As you can imagine, this is pretty straight forward and not highly intensive. Unlike other types of wargaming or figure painting there's no thought of shading or highlighting or other special effects. It's just nice blocks of flat colour, which delights the graphic designer in me!
But, even before that, there's the priming (grey for the Confederate and white for the Napoleonic) and then onto the sketching of the features...
I'm still using my normal modelling acrylics, but I'm looking at other more cost effective alternatives. Next model I do I may try furniture paint, which comes in bigger pots. But anyway, in the meantime, it's on with the small pots...
As you can see, there's a great chance to compare the 'arms versus no arms' technique for making these mini-figures. I still haven't made my mind up yet, but - obviously - the 'arms' do make a greater amount of poses viable. The 'no-arms' technique limits you a little to what you can realistically (or rather 'believably') represent without the gun just magically hanging on the body without being visibly supported by something...I'm a bit 'OCD' like that. Still, 'no-arms' is a simpler and quicker and if you have to make a 'regiment' of these figures that might be the better solution.
Back to painting...I was a bit disappointed wth the the-nibbed black Sharpie I bought, it still had trouble drawing cleanly on top of acrylic paint. I ended up outlining with a paintbrush, so back to wobbly lines again.
The Sharpie Metallic pens worked great, though, for buttons. I don't know if it's a different type of ink, but they don't seem to have any problem with the acrylic paint at all.
So...Looking at the finished figures, which do I prefer?
Well, as much as I think 'Johnny Reb' is a more dynamic and believable pose - and as much as I cringe at my wobbly line drawing - I think I like the simplicity of my little Frenchman.
This all seaways quite nicely into the next of my peg projects - the Christmas Nutcracker soldier - as the French soldier has a lot more of the techniques that I will use on my next peg figure.
One last thing, I am pleased with how the feet turned out BUT I will have t remember to mount the peg a little further back on the circular base so that the figure looks central. And of the two, I like the way I did the Frenchman's shoes better.
I really like these little guys.
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