It's been a busy week at the Mad Padre's painting chapel on the edge of the somewhat still frozen Canadian prairie. A week's leave saw me doing more 1to1 scale terrain work: putting in a new kitchen sink (miraculously no geysers or indoor fountains) and, with Madame Padre, deciding on new carpet. To save money, I decided to rip out the old carpet and underlay myself. A flight of stairs alone took two days. I spent more time with these tools than I did with my paints and brushes.
Miraculously, despite several slips with the carpet knife, a murderous instrument reminiscent of a Turkish disembowelling cutlas, I didn't manage to drive the hook through my cheek or eyeball. Then there were numerous trips to flooring stores, where Madame Padre, a meditative sort, agonized over the right shade of carpet, while I looked at the sample squares and wondered which ones would be the best hue for crop fields for my 6mm Napoleonics.
As a bit of a Sabbath rest, I returned to my painting bench and resumed work on my Russian SYW hussars. Here Privates Boris and Karloff model their uniform, and their newly finished saddlecloths, which look rather sharp if I do say so myself.
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I am actually starting to feel that the end might be in sight with these guys. Remaining on the riders: light grey for the wigs, flesh highlights for the faces, moustaches, eyes and eyebrows, brass for the sword scabbard and handle, metal for the sword and spurs, a wash of Army Painter light and then yellow highlights. The horses need a lot of work, but if I can blast through the harness and tack, then it's a wash and highlights. The only problem is that I've dragged so long with this project I can't recall what colours I used for some of the blasted beasties. Anyone else ever have that problem with long running projects, of forgetting yourinitial palette choices?
God willing, it will be a quiet week at work and then time over the Easter Weekend to get this project finished so I can begin my April is Resurrected Armies month. May God prosper your brushes and die rolls!
I think we are on the same page for carpet gazing Mike. Keep yur chin up.
ReplyDeleteThanks chaps:
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to hear I'm not the only one. One tries to be a good supportive spouse. Madame Padre took me to four different flooring stores, with several repeat steps, to collect different patterns and examine them under different qualities of light (morning and evening sun). I did my duty and offered judicious opinions (She: What do you think of this one? He: Ummm, I like it? She: Well, I don't, it's all wrong for the woodwork.) All rather odd since we may only live in our newly carpetted house for a few more months. But then again, I put crazy amounts of time into choosing figures and deciding how to paint them, and she doesn't complain (much).
I look forward to seeing them finished! I am afraid I have also made the mistake of forgetting my first colours, but since I don't have many paints I usually manage to avoid that. But this of course is a double edged sword and means whenever I make mix (which, having only a few paints I often have to do), I come back to it again later and realise I can't remember how much what I had and can't manage to get the same colour again, aaarrrgh!
ReplyDeleteBut as I said I look forward to seeing the finished articles.
Cheers!
Nice stuff Mike! too bad you have so much to do on the house but the good thing is no more suffield! :)
ReplyDeleteCarpet pulling...that is brutal business. At least its behind you! And your Hussars are looking quite wonderful and you're not at the finish line.
ReplyDelete