December/January - Quick update

Howdy all,

It seems a lot of people got new minis for xmas (yay!), and I have been receiving a lot of interest and enquires lately. This post is to save emailing everybody the same info.

My schedule is fairly epic at the moment with a lot of commissions booked in. I am happy to take more, but I cant offer anything past a late January/early Feb start.

My best advice is if you are happy with a slot further down the line, please let me know and I will reserve a space for you. If you later change your mind - that the delay is a little too long for you to wait - if you could please let me know.

There is no obligation, and I wont take offence if you cancel, it is just easier for me to then offer a place to someone else.

thanks folks, and have a great New Year!

Chris

Painting Tutorial - 10mm Napoleonic Russia Jager

 

Following on from my previous post, 'Russian Line Infantry' I present their light infantry support - the Jagers.

 

Again these are 10mm scale, manufactured by the 'Magnificent Little Soldier Co.'

 

 

Step One - Undercoat

 

A decent coat of regular 'Black' is applied to the miniatures.

 



Step Two - Uniform and Blankets

Pick out the main areas first - the arms, the legs. Try to keep the areas solid and let the black contrast with the main colour. This adds a level of depth to the model that is far easier to achieve when working with this scale than to attempt any shade/highlighting with the uniform green.

Step 3 - Skin and Rifles

Here we use a mix of 'blob' for the face and hands, and 'contrast' for the rifle. Leave a little black between the actual hands and the rifle.

Step Four - Silver and Red

The rifle barrels and bayonets are painted with a metallic silver. The trousers receive the 'red stripe' down the side of each leg. When painting lines at this scale it is easier to dip your brush in the paint then wipe a little off the brush. If you try and paint straight from dipping you often make the mistake of getting a 'blob' rather than a line where the brush connects with the model.

Any questions, comments, suggestions gratefully received!

Commissions been taken for December/January. Email - Project_Vehemence@yahoo.co.uk

thanks
Chris

Painting Tutorial - 10mm Napoleonic Russian

Howdy folks,

Currently on my workbench is a rather considerable sum of 10mm Napoleonic miniatures from the 'Magnificent Little Soldier Co.', a mix of Russians and Prussians, Infantry, Cavalry, and skirmishers.

As I work my way through this lovely pile of minis I thought I would share with you the progress and a few tips on how I tend to paint 10mm miniatures.

Paints used  - Vallejo, in the following colours,

Black, undercoat
Flat Green, for Russian uniforms,
Flesh,
Charred Brown, for blankets,
Beasty Brown, for muskets,
Blood Red, for collar/cuffs/turns
Burnt Red, for musket straps
Silver, for the bayonets
White, for trousers and trim


Step 1 - Undercoat

Fairly straight forward. You can often flood an area with too much paint if you are not careful when working with such small scales. Use a size 6 brush and work fast, that way any excess paint gets spread before it dries.

 

 

Step 2 - Uniform

 



Don't worry too much about slipping onto other areas when you paint the green uniform. You can always go over these later as required. Work with a lot of models on a strip (the photo only shows two sections, I normally work with around 12), and paint all 'right arms' on all strips, like a production line. This helps ensure you don't miss any areas.

Step 3 - Red Cuffs and Flesh

When working with such small scales, try not to 'paint' detail, but rather 'dab' on the detail. A good example of this is the hands (lower picture), these are dabs of paint on the area the hand is. Use the tip of your brush, with fresh paint for every couple of dabs.

 

 

 

Step 4 - Trousers and Trim

The key point to mention here, and which stands good for most small scales - 10/6mm - is 'contrast'. Don't try to shade the trousers by painting grey first, then white, but simply go straight for the white on black. This helps the area stand out better.

With the trim, try to run your brush over the raised area rather than paint the exact line. Unless your eye site is amazing it is far easy to let the paint 'catch' the line that try to paint along it.

 

 

 



A sneaky peek of the Command groups for these regiments!

 

 

Thanks for reading!

 

Chris

 

 

 

The models featured are part of a current commission. Unfortunately at time of writing I am fully booked for the next few weeks, so cant offer any slots until early/mid December, but if you would like work done, please contact me by email at Project_Vehemence@yahoo.co.uk

 

 

A strip of 5x 10mm models, painted to this standard is currently priced at £1.25

PATREON - A new way to order painting commissions!

Over the years I have undertaken a lot of commissions and had a lot more enquiries that never turned into finished commissions. One of the main reasons for these enquiries not leading to beautifully painted models was the investment, or the outlay needed - the often large chunk of money to pay on completion.

I have tried to help ease this burden where I could by allowing people to pay in 'halves' -  half up front, rest on completion of the work, and while the feedback for this is usually great, it is still a hefty investment.

The other side of the coin is keeping Marching In Colour afloat. Not getting paid until the order is complete means I often have to wait several weeks before I see any return for the time it takes me to paint.

Unfortunately the regular bills of life - rent, utilities, internet, often require monthly payment.


I think I may have found a nice compromise for all parties involved..

Folks, I present my 'Patreon' page!!

https://www.patreon.com/user?u=2428263&ty=h


Patreon is a kind of 'crowd funding' site, except you can pledge a certain amount of money 'per month' to the artist you are supporting.

I have set up Patreon page to offer each and every single pledge the equal amount of Painting Credit.

This (hopefully) will be a great way for people to pay for commissions while spreading the cost over a number of months rather than having to pay a single large bill.


Please note - this does not effect my regular pricing methods. This is entirely optional and intended to help those who may want to spread the cost of painting.


How it works -

When you make a pledge, Patreon will charge you once per month. This is taken directly from your payment method, and given to me here at Marching In Colour.
I keep a running total of the amount paid, which you can cash-in at any time (subject to the usual waiting period for commissions).

For instance, if you pledge £5 per month, you will be charged £5 per month, which is paid directly to Marching In Colour.
After 4 months you may decide you want some models painted. Four months at £5 has earned you £20 in painting!

You don't have worry about a large bill, and I can worry less about keeping the ship afloat.

If this method interests you, please check out the page. There is also a couple of other little bonuses you might like, but you will have to visit the page to find them out.

https://www.patreon.com/user?u=2428263&ty=h

October Update

Howdy folks,

Its been a tough few months - computer problems, hospital visits, one marriage (my sister's), and sadly one friend who unfortunately passed. Cancer being a terrible thing.

With regards to Marching in Colour's painting service, though the website here has been very quiet the painting has not. I have managed to complete several commissions, all for regular clients - I am still active and painting!

Which brings me to the good news... lots of plans for the future - back to regular updates on this blog, revamp of the selling page, an over hall of the painting service with new ideas and fresh payment methods, and an idea to share my experience through 'Painting Tutorials' and starter kits.

Plenty of stuff in the works, so please be sure to check back often.

Till then, here's a couple of pics of recent work. Enjoy.

thanks
Chris

Nice lot of 10mm Greek Phalanx

ECW Parliament Cavalry, 28mm

PC Problems

Hi folks,

Very brief post. I am having issues with my PC. I think it needs repairs asap. I have photos to go out to certain people but its looking like I might lose these.  Will access from public library pc and post more details as and when I can.

If you don't hear from me - please don't panic. Still painting.

thanks
Chris

Warmaster Ancients Campaign - Battle Report 1: Greeks vs Rome!

The build-up:

The Greek General issues a Conquest order to his first army, the target - Rome!
Roman Response - immediate mobilization of the first Legion, and a counter Conquest order (*) against the Greeks.

Battle is met on barren ground (**), somewhere inland of the Adriatic.
The field has one small hill (10VPs), one small patch of woods (10VPs) and a large patch of broken ground.

(*) - Why counter Conquest order? In order to move an army, a Conquest or Campaign order (and a target) must be given. A Conquest order is a challenge to battle. An army can only move once per period, so to show the Roman army has having moved, it is given a Conquest order.

(**) - When battles are fought and the hex type is not known, a random roll is made. Each type has a different chart for terrain. In this case the hex type was 'Wastes', so very little terrain would feature for this battle. In addition any terrain that was randomly generated would not be worth much in terms of Victory points. There is not much worth in a patch of rocks in a relatively barren landscape.




The two armies meet across a largely barren wasteland. The only features of note are a small section of woodland and a small hill, each barely worth anything in VPs.

View from the Roman side.

The Greek view of the field.

The Greeks take to the battle in an extended order unsure as to where the Romans would deploy, given a large piece of dense terrain almost Roman centre.
A large cavalry contingent form the Greek middle.

The Romans choose to deploy completely on the left flank. The Legions take centre, with cavalry on the far wing and skirmishers centre.

The initial turns of the battle see very little action. Each commander unable to spur their force into taking the initiative. Eventually a battalion of Hoplites with Peltast support edge forward.

The Roman Light Cavalry move quickly to engage the unsupported Greek battalion. A hail of javelins and arrows forces the Peltasts to flee which in turn causes disruption to the Hoplites behind them.
Roman Heavy Cavalry and the Triari begin their flank push.

With the battle now underway, the Greek General orders his line forward. The Roman Light Cavalry sensing the danger withdraw.
The Roman Legions deploy into line while a unit of Roman Heavy Cavalry, seeing a full battalion of Greek Hoplites move out of position due to a misunderstood order, thunders down the left flank to attack!

The Roman Heavy Cavalry hits into the Hoplites flank. The fighting is fierce but despite the superior numbers of the Greeks, the positioning makes it difficult for the Hoplites to bring their full weight to the combat.

The Greek advance takes it to the middle of the table while the Romans try to reform from the effects of shooting and fall-back orders.
One block of cavalry moves a little ahead of the infantry. The Romans see an opportunity to bring an end to the battle...

Soon after this photo, the 3 units of Roman Light Cavalry charged the front and flank of the Greek Cavalry and won the combat that followed. Rather than risking further loses, the Greeks withdrew.
Roman Victory!

Warmaster Ancients 5-Player Campaign!

Howdy folks,

My little gaming group has decided to play a rather large campaign game, and I thought it would be nice to cover it here on my blog and share it with the gaming community worldwide.

The setting - rough 'Ancients' period
The players - Rome Republic, Greek, Carthage, Celtiberian, Seleucid
The rules - for table-top battles: Warmaster Ancients, for the campaign: based on basic campaign in Ancient Armies expansion
The map - from the old board game 'Imperial Governor'


The map at the start of the Campaign -

Each player begins with a Home Region (darkest hex), and 10 supporting regions.

The supporting regions provide the players with a choice of either Gold or Troops. Each region (and new regions as they are added), are rolled from a random chart and include areas like Rivers, Cities, Hills, Mountains, Pastures, Wastes, Deserts and so on. The different type of regions provide a different level of Gold income, or a different troop type.

Towns for instance can produce either 70 gold, or 2x cheapest Infantry from the players lists.
While Forests can produce either 40 gold, or a unit of Archers.

Each player also begins the game with 3x 1000point armies chosen from their respective Warmaster Ancient lists. They can then add to these lists any troops they generate from their controlled regions, so armies are never the predictable set 1000pts, and opponents are never completely sure of what they will be facing in battle.

Gold is used to raise new armies and pay for existing troops.

Players have two weeks to issue orders to their armies, with one extra week reserved to handle any outstanding games. No orders can be made in the third week to avoid last minute abuse. Players are also granted a 'Defender' bonus if they get their armies into position and have no response from their opponent within 7 days. The system is designed to encourage early orders and a quick response to keep the action flowing.

Orders take two forms - a 'Conquest' order, which is a direct challenge to a specific player and involves one players army marching out to capture land between the two players, or, a 'Campaign' order which involves a players army marching into enemy controlled lands and causing havoc.
Table top battles are played when armies meet in response to an order.

Conquest orders gain the winner a new region to add to their existing area.
Campaign orders steal gold from an area and half from surrounding areas.

Gold goes firstly to the Armies baggage area (the baggage also used to restore points of troops after each battle), which is a table top feature like a terrain piece, fully capturable and fully lootable!
This makes Campaigning armies very rich if they can make it home.


Once we are a few months into the game and have ironed out all the creases, flaws, and mistakes, if there is any interest in the rules we are using I will gladly upload them here as pdf for others to try.

Battle reports to follow soon as games are played!

thanks
Chris 

There is light!

Apologies for the lack of ANYTHING on this site these days!

Having fallen well behind in the old schedule its been a tough couple of months, with by far the majority of time spent painting. Finally though, some half-good news...

First of the back-log of orders has gone out, second lot due to very soon!

I am still very much behind schedule, but the mountain of lead is getting smaller.

I would like to say a huge thank-you to the good folks who are still waiting. You are all great with your understanding. In all my years of on/off painting I have never fallen behind to such an extent and I find it frustrating and a little embarrassing. Thanks for keeping the faith.

Here's a small selection of recent work, enjoy!

Chris

28mm Perry Miniatures, British Intervention Force

 

15mm Napoleonic British Line Infantry

 

1/72 Railway Models