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Some Detailing. . .

Here's where things stand with the latest and last batch of Croats about a month in.  Still much to do, but they're coming together reasonably well I think all things considered.

An easy, quiet day yesterday (Saturday) for the Young Master and me while the poor Grand Duchess wrestled through flight delays of one sort or another after a conference in New York City.  She finally made it home about 1am this morning about six hours late. 

Anyway, three sessions of various lengths in the painting chair yesterday, working mainly on highlighting musket stocks and carefully, very lightly adding the musket barrels.  Added the shako plates for the Minden figures and started the musket straps.  I'll finish the final four of those later today before moving onto other musket details and toning down the very bright shako plates with an Army Painter wash.

It's funny what you notice as you work your way through gradually painting a bunch of figures.  Lots of little things to touch up, edges to clean up, places where somehow a darker color or wash did not quite cover all of the basecoat, etc., etc.  I am also wondering about trying to paint in the dull yellow collars on the coats, or just leaving them out.  They are not really visible  beneath the various shoulder belts and straps.  Why risk errant splotches of paint that mess up reasonably ok brushwork thus far?  

But I'm getting ahead of myself.  First, breakfast out with Sonja at one of our local quick and greasy places that we enjoy.  Time to dress and, as the ladies used to say, put on my face.  ;-)

-- Stokes

Comments

Andy McMaster said…
The details seem to take forever... Look forward to seeing these complete.
2:55 AM
WSTKS-FM Worldwide said…
Thank you, Andy! And I agree. For each small detail completed, it seems, for a while at least, that there are a dozen others to tackle. Of course, that's not including touch-ups. But we're getting there bit by bit.

Kind regards,

Stokes
5:08 AM
caveadsum1471 said…
Making great progress, I'm currently freehand painting Hungarian knots on some plastic Victrix Austrians that are largely being converted with paint, the straight cuffs being painted as pointed, I was struck by your last post , how far do we need to go on the road of reality!
Best Iain
9:07 AM
WSTKS-FM Worldwide said…
Indeed, Iain! Once we realize that many won't even notice the tiny details we obsess over, things become easier. Of course, WE know the sword knots, buttons, canteen corks, grubby fingernails, and earrings in Old Guard earlobes are there, don't we? Thank you for your comment!

Kind Regards,

Stokes
1:36 PM
Der Alte Fritz said…
I’d leave off the collar details. Nobody’s going to see them anyway and they aren’t worth the extra time. They look good so far!
3:41 PM
Duke of Baylen said…
Paint the collars! You are taking such care to paint these as well as you can so why take a short cut and especially one that omits colour and identification to the unit?
I agree it takes as long to recover the small mishaps and omissions as to paint them in the first place and it wastes a lot of paint as it's hard to mix a very small amount. The craft done to our best is what brings the satisfaction of a new completed unit. However that is to put the collector before the gamer. The logic of the first would mean just painting one figure to the highest standard and the latter having counters in a single colour. We're wargamers and so the internal struggle goes on. All the responses including mine show your question is real but it's one only you can answer for yourself. If it were me I'd paint the collars, Jim writes that he wouldn't. Both are valid views but what will you choose?
Stephen
3:18 AM
WSTKS-FM Worldwide said…
I like you way of thinking, Duke!

Kind Regards,

Stokes
1:09 PM
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