Russian Imperial Army: Infantry

Review: Napoleon at War - French Infantry Brigade

So I picked the Napoleon at War French Infantry Brigade a while ago and have finally gotten around to working on them and I thought you might like some feedback. I will update this post as I work on the models. However, some first impressions: the sculpting is nice, a tad stocky but I like the look of them; the detail is likewise pretty good; the variation in poses is limited but acceptable, for instance there are two officer sculpts, plus the mounted officers, there are four voltigeur sculpts and I think three grenadier sculpts. There is minimal flash, I just clipped some off the bayonets. The metal is fairly soft and pliable, so it bends easily but does not break. Always a compromise I guess.

In my opinion I give them an A-/B+, I really like them actually so far. I will see how they paint up. In comparison I would say they are up there with the AB and CGM, but not quite as good. Still, they look a nice fit if you want to mix and match.

What do you actually get? The box says 4 infantry battalions, 2 mounted officers, unit bases for a total of 114 foot figures, 2 mounted figures. which is incorrect. You actually get 4 battalions of 29 foot each (116) plus the 2 mounted officers. They mix of figures was good and it was obvious they had packed to give the maximum number of variations. The box is really set up as a brigade with two regiments. That is there are only two eagles with the alternate battalions having a standard bearer. Each battalion is made up of 18 line infantry, 4 grenadiers, 4 voltigeurs, officer, drummer, standard bearer (29x4) and one mounted officer for each regiment (1x2) and accompanying horses (1x2).

Some photos out of the box before cleaning them up:

Painting Tutorial: Horses by Franznap

So I came across a really simple guide to painting horses by Franznap. Its based on Vallejo paints but could be easily adapted to your favoured brand. Franznap has more info on their page here.

Painting Tutorial: Tony Barton Painting Guide (AB, Eureka)

So Tony Barton, only the best sculptor of Napoleonic Miniatures around (presumably up there in WW2 etc as well) has written a short painting guide and it is hosted on Eureka Miniatures. Its well worth a look and I am painting my next batch taking the bits that I like (most everything!).

Please Enjoy :)

Click the pic to go to the article at Eureka

I'm back

Hello everyone, after some time off to deal with life I am back in the swing. Unpacking models, trying to work out where I was up to and painting! Such sweet sorrow, so much lead! I've decided already I need better storage for my models. Its already on the list for the kids to get me! But onto other news, I really want some of the new AB 15mm dismounted French Dragoons, dreams of Iberian skirmishes!

Dismounted French Dragoons and command

I have also decided to start undercoating in white again. I have been using black for years, but I am not really happy with it. A blog post by AB himself on painting was the inspiration. Check it out here.