Coming up Blanc?

Just finished "moving house" at work yesterday, from our old office in Roppongi to our new digs in Harumi's Triton Square near Tokyo Bay.   

I won't miss Roppongi much; it is way overpriced if you just want to go for a quick brew after work, and while it is one of the world's most famous places to party, it can be pretty unsavoury at times.  

I remember often getting to my office early on a morning, and being greeted with the sight of casualties from the previous night's festivities-  Japanese and foreigners alike- draped pathetically in various stages of unconsciousness in doorways, on the subway stairs, and along the curbside.  Add to that the great number of crows who congregate there on garbage collection days, and the whole sorry spectacle was somewhat reminiscent of what the morning after Waterloo must have looked like.

Next weekend it is off to a conference in Osaka for a few days, and then things settle down again so that I can get back to work on M. Jean Crapaud et ses frères.

But to business; I've been working on bases these last few days.  After texturing and adding patches of fine sand, this morning I applied the burnt umber base coat which I'm just now waiting to dry.  Once that happens, things should move quickly and I'll be able to add a few photos of finished stands tonight.

John (owner of the inspiring Wargaming in 28mm site) was asking me about how I paint my whites. How best to paint whites is something looming large on my horizon now, as I have some Austrian grenadiers that need painting, as do some 18th C. French infantry. 

These days I use Delta Ceramcoat craft paints for about 80% of all my painting. The rest are old Ral Partha paints, which I found to my joy are now being marketed by Reaper.

Ceramcoat paints are economical as they come in 2 oz. bottles.  As I typically use no more than couple of drops on my painting palette per session, this means that the paint goes a very long way.

For a "pure white" look, I usually start with Ceramcoat's Soft Grey over a black undercoat. I use very thin coats, often two or three until I get a nice, smooth rich finish. Then I paint the rest of the figure (which usually means more touching up with the soft grey.

As the figure nears completion, I take the Ceramcoat Magnolia White, and sparingly add highlights.  Again, I use a number of very thin coats.  The last applications are just very watery light washes, to add depth and a smooth finish.  I then line the creases quite boldly using Cadet Grey and a good-quality, well-pointed thin lining brush. 


For an "unbleached linen" look, I use a base of Sandstone and highlight with Antique White and/or Light Ivory, which is a very light off-white colour. The lining and shading are done using Mudstone or again Cadet Grey for the deeper folds.

It sounds laborious, and I guess it is.  But I tend to go through a number of figures in rotation, so that when I tire of painting fiddly things like backpack straps and musket bands on one group of miniatures, I can take a break and go back and work on the coats and breeches of another. I soon get a "rhythm" and when in good form, I find I can work quite quickly at it.
  

Command stand painted!

Even if the base has not yet textured, but I'm happy with the result.  I've been steadily working on a lot of French infantry over the past week whenever time permitted, and in between various impoverished and decrepit Marie-Louises, I've been adding the final touches to these gentlemen. 

These two have taken a while to complete- ten years in fact!   As I mentioned in a previous post, the general's overcoat and cape are made of epoxy putty, and the feathers and cockade were also added from the same material.  I started him before Front Rank released their general officers, but as he is a unique miniature I'm quite proud of him. 

His ADC is sporting a non-regulation white greatcoat- in part practice for me, as some Austrians are on the horizon.  I actually painted him about six years ago, but I had to use Tamiya paints at the time which really don't work all that well for miniatures painting.  So I have heavily retouched the figure, particularly the face and the trimming around the front of the coat.

I added a broken gun carriage wheel, and once the glue has set later this evening, I'll get out the wood putty and artists trowels and start on texturing the base, along with a number of other light infantry stands I've been working on. 

The bases are from Litko, as are all my bases.

*****

I've also commenced work on one section of a 6pdr. artillery battery for the French. I'm going for a mix of pre- and post- 1812 uniforms, as I did with the infantry and which seems appropriate for the 1813 campaign.

Two figures are being painted "as is", but I decided it would look interesting for the rammer to be modelled as if he was in the process of sponging out the gun.  So I clipped off the end of the ramrod itself and drilled out a hole in the gun muzzle to receive it.  While I was at it, I thought I'd replace his shako with a forage cap, just for variety.  

Now this meant that I also needed to have a gunner with his thumb covering the vent- this was necessary so as to prevent draughts of air from igniting any unconsumed powder in the barrel (and sending the rammer to the Great Sutler's Tent in the Sky).  

Front Rank don't do a mini in this pose, so I took a gunner holding a match at his side and did a bit of surgery to his arm using a razor saw, a small drill, and a paper clip.  Once the epoxy has cured, I'll build up the arm again with putty and know one will know the difference!

*****

On a sour note, a wrong move with an elbow resulted in me accidentally knocking two centre company infantrymen off the table- broken bayonets and crushed plumes meant they were damaged beyond repair.  And of course, they happened to be two from the group that was nearest to completion, and one in particular had a very nicely painted face that I had spend some hours on.  

Also sent into free-fall was one figure- a wounded infantryman for use as a casualty marker- that I had not yet spent much time on, and which had just recently been undercoated in black.  

He, of course, survived the plunge without a scratch.  Not one.  Of course. 

I'd like to say I took it all manfully with stoic acceptance- but I'd be lying.  Big-time.

(And I have to say, I like Blogger.com's new version of their blog editor!)

Humbrol Authenticards, and Progress!

These were a godsend for the indigent wargamer of 1975!

When I first seriously started gaming in Napoleonics way back in time, and I mean WAY back- 1975 or so- it was no easy matter for a boy of fourteen- with an allowance of $1.00 Canadian a fortnight- to find painting references for the buckets of Airfix miniatures (with a smattering of Minifigs) that I was using to game with.

The local library had a limited selection of illustrated books on the topic, and while specialist book stores carried some of the Blandford colour series, they were much too expensive for my limited budget.

Great was my adolescent rejoicing, then, when I came across the Humbrol Authenticard series on Napoleonic uniforms at my local hobby store. These were cheap- a dollar each as I recall- and had illustrations by Norman Swales of the figures based on those in the Hinchliffe catalogue on on side, with brief written descriptions and basic facing colour charts on the other.

I have the whole series packed away somewhere at my parent's house in Vancouver, but when I came across these images of the cards that were for sale on eBay, it made for a great trip down memory lane.

For a newbie getting into Napoleonic gaming in 1975, compared to one wanting to do the same in 2009, things have changed. Some for the better, others for the worse.

In 2009, there is an absolute embarrassment of riches for the gamer; figures in every size and in a variety of sculpting styles, rules set after rule set after rule set dealing with every level of command and army size, and a huge amount of assorted information on Napoleonic uniforms and tactics in both print and on the Internet.

And that can be the deterrent as well- where to start? What figures and what rule set? How do I organize my units, and how do I base them? What are those guys with the funny plumes on top? And what IS Napoleonics, exactly?

There is in fact not a lot out there for someone getting started, and some of the comments on TMP, for example, are not exactly encouraging. Lots of criticism of general works on the topic, and a lot of prescriptive- and conflicting- advice on how to do it "properly". Many a commentator will say how a given source may be full of "dangerous" errors- but yet can not go on to recommend any -affordable- alternatives.

I say just point a newbie in the right direction; suggest some basic books that explain the difference between a voltigeur and a Kurassier. Sure there will be errors, but basics are basics, and as our would-be Nappy enthusiast reads more and more, the greater the understanding will develop. And being of the species Homo Sapiens, chances are that he (or she) will be able to draw his or her own conclusions as the rest of us did.

The Humbrol Authenticards were not a comprehensive resource by any stretch of the imagination; the information was absolutely basic, with the focus being on the French, British and Prussians of the Waterloo campaign (some things never change!), but with a few token cards on the Russians and Austrians available as well.

But in addition to being motivationally eye-catching, the series presented essential information for the raw beginner in a way that was concise as well as being very affordable. The cards provided a starting point which allowed me some degree of firm footing from which to start climbing the mountain of information which is part and parcel of Napoleonic wargaming.

They served me well.

I suppose the nearest equivalents available now would be the Peter Bunde plates, or the excellent online resource which is the Mont St. Jean site.

*****

On another note, some good news that may see me actually gaming again!

I was recently contacted by a long-term resident here in Tokyo who is also interested in historical miniatures gaming, and who had found out about me after coming across one of my blogs. And as luck would have it, it turns out that he lives no more than a twenty minute walk from my house.

This bearing in mind that Tokyo is a huge, sprawling city of 12,000,000 inhabitants, with a handful of people having even so much as heard of the hobby. Such is coincidence and/or Karma- and further evidence of the value of having a blog.

Giovanni mainly plays Renaissance games using DBR and the excellent Venexia range of miniatures- and it is an era in which I also have a great interest. But he also expressed an interest in trying out Napoleonics, so it looks like I may be looking at doing a few DBN games at first, as this is a system with which he is familiar.

The start of a flourishing club here in western Tokyo if we're lucky!

*****

Finally, It's been a productive period on the painting front here at Chez Stavka. Here is a shot of a completed voltigeur company.



And I finally painted up a mounted colonel for the command stand- M. le Colonel Claude-Julien St. Peur of the 1/28e Regt. Legere.


I still have to texture and paint the bases, but I'll do that all at once when the rest of the battalion has been finished. I've been making great progress on the centre companies this week, and have been working on cavalry too, so I can't complain about the way the hobby is going for me right now!

"La Bricole"

"Rat innards stew...AGAIN?!?!

Care for a chat around the campfire?

Iannick Martin, a fellow Nappy enthusiast who shares pretty much the same approach to the hobby as I do, has set up a discussion forum on his Clash of Empires blog- La Bricole!

Just click on banner to reach the forum.

If you are into talking about painting, uniforms, and generally having fun with wargaming the Napoleonic Wars, come on by and register.

And we promise you that the only reference to bricoles of any sort will be in the title!

While I go crazy painting straps and piping...

...they do look good when completed.

Here is a light infantry voltigeur just waiting for the last of his comrades to be varnished so that the entire company can be based.

click on image to enlarge

Not the best of photos as they were taken in poor light, and I had to wring them through some severe Photoshopping for them to come out reasonably clearly. Still, good enough for work in (eternal!) progress shots.

It's of course a Front Rank miniature wearing the 1812 habit-veste and campaign trousers. He is also festooned with various equipment making him a right royal pain in la derrière to paint. The easiest ones to paint are- rather surprisingly- the ones in the full dress Bardin 1812 uniform. Less straps to worry about, although the ones in overcoat and covered shakos are also a lot easier on both eyes and blood pressure.

In a moment of madness I decided to give him non-regulation yellow piping down the campaign trousers, based on an illustration I cam across in my copy of Elting/Knotel's Napoleonic Uniforms.

Note to self; never- ever- decide to put together a wargaming army where all the uniforms have yellow piping running down the sides of dark-coloured trousers. Therein lies the way of Madness.

*****

Painting is made much more pleasant with appropriate "mood music". There are a lot of videos on YouTube featuring that stirring French march La Victoire est a Nous, famous amongst fellow Grognards from the movie Waterloo in 1970. Here is one of the better versions out there.

Minifigs and "Pas de Charge"; Good old days?

Shameless nostalgia time. I came across these pictures on the Minifigs website. The very first metal wargaming figures I ever ordered were some of these Prussian and Russian 25mm Minifigs to supplement my buckets of Airfix figures. I remember ordering them through the mail from a company in Pennsylvania- Soldier World USA I believe it was. Long gone now, of course!

Being 25mm, they of course dwarfed my HO/OO Airfix plastics, but in those pre-Grognard carefree days, I didn't really care. My Russians held the Airfix La Haye Sainte against hordes of French cuirassiers painted (badly!) as dragoons, and no-one thought to give them a red-card for the historical faux-pas.

Forty years on since they were first released, they are really looking "long in the tooth" and are not really compatible with anything else out there. And they all seemed to be in the same pose, steadily advancing and eyes straight ahead. Yet I still think they had a charm of their own, although these days we have come to expect a lot more detail in our miniatures. But certainly there was no faulting the depth and breadth of Minifig's ranges- they covered just about everything the wargamer of the time could want!

No doubt modern miniatures represent a lot of progress on the part of the sculptor and caster, but I cannot help but to realize that I was able to paint my old Minifigs Napoleonics and Heritage/Hinchliffe medievals (I must have had hundreds of these!) a lot faster than I do my minis these days.

Make no mistake, I still love my Front Rank figures, and I'm certainly not about to go "retro".   Some consider the Front Rank poses too staid when compared to, say Elite or Foundry, but for me, perhaps, they are reminiscent of those old Minifig days, while incorporating the detail that we have come to expect with modern castings.

Nostalgia isn't all it's cracked up to be.    I used to use the old (1977!) Pas de Charge rules by the venerable George Nafziger, which seemed fine at the time with some mechanisms that I still like.

But when I dragged them out of storage years later and read them through again, I realized that not only had a lot of our notions of Napoleonic warfare changed over time, but that the rules themselves were full of omissions and "wierd goings-on". I think that some of the original charts and tables never made it into the book, as there remain references for mysterious tables that I have never found within the pages!


The rules served me well in their time, but time goes on, as it does with miniatures and just about everything else. And the choice in figures and rules out there now is stunning! These are great times to be a wargamer.

And while it is fun to look at old rules and figures again, there sure isn't any going back for me.

So when ARE Perry or Victrix going to release plastic Russians? And then there are those superb Prussians and Saxons from Calpe. Not to mention some interesting- if expensive- early Napoleonic wars ranges coming out from Foundry.

But practically I should just get on with painting what I have, first...

Nappy Musings...

After spending many months in the Dolomite mountains in WW1, and in the Low Countries and upper Rhine in the War of the Austrian Succession, I find myself coming back to Napoleonics again. This is my usual pattern in wargaming. I drift from one era to another, but almost always come back to Naps at some time or another.

And I have been painting! Here are some photos of work in progress over the last few days.

Général Victor-Eugène BOUILLON-CANTINAT and ADC
(the latter wearing a daringly conspicuous- and non-regulation- white greatcoat!)

I originally converted M. le Général from a Front Rank miniature many years ago- before they released their general officer figures- using Tamiya two-part epoxy putty, a paper clip, and my trusty hand-held modelling drill. I was never happy with the original paint job, so I stripped it off and started again.

The general is left-handed, as was the "real" (ahem!) general, due to being grievously wounded while fighting the Austrians in 1809.

I still need to work on the eyes and on touching up the horse furniture. Not sure about the white feathers on the general's hat. These should perhaps be in black, but if that is the case it should be an easy job to retouch it.

Another conversion, and one I am extremely pleased with! This is Henri-Etienne Cavignari, veteran of the Italian campaign and of Egypt, and now Chef de Bataillon of the 3/25e Regt. Legere, leading his men against the Czarist horde. About 50% done.

I have long ago come to the conclusion that I will probably have to outsource a large share of the painting to mercenary brush-smiths, which although not being cheap, will mean that I can get the bulk of my collection done, while allowing me to work on favourite units at my leisure.

I have most all the minis I need now anyway (I really only have to buy line infantry for the French, probably Perry plastics), so this may not be as expensive in the long run as it would be if I had to buy the figures as well. It is just a question of looking for a reasonable and reliable painting service that paints in a style I like.

*****

At this time, however, I'd like to just blather on for a bit about what the hobby of Napoleonic wargaming means to me. I came across this thread on TMP, where one poster (it will be clear who this is when you read the thread!) took a position regarding the hobby which I can only call extreme, and which to me embodies all that can be the worst about Napoleonic enthusiasts.

I am a strong proponent of "each to their own" in what is no more than our hobby, and feel that we are free to approach the hobby in the way that we want, regardless of what others may think.

For that reason I am really turned off by those who feel it necessary to prescribe what the "proper" approach to the hobby should be, and who adopt that attitude of superiority and moral certitude that seems to infect the worst of the grognards. Presumptuous intolerance and blanket condemnation are not pretty traits.

So, in the interest of "stand up and be counted!", here is my own, very personal take on what Napoleonic wargaming means to me! Read it, ignore it, agree with it, or damn me to St. Helena; but it does let you where I stand with the hobby, so if my approach offends anyone, they should know this blog ain't for them!

FOR ME, NAPOLEONIC WARGAMING IS ABOUT...

1) Collecting miniatures, which means eye candy! For me, 28mm minis are big enough to paint, look good in a cabinet, and are just all-around aesthetically pleasing (with a respectful nod toward AB 15mm minis, which, while gorgeous, are just that much too small for these middle-aged eyes to cope with!).

2) Remaining faithful to history, but not being enslaved by it. I reserve the right to take the occasional liberty with uniform detail when I decide aesthetics warrant it, and even to tweak around historical fact when the narrative requires it.

As I pointed out in another forum, history is my Muse, not my tyrant. This extends to stretching things like having some regiments still carrying the 1803 pattern flags ('coz they're pretty!), and having my light cavalry regiments with eagles and standards, even if in practise they may not have taken them in the field.

I remember some pretentious twaddle being posted on TMP to the effect that if a person didn't replicate exactly the colours of the uniforms worn at the time, then one was showing disrespect to the memory of the soldiers themselves. Utter balderdash as far as I am concerned. We're talking toy soldiers here, not friggin' cenotaphs. My men are in a mix of campaign uniforms and full dress, because I like the variety.

3) Miniatures first, then the rules. Rule sets tend to come in and go out of fashion over time, but the miniatures always remain. My figures are based a la Peter Gilder and the In the Grand Manner rules, the same system which is used for General de Brigade, my current rules of choice. One thing is certain- I will never re-base. Any new rule set I adopt will have to be modified to suit my basing system, not the other way around!

FOR ME, NAPOLEONIC WARGAMING IS NOT ABOUT...

1) "Understanding" Napoleonic tactics. I emphasize the "game" in wargame. I feel that miniature wargames are not the best way to formally analyze Napoleonic tactics, and that rules tend to reflect our own biases; to reflect what we expect should happen, rather than reveal any insights as to tactical methods used. In any event, ground/ figure scale throws everything off-kilter anyways, especially as I use 28mm minis.

And then there is the practical- but unavoidable- factor of how much time I have to play. I do not currently have a permanent table, so my games have to fall within the time constraints of being able to be played and to reach a conclusion within a Sunday afternoon.

Of course I want my games to play and feel like a Napoleonic battle may have unfolded, but I am willing to take shortcuts and abstractions to get to that result.

Let there be no misunderstanding; I am not ignorant of the tactics used, I have a considerable library on Napoleonic literature, and consider myself well-read on the period. However, the gaming table is another matter. I game for fun, to roll dice and the goal is to move nicely painted miniatures around on attractive terrain.

My history I save for my reading, and to be honest I am less interested in tactical minutiae anyway. I'm not a soldier, and even if I was I doubt that platoon evolutions in 1813 would have much bearing on combat in 2009 anyway.

2) Bricoles. Some of the nasty, personal spats & long-running feuds that occur between so-called professional historians, and which end up polluting various wargaming fora, do no-one any credit. On balance I feel they contribute negatively to the hobby. Such people, who are evidently incapable of showing even a modicum of civility on-line, need to stick to their own sandbox and let the rest of us enjoy our leisure activities.

3) Glorifying either war or Napoleon. Sorry for those who talk about l'Empereur extending the limits of glory and such, but the root of the matter to me is that war was, and remains a nasty and, more often than not, a futile undertaking. I'll not be blinded to that by the pretty uniforms and the charisma of any one man- I put no-one on a pedestal.

Not to say I have no respect for Napoleon, I do. But while I of course acknowledge his undoubted ability, leadership skills and just plain chutzpah, I have a healthy distrust of demagoguery and dictators, no matter how much of a military or administrative genius they may have been, and irregardless of their height (or lack thereof).

Napoleon died many years ago. His feelings are beyond being hurt if I am less than enamoured with him. And I am pretty sure he wouldn't care a jot about the opinion of someone who just plays with toy soldiers!

As an aside, I feel Napoleon was a man of his times; more interested in establishing a dynasty than any kind of democratic meritocracy, and I doubt whether promotions to positions of power based on merit would long have survived his death even if he had remained Emperor of the French. He certainly had amazing talent, and left a lasting legacy. But being human he was as capable of making mistakes and of showing poor judgement as are we all.

4) Just two weeks in June, 1815! There are lots of other fascinating campaigns in the Napoleonic Wars to hold anyone's interest.

Finally, I recognize that others might not share my views and that is fine. However, doing it differently does not make me wrong, nor does it imply that I am ignorant of history. I'm not.

But ultimately it is my hobby, with minis I paid for, so for others to whine about the way I chose to do it is to spit into the wind anyway.