My 1/72 Nappies

[MikeRC97]

Thank you k.b, for you kind words.

At the risk of making this a bit too much about me I would like to share that I started university as an art major, then I switched to history. After university I fell into a career that has nothing to do with either subject so I found painting historical miniatures as way for me to still enjoy art and researching and writing about historical subjects. Even better I found a wonderful online community that shares the same passion for painting and playing with little toy soldiers. Thank you all of the constant feedback, even if you're like Kesko:

I had no time to read text but I had enough time to enjoy nicely painted figures.

I got a laugh out of that reply - that's ok, reading the text is optional!

[MikeRC97]

It has been a while but I'm back with a small update. I have always wanted to have figures for when my French Dragoons dismount to operate as Skirmishers (which they can do in the Sharp Practice rules). I decided to convert the figures in the Waterloo 1815 Set 041 Napoleonic French Foot Dragoons into dismounted Dragoons. In Sharp Practice a dismounted unit of Dragoons is 6 models, I also painted a dismounted leader figure.



The conversion wasn't too difficult. I carved off their infantry knapsacks and used greenstuff to add the crossbelt for the cartridge pouch on their back and to turn their infantry gaiters into riding boots. I'm really happy with how the conversion turned out.

This was my first time painting figures from this manufacturer - I found some of the details to be a little soft, not bad, but not on the same level as Zvezda or Italeri.



I also painted a couple of new figures for my Russian force - a Barabanshchik (drummer) and a Kapitan (Captain). The drummer is from Zvezda set 8020 Russian Heavy Infantry Grenadiers and the officer is from the Zvezda small set 6815 Russian Infantry Command with a head swap from set 8020.

Drummers in Jäger regiments had black crossbelts, drumsticks and details on their drums.



When I painted the leaders for my French force I painted a Sergeant (level I), Sergeant-Major (level II), and an officer that could be a Lieutenant (level III) or a Captain (level IV). Initially I was going to use the same four ranks for my Russian force but I have changed this to Non-commissioned officer (level I), Lieutenant (level II), Captain (level III) and Field Officer (level IV).

I think this better reflects the weaker leadership of the Russian Army in 1812 but also solves the issue of not being able to distinguish between Russian NCO ranks (as I mentioned previously, I could not find any information on Russian NCO rank distinctions).

Pictured below left to right is the optional Barabanshchik, an Unter-ofitser (NCO), a Poruchik (First Lieutenant), his gorget is silver with a gold eagle, and a Kapitan (Captain), his gorget is gold with a silver eagle.



Eventually I will paint the mounted figure in set 6815 as a Field Officer however painting more infantry and cavalry support units is my priority.

That's all for now, thanks for looking.

[Ochoin]

Beautifully painted figures.
really like the dismounted dragoons but sadly, at my scale of wargaming, a unit of such would be superfluous.
It's great they're getting a "run" with you.

donald

[Rich W]

Great to see an update on this thread. Figures are looking very good!

[C M Dodson]

Those figures are beautiful.

Your painting standard is, in my opinion an art form.

Wonderful.

Chris

[Peter]

Wonderful painted figures!

[Bill Slavin]

Very nice conversions! There are, of course, the Strelets dismounted dragoons, but they have that Strelets look that not everyone is crazy about.
The painting looks fantastic, but of course I want to see them closer!!

[MikeRC97]

Thank you all for the kind words.

Very nice conversions! There are, of course, the Strelets dismounted dragoons, but they have that Strelets look that not everyone is crazy about.
The painting looks fantastic, but of course I want to see them closer!!

Bill until you posted this, I didn't know Strelets made dismounted French dragoons. I have to admit, I'm not a fan of this manufacturer's older sets and looking at their dismounted French dragoons on PSR I think had I known I would still have converted the Waterloo 1815 figures. I also purchased the French Lancers from Waterloo 1815 (a future addition to my French force) - I find the style of sculpting very similar to the other Italian 1/72 manufacturer Italeri, to the point where I wonder if they use the same sculptor.

Going back to Strelets, I have noticed that their figures have improved quite a bit in the last few years. There is a set I mean to pick up at some point, their Napoleonic Russian Jaegars in Summer Dress as I would like to compare these to the Zvezda Grenadiers to see if they would fit in well in my Russian force.

Finally, apologies on the photos - the feedback about the size has been constant in this thread but at this point this is more of any issue with my phone. I upgraded to a newer iPhone over a year ago but the camera is much, much worse than my old iPhone camera. The cynic in me thinks it is Apple's way of getting everyone to upgrade to the "Pro" version. I struggled getting pics of these figures with any decent lighting, most of the pictures came out way to dark and when I get in close many of the figures get blurry.

[CliosPaintingBench]

The uniforms are all lovely, I particularly like the bright colour scheme of the dragoons!

[PatrickJ71]

You have a very precise and clean painting style, Mike.
Your little soldiers look fantastic as always!
Maybe it's because of the lighting but I probably would have chosen a slightly darker green for the dragoons, but that may be just a matter of taste.
Anyway, they look great and I'm glad you showed them here.
Thanks for sharing and keep them coming
Patrick