Painting 3mm Figs

Having done some reading on line to seek guidance for painting 3mm figs I would like to share the link that provided the best inspiration for me and to share some pictures of how I got on.

Link on the TMP Napoleonic discussion forum here.

As you will know from earlier posts, I have already painted the full battalion in line but I thought I would include my painting guide in picture form on the light company skirmishers that I have recently completed.  The principle was the same for the close order infantry.

1/
Base coat in brown

2/
Red jackets picked out

3/
Grey trousers picked out

4/

Brown ink wash. I'm still not fully convinced about this as it seem to wash the trousers out. However, it does seem to give some definition

5/
Face and hands picked out

6/
Caps picked out in black and cartridge box followed by a few dabs in white to pick out belts and musket slings

7/
Final finish included;
-green plumes
-blue canteens
-gold for the cap plate
-silver for the musket barrels, then a little highlight in red and grey to pick out the detail:

Hopefully I will get this based soon.  Then that will be my 'Red Battalion' completed in full !

Finished battalion:-

 Company:-

 Sergeants with spontoon's and officers:-

A Treatise on British Drill

This treatise, of all contemporary documents is one of my favourites and am keen to share this link to Suasso's Treatise on British Drill (2nd Ed).
Having read the various editions of the Rules & Regulations, understanding or visualizing their meaning and indeed practical application has always been a challenge.

Since finding Suasso, it has clarified many of my questions and is an invaluable aid to my game !

Follow link to read more here.

Tactics

I confess I spend too much time reading historical texts on military drill and tactics.  Usually I read a bit and think, 'interesting, I will add that to my favourites' and move to the next page.

I will start to share what I read in this thread.  I came across these two comments in the following article, found in the Royal Militay Chronicle,  1810  on a Course of Tactics, follow link here.



"...in England,  the officers enter the army without any military knowledge whatever. They have everything to learn."


"I regret to say; but France is still the school of war, and by her science, more than even by her numbers, has conquered the Continent. "

An interesting contemporary article on the capability of British army officers.  Further to this again another link from Hoyt's Rules and Regulations for Cavalry, dated 1813, here provides a catalogue of reading for our contemporary officer.  A must read.

progress... ? maybe...!

Well, I thought I would write an update if , for no other reason, to write something on my blog.

I have come to realize that it is a bit cold in my garage so my enthusiasm to finish my 'red battalion' has waned somewhat.  That said i have been planning my next stage.  I think for clarity it is worth putting some of my thoughts in blog, since my last post on where I want to go with my little project.

I have for many many years had a specific interest in British army drill of the early 19th century.  I have had the honour of drilling up to company strength military enthusiasts in the world of reenactment and it is from this experience that I have come to recognise the skill in the battalion, brigade and divisional commanders and so on; in the movement of men on the Napoleonic field of battle.

Kriegsspiel is a field I have taken a great interest and it is from this that I have taken inspiration in focusing the game of war at battalion level.

I want to see at a scale of 3mm a battalion in full being moved in formation on representative terrain in order to get a feel for the challenges faced by the battalion commander.

Specifically, I think these will be understanding the terrain, distances and timing. Akin to sailing a large oil tanker.  The ship movement must be planned well ahead to ensure that the formation arrives at its destination in order and at the right time.  If that makes sense !?

The challenge therefore is also doing this in the face of opposing forces and achieving the  target objectives assigned as part of the game play.

All too often i see Napoleonic wargames with clusters of infantry being manouvered around the table randomly at times and I feel that it doesn't really represent actual conditions or challenges faced.

Anyway , I have recently ordered john curry's recent book volume 2 on kriegsspiel the game of war for further background reading.  Follow link here.

I am also now thinking of the board.  I would like this to be transportable , a bit like the original concept. So, I am thinking of making tiles in the same fashion - plaster of paris painted accordingly as in the original kriegsspiel

More on that later ...

start up

So, after years (and I mean years) of thinking on how to bring to a table top game the principles of Napoleonic tactics and movement I have finally started.

After reading several posts on the 3mm Napoleonic wargame's yahoo group I decided that this was the scale for me and lets face it the figures are great !

My first challenge is to prepare my battalion of the line.  Having not touched a paint brush in near twenty 20yrs it was somewhat of a daunting task but I think I have done OK!?

School boy error not getting enough command bases so whilst my companies are all painted I don't have enough bases to base the full ten companies.   So, only six companies complete.

In the spirit of kriegspiel, this is the first part of my red army !