Category: Americal Civil War
The Union Army Thus Far
With the Great Lockdown in effect I spent the first few weeks painting up more irregular looking models, but then craved for something with uniforms. So I unearthed my boxes of ACW which had remained untouched through two changes of address, and what do you know? I fell in love. Recently I already showed off two infantry regiments, but now it’s time to take a look at the rest of the force as it currently stands.
The thing about these old Perry plastics is that, because it was their first set of plastics, it was also their simplest in terms of options. That’s great! Most of the models in the set require just their headgear to be glued on, and as assembly is often unexpectedly time consuming, this leaves more time for painting. The downside is that, as the command options are on the same sprue, you end up with too many greatcoated models, and both the standard bearers and musicians have to be built from the same body which makes for some rather weird command stands. I circumvented this issue by outfitting some of the other models with leftover left arms from the plastic artillery set, or just clipping off a right arm.
Speaking of converting models: as I had 20 superfluous painted Zouaves from the 5th New York regiment I painted ages ago, I decided to partially repaint these as the 140th regiment. Just the pants and the cords on their fezzes needed my attention, but also a new command stand for which I tore off the right arms of some unlucky Zouaves, added spare ones with banner poles, and built and painted a new officer and musician – the former from the regular set, the latter from a spare Zouave body with parts also from the regular set. Easy!
The artillery was built from a box of the Perry plastics – lovely models, these. One simply can’t resist the urge to turn these into three little dioramas showing the various stages of artillery operation. The addition of the caissons is a nice touch and not even useful merely as decoration – for instance, in the Rebels and Patriots ruleset by Osprey Games, they can be an unobtrusive way of marking a gun that has the limber option,
I had previously painted up eight Union Cavalry, so I painted up the other twelve I had lying around including command options, upgraded the older paintjobs a bit, and turned these into two 10-strong units. I will probably get some more down the line, in order to be able to field a full cavalry brigade, but that’s very low on the list of things to get for this army.
Painting wise, I started off with the same techniques, but decided to apply some more highlights to the faces, hands and weapons – always the focal point of model soldiers! The other areas were left fairly basic, but as I didn’t varnish too thickly I can always go back in with some more highlights (Probably never going to happen, though – what’s done is done).
The count currently stands at 6 infantry regiments, of which two are Zouaves, two cavalry regiments, two 12-pdr Napoleons and a 12-pdr howitzer. I also painted up the sniper one gets for free with the Glory, Hallelujah! sourcebook from Warlord. This brings the number of painted models in this army up to a goodly 159, and enough for two full brigades.
But wait, there’s more! I have ordered some more boxes of infantry (the newer Union boxes, as they come with skirmishing poses), as well as some essential commanders, dismounted cavalrymen and casualty figures. With these I’ll certainly have enough for another full brigade, amounting to a complete division. Looks like I have my work cut out for me…
P.S. Mainly due to how quick these painted up, my painted model count since the lockdown started is at 321. Try and beat that! 🙂
More Union Infantry
Only after an hiatus of five-and-a-half years do I present you with more ACW paintjobs!
Whilst moving boxes from room to room in these times of quarantine, I happened upon several pristine boxes of Perry ACW models. Having painted irregularly outfitted models for the past weeks, I decided I was in for some uniformed stuff, and so I set to work on adding to my long-neglected Union army.
These are built from the old plastic ACW infantry by Perry – I don’t have the newer models (yet), but I reckon the newer ones are more time consuming to build and paint. Most of these are monopose and rather twodimensional, which I actually prefer for regimented models!
Both battalions were painted over the course of the last week, with roughly two days of painting and half a day for basing each. That’s good progress for me.
Both units were built right out of their boxes, which does account for a lack in variety in command models. The flags were also taken from the sheet included in the boxes.
I have taken the decision to collect 20-strong infantry units instead of the 40-strong ones I envisaged before – much less work for me and much less bulky on the tabletop! That does mean I have half a unit of New York Zouaves that I won’t be needing anymore. I am currently debating whether to try to sell them, or to try and remove these models from their bases and repaint them as another regiment.
More ACW to come soon, so check back soonish!
Goodbye 2015, Hello 2016!
End of year means yours truly takes stock to consider the past year of brushwork and how to continue doing what one does best – painting some models! I’ll cover each of my projects one by one and ramble a bit. No pictures of models in this one, so if you’re the kind of fellow who looks at shinies without reading the context – check back later! Here goes.
- Napoleonic French: I’ve added a squadron of Chasseurs and one of Cuirassiers, two line battalions and a couple of vignette models over the course of the year. It’s my first historical project, and it’s still going strong. Next year I’d like to get at least two further line battalions ready for duty, paint up more cavalry as well as horse artillery. There’s also Napoleon’s Berlin Carriage…
- Vikings: My second project, and one that could almost be considered finished, were it not for the fact that I continue to collect and paint Northmen for the sheer joy of it. I’ve actually sold off a portion of my Viking army this year – mainly duplicates and plastics – and I might continue to do so, just to keep the collection fresh. In 2016 I have no immediate plans to purchase or paint new Vikings.
- Flemings/Crusaders: I’m fairly satisfied with my collection, so much of the past year was spent filling in some gaps; priests and pilgrims, a bishop, etc. What I did paint a lot of were Maltese crosses, with a decent number of sergeants and foot knights being added to the army. In 2016 I’d like to get some more cavalry done for the army, but it’s fairly low priority.
- WW2: My Fallschirmjaegers and Red Devils both received a decent amount of attention this year, with a couple of big cats for the former and a big gun for the latter. More bodies, especially officers, for both sides as well. I have plenty of models on the lead pile to carry over to 2016 and I will certainly be adding further to both projects!
- Late Romans/Arthurians: I’m deliberately keeping this army fairly small – I’ve painted up most of the infantry this year, and I just need to finish basing one last unarmoured unit to be done. Cavalry wise I have a unit of companions and of horse archers to be handled, and then a small selection of artillery. I’d like to handle all of these in 2016 and finally finish a project for once!
- Dacians and Sarmatians: These were sidelined in 2015, with just one falx unit being completed. I purchased some cavalry at Crisis last year but still haven’t gotten round to them, and I also received some Foundry foot archers from a gaming compatriot which have yet to be handled. In 2016 I’ll try and finish them, but interest is currently low.
- TYW Dutchmen: Well, shit. Nothing whatsoever was painted for this project in 2015. Better get going again or it’s Ebay time!
- 6mm WSS Catalans: No loving for them in 2015, but just before writing these words I dug them out of the lead pile to recommence work on these imps, so how’s that for progress? I have just one foot and one horse regiment done, and my projected force will count four of the former and eight of the latter, plus artillery and commanders. At the moment I have everything but the commanders in my possession, so whils I’d like to finish the project this year I’ll have to figure out how to get a hold of more Baccus stuff. I don’t think I saw them at Crisis ’15…
- ACW: Painted a couple of ACW units in 2014, but lost interest in 2015 completely – I guess all those Prussian uniforms put me off Union blue! Perhaps I’ll pick up the trail again in 2016, as I did see good progress on the Black Powder supplement for the ACW. Who knows?
- Fantasy & Sci-fi: As you might have noticed on the blog recently, Frostgrave has grabbed me firmly and won’t be letting go in 2016! I’ve dug out many old Warhammer models and made some additional non-GW purchases to complement them, and I’ll continue doing so in the foreseeable future. On the 40k side of things, 2015 saw – shock and horror – a new project in the form of the Adeptus Mechanicus, but this has fallen by the wayside a bit. I just find assembling these newer models so bloody tedious, as even the infantry models don’t go together without having to look at an assembly leaflet and match numbered parts. Still, I’d like to pick up where I left off in 2016.
- 12mm Great War models: These were a fairly cheap purchase at Warcon ’15 of which I have painted just a third of the models. They’re great sculpts, certainly, but the scale is difficult – neither my tried techniques for 28mm nor those for 6mm work well. I’ll probably get these finished in 2016, maybe buy officers for both sides, then shelve them.
- Scenery: I built a couple of items in 2015 but didn’t finish them off and, as a result, didn’t show them on the blog. I’d like to collect and build even more, but with the small apartment we’ve moved to I don’t really have the room to store an expansive collection. Choices, choices… So my pledge for 2016 will be to finish and preserve what I currently have.
- Commissions: 2015 was a busy year with a lot of Prussians (I reckon around 200 of them?) and some Arabs thrown in for good measure. As always, I’m stating now that 2016 will of necessity be a year of fewer commissions and more personal work; we’ll see how long I’ll keep that up!
So that’s the main overview of my futile attempt at coherently outlining my painting work in 2016. As ever, stuff gets dumped due to waning interest or laziness, new purchases are made because I am a wargaming magpie who likes shinies, and whole projects get shelved for a year or more because I have the attention span of a toddler in a liquor cabinet. Nothing is set in stone!
Still, despite moving house and breaking my elbow, my year of miniature painting was successful. The figure below will tell you just how successful:
855
That’s how many figures I painted, with each cavalry model and vehicle counting as a single model, and artillery pieces having the gun and each free-standing crewman count as a single model as well; and this across all scales. I was going for 600, so that’s not too shabby, eh? For next year I’m upping my goal to 700, but as I did last year I’m counting in the 255 surplus models from 2015. I’m devious like that.
2014: The Great Wrap-up – and Christmas Presents for 2015!
Just as I did last year, this post bookends the painting and modeling activities I pursued in 2014. It’s been a year full of a change for me: I was fired from one job and hired by a much better company straight away, I’ve picked up sports again, and I’ve taken on way too many commissions leaving little time for my own lead and plastic pile to be reduced! At any rate, let’s take a look at the various projects I have completed or are still running:
- French Napoleonics:
- 2014: I’ve picked up a bit of the slack and have doubled my infantry battalion count from 2,5 to 5 over the past year, which the army sorely needed! Some more guns were added, but sadly the cavalry was completely neglected.
- 2015: I’d like to add a sixth battalion to the army as soon as possible, and then it’s on to the cavalry – chiefly cuirassiers, but I’ve also picked up horse artillery and a Chasseurs-à-Cheval unit at Crisis. My mother and my girlfriend also conspired to give me Napoleon’s Berlin carriage and Baron Larrey and his ambulance for Christmas. Both are fantastic models and I can’t wait to get started on them.
- Vikings:
- 2014: Not too many were painted this year, especially after the summer. Chief among my exploits were the jomsviking mercenaries, and that Jarl Rognvald fellow who was completed just in the nick of time.
- 2015: They’ll probably continue to be on the backburner in 2015. I purchased a couple of the new Shieldwall vikings which will be handled in between other projects.
- Flemish Crusaders:
- 2014: I put a fairly heavy focus on these guys this year, didn’t I? I’d consider the army mostly done at this point, with about sixty spearmen, 24 bowmen, 12 crossbowmen and 12 cavalry. It certainly is playable in Sword&Spear, Saga etc.
- 2015: I’d like to add some more pilgrims and/or clergymen to the army, and maybe some more cavalry as well. It likely won’t be happening soon, though!
- Dacians & Sarmatians:
- 2014: I completed most of the army this year, but then I decided to go ahead and buy more at Crisis. Idiot!
- 2015: These new purchases should be dealt with soon enough – a unit of light cavalry, a warlord on horse and a small (literally) unit of Foundry cataphracts. My girlfriend also gave me a pack of Druids for Christmas, which is superb as I was lacking in the command model department.
- World War Two:
- 2014: Both my Fallschirmjäger and British Airborne had their basic forces completed early in the year – it’s a shame I didn’t get more Bolt Action games in, but the game is gaining ground. I really love painting up those camouflages, so more’s on the way!
- 2015: I’ve purchased additional models for both armies, and I can’t wait to go to town on them! The krauts are getting a Hanomag with a PaK 36 my mother bought me for Christmas (she’s nice like that). The Airborne are getting a bit more love, with two jeeps, a 17-pdr AT gun, a plastic Sherman and… a Welbike-mounted section!
- Pike&Shotte Dutch:
- 2014: I’ve been rather unkind to this army, and I’ve only managed to paint up a firelock storming party. Shame!
- 2015: While I don’t have a lot of unpainted Dutch on the plastic pile I’d really like to paint them up – just two companies of shotte to do. But I do have plenty of blue to paint already, which brings me to…
- ACW Union:
- 2014: Speed-painting 40 Zouaves in four days was ridiculous; I’ve also painted up half a unit of cavalry and half a regular infantry regiment. Not quite playable yet, but we’re getting there!
- 2015: What I’d like to do ASAP is to paint the two other halves of said regiments. I’ve got plenty of infantry left after that, and I’ve also picked up a box of plastic Perry artillery which I can’t wait to open up. Still, interest in the conflict has died down a bit in my club, so I’ll take things slow.
- Medieval Arabs:
- 2014: Nothing at all!
- 2015: I’ve still got eight cavalry lying around… Maybe it’s time to give them some love?
- Jugula:
- 2014: Eight gladiators done, which is the bare minimum to play with.
- 2015: I hear rumours of other people in the club expressing an interest in the game, so I’ll paint up the models I have left for variety and see where it goes. I’m not ruling out additional purchases for this game, as it’s very cheap.
- Late Romans:
- 2014: Just a colour scheme test, nothing more! Although it still amounts to a single completed unit.
- 2015: I’ll be focusing heavily on this army in the new year – almost all of it is second-hand so it’s been an ideal way to get a new project started up. I’ve managed to find a striking colour scheme without having to invest oodles of time into layering, so you’ll see some results quickly!
- Greeks:
- 2014: Just the one armoured hoplite regiment done – which I haven’t even shown you due to it still needing to be based.
- 2015: I really need to get going on this army, but I’m considering selling them off as I just don’t have the time for them. But who knows? Maybe I’ll suddenly be inspired to continue working on them.
- 6mm Catalans for WSS:
- 2014: one regiment of foot and one regiment of horse done, and I really like the scale for how different your approach to painting has to be.
- 2015: I’ve acquired a batch of infantry, horse and artillery and I’ll be painting these up in between other stuff. The scale isn’t very popular in our club, apart from one guy who has a massive 6mm WSS army already… Small engagements first!
- Hospitallers:
- 2014: Just sixteen foot knights were painted up this year.
- 2015: I still have half a box of Fireforge knights and a full box of mounted sergeants lying about… as well as more foot sergeants, more foot knights… But with all the crusader craze I’ll get to them eventually!
- Commissions:
- 2014: many, many crusaders for Kurt, some WSS for Alex, and some Prussians for Henk. All in all I think I’ve painted over 200 models for other people, which is a bit on the high side.
- 2015: More Prussians – I’ll be doing quite a bit more infantry. Also Kurt has provided me with a small bag of Hashashin for use in Saga, and I’ll be doing these up soonish. Should be fun with all the robes! I know I said exactly the same last year, but I’ll try and keep 2015 light on new commissions – there’s just so much of my own stuff to be done!
- Western:
- 2014: Just two guys done.
- 2015: Finding a decent ruleset for cowboy skirmishes is a top priority for the new year, preferably as cheap and as simple as possible. I’m open for suggestions!
- Warhammer (40k)
- 2014: Hahahahaha…
- 2015: …hahahahahaha
Now, one final item, and it’s really simple:
816
That’s the number of models I’ve painted in 2014. Slightly higher than my goal of 600, so what I’m going to do is I’ll start counting for 2015 from 216 on, and set a goal for 600 models again. Before you cry havoc – I’ll be moving house sometime next year which will impinge drastically on my painting time, so I’ll be hard pressed to get to 600!
That’s it for the wrap-up, folks. I’ll be posting a few small updates before new year, but the coming days will be busy with work, a surprise weekend trip to Waterloo (courtesy of my fantastic in-laws) and luxurious, decadent, gluttonous feasting. Let me wish you readers all the best for 2015, and I’ll try to keep the blog as entertaining as possible. Arrividerci!
First Batch of Union Infantry
One of the perks of being acquainted with veterans of the wargaming hobby is that they often have stack upon stack of unopened boxes of miniatures, hidden away more or less succesfully from the eyes of their oft disapproving spouses. My friend Henk, then, was happy enough to force several boxes of plastic Perry ACW models onto me – in return I’ll be painting up some Prussian Landwehr for him, more on those later. The first batch of Union troops is what I’ll be showcasing today.
The Perry’s first plastic set. They look dated, but only when compared to their newer plastics.
As with most uniformed models I’ve been painting recently, I started off with an undercoat of macragge blue, followed by a block paint of the trousers in lothern blue which was drybrushed blue horror followed by praxeti white. The coats were drybrushed caledor sky and then the entirety of the models was washed drakenhof nightshade – a nice deep blue.
I’m quite happy with how the trousers’ colour came out.
Other than that, it was straightforward work with the same colours I use for flesh, metal, wood, leather and the like. No radical changes there, as I’m keen on making good progress on this project. One area I did spend a bit more time on was the blankets wrapped around some of the models. These I painted mostly with muted colours, though I did add some brighter ones and a pattern here and there to lighten the unit up.
As you can guess from the bases of the unit, it’s incomplete – I’m building my ACW units fourty strong, so I still have half to do. For this reason I’m also leaving the basing to be done in one go at the end.
That’s it for today – more Crusaders are just over the horizon and should feature on the blog later this week. Until then!
Some Union Cavalry
A while back I was given part of a box of Perry ACW cavalry as part of a payment for commission painting. As with the Zouaves I painted recently, I wanted to curb the backlog for this project as much as possible, and so here they are.
Plastics by Perry Miniatures.
On this unit I tried out another of GW’s recent colour spray cans, namely guilliman blue (or girly man blue, if you play Ultramarines). The horses were basecoated black, but the riders received this blue undercoat. The jackets were then drybrushed caledor sky, and the trousers were drybrushed lothern blue then blue horror, before the riders received a drakenhof nightshade wash. All other areas were handled as I tend to handle them.
The yellow piping was a nightmare to get right, of course.
Still, that’s them done. I’ll be looking to expand somewhat on this fledgling ACW collection in 2015, at which point this unit will be doubled in size, complete with a horse holder and dismounted cavalrymen. Thank God the Perrys have a wonderful range for these guys.
Stay tuned as I have another batch of cavalry charging onto the blog tomorrow. Yee-haw.
5th New York Zouaves
I said I wasn’t going to start any new projects in 2014, but that’s before the guys I frequently paint models for started to recompense me with leftover boxes of Perry Miniatures ACW. Just one and a half boxes for now; the contents of the one box is what we’ll be looking at today. Being a brand new project I wanted to get these out of the way as soon as possible, in order not to be distracted from my many other armies. Speedpainting isn’t exactly my kind of thing, but this unit is the closest I’ve ever come to it. Let’s take a gander!
Plastics by Perry Miniatures.
I painted these guys in two batches of twenty models – it’s been a long time since I’ve painted this many in one go. The models were undercoated with my mephiston red spray – really handy, this one – then drybrushed with wild rider red, before caledor sky was applied to all blue areas. Then, the models were washed all over with druchii violet. Simple!
A massive block, this one.
After that, all black areas were basecoated adeptus battlegrey then shaded with nuln oil – a really easy way of doing black – and the wood bits, straps and yellow parts were basecoated in xv-88, rakarth flesh and averland sunset respectively before receiving an agrax earthshade wash. The skin was even easier – I just applied stark highlights with kislev flesh, not even bothering with an undercoat. Super easy and enough for tabletop quality!
That’s it for now! I have one zouave left in my box which might be the subject of a painting tutorial in the future, but for now I’m off to give other units in my backlog some love. ACW-wise I have eight cavalrymen left which I might be doing up soonish, so stay tuned!
abrushwithbattles 