Saturday 10 May 2014

Cannon to right of them,

Cannon to left of them,
 
 
I'm afraid there is no 'Paint Table Saturday' for me this week as the run up to the public examinations sees me running some extra classes this morning.  That said, as I wait for the next batch of eager minds to arrive, I thought I would use the time to finally post one of my larger entries in the 'Fourth Annual Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge'

 
I thoroughly enjoyed the variety that the bonus rounds brought to my painting table during the challenge, but this entry is what the painting challenge was all about for me - focus! After a wonderful summer full of dinosaur and zombie distractions, this was an entry that saw me back at the heart of the Victorian era - the Crimean War.
 
 
This small battery of four 6lb Field Guns each with a Russian crew of four are all 28mm from the 'Wargames Foundry' range. I find large batches (this represents a large batch for me!) of similar miniatures difficult to work on, due mostly to my inability to focus on one thing for any length of time, but a relatively recent article in Wargames, Soldiers & Strategy magazine introduced me to the concept of faces and bases! Having mentally prepared myself that I didn't have to lavish as much individual detail on each miniature the whole unit seemed to come together quite quickly.

 
The only down side was when I dug out the Light Brigade for the final photograph, I realised that I no longer liked the cavalry bases they were on; still that can be a job for the summer holidays!

62 comments:

  1. These are great, I also liked the bonus rounds though it did mean I spent less time on the main projects

    Ian

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    1. Thank you Ian and I know exactly what you mean. I ended up with quite a few unpainted miniatures at the end because of my desire to enter the bonus rounds - still it was great fun!

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  2. Nice work they look great mate. Fire!!!!!!!!!

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    1. Thank you Simon and I couldn't resist shouting the same order when I was setting up the last pictures!

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  3. I did not like the bonus rounds I found them a distraction. That said it was my first painting challenge so I did not have much of a clue what I was doing! I do remember these fine cannon though and liked them. My opinion has not changed !

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    1. Thank you Clint and I agree they were a distraction, but the sort of distraction I love! I think the lure of fifty easy points enticed people in, but then they took on a life of their own with some truly stunning entries.

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  4. Hola Amigo
    Se ven muy bien esas piezas de artillería,me gustan
    UN SALUDO

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    1. Thank you J.D. I was really pleased with them as I so rarely finish anything on this scale!

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  5. I must say that each time I look at your minis I am mightily impressed by the colours you use. They look so ... alive (for want of a better word) ... and vibrant. :)

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    1. That is incredibly kind of you, thank you so much. I use a black undercoat and sometimes get frustrated that the paint doesn't cover so well, this in turn leads me to sometimes build up layers more thickly and perhaps that saturation of colour is helping them to stand out more?

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  6. Once again, you've done an excellent work! These gunners are stunning, beautiful colors and great details. In addition, pictures are stunning, love the last one especially...
    Greetings,
    Phil.

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    1. Thank you so much Phil, I have to confess that I was constantly thinking about the last photograph as I was painting the models - it became the incentive I needed to finish the battery.

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  7. I enjoyed the bonus rounds, but agree with Clint and Ian that they were a distraction. That being said, a couple of them enabled me to get a couple of useful and necessary projects done. Oh, and a good mickey take out of a certain badger for the "Villain" round.

    That artillery battery was wonderful Michael :)

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    1. They certainly provided me with some much needed tally points and of course the inspiration to produce the 'Whitechapel' piece and I have absolutely no doubt that if we do something similar next year, I will definitely be racking my brain for something else to enter.

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  8. Amazing stuff once again Michael. I must have missed these first time around. Doh!

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    1. Thank you Bob and I glad you've caught them now. ;)

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  9. You've done a great job with these. I'm impressed with the eyes.

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    1. Thank you, I tried really hard on them, but there are still couple of 'bug eyed' artillerymen out there!

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  10. very good job as usual!
    i like the title too, taken from "the charge of the light brigade".
    well done.
    bye

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    1. Well spotted Luca, it seemed an appropriate choice and thank you.

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  11. Very good work as always .
    Cheers

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    1. That is very kind of you to say so Vincent, thank you.

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  12. Very, very nice Russian batteries!

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  13. They look very splendid indeed, Michael! The colours have really drawn the battery together and they look perfect arrayed like that. Jolly tough luck on the Saturday classes, but good luck to all the guys on the examinations!

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    1. Thank you so much my good man, I was delighted with the final unit as it is so rare that I ever finish anything! As for this morning, it was a good session and ultimately worth it as the pupils were grateful for the extra time.

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  14. Very imposing battery, Michael.

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  15. Those are some lovely looking artillery pieces!

    Christopher

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    1. That is really kind of you Christopher, thank you.

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  16. Ohhhhh! Ahhhhhhh! What was going to say again?...

    VERY nicely done sir! :-)

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  17. Lovely work. Nice use of 'smoke' to hide the disliked cavalry bases :).

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    1. Well spotted Mark, they will definitely have to go!

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  18. Loved these... So much so, they were one of my choices for competitors choice!

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    1. That is so very kind of you to say so, thank you.

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  19. Splendid work on these stands Michael!

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  20. Which edition of WSS mag was that mate? Sounds interesting.

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    1. The article that caught my attention was by Paul Cubbin in issue 60 where he focus on basing details. It is actually the editor at the end who refers to "faces, bases and flags", but it certainly gave me a few ideas.

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  21. Very nice modeled sculpts. But an even greater paint job Michael!

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  22. Your painting and mini dioramas are exceptional Michael...excellent work

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    1. That is incredibly kind of you Captain, but a lot of inspiration comes from your good self.

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  23. Wonderful stuff there and they are wonderfully painted and based. Top Draw Michael

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    1. Thank you so much Pete, I was particularly pleased with them myself.

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  24. A rather fine addition to the collection. Well done.

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    1. Thank you Dave, they certainly helped to eat away at the negative tally points I've accumulated so far this year!

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  25. Great action shot at the end and a great looking battery!

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    1. Thank you Brian, really had fun setting it up too.

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  26. What size bases do you use Michael ?

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    1. Hi Nigel they are Renedra Plastics 100mm x 50mm although I've now started the same thing in MDF from Warbases.

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    2. I was torn between 70mm and 80mm deep but your depth is making me inclined towards the latter

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  27. You certainly produced some stunning entries for the bonus rounds, but it didn't seem to slow you down too much!

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  28. Very nice work Michael. Can hear the boom from here!

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  29. Excellent work, Michael !

    Cheers
    Stefan

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  30. Very nice paintwork indeed!!!

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  31. Wow that is some wonderfull painted artillery!

    Greetings
    Peter

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