The Art of Coarse Painting (6mm Style), and looking forward to 'Cavalier'

After all the excitement of storage boxes last time  ( something of an unexpected 'hit', going by the response in comments ), it's been a quiet couple of weeks hobby-wise, not helped by several  'real life' issues - for example door-locks have had it in for me, on both house and car. Oh well, must have rolled low for initiative that week.. 

So, limited time available, but some progress on painting 6mm MDF figures for the 1859 Risorgimento project : ten battalions ( 240 figures ) of Austrian Line infantry all painted and stuck to bases. 

 As you can see, they need flags adding and bases painting and flocking, but essentially they are done, and regiments IR11, IR17 and IR39 should soon be ready for service. A couple of Feldjager units and some artillery will complete the 2nd Austrian division - then on to the French and Peidmontese. 

A bit more of a close up so you can see my rather minimal/sloppy painting style and the semi-flat, stylised look of the Commission Miniatures MDF chaps: 

Looks like a few of the skirmishers have gone a bit skew-whiff before the glue set, they may need re-fixing to straighten up the skirmish line, or the sergeants will be getting annoyed ( 'du schrecklicher kleiner Mann..'  says  google translate ). 

One more picture to let even more light in on the 'magic'; I thought I'd try for a really close-up look with my phone camera - which had interesting results.  Some of you are may  be horrified by this! 

 The lighting is pretty harsh, and the close-up shows not only my very basic 'blob'  painting but also the slightly  textured look of the MDF! Hopefully you can see some of the etched detail of cross-belts etc; I may need a finer brush for hands next time.  The main thing to bear in mind, however, is that the picture above on a laptop/PC screen probably shows the figures at about twice their actual size - in real life, no-one will EVER  see them this close without a magnifying glass, and that would be very bad form at the gaming table, and may provoke a slapped wrist.. The pictures of them on their bases are much more like a table-top view, and I think they are fine.  Equally, I think you can see that a really careful, patient painter could probably put a surprising amount of detail on these - just not me, or not yet, at least.  

So that's about it for a progress update, but there is something to look forward to - this Sunday I hope to get to Tonbridge, Kent for the 'Cavalier 2026' show organised by Tunbridge Wells Wargames Society. The show's website lists 18 games and an impressive 28 traders, and I've enjoyed visiting this show in the past couple of years, so here's hoping for another good one. There is  a  slight tinge of sadness attending this, as TWWS founder and all-round hobby hero - see the title of this blog - George Gush  passed away last summer. I never met him, but have always treasured his Renaissance Armies book (which I chose as a 'Fourth Form Prize' at school in about 1978!)  and his Airfix Guide to the ECW, among many other inspiring books and articles.  Who could forget his WRG 1420-1700 rules, certainly my first 'Pike and Shot' set: 

thanks George,  and R.I.P. 

  

And finally, a little humour suitable for wargamers  - saw this on Instagtam the other day:

Clearly a master strategist of the future.. 

 [ Credited to one 'Scott Alexander' but shared on another account, so I can't tell you any more about the author or point to any more of his humour, sorry ]

That's all for now, but I hope to bring a few pictures of the Cavalier show in my next post, sometime next week.  Until then, from wet and windy England,  keep well, everyone.