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Author Topic: Olicana's Peninsular Project: French artillery battery (14:1:18)  (Read 6077 times)

Offline Lowtardog

  • Galactic Brain
  • Posts: 8262
Re: Why do I struggle to do Napoleonic units?
« Reply #15 on: November 29, 2017, 12:55:48 AM »
I feel your pain, I have 10 regiments of ACW union troops done with another 10 to go, my god Blue is boring....so boring ....... ;D

Offline FierceKitty

  • Mastermind
  • Posts: 1718
Re: Why do I struggle to do Napoleonic units?
« Reply #16 on: November 29, 2017, 06:40:01 AM »
I feel your pain, I have 10 regiments of ACW union troops done with another 10 to go, my god Blue is boring....so boring ....... ;D

But they do paint much faster than the rebs, don't they?
The laws of probability do not apply to my dice in wargames or to my finesses in bridge.

Offline sukhe_bator

  • Mastermind
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  • bad hair day
Re: Why do I struggle to do Napoleonic units?
« Reply #17 on: November 29, 2017, 08:33:12 AM »
I'd have to agree with TheBlackCrane that the more unusual campaigns hold the key to my interest in the Napoleonic period. If I recall correctly, for many years the Peninsular War was considered more off the beaten track than the grand Napoleonic slogs between nations. To use a Railway Modelling analogy, concentrating on modelling branch lines rather than mainline railways.
The plethora of skirmish level games and figures have spiced up the period no end, particularly in 25mm, but the logistics of fielding adequate forces to recreate the feel of the period in this scale remain considerable.
In 15mm my interest in unusual Napoleonic sideshows prompted me to research and field the British Expedition to Alexandria in 1807, Various Ottoman forces including European Ottoman, Egyptian Mamluks and Albanians, Greek War of Independence, Wahhabi Arabs, Qajar Persians, and at the cusp of the Napoleonic period Marathas and Sikhs. These arose out of my interest in the fringe conflicts and I also considered the wars of Independence in S America, but I have yet to find a gaming mechanism I like so opted for modular stands along the DB* system, with one base representing a Company to make the forces of manageable sizes.
 
Warriors dreams, summer grasses, all that remains

Offline NurgleHH

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    • Victory Decision Vietnam
Re: Why do I struggle to do Napoleonic units?
« Reply #18 on: November 29, 2017, 09:59:30 AM »
Oh my, just had a rabbit in the headlights moment.

You are a braver man than me by far.
You should say this, when he painted all the blank tin.... ;) lol
Victory Decision Vietnam here: leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=43264.0

Victory Decision Spacelords here: leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=68939.0

My pictures: http://pictures.dirknet.de/

Offline Plutarch64

  • Scientist
  • Posts: 407
Re: Why do I struggle to do Napoleonic units?
« Reply #19 on: November 29, 2017, 11:08:57 AM »
I always find it difficult starting a new project as I know that I am going to have to read around it a fair bit, to gain the confidence to get started and try to pick up any potential vagaries in uniform between the units I have planned.

I then spend hours looking at other people's work to see if I can pick up any patterns while trying to confirm why people have done what they have done, all of which borders upon procrastination until I am brave enough to finally prepare the figures and pick up a brush.

I then spend three times as long as I normally would on the first few figures trying to work out the best colours to use and approach to painting them, all the while wondering if I have missed something or made an incorrect assumption (usually finding out that I have).

While this is somewhat enjoyable in its own way, it feels very uncertain and is like floundering around in the dark for a while.

Once I have the first couple of units done though, I find that I am on a roll to the extent that I become too afraid to leave the project, for fear that I may forget some of the detail such as the colours or workarounds I have used. This means I usually end up having to paint hundreds of the same type of figure, to the point where the novelty has well and truly worn off and I start rushing toward the end.

Once completed, the process starts all over again with either the next part of the army or a completely new project.

It is definitely a struggle at times, but I have come to love the researching and painting part of the hobby as much as the gaming.
« Last Edit: November 29, 2017, 11:12:06 AM by Plutarch64 »

Offline FierceKitty

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Re: Why do I struggle to do Napoleonic units?
« Reply #20 on: November 29, 2017, 11:34:12 AM »
The golden rule is simple: do something every day, however small.

Offline sukhe_bator

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Re: Why do I struggle to do Napoleonic units?
« Reply #21 on: November 29, 2017, 01:08:32 PM »
The golden rule is simple: do something every day, however small.
Amen to that, even if its just gluing or basing

Offline Timmo

  • Bookworm
  • Posts: 62
Re: Why do I struggle to do Napoleonic units?
« Reply #22 on: November 29, 2017, 08:01:46 PM »
A little and often goes a long way.

To be really brutally honest I don't think there is an easy solution, it's a case of just getting on with it and you are, historically speaking, brilliant at that as your collection demonstrates. Perhaps you've decided that it's a tough one and the thought is the thing that is stopping your progress.


Offline fred

  • Galactic Brain
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Re: Why do I struggle to do Napoleonic units?
« Reply #23 on: November 29, 2017, 08:39:27 PM »
I don't have an answer. But I do know the feeling. I have armies that I have bought (not on the scale of this, but probably because mine are 10mm!) that I have then struggled to get anywhere with for years.

Its always easier to do something else, for some reason.

I think the hardest bit is getting started, so take FKs advice and do something (although that something must end with a change in state of the figures). Simply taking the figures out of boxes, counting them, putting them in other bags, and then putting them back in the boxes doesn't count. Not that I do this sort of thing you understand.


Offline Eric the Shed

  • Galactic Brain
  • Posts: 4200
    • The Shed Wars Experience
Re: Why do I struggle to do Napoleonic units?
« Reply #24 on: November 30, 2017, 07:02:55 PM »
The golden rule is simple: do something every day, however small.

Echo

I always imagine what its going to look like when its all painted - that provides me with the inspiration

Paint in blocks of 100 - get some paint on every figure - I always start with the boots and work up. Its amazing how many pairs of boots you can paint in one night

Offline Dr Mathias

  • LPL Champion (S6,S7) Bronze Medalist (S5)
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Re: Why do I struggle to do Napoleonic units?
« Reply #25 on: November 30, 2017, 07:22:26 PM »
Interesting thread. I'm this way with samurai- I've started several projects in different scale, gave up, and sold the stuff off.
I have however, painted samurai for other people...
a mixture of quick parts, sarcastic humour, reserve, and caprice.
Dr. Mathias's Miniature Extravaganza

Offline Jeff965

  • Scatterbrained Genius
  • Posts: 2637
Re: Why do I struggle to do Napoleonic units?
« Reply #26 on: November 30, 2017, 07:54:12 PM »
Despite what everybody else has said above, we know that what some people would consider to be vast amounts of lead has not phased you in the past.
As for Napoleonics being repetitive, I'd say no more than SYW and you've done plenty of them.
So the block must go much deeper, I'd put them away and go back to them when you feel you are up to it even if this is a year away.
I don't paint huge armies anymore as I tend to skirmish more than battle, but I always enjoy painting more when I want to paint and not when I feel I have to paint.
Another option is that you now know we are all aware of your problem and we demand that you paint a unit a week and post the results here, if you don't then somewhere a puppy dies  :o
Now if that doesn't motivate you nothing will lol

Offline duc de limbourg

  • Scientist
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Re: Why do I struggle to do Napoleonic units?
« Reply #27 on: December 01, 2017, 07:33:41 AM »
For myself I came to the conclusion that I cannot paint in big batches, even a battallion of 24 is too big. So I now paint in max 12 infantry figure batches, with a cavalry squadron, artillery piece or vignette between the batches.
As said,, I try to do something each day and then I can see things finished as the batches are small.
Just my humble experience

Offline janner

  • Scatterbrained Genius
  • Posts: 2877
  • Laughing Cavalier
Re: Why do I struggle to do Napoleonic units?
« Reply #28 on: December 01, 2017, 09:50:28 AM »
Agreed, whilst I will base, undercoat the whole unit in one go. I keep to a maximum of four cavalry figures, eight foot, or two artillery crews on the painting tray at a a time.

Then I do something different, such as sic-fi or medievals, before coming back to the next batch. That methodology saw me crack a French Heavy Cavalry Division c.1812 in a year, i.e. 87 cavalry and 4 horse artillery teams with limbers :)

Offline olicana

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Re: Why do I struggle to do Napoleonic units?
« Reply #29 on: December 01, 2017, 03:35:35 PM »
Well, I've done that French unit I mentioned. It's the first Napoleonic French unit I've ever owned - though I've painted quite a few.



It's the 1st Battalion of 36th Ligne (next up, 2nd and 3rd Battalions). I think I know now why I don't particularly like painting these figures - it's not the belts and equipment - which was a possibility but it's not that much more complicated than 7YW stuff which I've painted plenty of - it's the piping. I figured this out because of the easy satisfaction I achieved painting the French in greatcoats.

More pictures here:

http://olicanalad.blogspot.co.uk/2017/12/the-first-french-battalion.html

I hope you like this latest addition. I undercoated the next unit this morning - hopefully I'll get it done this weekend

 

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