Wednesday 7 April 2010

Gallic - c'est tout

I have had to bring painting to a halt this week and prepare to play a game or two. Martin T is visiting for two days and bringing with him some of his lovely medieval German collection. That will be one game and I am putting out some of the Army of Africa together with mixed bunch of militia, Anarchists and security forces. Autumn 1936 and two columns fight for the possession of a regional capital in dusty Estramadura.

So, conclusions on what I have done so far?

I think it is unarguably true that if you get far enough away from the figures then the simple one looks better than the detailed and shaded style. It follows that there is no such thing as best painting only that that you prefer. That choice may be based on factors such as skill, enjoyment, cost, available time or even whether you prefer to be in the same room as your figures when playing.

For myself I think I am still compromising too much with these figures. On the next regt. that I paint I shall only paint the bayonets in silver. The muskets do not stand out at a distance and can be left unpainted in black. The logic of this style seems to be leading to a basically unpainted figure with a few splashes of flat bright colour, whether I could ever be happy with that I remain unsure.

Ultimately the only worthwhile test will be when I use these figures in a game.

2 comments:

Ron said...

Oddly enough, your postings of late reminded me of those from the beginning. The late lamented WSS project has served as inspiration for me to do something similar, albeit minus the Les Higgins, which I can ill afford. Now to track down some info on Cogswell who is none too familiar,sad to say.

John, I appreciate your challenging perspective on all things wargames. Keep it up!

Anonymous said...

John,

Is Martin T the one whose medieval rules you praised sometime last year? If so, could you tell us which rules they were?

BTW I now paint on the premise that blocks of flat colour on figures finished off with gloss varnish, go a long way in creating the illusion of detail.

George