... and so 1 hour later.
A battalion of 720 French Line Infantry in line formation of 3 ranks. Note the yellow of the Voltigeurs on the right and the red of the Grenadiers on the left. Also deployed is an 8 pounder gun and foot artillery crew.
A close up of the front and back of the 3 rank French line infantry.
A close up of the foot artillery gun and crew deployed.
The French battalion on my new GW grass mat
So how did paint these?
I started with a white undercoat by brush. This was time consuming and I was worried the layer or undercoat would take away some of what little detail there was. I was surprised to see there was still enough to locate where I wanted to place what colour. So with the remainder of the 2mm order from the last post, I undercoated with my normal black spray.
I then basically painted from the bottom up beginning with green on the base, then pants, then shirt, then face, then backpack, then blanket roll and finally the hat. I then added a dab of yellow for the voltiguers and red for the grenadiers.
Speed was obtained mainly because all my strokes were from the bottom to the top so I began the face colour for example from where I want the bottom of the face to be and dragged my brush towards the top of the head. It did not matter if I went too far as the next colour would start slightly higher and be dragged further up anyhow. Worked well until I had 2 colours beginning at the same height side by side such as the white for the shirt and the blue for the arms and shoulders. Worked okay though.
Next time I try a thinner strip of white for the shirts.
I was tempted to paint brown for the musket which kind of sits out from the figure but was put off by yet another colour and 1 being quite fiddly when being so close to finishing, I just wanted to end it.
I think they look good. Especially for fighting massed battles with formations that actually do look like they are in columns and lines of 3 ranks or 2 ranks.
This whole exercise was a tester for investing in loads of this stuff for my own solo Empire V campaigns and battles and I think so far I am convinced to continue.
I will now complete the English battalion and the Prussian battalion and all the cavalry and then post the update and the conclusion on whether or not I will push forward.
Thanks for the comments so far and keep them coming.
... to be continued ...
5 comments:
2mm miniatues?
I thought 6mm was the smallest I could go!
I like your painting and the mass effect looks really good. I do admit to being a bit incredulous when I saw some of the unpainted versions in an earlier post but they do paint up well.
At this scale you could try a 1:1 troop ratio!
Well done!
2MM....it sounds like madness, but actually looks pretty darned good..look forward to seeing more.
Hi David, looking really good for a first effort, you've managed to bring out the detail on these tiny men! Especially like the red on the Artillerymen, and the miniscule French flag - well done, can't wait for more updates as the list of troops grows, good to see 2mm being so well represented on the web.
Thanks mate. I completed a british battalion 40 mins later but have not had a chance to take pics and post them up yet. Will do in the next couple of days.
I think they actually look okay. The painting is quick and easy and the whole is quite cheap. I focus on stands being a company or 2 figures in the Empire rules.
Thanks for the comments on the paint job. I painted them rather quick and basic but I really wanted to do that to show to myself how quick and easy it was to get them in the field.
The red I use is a tube from a craft shop called Cadmium Scarlet by a brand called Jo Sonja. This red works very well even in 1 coat. It just sticks out so well at 6mm or 2mm even on a black undercoat.
re Flags. I am still tempted to print off small 3mm flags as I am really really bad at painting them. I will see later and will post an update.
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