40mm Peninsular Project: Base Coats and Research.

The Light Division under Beckwith

The Light Division.

I had a chance to review some of the materials I have acquired over the years in preparation of this project. Like most of you, I really enjoy the Sharp Series of novels and movies. So any skirmish game has to involve the 95th Rifles in some respect. Here is a quick look at the organization of the Light Division in August of 1810. Looking a little further down the road, I will need miniatures to represent the 1/43 of Foot, the 1st Cacadores, and the 1/95th Rifles. Throw in some Spanish townsfolk, Monks, and Guerillas and that should do it for the British.

British Light Infantry Officer

Making Progress On Pants.
I had some time this weekend to get a quick base coat on the 40mm Infantry. I am/was having a bit of an internal debate over the color of the pants. Originally, for the sake of time I was going to do all white. However, once I began poking around I found the following image online. The pose of the 40mm Infantry Officer almost perfectly matches the illustration. Needless to say, this is why I love Perry Miniatures. Their castings are usually very accurate and often inspired by period artwork. So once I saw this, I had to have the Officer in Grey trousers.

British Infantry re-enactors

Getting Started: Base Coats:
The Osprey Book (Wellington's Army in the Peninsula 1809–14)
 had this photo of re-enactors that looks much different than the typical image of the British soldier from the period. The colors are rich and deep. The white's are crisp and sharp. So with that in mind I set out to apply the base coats. I have show this step to illustrate how you can apply these early layers of paint without too much care. Often, when I look at painted miniatures on the internet you only see the finished product. Which I think gives the impression that each step of the painting process must be controlled and labor intensive. If you follow these next few posts you will see how it's the building up of layers of color that make miniatures appear more 3-D. In effect you are painting to enhance the sculpture by painting up from dark to light and only the last few layers really need to be neat for the miniature to be effective.

Pro Tip:
The correct consistency for your paints should be like milk. Thin with water and mix the paint well. This ensures the pigment and medium with incorporate thoroughly, giving you a slight "watercolor" effect that will reveal the highlights on the figure. Making them easier to pick out in the last stage of painting.

British Light Infantry (recruit)

British Light Infantry (veteran)

British Light Infantry (with grey pants)