All those lancers look great, k.b. I'm not sure which of the three types I'd go for either, I think it would be the red lancers, though all have splendid uniforms and are nicely painted.
Good morning gents, Here's another "lancier rouge" to add to my collection that I thought you may like to see. If I am not mistaken ordinary ranks should have had blue stripes down their trouser legs, only senior ranks had gold. As such consider this chap to be an officer and before I complete his base I shall add a stripe or two to his sleeve to clarify exactly what rank he is.
My minis are all undercoated in humbrol enamels afterwhich I paint in W&N artists oils. In the case of the trooper his uniform is painted in Cadmium reds (starting with Cadmium Purple, Cadmium Deep, then Medium, and finally Cadmium Light), with black added for shadows and flesh tones added for highlights. It's not a 5 minute job obviously but it's what i like. The blue on his uniform is Prussian Blue, with Ivory Black added for shadows and then Titanium White for highlights. The horse is painted in a combination of browns (Burnt Umber, Burnt Sienna, Mars Brown and Van Dyke Brown with Cadmium Orange added for the highlights.
Another Dutch lancer using a little artistic licence in terms of horse colour but thought it would be interesting to place this red uniformed miniature on a white steed and a fellow trooper on a black one. Just to see which looks best. Here's part 1.
Forgive me if this sounds odd but those are the best hooves I've seen done on horses. They're all painted brilliantly but the inside of those hooves especially on the brown mount are just amazing. Some great looking lancers KB. Cheers, Bessiere
Thanks gents for your comments. In particular Bessiere for his eagle eye regarding the horses hooves. I don’t generally spend that long on them but on the brown horse you commented on I really decided to go overboard. Delighted that your critical eye was up to the job……. from now on I shall be spending more time on eyes and hooves…
We notice those little details KB, rest assured there's no wasted effort. I failed to mention the white socks with the dark patches above - something i can't pull off to my satisfaction yet you have executed it brilliantly. Some figures just call for the best effort you can possibly give and the results are, in my humble opinion, most gratifying when they look like these. Maybe we won't have the biggest armies but damn if they won't look really good. En avant!, Bessiere
Here's the black steed as promised. Would imagine most of you will agree that a black horse really helps the uniform colour to "pop" more than a white horse. At least that's my opinion. However, I know darker horses were favoured by heavy cavalry during the Napoleonic Wars on most sides with a few notable exceptions such as the Scots Greys. Speaking of which I'd love a new manufacturer to contemplate making some better S.Greys than the terrible dwarves released by Italeri a long time ago. Now i'm thinking about it maybe someone may have released some that yours truly has forgotten about. ( Massimo Costa's name comes to mind)..... let me check ....
Again some very nice lancers, k.b. Masterful painting as usual. I agree the black horse is better in combination with the red uniform. Or maybe the picture is just better with the black background. Anyway, you can always switch the rider on the white one with a bugler. I also like the contrast you give in the gold lace but the scabbards seem a little too dark to me or looks a bit too much like copper, not? Maybe it's just the picture... Thanks for sharing and keep them coming. Patrick.