Work in Progress

Battle of Bussaco 1/72

Posted by Gen. Freire Andrade on 20 Jan 2022, 13:48

Hi Peter, thank you!!
I am using citadel colors. I think I found what you are saying about the numbers. There are small numbers on the sides of the paint pot. I am going to put the number here:

1º- Vallejo Grey Surface Primer
2º-Citadel Colour Mephiston red 21-03 (Red Jackets)
3º-Citadel Colour Averland Sunset 21-01 (Trimming and cuffs)
4º-Citadel Colour Mournfang Brown 21-20 (The bags on their back)
5º-Citadel Colour Abaddon black 21-25 (Everything black in the model) I have now upgraded to Vallejo Black (Less coats)
6º-Citadel Colour Death Guard Green 21-37, Citadel Colour Maccrage Blue 21-08 and a grey mix (napsacks)
7º-Citadel Colour Maccrage Blue 21-08 (Canteen)
8º-Citadel Colour Doombull Brown 22-45 (Musket)
9º-Citadel Colour Leadbelcher 21-28 (Metal)
10º-Citadel Colour Ulthuan Grey 22-56 (White)
11º-Citadel Colour Bugmans Glow 21-18 (Skin)
12º-Citadel Colour Retributor Gold 21-35 (Gold)
13º-Citadel Colour Agrax Earthshade 24-11 (Wash on everything)
14º- 50/50 Citadel Colour Bugmans Glow 21-18 /Citadel Colour Kislev Flesh 22-37 (Skin Highlight)
15º- Winsor and Newton Silver (Metal Highlight)

For the different colored pants, I used Citadel Colour Maccrage Blue 21-08, Citadel Colour Rhinox Hide 21-22, Citadel Colour Mournfang Brown 21-20, a grey mix and Citadel Colour Zandri Dust 21-16.
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Gen. Freire Andrade  Portugal
 
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Posted by Peter on 20 Jan 2022, 13:50

Gen. Freire Andrade wrote:Hi Peter, thank you!!
I am using citadel colors. I think I found what you are saying about the numbers. There are small numbers on the sides of the paint pot. I am going to update the main post with those numbers!

Send them to me by PM, then I will update that post if you want. ;-) :yeah:

Thank you! :thumbup:
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Peter  Belgium

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Posted by PhilC on 20 Jan 2022, 16:27

Gen. Freire Andrade wrote: Not to make this political but it is now harder to buy 1/72 miniatures for people outside the UK.


Nothing political in my answer, just a joke :mrgreen:

There's one good seller in France, Cherbourg Maquettes https://cherbourg-maquettes.com/, but the site is written in French only. I buy most of my figures there, and never had any problem.
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PhilC  Europe

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Posted by Gen. Freire Andrade on 27 Jan 2022, 03:10

Hi,
This update will include a lot of planning. First of all a couple of box have arrived. 2 sets of Zvezda French Artillery, 1 set of Hat French Chasseurs Marching (REALLY IMPORTANT), 1 Hat Peninsular War British Infantry and 1 Hat French Command. This boxes will be essential for the future of the Project.

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Now to the update. After some consideration I decided that I should focus on the French first and when I am tired of blue I could work on some brits or French cavalry.
This is the book that I am using as a reference:

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I don't have a uniform book to guide me. If anyone knows a good one please do tell. So far I've been able to find photos on the internet but a book would help.

So let´s take a look at II Corps led by Reyniers.
This core was composed by 2 Divisions a Cavalry Brigade and 3 Batteries.

II Corps Jean Reynier

1st Division GD Pierre Merle

1st Brigade- GB Sarrut
2e Légère (4 Battalions)
36e Ligne (4 Battalions)

2nd Brigade- GB Graindorge
4e Légère (3 or 4 Battalions I am planning to do 4)

2nd Division Étienne Heudelet Bierre

1st Brigade- GB Foy
17e Légère (3 Battalions)
70e Ligne (4 Battalions)

2nd Brigade- GB Graindorge
31e Légère (4 Battalions)
47e Ligne (3 or 4 Battalions I am planning to do 4)

Cavalry Brigade

1e Hussards (4 Escadrons)
22e Chasseurs à Cheval (4 Escadrons)
8e Dragoons (4 Escadrons)
Hanoverian Chasseurs (4 Escadrons)

Artillery
3 Batteries (24 Guns)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Corps Total- 14 676 Infantry 1 397 Cavalry 24 Guns

In the scale of the project this roughly translates to 1 460 Infantry 140 Cavalry 24 Guns

I had to choose what Figures I was going to use to represent this regiments. And decided to use this boxes to represent my line infantry regiments:

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I was able to find the Emhar boxes for 7€ each but sadly I am unable to find alternatives for the Hat French Middle Guard Fusilier Grenadiers (Voltigeurs). If anyone has any ideas, please do suggest since they seem to be out of stock, and I don’t have any in my stash. The Zvezda French Imperial Old Guards Grenadiers Box is a bit Expensive (12-13€) but the figures are so nice that I don´t see using other options.
For this Corps I don’t need any more Emhar French Fusiliers. I do need 4 boxes of Hat French Middle Guard Fusilier Grenadiers and 2 Boxes of Zvezda French Imperial Old Guards Grenadiers.

And this boxes for my Light Infantry Regiments:

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This are the though ones… I am unable to find the French Chasseurs Marching Box and I need 10 more boxes to this Corps (sounds crazy I know). Same thing with the Carabiniers of which I need 4 boxes. The Hat French Chasseurs Command and Action are now available at Hannants for 7€ a box and I will probably be able to buy them on the next semester (4 boxes of each). As for the Zvezda Elite Voltigeurs the same problem of being more expensive comes even harder because I need 4 boxes to the project.

But enough of this complaining and lets start painting!!

I will need to allocate certain figure positions to specific Regiments according to what they did historically. For example, the 70e Ligne was leading the French assault on the ridge. This means that this regiment will be composed of figures mostly charging.

I decided to start with that lot. Out of the 12 Boxes of Emhar French Infantry there is a total of 516 figures and 12 mounted officers.

The figures that I am going to use for regiment 70e are this 3:

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Thanks Plastic soldier review for the photo!

12*12=144 which are the number figures in those 3 poses

Regiment nr 70 has 4 Battalions. Each Battalion has 4 Companies of Fusiliers (40 Figures), 1 Company of Grenadiers (10 Figures) and 1 Company of Voltigeurs (10 figures).

4*40= 160 Figures. 160 – 144= 16

As you can probably guess those 16 figures are going to be officers, drummers, and standard bearers. This is where the Hat Command set comes in. By using every single figure except the mounted officer and the sappeur there are exactly 16 figures. 4 Standard bearers, 4 Officers, 4 NCOs and 4 drummers. 1 of each to every Battalion.

Working with the Hat plastic was certainly a pain. I had enjoyed previous figures, but this set had soft plastic and the molds were missing bits. Short swords and only one pole with a detailed eagle is frustrating. From what I gathered it seems to me that only the First Battalion had an Eagle so there isn´t a big loss with those other 3 poles.
This are the Hat Figures:

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The Detailed Eagle:
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And the rest:
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The Painting Chart of the French Fusiliers as well as the officers (next update) can be found here:

1º- Vallejo Grey Surface Primer
2º- Vallejo Game Air White (This will cover most of the pants and white straps)
3º- Citadel Colour Maccrage Blue 21-08 (Jacket)
4º- Citadel Colour Mephiston Red 21-03 (Trimming and Cuffs)
5º- Citadel Colour Doombull Brown 22-45 (Musket)
6º- Citadel Colour Bugman’s Glow 21-18 (Skin)
7º- Vallejo Model Color Black 70.950 (Hat, shoes, …)
8º- Citadel Colour Leadbelcher 21.28 (Musket and Bayonet)
9º- Citadel Colour Retributor Armor 21-35 (Gold)
10º- Citadel Colour Agrax Earthshade 24-11 (Wash on Everything)
11º-Highlight Skin with Citadel Colour Cadian Fleshtone 22-36 or Vallejo Model Color Basic Skin tone 70.815 (for variety)
12º-Highlight white parts with Citadel Colour Ulthuan Grey 22-56
13º- Winsor and Newton Silver (Metal Highlight)

Different Pants and Hairstyles are painted with different browns, yellows…

Here are all the figures charging with the second pose:

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I have also decided to try and base some of the painted figures. I will hopefully have a dedicated update on the basing part. I hope one day to decorate the bases with tufts but for the time being they are perfect to store more figures.

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I am currently painting more charging figures, but in the next two months I have college exams which aren´t going to allow me to paint as much.

With that said I hope that I am able to post more of the project in the next few months. Thank you very much for your time!!

If anyone wants to help the project, feel free to pm me!
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Gen. Freire Andrade  Portugal
 
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Posted by Peter on 27 Jan 2022, 19:18

Real nice update! And you painted those figures very good! :thumbup:
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Peter  Belgium

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Posted by Minuteman on 27 Jan 2022, 21:03

Looking good. You can never have 'enough' French line infantry...! :yeah:
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Posted by C M Dodson on 28 Jan 2022, 00:09

Super stuff and some great ideas.

I am looking forward to see this project expand as it has given me some ideas .

Best wishes,

Chris
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Posted by Patrick71 on 30 Jan 2022, 16:24

I always have de deepest respect for people who dare to start such a big project. Planning to paint a few thousand soldiers scares me. And I see you're doing it very good and pretty fast.
I love the story in which you explain what boxes you will use for what unit or where the officers are going to be taken from. It's a huge administration but I can imagine it is a fun part of the hobby too.
Keep posting this work in progress, I will follow it with great interest.
Patrick
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Posted by MABO on 06 Feb 2022, 11:17

More close-ups of the painted figures would be nice to see.
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MABO  Europe
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Posted by Rich W on 07 Feb 2022, 19:34

Agree with others, some close ups would be great. Must be both exciting and scary to see all the boxes you have purchased all together, knowing that is your commitment for a very long time!!!
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Posted by Gen. Freire Andrade on 09 Feb 2022, 00:12

Hi everyone!

Thank you for the kind words!

Mabo I will post more detailed photos when the figures are placed on bases. I am using my cell phone camera to take the photos for now. When the time comes, I will borrow some relatives camera.

This update is going to be quite short because I am currently studying for college exams!

So, without much chase, the figures that I painted for today are Generals of Division.

The figure are from Italeri’s French Imperial Staff. They represent GD Pierre Merle and GD Étienne Heudelet Bierre. The other figures are ADC’s and a French Line Grenadier NCO (Zvezda). This figures will help create a scene around the Generals.

It was fun researching photos for both Generals and try to paint them in the same style as the paintings.

Here is Pierre Merle:
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And his figure with an Aides-de-Camp (Left) and a French Line Grenadier (Right):

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Here is Étienne Heudelet Bierre:

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And his figure riding a horse with 2 ADC´s on his side:

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And a family photo:

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I also made bases 3cmx6cm for both generals:

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Now the only GD that I am missing for II Corps is Pierre Soult of the Cavalry Brigade (brother to the infamous Marshall Soult). I am trying to find references to his uniform but I am unable to because of his famous brother.

I have received suggestions to use my Italeri French Grenadiers as Carabiniers and Italeri/Esci French Infantry as Voltigeurs. This would require me to add some brass rods to the feathers of the voltigeurs. Any thoughts on this?

Hope you liked the update. I will probably paint the Hat French Command next and afterwards some more Generals. Then the rest of the charging Figures for regiment nº 70e.

As always if anyone wants to support the project, feel free to pm me!
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Gen. Freire Andrade  Portugal
 
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Posted by k.b. on 24 Feb 2022, 10:20

Good morning General,
Wow …… an astonishing project that I will follow closely. Your research is most impressive but what strikes me most is your very straightforward, even casual or maybe better in French nonchalant approach. At the speed I take to paint I would dare say I’d need to reincarnate at least twice to get through so many miniatures.
Will be following closely.
Ps/ and thanks for the varnish tip….
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Posted by Gen. Freire Andrade on 24 Feb 2022, 20:27

k.b. wrote:Good morning General,
Wow …… an astonishing project that I will follow closely. Your research is most impressive but what strikes me most is your very straightforward, even casual or maybe better in French nonchalant approach. At the speed I take to paint I would dare say I’d need to reincarnate at least twice to get through so many miniatures.
Will be following closely.
Ps/ and thanks for the varnish tip….


Thank you!
I'd rather no stress about it since it's part of an hobbie. With proper motivation the end goal can be achieved.
As it's part of a long term project I only need to respect certain deadlines. I think that the way that the French army is organized really favours a more methodical painting.
Hope the varnish works!!
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Gen. Freire Andrade  Portugal
 
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Posted by Bessiere on 24 Feb 2022, 21:47

Great looking officers. Suchet would look good as a dragoon officer and appropriate for Spain in lieu of primary sources.
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Posted by Gen. Freire Andrade on 25 Feb 2022, 02:04

Bessiere wrote:Great looking officers. Suchet would look good as a dragoon officer and appropriate for Spain in lieu of primary sources.


Thank you very much!
Do you mean Pierre Soult? Can you point me to any references for painting please?

If the uniform was a dragoon one I could probably use the first figure on the row:

Image

Thank you Bessiere!
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Gen. Freire Andrade  Portugal
 
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Posted by Gen. Freire Andrade on 31 Mar 2022, 16:23

Hi everyone,

As usual a couple of boxes arrived. This time Italeri Austrian and Russian command arrived to represent French Generals and Marshalls. As well as the Italeri French Imperial Command.

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This is the promised update about the Hat French Command. It took me more time than expected to post this update, and the drummers are yet to be finished. I've also been preparing Dragoons for the 8e.

Without further do, here are the painted figures who are to lead the 70e regiment.

The French officers:

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The Ensigns:

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The Drummers (only 2 missing paint):

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The NCO’S:

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The group photo:

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This was a quick update.
I will carry on painting the rest of the charging figures of the 70e.

I will need to buy 2 more Italeri/Esci boxes for the Voltigeurs and 2 more Zvezda for the Grenadiers.
This is because I need them to the rest of the corps and that allows me to have all the grenadiers of the 70e with charging poses.

In the next few days I will try to make a post about the converted French Line Voltigeurs.

Hope you like the update, as always if anyone wants to support the project, feel free to pm me!
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Gen. Freire Andrade  Portugal
 
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Posted by tullo on 31 Mar 2022, 21:11

oh god give me space for something like this
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tullo  Germany
 
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Posted by tullo on 31 Mar 2022, 21:12

:yeah: :yeah: :yeah: :-D :-D :-D :mrgreen:
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Posted by Gen. Freire Andrade on 05 Apr 2022, 12:09

Thanks Tullo!!
Space is starting to take it's toll on the project. I believe that after I base this figures they will occupy less space. First I will varnish them though!!

I have also noticed that the quality of the photos is really bad. I apologise. After I am done with the 70e I will use a proper camera.
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Gen. Freire Andrade  Portugal
 
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Posted by Gen. Freire Andrade on 05 Apr 2022, 12:21

Hi Everyone,

This post is regarding the Italeri/Esci Voltigeurs conversions. Unfortunately, this won’t be a detailed step by step process because the lack of photos. Fortunately, I will be needing more figures of this kind and that means that more conversions will be done.

This is the entirety of the voltigeurs for the 70e. 40 figures, 10 for each battalion. The pose variety is good in order to represent the men skirmishing. Not all the figures from Esci have the Sabre Briquet which means that I can only use some of them. If this is too much in regulations and I should add more variety by adding figures without this feature, please do tell.

Let’s begin the process of converting this figures.

I started by cutting all the plumes of the figures. After that with the help of my hobby knife, I carved a small guide hole on every soldiers hat. I then used a small drill (sadly I don’t know the exact size) and drilled a hole on every soldiers hat. I glued some Green Stuff World Brass Rod 0,5mm (which I cut in very small rods in order to make the plumes) on the holes of the hats with superglue. Finally, I used some green stuff to sculpt the plumes into more realistic shapes. This process was quite tiresome and took me an entire afternoon. I believe that the final results are worth it!!

A photo of the figure with the brass rod and drilled bit:

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This is a photo comparing the figures with or without the greenstuff:

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After all the figures were converted, I based them in the usual way for painting and primed them. This is how they are looking:

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After all of this was done, I noticed something. If you have a keen eye, you might already be wondering about the epaulletes. Well, I totally forgot about them. I won’t go back and add them since I really don’t know how to sculpt them, and I don’t really want to prime them all over again and risk losing detail. So, I will paint them on the models as if they exist.

I also could not resist painting some of the men:

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The paint scheme is equal to the fusiliers with the added Yellow (Citadel Averland Sunset 21-01) and the green (Citadel Warpstone Glow 22-23). I am not satisfied with the green because of the bad coverage. I will probably try Vallejo Intermediate Green next.

I am now only missing the grenadiers in order to finish this regiment. My calendar predicts that by April/May this regiment will be finished. Let´s hope that I am able to do so.

Hope you enjoyed the update. If anyone wants to support the project via researching, pointing out errors or even sending figures feel free to pm me!
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Gen. Freire Andrade  Portugal
 
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