WIP 42nd Highland Infantry Regiment "Black Watch" at the Battle of Quatre Bras, June 1815

[Warren SMITH]

Hi Steve, I wish you good look and I would spend some time looking for a good optometrist while your at it...
I'm just wondering with the scale your working in what would you actually see.
Ive looked at the pic posted by NAP, of the uniforms and they appear to be more say 1/16 scale... so if they were shrunk down further to 54mm scale what would you be able to see..
Also in relation to Bundook's comments on staining, due to the rain... ( and not trying to start an argument ).. The jackets worn by the British surely would not have been brand new, and as such would have already seen rain and been washed at some point prior to that day, so I am wondering... ( wondering only ) if they would have already been heavily faded and the cross belts cleaned and re whitened as part of normal military inspections...
Just a thought... no offence intended..

 

[Steve Ski]

Thanks, Kevin.

I've started on the collar, but they look like arrows. Not having nimble hands like some do I'm not having much luck, not even with a 0000 brush. This will take some more practice before I put up any progress pics. I just can't half-ars it, not at this stage of the game.

Standing by for a response from the curator.

Hi Steve, I wish you good look and I would spend some time looking for a good optometrist while your at it...
I'm just wondering with the scale your working in what would you actually see.
Ive looked at the pic posted by NAP, of the uniforms and they appear to be more say 1/16 scale... so if they were shrunk down further to 54mm scale what would you be able to see..
Also in relation to Bundook's comments on staining, due to the rain... ( and not trying to start an argument ).. The jackets worn by the British surely would not have been brand new, and as such would have already seen rain and been washed at some point prior to that day, so I am wondering... ( wondering only ) if they would have already been heavily faded and the cross belts cleaned and re whitened as part of normal military inspections...
Just a thought... no offence intended..

Howdy, Warren. I'm using #6 readers, so no need to see the doc. If I used #8's me blookin nose would be in the way, HA!

Now, as for the fading of the uniforms, I agree, and I have incorporated fading on the jackets on most of the figures and will weather them a bit more when all the figures are matched to the base. These are 54mm.

I've also done a bit of rough up tones on the belts, to a mild extent on most. As for seeing the decorations at this scale, as a famous figure painter just recently said, (paraphrasing) "we're playing to the camera in this scale." I whole heartedly agree. If I don't get it right, some may not see it, but I will always know that it's been done in a less than acceptable manner rather than what I could have done. Nit picky we are against ourselves, ain’t we? Sometimes we can be our best and worst critics.


Thanks for the input, Warren.

 

[NigelR]

Regarding the weathering, don't forget that the weather at Quatre Bras was dry and hot, the heavy rain did not happen until the 17th. The action took place in fields, so dry and dusty would be a good look for the Highlanders. The Black Watch had been reorganising and reequipping in Britain before leaving for France, so their equipment and uniforms were probably in reasonable shape at the time of Quatre Bras.

If it's of any interest, there's an account by James Anton of the 42nd that says they advanced through a rye field and then into an open field of clover, which was where they were caught by the French lancers and had to form a rallying square. So you might want to take that into account in your groundwork if that's the point in the battle you are depicting.

Here's an excerpt from Bernard Cornwell's Waterloo book which covers the quote and the action: https://www.bernardcornwell.net/waterloo-excerpt/

 

[Steve Ski]

Regarding the weathering, don't forget that the weather at Quatre Bras was dry and hot, the heavy rain did not happen until the 17th. The action took place in fields, so dry and dusty would be a good look for the Highlanders. The Black Watch had been reorganising and reequipping in Britain before leaving for France, so their equipment and uniforms were probably in reasonable shape at the time of Quatre Bras.

If it's of any interest, there's an account by James Anton of the 42nd that says they advanced through a rye field and then into an open field of clover, which was where they were caught by the French lancers and had to form a rallying square. So you might want to take that into account in your groundwork if that's the point in the battle you are depicting.

Excellent intel, once again, thank you very much, Nigel.

Now, I was seriously considering adding a tree, or small shrub tree/bush somewhere in the mix knowing that they fought in a field, but for artistic license’s sake. I'm really not into redoing someone else’s work, or sticking with the status quo, gotta shake it up a bit. I will be adding the taller grass for sure and make some minor placement adjustments.

And, Nigel, great intel on the weather. I was not intending to give any of these figs a wet look but a dusted dirty bit of work out. My figure weathering skills are not quite up to par just yet, but we’re getting there slowly, lol.


Thanks, Nigel.

 

[Steve Ski]

Drummer Boy

This lil feller can rattle away all he wants now, he’s done. The task of accurately depicting his sleeve details wasn’t as bad as I had expected, simply because they are not accurate, HA! I never got a reply from the Black Watch Museum in Scotland and some photos found online just weren’t clear enough for me to be sure exactly what these emblems are. I’ve had plenty of advisors tell me what they were, but I gotta see it for myself.

I did make several tempts to add fleur di lis’ to no avail, total failure. My brush work just wasn’t cutting it. The more I tried the worse they got, so I called “time out”. As I stated earlier, I hate being inaccurate if I can help it, especially on something so visible, but my brush talents had reached their limit. Ya just gotta know when to move on, so that is what I’ve done.

All of the techniques and processes for this lil guy are the same as all of the other Highlander figures, except one. I utilized a technique I’ve been studying lately, “stippling”, one used quite successfully by “Mike the Kiwi” in his new book “Modelling and Painting World War I Allied Figures”. It’s a new release and I just received my copy a few weeks back. I stippled the bonnet/cap on the Drummer Boy with oils. Yes, that’s right, oils. It can be done successfully with a bit of trial and error. I know this is such a minor attempt, but it gave me a good idea of just how this will work with oils, my preferred medium.

Next up, the Frenchmen, and what a relief, lol. I can’t say I won’t ever go back to the Napoleonic era; the colors are just too spectacular to pass up and the learning potential from working bright colors is astounding. I’m just not hip on the “Battle of the Tartans” enough to take on another fight like this one any time soon, HA!

Thanks for watching, all comments welcome. Cheers, Ski.


Mike Butler’s book is available here: https://www.crowood.com/products/mo...es-by-mike-butler?_pos=2&_sid=1670b538c&_ss=r
Prime example of how Mike paints using the techniques he explains in his book: https://www.planetfigure.com/attachments/mikemaoriboy-jpg.453840/
Now that is a goal to strive for, to say the least. You’d swear this figure was alive!

 

[Nap]

Hi Ski

He looks really good , right call ref the lacework , drum looks good as well , like the hair colour

.....don't forget his eyelashes .......LOL

Really impressive how you've dealt with the " torrent of tartan " ...and the dicing on his socks

Agree ref Mikes book and content ......

Go and hug a tube of oils ...colour your choice and bring on that dashed Frenchie

Happy benchtime

Nap

 

[Steve Ski]

Righto, Kevin, paste on eyelashes it is! Thanks!

Yes, a shamelss plug never hurts.

 

[1969]

That's an impressive piece of painting for such a small scale Ski, amazing that you can fit so much detail into it.
Cheers
Steve

 

[NigelR]

Looks really good, and I'm glad to see you tried some of Mike's techniques. It looks like they worked well to me....

 

[Steve Ski]

Thank you Gentlemen!

It's going to be weird working the Frenchmen, those boring colors and all, already is. My mind is all "tartaned" right now, can't shake it for the life of me, HA! Oh dear, what have I done,...............?

I think a team photo is overdue as well,...coming soon.

Thanks, Stevo and Nigel.

 

[Steve Ski]

Base Layout

We’re so close I had to forego the Frenchmen and get to work on the base. Honestly, it’s a bit of work to retool my brain right now, the bloomin tartans are still dancing in me head at night, HA! I really need to step back and study the French fellows a bit more before I move on anyways.

Being within a few miles of a huge lake it’s not hard to find drift wood, if you know where to look. I pulled a small chunk from my wife’s stash, with her approval of course, and did some trimming. I was actually a lot of fun making saw dust again, a break from the pattern grind, you could say.

These pics are not close up on purpose as they are only reference photos. I started out with a great chunk with the swirls and all, only to find they wouldn’t fit within the designated parameters of the layout. So, bandsaw to the rescue, with a little help from the joiner, and a miter saw, in business we are. Then it was all orbital sander from there on out. Some swirls are still visible under the Mahogany stain and they will show much better after about 5 coats of Tung Oil.

There’s a bit of blue construction foam under the air clay and all of it is glued massively with carpenter’s glue. I don’t expect any shifting within my lifetime. The figures will set with the clay drying overnight. All the locations have just been marked with a permanent marker so I can at least have an idea where each goes after the sanding. I’ll be using Hecky grass for the field work.

So, as you can tell by now, we are definitely seeing light at the end of the tunnel, and no, it ain’t no train.


Thanks for watching. Cheers, Ski.

 

[Nap]

Hi Ski

Well you are a talent ....cracking bit of timber there ....positioning looks good to me possibly slightly closer together ...not sure what you've planned for any battlefield debris ?

This is a really fascinating journey we are on with this , ups and downs but now .........



Look forward to more

Happy basing and enjoy the french ...

Nap

 

[fogie]

Painting of the highest order. What's so impressive, Steve, is
your consistency ..............the sustained quality of each figure.
This vignette has become something of a master class......bravo !

Mike

 

[NigelR]

A couple of thoughts, hope you don't mind.....

I would think about the story you are trying to tell. If this is the Highlanders under attack from cavalry at Quatre Bras, they need to be a bit closer together. They would be mincemeat if they were standing that far apart..... It's also unlikely the senior officer would be facing the enemy with no enlisted men in front of him. At the moment it's hard to see what is going on IMO. Maybe try moving the figures around to see if you can create a narrative that works for you.

Apologies for this comment, but for me the base is too big and it overwhelms the figures. It is too visually distracting IMO. But of course it's your model so feel free to do what you like It may also be too late for you to want to change anything, so feel free to carry on and get to the final hurdle.

A final thought - one of the challenges at this stage is the white groundwork, as it emphasises the gaps between the figures. It may also be making the base look bigger than it is in reality, because the white is so stark. You might want to just give it a coat of brown paint to tone it down while you are composing the scene. I'm just working on a diorama and was unhappy with the groundwork colour. But the base was covered in light masking tape. When I took that off to reveal the black base, the groundwork looked great. I realised that the light colour of the masking tape was distracting me.

 

[Steve Ski]

Thanks, Kevin.


Thank you, Mike very kind of you!

If this is the Highlanders under attack from cavalry at Quatre Bras, they need to be a bit closer together. They would be mincemeat if they were standing that far apart..... for me the base is too big and it overwhelms the figures. It is too visually distracting IMO.,............the white groundwork, as it emphasises the gaps between the figures. It may also be making the base look bigger than it is in reality, because the white is so stark.

Howdy Nigel. You are correct, I've been thinking this base was way too big and would not only cause a bit of obtuse eye wonder of the observer, but it would make photographing much more difficult. This set really is designed to be "up close and personal" in placement.

The ground work is just that, temporary ground work. It’s air clay right now, but will be colored appropriately. Remember, this is just a test run. Your input and other’s is exactly why I posted this prep photo, need some other eyes to catch the things I’m missing.

I’ll see if I can reduce the foot print of this base without destroying it. If it goes south on me, no worries, there’s more wood in the shop. I’ll need more air clay, though, lol.


Thanks, Gents!

 

[MCPWilk]

Outstanding art work - I am staggered by the artistry shown throughout this build.

Mike

 

[NigelR]

Glad you found the comments helpful I should add that the figures look really impressive together, this is going to look fab when done!

 

[Warren SMITH]

Simply amazing... looking forward to seeing the finished dio..

 

[Steve Ski]

Mike, Nigel, and Warren, thank you, Gentlemen!

Yes, Nigel, the third eye concept is vital in this "Sport".

 

[Steve Ski]

Base Redo

Several of the keen eyes reviewing this build log have come to the same conclusion as I have. The base was way too big and the figures really lost meaning when they were placed so far apart. This set is intended to be “up close and personal” and the base really had to go bye-bye. Great test run, though.

Taking another chunk from my wife’s drift wood stash pile I cut a section that had the most character. I had originally intended on using this slab, but passed it up, hmmm. I recon I needed some practice first, HA!

Spoiler alert: I’m intentionally not showing the front view. This is a placement test and it would be bad form to jump ahead and expose the intended final result before it’s time.

You may notice after close scrutiny that some of those delicate parts, such as a bayonet, a few bayonet scabbards, and one thumb, plus some other minor parts might be missing from the finished figs. Clumsy sausage fingers, what else can I say? This happens every time and the final punch list is standing by as usual.

There is a way to make the ground work mesh with these swirls in the drift wood and preserve its uniqueness. I’ll post SBS pics on that portion. Stand-by for the finale, it’s not far off now.

Thanks for watching and all comments are welcome. Cheers, Ski.