HaT Bavarian Infantry

[Captain Jozef]

Hello all! I only got into painting 1/72 scale soldiers in the past year, so I’m still very new to this hobby and an amateur at painting. However, I’ve been working on improving my performance, and these figures below are some of my better models. Feel free to criticize and give your opinion. Any tips would also be very much appreciated!

[mickey mouse]

Hello Capt. Jozef, and welcome to this forum.

They look a bit "toy-ish" to me, so here is a good tip.
First, peak around the tutorial page to see what you can use for yourself and watch closely on wip pages how other people paint such figures.
second, if you have macro modus on your camera, use it!

But most of all: have FUN!!!

Maybee you can introduse yourself on the introduction page?

Cheers,

Michael

[Kekso]

Welcome to the forum mate. Nice first entry, figures seems neatly painted and colorful. I like them.
Pity that photos are out of focus :/

[Captain Jozef]

I have tried to use a wash for these figures in order to give the a more realistic look, but I do not know what to use. Sepia wash does not work too well with these figures, since it does not go well with the bright blue and white colors these men wear. That is, unless I am doing something wrong.

[vellek]

Welcome to the Forum Capt. Jozef. Your work looks clean and neat, and I really like way the bands on the muskets pop.
Welcome also to the Fellowship of Out-of-Focus, of which I am a founding member. We'd all like to see your stuff here, so take a few tries at "preview" before you post and see if you can find better pictures.

Cheers,
Kurt

[davbenbak1]

Washes are definitely a trial and error process. I use Citadel GW washes. A brown wash works great especially on faces and hands as well as most colors. Try it when black washes just make your figure look too dark. Brown does not work with light blue and light green so use blue and green washes as well. Napoleonic's have lots of bright colors so you might want to go back over them with a dry brush for highlights if that is the look you are going for.

Welcome to the forum and please keep posting pics.

[Beano Boy]

Well ,first of all Welcome to the Forum Captain Jozef.
I cropped your photo, I hope you don`t mind. Yes, out of focus, but some Darn Good Painting on these tiny figures.
Now it is a case that some cameras just do not like yellow, and I know this from experience. The cameras eye gets confused, and one ends up with a fuzzy picture. Like painting or model building of kits or whatever there is a need to practice, and practice until you are satisfied with your efforts. Doing a photo shoot of tiny figures an inch or so tall ain`t easy, and nor is the painting of them. As for adding shade experiment by making your own stuff and use on a test figure, and if the result is ok for you, give them all a wash. However don`t make them look like lumps of coal. I look forward to seeing lots of your work in the near future. Beano Boy

[The General]

I think they look lovely! I have two boxes of Bavarians from HäT that I want to paint up...so these are a great inspiration!

[Zed1]

Hello and welcome!

Well - you mastered step one: place the colours where they belong to and paint somewhat straight lines.

Here are some more sites with pictures which could be helpful for the details:

http://www.napoleon-online.de/Bilder/Ba ... Bunde1.jpg
http://www.klittich-pfankuch.de/BilderKat/UNI_037.jpg
http://www.napoleon-online.de/Bilder/Ba ... Bunde2.jpg
http://www.bay-4-linieninfanterieregiment.de/

One thing that is wrong is the colour of the officers' sash as you have painted it. Before the Russian campaign, Bavarian officer wore a sash made out of silver silk with four bright blue stripes woven in.
This sash was disbanded in early 1812 and replaced with a gorget. To avoid 'etraordinary losses of officers in the field' the gorget had to be covered with bright-blue cloth.

To get more precise answers, you should make more focussed photos. If you don't have a place at home that grants you the right lighting and contrast for making good photos, you might try to build an own, small photobox. Just google for 'how to build a photobox' and you'll find a lot of practical advice.
The one that I use is made out of transparent paper and was actually nearly free-of-charge.

Generally, I also agree that your next step should be to start with shades and highlights in order to give your figures more depth. Of course - if you ask several people, they will give you several advices, depending on their painting style. If you ask me, I would tell you to try them all out and find out which style works best for you and your demands. Some like the muddy, used look of brown-washed figures, some prefer to have them bright and clean as on a historical painting.

Personally, I strongly dislike washes. Okay - they are easy, time-saving stuff. But you have to keep that stuff under control. Sepia might look good on yellow, but it looks muddy on red and odd on blue. If you can't keep that stuff at the painting zones where it belongs, it may ruin the figure as a whole.
I prefer to paint shades and highlights manually, starting with the basic colour and then darken/lighten it. This requires to paint all the shades by hand, at least in 3 different scales of brightness - but using a fine brush, you will always be able to 'control' the colour.
On the other hand, this method costs way more time.

[Captain Jozef]

Thank you guys for all the support. Here are some better pictures. Thought I should fix my own mistake!

[Beano Boy]

C J,That's the way to do it. Fine Picture Quality. Well Done. BB

[Bramble15]

Welcome!! Well done on a set that is not really that great, and that opinion is coming from a big HaT supporter! Your revised pictures show the figures and detail off much better. Looking forward to seeing more of your work.

[Peter]

I like them! And when you will paint these same figures three year later (and when you stay at this forum ) you will see the difference! That's how I started here!

You can make your own wash if you want! Just take a lighter or darker blue and mix it with water (I hope your working with acrylic paint??). and add it on the figure! You can always drybrush with the basic color after it is dry.

PS: no-one has said something about it, but you forgot to paint the buttons!!!!