After taking advantage of the kind offer of a free sample figure for the new 1864 range by North Star Miniatures, I thought it only polite to paint it up as quickly as possible.
I've had an interest in the Schleswig-Holstein Wars now for a number of years following the publication of The First Schleswig-Holstein War 1848-50 by Nick Svendsen in 2008, having acquired my copy in 2009 with the paperback reprint. The figures offered by North Star are of course for the Second war in 1864, but my interest was not dampened by this fact.
First impressions were that the figure sent is an absolutely lovely sculpt, and fits well with the Prussians from the existing North Star 1866 range (below are some size comparison shots with a Prussian, Dane and Austrian infantryman from North Star).
The colours I've used to paint the figure in are all Foundry paints as follows -
French Blue 76A and 76B - Coat and Hat.
Bay Brown 42A - straps, flap on bag, boots.
Canvas 8B and 8C - Body of bag.
Slate Grey 32B - scarf.
Conker Brown 54A and B - back pack.
Spearshaft 13A and 13C - hair and shoes on back pack.
Tan 14A - bottle.
Bronze Barrel 103C - buttons, bands on gun.
Expert Flesh 127A, B, C and D - face and hands.
Musket Stock Brown 72B - gun.
Night Sky 62A and 62B - trousers.
Scarlet 38B - dot on hat badge.
Gun Metal 104B - Gun barrel and bottle top.
I also used Army Painter Quick shade strong tone ink. The ink was used following the application of the first colour on face, hands, hair and back pack. All other colours are flat with no highlight (with the exception of Canvas 8C on the bottom the bag. The hands and face were highlighted following inking with Expert Flesh shades 127A, B, C and D. A quick highlight was also added to the hair, back pack and the shoes on the back pack (not strictly necessary but couldn't resist it!). All the black is left unshaded.
This style of painting is following the gaming standard I've set for my 1860s project, the rules are to keep the painting as basic as possible while still achieving what I consider to be acceptable results. This is easy to do with dark colours, the challenge will come with the Austrians. So far I'm pleased with the results and look forward to getting the finished units on the table.
As for North Star 1864 Danes being worth getting, the verdict from this gamer is a resounding YES, I will certainly be placing an order and look forward to further additions to the range.
Click on any picture to enlarge
1864 Dane
1866 Austrian and 1864 Dane
1864 Dane and 1866 Prussian
Great!!
ReplyDeleteThanks Phil, the figure is absolutely lovely, though I may have got the coat colour wrong!
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