More French Steeds on the workbench

[Susofrick]

Clicked on the pic and agree with Peter

[k.b.]

A few more photos of how the work's coming along.......

[k.b.]

and here are horse and rider nearing completion...

[Santi Pérez]

That dragoon and his horse look great, k.b.

Santi.

[k.b.]

Just to get away from dragoons for a while, here we have a couple of hussars - painted up as the 4th Regiment, if I'm not mistaken. These chaps were, in fact, my first ever box of 1/72 Italeri cavalry and their quality took my breath away.

[Peter]

Nice Keith!

[Bessiere]

Now these are great pictures as we can see the level of detail you're painting, very nice indeed.
Cheers,
Bessiere

[C M Dodson]

Exquisite paint skills on display in my opinion.

Excellent work.

Best wishes
,

Chris

[Minuteman]

Very fine work on these French hussars, well done!

[k.b.]

Thanks a lot Peter, Bessiere, Chris and Minuteman for your kind words. I would agree that they’re not bad……. as I think Bluefalchion once told me some time ago referring to my Napoleonic Cavalry. In all truthfulness these hussars were painted long, long ago.

If I’m not mistaken the riders were painted in humbrols and the horses in oils. At this small scale I would probably be painting my soldiers in humbrols until today if I still had the full range of colours at my disposal. Needless to say I don’t . Indeed, they’re a rarity here in São Paulo… One thing’s for sure, my productivity would definitely be much greater if I did BUT unfortunately I have no choice other than to stick with my oils, which are far easier to come across. Undoubtedly oil colours are deeper, richer and easier to blend but on the down side I am resigned to never being able to paint even a quarter of the figures I own in this lifetime.

If I look at the figures critically today I can immediately see that my eyesight was much better when I painted these fellows. It’s crystal clear in the subtlety of the faces, precision of the eyes. In those days I would invariably get the eyes spot on at my first attempt. Aaah those were the days…… However, on the down side I could certainly have deepened the shadows, tweaked the highlights in the pelisse, blended the blue overalls better. Improved the horses eyes. Added a few buckles to the halter and reins.

I suppose to compare my painting then and now I will just have to paint a few more of them afterwhich I can compare the two. This aging process is sometimes cruel. But can we make up for it using an optivisor and years of experience? Let us see.

In the meanwhile… I’d say we should focus our minds on enjoying the present. Am not sure where I once read a proverb saying something along the lines of “We cannot let the sadness of the past, nor the fear of the future, interfere in the happiness of our present.”

Paint on my friends.

[PatrickJ71]

Beautifully and detailed painted as always, k.b.
Even though I paint with acrylics myself, the oil paint does indeed give your figures something extra.
thanks for sharing and keep 'em coming
Patrick

[MABO]

Nice Hussars! Keep on painting, I follow your post, even if I am a little late here, today!!

[k.b.]

I may just have cracked how to upload photos from my phone to Bennos without needing my pc. If so, it might just make this whole process much easier!

[k.b.]

Here goes again with the basic colours blocked in of another French Hussar, this time the 2nd Regiment. I’ll leave the colours to set a little before blending in the shadows and highlights.
I also need a new brush and my optivisor to add the level of detail I’m hoping for if I am to improve on the previous hussars….

[Bessiere]

Looking excellent K.B. Are those oil paints you are using? I find the braiding on the dolmans a real beast to try and do. As chance would have it the 2nd Hussars are the only French unit I've done. Perhaps we both chose them due to the uniform colors, they are certainly my favorite.
Cheers,
Bessiere

[k.b.]

Thanks Bessiere. Don’t they say great minds think alike…. . These brown and blue uniforms really are dashing, for sure. In truth I am not absolutely certain they are my favourite uniforms of the French hussars. I keep getting back to those astonishingly exquisite uniforms of Keith Carradine and Harvey Keitel in the Duellists. The all grey uniform was incredibly beautiful ! However, all grey is a bit tedious at 1/72 scale. Whereas Mr Keitel’s red and green is altogether much more eyecatching. But as I am painting up some Perry Miniatures French Hussars in those colours of the 3rd and 7th, I thought the brown would be an interesting variation from all the blues, greens and reds of the majority of my Napoleonic cavalry be they French, British or Russian.

In terms of braiding I know well what you mean about it being damned difficult to paint. Especially in oils which really are too thick to represent it without clogging up the fine sculpting. As a result I think one has to let the sculpting help us which is why washes are a must over an extremely thin base coat when that base coat is thoroughly dry. As we speak I now find myself painting a black wash over the fine braiding. It has run into all the nooks and crannies … and once dry I will try to paint it in a thin coat or two of enamels.
Hopefully it should give at least an idea of how elaborate these uniforms were.

[Bessiere]

A dark wash is an excellent idea to bring out fine detail. I'll have to give that a go. I also like the fur trim giving us a chance to find new ways to show textures. That to me is a big part of the fun. I'm enjoying the results I get from using glossy paint to do eyes or reins on black horses.
Cheers,
Bessiere

[Susofrick]

Very nice painting!

[Beano Boy]

*Great guns in the morning*
Upon seeing your finely painted figures that i know really well having painted loads of them over the years,reminded me of the good times when i could paint for many hours with my younger eyesite well able to see some of the detail.Although my painting style based entirely upon the prime colours of uniformity was far from being an artistic telent show,but with massed battalions on visual display it worked for me. Well mainly because it was only i viewing them back in the dark days before the Internet came into being.

BB

[k.b.]

Thank you Beano Boy for your kind words of encouragement.