Friday 15 October 2010

Painted Black

For some time I’ve had in my possession four Brunswick Hussars (BRN/17) but as I need six figures to make up a squadron they’ve been waiting patiently for reinforcements. Now as you can see I’ve finally managed to recruit the two missing troopers. This squadron has been assembled from the four corners of the earth (well the US, UK and Australia to be exact) and they’re just awaiting a bleach bath to remove the old paintwork before I repaint them.

I have a certain affection for these “Death’s Head Hussars” which I’m sure is shared by many other Napoleonic wargamers. Apparently Lady de Lancey compared the Corps to “an immense moving hearse” when she saw them on the march during the Waterloo campaign. The Hussars fought under the Duke of Brunswick at Quatre Bras where they gave a good account of themselves.

The other reason I like them of course is the ease of painting or at any rate the theoretical ease of painting – after all I could just splash them all over in black as the previous owners have done. However I think I should put a little bit more effort in so intend to use a dark grey for the uniform and then black on the straps for some contrast. Anyway, surely even I can paint these up relatively fast although of course I have to finish those French grenadiers first.

7 comments:

WSTKS-FM Worldwide said...

Very eager to see how you approach (re-)painting these. While I have a bunch of 15mm MiniFig Brunswickers in the unpainted leadpile (for 20+ years), I've always avoided painting them because rendering black uniforms effectively has always proved elusive.

Best Regards,

Stokes

Stryker said...

Hi Stokes - yes, I'm quite eager myself but I don't seem to have a dark enough shade of grey so may have to mix my own which is something I don't really like doing. My thinking is that I will probably have to go lighter than is realistic in order to provide some contrast when viewed from 3 feet away!

Steve-the-Wargamer said...

I think if I was to ever to re-enter the Napoleonic wars as a wargaming project the Brunswickers would be my choice for a small contained force... all that black is just so effective. Looking forward to the finished product...

For a a very dark grey can I recommend Vallejo Gris Negro (Model Color no 862)?? I use it as a highlight for black when I'm trying to represent a shine..

Stryker said...

Thanks for that Steve - I'll check out the vallejo shade...

Rafael Pardo said...

Hi Stryker
Black uniforms are a nightmare for me. I always finish by using several shades of grey to simulate a campaining look!
Regards
Rafa

Lee said...

Amazing to think that those 6 figures have been collected from far and wide. Look forward to seeing them painted. I recall one of the very first wargames I went to watch whilst at school featured one side consisting of Airfix figures painted totally gloss black, save for pink faces and hands! I was told they were Brunswick troops :-) I'm sure yours will turn out great.

Cheers,

Lee.

Stryker said...

Hi Lee - now there's an idea...