The first units for my French force for Shakos & Bayonets are done, and what better way to start than with some Voltigeurs? I've leaned on the plates in my copy of John R. Elting's Napoleonic Uniforms, which is an absolute essential if you can get hold of it. Luckily most of my force is based on Chasseurs and Light Infantry, and it has plenty of plates for "Line" Chasseurs too.
I wasn't sure I'd be able to find a blue I was happy with, as there is an overwhelming amount of variation in French blue, from almost black to an unrealistically vivid hue. Luckily Dark Prussian Blue did the job again, with a smidge of Prussian Blue for the layer. These two paints always come in handy, and you can really saturate the layer with either less or more Prussian Blue.
I'll be pushing on slowly through this force as it's not my main priority, but I'd like to have at least the 500pt list done by Christmas. That's entirely achievable if I stay consistent for the rest of the year. Foundry figures as always are fantastic.
Ideas for my next project have been dotting around, and I was really at a stalemate as to what to choose. The Hussite Wars particularly interested me for Lion Rampant (I looked at Saga too, but it's a bit gamey for me). That said, the war wagons would really just be "scenic" pieces that units can be placed in, with no real effect on the battlefield. For a skirmish game it doesn't make much sense, so I canned the idea, even though the wagons are the defining feature of Hussite armies.
So I thought I'd give my English Civil War Irish a go, which I purchased at Salute earlier in the year. Not too many; I only grabbed a couple of packs to get me started. I had a pop at ECW a long time ago, but I was less focused on my painting than I am nowadays and it just never stuck. With a lot of reading recently, plus some documentaries, the inspiration is coming back. I painted a few testers and was really happy with the result. Bicorne do some lovely figures, and they can be mixed with Bloody Miniatures as it's the same sculptor, so there is tons of variety to choose from. Needless to say, I'm excited.
Specifically, the plan to start is as follows, and I'm going to challenge myself:
- Paint at least 3 figures a day (or at least 12 a week). Entirely achievable.
- Paint a unit of Pike and Shot for both sides (Covenanters and Montrose Royalists), followed by a different unit for each. This would let me test the Pikeman's Lament rules quickly. I can then keep adding a unit to each side to bring both up to 24pts, which is the general full size of a force in the rules.
By my estimates, I should be able to get this onto the table in just over a month (setbacks aside). I've become really interested in Montrose's campaigns, initially because the Irish Brigade is so fascinating. It also gives me an excuse to paint drab, less uniform clothing, which I find very fun because of the variation. I'm sure I'll end up with other forces at some point, but this is a great place to start. As always, the plan is to game solo for some narrative gaming. The "Rampant" rules are the perfect fit for this for sure.
I've just finished reading Osprey's Auldearn 1645 and will be near Inverness later next year, so I'll be seriously considering a battlefield trip.
Anyway heres some pictures of base coated and finished in the last two days, just need to think of a basing scheme now. I'll focus on finishing the unit first then tackle that.
I'm going to add some units with the "blue" bonnets to these units also for variation, as much as possible in skirmish forces is always good. Bicorne order will be happening soon. And of course at some point Highlanders will have to appear, and I really need to figure out how to crack painting patterns.
Thanks for the reading as always.
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