Monday, July 12, 2021

More Perry Brothers Victorian Canadian Militia

Recently I finished five more bases of Canadian militia from the Perry Brothers Intervention range for my Alt-ACW project.   They are based in the usual groups of four, and the two NCOs are based singly for skirmish games like Sharpe Practice.

These fellows represent some experiments with painting.   For their red tunics, two are done in simple Army Painter Red with no wash; two are done in GW Contrast paint, and the rest are done using the tri-tone Foundry paint system.  I had recently ordered the Foundry ACW paint set as an experiment, and since it includes red (presumably for Zouaves) as well as blue, browns and metals for muskets and black for equipment, I thought I would try them out with these lads.

Asking around on wargames Twitter (pretty much the only part of Twitter that I enjoy these days),  learned that the preferred wisdom was to apply the Foundry paints to a black undercoat.  Unfortunately, my rubbish eyesight has troubles picking fine details out of the black, whereas if I prime the figures with  with Citadel white bone spray (or whatever they call it) and then give it a bit of a go with a darker Citadel wash (flesh or brown, whatever’s handy), then I can see the details and the white undercoat is muted and is easier to cover.   The finished result is pleasing enough to me.  I'

l’ll still use black primer for smaller figures (15mm and 6mm) but for 28mm I think this works best for me.

These militia figures with their tall shakos are quite attractive, and since I have no plans to do Napoleonics in 28mm, they are probably the closest I’ll ever get to painting Naps in the big scale.

I’m quite pleased by the final result.   I have a militia colour party as well as another British gun and crew and some senior officers, so we should soon see some alt-ACW gaming on the table.

Thanks for looking.  Cheers and blessings to your brushes!

MP+

21 comments:

  1. Whatever painting method you are using, the figures look terrific. I am a black undercoater, myself...

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    1. Thanks friend, pleased that you like them. I do like black for certain projects, and have even used Field Grey Army Painter spray primer for 15mm WW2 Germans, but these guys needed to be bright and I’m not convinced that black undercoat doesn’t mute the final effect.

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  2. Jonathan has the right of it. Regardless of your methods, the finished results are fab mate.

    Looking forward to these alt-ACW writeups!

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    1. Thanks mate. Write ups coming soon as I get the rest of these lads done!

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  3. They look superb and I use black undercoat for all of my 10mm models. I too intend to game some alt-ACW, but when that might be remains to be seen!

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    1. Thank you Steve.
      So many options for alt-ACW:
      RN tries to break the blockade (pure blue water naval gaming)
      Britain lands a substantial force in the South to fight alongside the CS
      Sieges - Halifax, Boston, New Orleans
      US invades Upper Canada (my preferred option)
      Tons of skirmish stuff
      Europeans take sides after Britain intervenes

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  4. They look great Mike! Bring on the Fenians. I prefer white as I paint in a wash technique that’s shows up as highlights and shadows over the white. I have used black on occasion and still will in some circumstances.

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  5. Splendid looking Canadian militia, however you do it!
    Best Iain

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  6. Whatever the method the results look great!

    I dabbled with black primer but didn't like the effect and I confess that while I have seen some superbly painted figures, in person and in photos, I've seen few that I liked. I think I'm old enough now not to be embarrassed by being a bit of a fossil and after trying many styles have fallen back on techniques I learned in the early '70s, painting 54mm display figures before I became a wargamer. Old fashioned white or light grey/tan undercoat, block colours and some highlighting and shading to finish.

    Basically what pleases and suits the painter is the right method.

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    1. Thank Ross. We paint for ourselves, don’t we? I have learned to love the old school approach thanks to you, Conrad Kinch, MS Foy and others.

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  7. These look splendid! Excellent work.

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  8. Great work! A most "Warlike appearance"!

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    1. Thank you Pastor, warlike perhaps but will they stand against US veterans?

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  9. Turned out well. If you ever get a chance, you should come out and see the citadel - built to ward off the pesky yanks, finished in 1850s, and likely would have seen action in your what if.

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    1. Thanks mate. Sorry, which Citadel - Halifax? Quebec? Where do you live?

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  10. Truly inspiring stuff - I really need to bump my 10mm version up the queue a little!

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