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Author Topic: Just not feeling my paint scheme  (Read 3911 times)

Offline Red Orc

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Just not feeling my paint scheme
« on: April 21, 2018, 08:42:59 PM »
...but this isn't a workbench thread. It's very definitely VSF.

Brigade Games 'Steampunk: British Empire Troopers in Rebreathing Apparatus'. And their officer.

http://brigadegames.3dcartstores.com/Steampunk-British-Empire-Troopers-in-Rebreathing-Apparatus-5_p_3355.html

You know the minis. I think they're cool, I've had them a while but didn't get round to painting them, I've been talking about using them for my 'Aetherines' project for so long, and before that I was going to build my own Aetherines... I first mooted this project probably 8 years ago.

But now I'm actually painting them I'm just thinking 'meh'.

The current scheme is khaki pith-helmet, blue jackets and trousers, khaki puttees, white webbing and brown boots and facemasks, with some brass detailing on the rebreathers. The idea is the Aetherines are a crack-force of aeronef-troopers. Like Marines of the Aether, obviously. That's why the blue jackets - the Royal Aeronef Corps wears blue, I decided way back in the mists of when. But I think the problem is that for the life of me I can't see them as British troops.

The first thing I think I need to do is turn the helmets white. They have a cloth band around them (a puggaree?) which I think should stay khaki, but I think the helmets are going to go white (or maybe, the helmets should stay khaki and the pugarree should be white?). And then I think I'm going to have to paint all of their jackets red. At the moment I think I'm reading them as French or Belgian or something.

Anyone remember the Games Workshop figure-painter things they used to have on their website, where you could try out different colour-schemes on an outline of a Space Marine or Eldar warrior? It would be really handy to have a couple of those to do test paint schemes on (or even one given that 90% of VSF figs are basically Pith-helmet/home service helmet/Pickelhaube, jacket, trousers, puttees and boots).

I dunno. I'm in a funk. The minis I thought were going to look cool painted as Aetherines don't look as cool as I expected. Partly it might be my bad painting, because I can make a silk purse look like a sow's ear, and partly it might be over-anticipation. But partly I think it's because it's now so ingrained to read red coats as being British.

So that's what I'm going to do. So long Aetherines of the Royal Aeronef Corps, hello troops of the Royal Martian Infantry. Or maybe even the Second Battalion of the Royal North Surrey Regiment, in their Martian gear. Redcoats for the win!

(Maybe there will even be photos at some point, if I can remember how to work photobucket.)

Offline Plynkes

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Re: Just not feeling my paint scheme
« Reply #1 on: April 21, 2018, 08:48:12 PM »
I don't believe the RMLI wore blue until the late 1870s or 1880s. Red was the traditional colour of the Marines, so no reason why they can't still be Marines if you want them to be. You are in an alternative history, after all.

I feel your pain. Sometimes though, all it takes is a break. Go away and come back again and sometimes everything falls into place, even on figures you'd almost given up on. We all have bad days, months, years... But they don't last forever.

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Upon our prey we steal...

Offline Red Orc

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Re: Just not feeling my paint scheme
« Reply #2 on: April 21, 2018, 09:04:11 PM »
Thanks Plynkes - good point about the date of adoption of the blue Marine uniforms.

The problem really isn't that I need a break, this week is the first time I've picked up a paintbrush in about 2 years! But having done the basic paintjob on Tuesday, I'm distinctly underwhelmed. Not with the figures themselves, they're great, but with the look of them.

I think I just got it wrong. What looked cool in my head didn't look as cool when I'd painted it. There are undoubtedly several reasons for this (I can't paint as well as I can imagine, for starters) but I'm going to give it a go with the different scheme and see if I like it better.

I've been perusing threads and mini-companies for inspiration and I've found some great-looking minis and schemes (Artizan do some Martian Infantry that I somehow missed, and their Colonel is painted in 'trad' red-and-blue and he looks fab). And in the end, I decided that red jackets will probably just look better!

Offline Cubs

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Re: Just not feeling my paint scheme
« Reply #3 on: April 21, 2018, 09:21:52 PM »
How about this handsome chap, with navy blue puggaree and tunic, khaki helmet and white breeches?


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Offline vodkafan

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Re: Just not feeling my paint scheme
« Reply #4 on: April 21, 2018, 09:23:32 PM »
I was beaten to it by Cubs but I was going to suggest the white helmet and blur puggaree also, honest...
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Offline Plynkes

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Re: Just not feeling my paint scheme
« Reply #5 on: April 21, 2018, 09:33:51 PM »
Not that it matters, but that ain't no Marine, that's a Jack Tar!  :)


It's a damn good look, any road.




Offline Red Orc

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Re: Just not feeling my paint scheme
« Reply #6 on: April 22, 2018, 05:19:47 PM »
That's a most excellent pic there Cubs, Plynkes is right it's a damn fine look. But yes, Navy rather than Marines.

However, I was so excited by the test-scheme I've painted them all as redcoats!

The pic isn't very good but hopefully this will work OK... (damned photobucket)

No, can't get it to work. Bugger!

Offline Thunderchicken

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Re: Just not feeling my paint scheme
« Reply #7 on: April 22, 2018, 06:13:05 PM »

No, can't get it to work. Bugger!

Well that's a bit of a tease!  lol
Don't!

Offline Thargor

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Re: Just not feeling my paint scheme
« Reply #8 on: April 22, 2018, 06:42:18 PM »
Anything like my Dystopian Legions Britannians?



Although my Artillery Gunners are done with blue jackets...


Offline Red Orc

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Re: Just not feeling my paint scheme
« Reply #9 on: April 22, 2018, 08:04:15 PM »
A bit like that!

But yours are better painted - they look lovely! :D

I'm going to be getting some artillery next I think - Ironclad's Electric Cannon (can't remember what it's actually called, Galvanic Cannon maybe). I've been drooling over it for ages but it was my birthday recently and I've got a bit of money for toys!

However, if my experience with the Aetherines is anything to go by, I will be giving them shockingly a-historical red coats. Don't tell the chaps on the Colonial board, they will never speak to me again.

For some reason photobucket is refusing to give me image tags properly.

Anyone know how photobucket is supposed to work now?



Offline Plynkes

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Re: Just not feeling my paint scheme
« Reply #10 on: April 22, 2018, 08:10:56 PM »
Don't tell the chaps on the Colonial board, they will never speak to me again.

I think it's a bit late for that, but they'll not hear it from me.  ;)



For some reason photobucket is refusing to give me image tags properly.

Anyone know how photobucket is supposed to work now?


I take it you've been on the Moon for a few months? A while back Photobucket had some kind of nervous breakdown (well, they realised that they weren't making any money), and declared that if you want to use their services to host your picture on another site you have to get a paying account. The internet collectively shit its pants and kazillions of websites were instantly ruined. LAF itself was quite badly affected, you'll find many old threads no longer have pictures. There was quite a long thread on it somewhere around here. Most people have decided to seek new methods of displaying their pictures, rather than pay Photobucket's "Ransom."


Offline Red Orc

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Re: Just not feeling my paint scheme
« Reply #11 on: April 22, 2018, 08:23:42 PM »
I knew they'd changed some things. I've been going back and repairing threads where I can (using the '~original' hack that seems to work about 80% of the time). I didn't realise that they no longer generated image tags at all - I thought it was just extra faff to get them.

But, yeah, I've been really busy with what is laughingly called 'real life' and have only come back to play silly buggers very recently.

OK - as an alternative - I'll put a shot up on my blog and see what happens there instead.

Give me a few minutes...

Offline Plynkes

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Re: Just not feeling my paint scheme
« Reply #12 on: April 22, 2018, 08:44:56 PM »
I can't say I'm familiar with the details of how Photobucket is supposed to work nowadays. I gave up on them a long time before the recent troubles, simply because their site was so slow and wonky and ad-filled, and it had become a right pain in the arse to use.


Offline Red Orc

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Re: Just not feeling my paint scheme
« Reply #13 on: April 22, 2018, 08:50:57 PM »
I only use it for posting photos to LAF... now I can't do that I have no use for it all.

So, a link to my blog instead: https://redorcsblog.blogspot.co.uk/2018/04/because-photobucket-is-shite.html where I've posted the only known photo of the Aetherines in red jackets/Royal North Surreys in 1st Martian War gear/Queen's Own Martian Infantry/whoever I decide they are tomorrow.
« Last Edit: April 22, 2018, 08:53:01 PM by Red Orc »

Offline Thargor

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Re: Just not feeling my paint scheme
« Reply #14 on: April 25, 2018, 07:29:30 PM »
They're looking good in those red coats.