The Problem...

"Merde, quels plus sans valeur…"

For those of you who check out my blogs from time to time, it must be evident that I work in fit and starts, and that I have a number of projects "on the go" that don't seem to- well, go!

Looking beyond the usual suspects of work pressures (when I get busy I get REALLY busy), there are a number of reasons for this.

1. The twin demons of laziness and procrastination.
   
2. My tendency towards perfectionism as a painter- this really slows me down I as can spend hours and hours on one figure.
   
3. Inability to focus on any one project at any one time. I am often too much like the proverbial donkey who starved to death as a result of being placed equidistant between two equally-succulent bales of hay, and who could never decide which way to go!
   

The stumbling block must be when I reach that "half-way" stage in painting a miniature, where it has been undercoated, the main colours blocked in but not yet trimmed, and the next stage is the fiddly backpacks and straps- the figure looks a horrid mess, and the motivation and energy to push on decreases considerably. More often than not, I tend to fail my morale throws at this point and progress really slows to a halt.

I know from my years of active gaming back when I lived in Vancouver that there is nothing like having the deadline of a regularly-scheduled game in order to inspire one to get the "666eme Regt. de Ligne (M. le Diable's own)" finished and on the table so that you can employ it to humble your opponent on the field of battle, and enjoy the resulting pleasure of crowing loudly at his resulting defeat and humiliation...

But there's the rub- gaming has become a very rare pleasure, and other than during the occasional trip back home, I haven't been able to get in a wargame using 28mm miniatures for years- and I mean years. I also have to do both sides. This translates into a lot of painting, and if the rules need a lot of battalions and squadrons, the more uphill the task will be of getting enough painted for a game. Yet without the gaming, how to find that extra level of motivation that will keep me going? Of course I need to keep an eye on my ultimate target, but I also need some kind of "immediate gratification" just to keep the hobby alive.

I find there is a "Catch 22" for me here. Ultimately, I want the spectacle of battalion after battalion advancing up some slope to meet the foe, which means rules like Shako or General de Brigade. The problem is that it will take such a long time to get to "critical mass" -the point where I can get enough miniatures to play a game- that I cannot currently see myself getting anywhere near that point.

So what to do about it, that's the question?

New Temptations- the Flesh is Weak(ening?)

... from the Front Rank website. Would I could paint like this!

The Middle/Young Guard! Anyone doing the campaigns of 1813 or 1814 needs these stalwarts in their collection.

Okay, so I promised myself I would never do Guard troops. But I am sore tempted on whether to work these into my order of battle!

However, it would then only a short step to wanting to do my cherished Empress Dragoon regiment and Horse Grenadiers- and we all know that along that route lies madness.

The problem is compounded in that I also covet the forthcoming Saxons from Calpe, not to mention having already signed up to the War of the Austrian Succession Dutch that are (over) due to be released through Eureka's 100 club.

Whichever way I go, fortunately (?) July is bonus time here in Japan, and the budget may just call for an increase in military spending to cover a battalion or two. I can see that the French line will have to be fleshed out by those Perry plastics when they come "on line".

This hobby just gets better and better. I just need the time- and the self-discipline- to get down to some serious marathon painting. That or start looking at the Sri Lankan option!

French Legere Officer

Officer of Voltigeurs, French "legere" (light infantry). Converted Front Rank miniature.

Front Rank do make light infantry, but in the 1807-12 uniforms only. This regiment was wearing the more practical (and to me at least, more elegant) uniform of the 1812 Bardin regulations.

But as the "legere" were proud of their elite status, I wanted some officers wearing vestiges of their earlier, more flamboyant uniforms.

In this case, I modelled a busby ("colpack") and bag ("flamme") from epoxy putty- the original figure came wearing a shako- and added a plume from a Front Rank Russian.

With Tamiya epoxy putty or similar, a small drill and a few paper clips you can do wonders!

French Legere Officer (2)

Rear view of above. I'm rather proud of the "flamme" blowing in the breeze!

Amazing the difference in lighting can make on an image. The brown looks completely different. The front view is closer to the original, although the blue has come out considerably brighter than it appears on the actual miniature.

Of course these haven't been varnished yet, which tends to deepen the colours anyway. Tokyo's humid summers mean that it may be a while before I get to spraying them.

French Voltigeur

Voltigeur of light infantry. Wounded, but still more than willing to fight on for "The Little Corporal"- La patrie en dangeur!

I very much enjoyed painting this figure. The smooth surfaces on the Front Rank minis make them easy to paint, and the well-sculpted greatcoat provided a great palette for shading, lining and highlighting. I'm no fan of drybrushing except for feathers and furs!

I have to admit I still haven't decided how best to base my skirmishers- individually would be best for the "Sharpe Practice" rules (recently released by the Two Fat Lardies) that really look interesting, but I want to play "General de Brigade" as well. I'll probably procrastinate on basing them for a little while longer yet.

Carabinier

French Carabinier (as grenadiers in light infantry regiments were known). Those banded shakos are buggers to paint (lots to be said for campaign shako covers...) but do look good when done carefully.

The hardest things to do are the straps around the backpack- these caused considerable grief, but I think I have the hang of them now- paint the straps first, and then the rest of the backpack around them!

French Command Stand- 28eme Legere

Getting that new cellphone camera at last gives me the chance to post a better picture of that command stand I painted last year (!)

Another Front Rank conversion, the fifer is wearing a magnificent white colpack with red flamme. A uniform of pure fantasy, on the rationale that the regiment's well-heeled colonel had the money to spare for outfitting his "tete de colonne" as he saw fit.

I have no evidence that any such uniform was worn by those of the 28th. And if someone DOES come up with evidence to the contrary... c'est la vie, I have no intention of repainting anything. If that bothers anyone- well, tough truffles.

M. le Capitaine's log, supplemental.

It was pointed out to me on another forum that the flag shown here is the 1803 pattern, not the 1812 tricolour that would have been used in 1813. My answer- I know! Most of my infantry and cavalry will have the later pattern flag, but for variety- and because it is pretty- a few regiments will be flying the 1803 pattern, on the assumption that they were not around to receive the new colours or were immensely proud of their old ones for sentimental reasons and were not willing to switch! Stranger things have happened in war.

For the record, I subscribe to what I call the "Roly Hermans" approach to miniature painting. Inspired by history, I like my units to reflect their historical antecedants, but I am willing to turn a blind eye to the occasional artistic touch for the sake of aesthetics (as no doubt were the artists of the time). At the same time, I still like such touches to remain within the boundaries of plausibility (even if stretching them to the limit!).

Likewise, my miniatures are a lot less muddy and dishevelled than they should be after plodding through the wet fields of Saxony! After all, we are already making compromises in that we are using 24 miniatures to represent batallions of 600 or so men.