigade games does the appropriate Russians, and I don't think they do them in great coats.

Could you enjoy the 1805-07 period in a different way to your other Napoleonic collections?

You use figures for those why not find a boardgame for the 05-07 era or make up armies using wooden or metal blocks and play it at a different command level.

For example, you could make units of coloured blocks to use with Avalon Hill's Napoleon's Battles that itself is a cross between figure wargame and a board game.

+1 olicana. Don't give up Gunfreak.

If it's any consolation, when I painted my 15mm Saxon Napoleonic army, I had trouble deciding when I was done. Should I put a little splotch of paint here for the whatever, even though they didn't sculpt it in? Should I try to get all three colors on the cockade, or settle for just one or two? In the end, I stopped at the button level: Saxon infantry regiments were paired with the same facings, but one with white metal buttons and the other with yellow metal buttons.

Grelber

@olicana
So remind me – what scale are the figures in your pics?

I completely sympathize with the dilemma of both time spent and the need to paint detail seen. Perhaps a re-think about why you want this project and what you get out of it? I have several large (very large) battle and army projects which are taking years (and years) and I wonder sometimes if they'll ever get finished. I enjoy painting, researching and I have way too much thinking time on my hands. I'd say I am an army builder who wargames – getting a 5% gaming return on my effort. Hobbies are just a great way to waste time (my definition of recreation) but perhaps you could afford the occasional painting commission to push things along? This might work better in 15mm for price and more rapid results. In the end I suppose you need to have a miniatures army you want – do you like what you see when you look at the table-top? Personally, 6mm and 10mm are scales which leave toy soldiers behind and they don't flick my switch. I know what you are saying about 15mm but they are simpler to paint than 28's.

Gunfreak, I hate have to tell you this, but very few of us are handed miniatures in exactly the period we want in exactly the scale we want sculpted by exactly the sculptor we want. We have to pick the most satisfactory--or the least unsatisfactory--of the available options. And--well, yes: the more detail we insist on painting, the longer it takes to paint them, with Napoleonics and SYW generally leading the parade. That's a choice.

There's a story that a British General once outlined to Churchill his requirements for an upcoming campaign. Churchill went over the list and said "Generals only get these conditions in Heaven. Generals who insist on them don't go there."

My advice would be to settle on a scale and manufacturer you like and deal with everything which is a consequence of that. There's no joy in painting an army if you're not going to be happy with the result. From what you're saying, that's probably a vote for Lancer. But coopman and timmo have a point: before you sink that much time and money into more Napoleonic armies, be sure you're going to be happy with them when they're on the table.

And good luck regardless.

R

olicana – lovely figures. Not sure how anyone can look at them and still think about 6mm/10mm/15mm?

13.5mm is clearly the answer.

"Not sure how anyone can look at them and still think about 6mm/10mm/15mm?"

Cost and space . . .

And transportability. I used to have only 25mm although my original Napoleonics were mostly Airfix. I started experimenting with (early 1980s) 25mm Minifigs just before a long enforced break from almost any wargaming so the Napoleonics lost out to concentrating on Ancients. Taking a 25mm ancients army to the club meant about three big boxes only for figures and relying on club terrain or another couple of boxes.

A 15mm army all fits neatly into one small box, plus my own terrain. So it's easier to transport and to store at home. I can also set up a table temporarily without it completely inconveniencing the rest of the household. I've even contemplated, but never taken the plunge, 6mm for the mass impact it acn have. I doubt I ever will go down that path and to me 10mm just feels like 15mm without the detail. But these are all very much individual impressions, opinions and choices.

So while I am greatly admiring of people's 25/28mm armies, practicality leaves me no choice. As for more modern periods, 15mm and 25mm seem popular these days but I think I'd go with 6mm for that simply because the ground scale to figure scale discrepancy is so reduced.

Cheers,
John

Agree with John--mostly. I keep a matched pair of 28mm individually-based horse & musket armies. I love them, and at that level I can pick off generals with my rifles, form column and square and register 4% attrition of a battalion. But their limit is a smallish division action.

I'm fighting Quatre Bras right now on a 3x3 table with H&R 5/6mm figures, and both armies and all necessary terrain would go in a single 1x1x1.5 box. Like life, wargaming is a matter of choices.

I suppose it depends on what type of games you are looking for.
If you want games of 10-12 battalions and 1-4 cavalry units each side, then stick with the 28mm.
If you want bigger battles then scaling down would make sense. Like others have said, try to find the compromise that works for you.

Not to be flippant ConnaughtRanger, but that's a bit like saying "what a lovely close up shot, I can't see why anyone would ever zoom the camera out".

Just go with irregular 2mm no issues with kit and quick to paint.

link

Lovely stuff Olicana. I am a big fan of 6mm for small table/big battle gaming, but like to get out my 28mm Napoleonics for skirmish gaming.

I'd use Alder 6mm, but I loose like 50% of the muskets.

Gunfreak, do you mean breaking off the bayonets? Or breaking the whole musket?

Gunfreak good luck in whatever you decide, these dreams to see finished are not done in the term years, decades more likely.

You will only get a decent game in 6mm. Baccus new style is much better than the old – give it a go.

Gunfreak, you may be aware of the Peter Dennis Paper soldier series published by Helion. Well, things have moved on since then and they are now being produced in ready cut acrylic, preprinted with Peters superb art work and ready to play! Take a look, I think you might be impressed.

wofun-games.com

By the way, just looking at Olicana's figures reminds me why I like 28mm!

Gunfreak, do you mean breaking off the bayonets? Or breaking the whole musket?

Both.

I suppose it depends on what type of games you are looking for.
If you want games of 10-12 battalions and 1-4 cavalry units each side, then stick with the 28mm.

That's a 15 year project for me in 28mm.