1st Napoleonic finished

[jcichon]

Ok, for any of you you do Napoleonics, my hats off to you because this was the most difficult, time consuming figure I have ever done.
THis is a Le Cimier 90mm metal Officier des Guides, 2nd empire done in oils with the gold braiding in acrylics. THis figure was tough. THere were no outlines for the eyes so I had to basically freehand it which sucked. This was my first attempt at painting red which was very difficult but not as hard as whites! I pretty much followed the box art since I could not find any info on how this was supposed to look. I think I stripped this down at least 4 times if not more. Really a difficult figure with so much detail work but I give it a C+ overall in appearance being my first Napoleonic. SO give me your honest critiques on this. I'd like to do some more of this era so give me your hard critiques!

 

[blaster]

Hi Jason,
Its quite a nice figure, and well painted. Love your gold braid. If I may comment, perhaps you might want to reshape the sword belt, the aiguillettes and some of those loops which appear to be defying gravity.

Rgds Victor

 

[megroot]

Jason you painted this figure well. The braidwork is great.
Napoleontics are in my opinion not easy to paint, but they are colorfull and a joy to paint.

Marc

 

[housecarl]

Grreat job, it may be the photos but his hand appears to be floating above the sword.
Very nice,
Carl.

 

[el cid]

Hi Jason. Great job for your first effort regarding painting Napoleonics. I hear you about Napoleonics being tough to paint- did my first 2 this year in 75mm.I like your braid work and the figure is very very well painted! Great job! The only quick critique I can see from your photos is the slight sheen in the greens (I'd go for a more matt appearance but that is just my opinion)Perhaps that is the effect you are after, & it still looks very nice.
Great job.

 

[jcichon]

Yes I noticed the sheen also and will have to correct that and the straps also. Thanks for the kind words guys.

 

[John Bowery]

Jason,
Great first Nappy figure.
Cheers
John

 

[Mike Stevens]

Jason, the braid looks great! I look forward to your next posting. What medium did you use?

Mike

 

[silvana]

Hi I've never painted a Napoleonic figure - that looks pretty good. I like the gold braid. Good on you for having a go maybe one day I try one too.

 

[slaj]

Jason, I like what you did with your first 'nappy'.Not easy to paint. I don't believe this is a napoleonic period figure. In fact you stated it's from the 2nd empire. But just as hard.Well done

Stephen

 

[jcichon]

Stephen, being a newbie to Napoleonics, I don't know the difference between 1st and 2nd empire!! I was just going with what the box said. Having said that, I would like to know the difference if anyone is willing to educate me.

 

[slaj]

Jason, no problem whatsoever. You still did a great job

Stephen

 

[michelangelo]

Love it too!

 

[jcichon]

ok, can anyone tell me the difference between 1st and 2nd empire? I would really like to know

 

[blaster]

Hello Jason,

In a nutshell, Napoleon Bonaparte started the 1st Napoleonic Empire when he crowned himself Emperor in 1804. This ended in 1815 at Waterloo. Lots of famous campaigns here, Peninsular War, War with Austria, Russia, Prussia etc.

His nephew Charles-Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte, became the first President of the French Republic in 1848, undertook a coup in 1851, becoming Emperor Napoleon III in 1852 until September 1870, when he was captured in the Franco-Prussian War. Also included the Crimean War.

The uniforms are similar, but differ somewhat in cut and details. for eg, in the 2nd Empire, the soldiers started to wear red baggy pants.

Rgds Victor

 

[jcichon]

Thanks Victor! I never knew and this was my first Napoleonic. It was a lot of fun but also a lot of work, much more than any figure I have ever done but I am looking forward to tackeling another soon. I think I will stick with some of the Verlinden napoleonics for now since they are a lot cheaper than any other company in the 90-120mm scale.

 

[blaster]

Hi Jason,

I think Verlinden does all their figures in 120mm and 1st Empire. Enjoy!

Rgds Victor