|
|
Post by jimmn on Jul 17, 2019 16:01:49 GMT
This set of 1812 Rifles was available through Amazon for ten bucks with free shipping. Had to buy them. No choice, right? The prices on the AIP website are low, but shipping is not cheap. Attachments:
|
|
|
|
Post by leswhite on Jul 17, 2019 20:57:12 GMT
Everyone looks at shipping differently and since the post offices world wide have made it so high , wherever you are, you must just work it into your budget, it's a decision for yourself of course. I checked out their website and regular shipping is $ 15.00 for any order within the continental USA, up to $100.00 then over $ 100.00 it's FREE!!, can't get cheaper than that  So I suppose it's just a matter of working out what sets you would like or can afford within your hobby budget. You could get ALL 17 newly configured camel sets as shown on the current website for a value of $ 101.25 post FREE, which is only $ 5.95 per set!! With your newly aquired rifles, might I suggest you try a paint wash on one of the figures. The previous owner has started these for you with block colour so a black wash, watered down paint, will gather in all the detail and pick it out and you might end up with a nice looking figure without too much more work. The wash doesn't need to be black of course but since their uniforms looked black it would help to dull down the bright green. You could do more than one wash making the flesh a brown to pick out the facial and hand features. I think it's worth an experiment |
|
|
|
Post by jimmn on Jul 18, 2019 12:30:39 GMT
Les, I was the person who painted the Rifles. The photo does not show it very well because of the reflections off the glossy sealer and the shadows cast by the light. Believe it or not, the officer is all green except for black facings on the breast. The bright green on the enlisted men is not as bright as it appears. However, the faces do look a bit blurry. Using a brown on the face and hands had not occurred to me. Since I use cheap craft paint, it might not work out as well as it would for you. Craft paint is gloppier than the good stuff.
Maybe the iphone changes the colors a bit.
|
|
|
|
Post by leswhite on Jul 18, 2019 13:05:23 GMT
I've found this problem before when viewing pics on the internet, on my screen the green is quite bright. So the suggestion of dulling it down with a wash seemed reasonable, but I understand what you say and it is just a quirk of the screen resolution. You are doing yourself no favours by using the cheap craft paints in my experience, I found them to be , as you say 'gloopier' and less likely to adhere to soft plastic or if it does it needs a varnish or it can be rubbed off easily. You are correct they would not work as a wash as there is not enough pigment left when watered down. MY suggestion , allowing for your hobby budget, is to buy individual pots/bottles of quality paint when you can and build up a stock of standard colours which can be mixed together to make any other colours you might need. I have some VALLEJO PAINTS that come in a eye dropper type bottle which I have had since 2000 and they are still liquid and useable now, so they last quite a while, the pigment used is quite nice however you need two coats on some figures depending on the undercoat used. VALLEJO do boxed sets of groups of colours, 6 - 8 bottles, for MILITARY, AIRCRAFT, etc and you can find some bargains on EBAY. I also like the GAMES WORKSHOP paints as they have some very useful premixed colours and the ones marked 'base' can be used directly onto the figures with out the need of an undercoat if you wanted that 'toy soldier' part painted look of a commercially produced figure - jacket in plastic colour, trousers and face painted. These paints are expensive from the GW stores but can be found discounted online and you can get lucky with guys getting out of the hobby selling off their leftover stuff. This is just my take , of course, I've read of others that use Artist GESSO, Artist Acrylic, Oil paints, etc so like every thing else to do with our hobby it's personal taste and preference. Check out some of the videos online for techniques on paint washes, on faces it picks out the detail with one swipe of the brush |
|
|
|
Post by jimmn on Jul 18, 2019 13:18:36 GMT
Les,
I have been thinking about upgrading my paints but always walk away when i see the prices in the hobby store. Maybe i will be able to bite the bullet. I bought a set of paints for my son, at his request, and nearly fell out of my chair because it was $100. i will look around online for better deals.
Another issue is whether good paints are wasted on me. My son paints beautiful detail, but my hand wobbles and my vision goes blurry.
|
|
|
|
Post by leswhite on Jul 18, 2019 13:38:33 GMT
I think you just solved your problem, get your son to paint all your figures for you I suffer the same issues , due to medication and only one good eye, so it takes me longer to paint a figure than convert it but I just look it as being part of the hobby and if it keeps me from wandering the streets it works for me ! The issue between good or bad paints, does have a factor in the finished work and the better the results the more satisfaction you get for a job well done so there are swings and roundabouts with our choices. A set of paints for $ 100.00 would seem to me to be Artist quality ? Is your son training to be an artist or taking a art course. You don't need anything of that quality. I'm sure if you have a surf on Ebay you can get a better idea of prices. The next time I'm on Ebay USA I'll see if I can find any listings to get you started. |
|
|
|
Post by leswhite on Jul 18, 2019 13:47:49 GMT
|
|
|
|
Post by jimmn on Jul 18, 2019 13:49:39 GMT
The reason for a hobby is to do something you enjoy. Most hobbyists do not produce results worthy of showing but they are smart enough not to post pictures on the internet. I should restrain myself.
In my defense, i see pictures on the internet of figures that are not painted at all. When i look at my figures, i honestly think they look a lot better than they did before they were painted. Most days, i pull one of my AIP set boxes off the shelf and admire them.
On the other hand, i would like to improve. Better paints might make a big difference despite blurry vision and tremors.
|
|
|
|
Post by leswhite on Jul 18, 2019 14:04:40 GMT
Your quite right , we all get something out of our hobbies that we enjoy. I think the good thing about this type of forum is that you can get involved if you want and share pics if you want. The collecting of plastic toy soldiers in the USA seems to be a traditional thing not to paint them but play with them by colour , which is why AIP make them in so many colours, over here companies that sold us unpainted figures gave us packaging to tell us how to paint them so it's a different tradition. I prefer painted figures but I can see the appeal of the unpainted when you see what Scott Lesch turns out on his Blog. On your blurry vision, have you tried a magnifying visor, it is a head band with options for clipping on various lenses of differing magnification. I have to close one eye when I'm painting any kind of detail just to see what I am doing, it's not good getting old If you enjoy painted figures I would keep going, you are off to a good start and has you go you WILL see an improvement, but to be honest I wouldn't bother with what others want to see but do keep sharing with us as you go on. My painting isn't perfect but it's a style I like so I'll stick with it. I'm sharing my pics as collector friends have told me others would be interested in what I do and I'm hoping to get some ideas for other conversion off of the members of this forum , although that really hasn't happened yet but I'm hopeful |
|
|
|
Post by jimmn on Jul 18, 2019 15:11:08 GMT
Les,
I always enjoy your conversions. They are interesting and creative.
They got me thinking about cavalry. Many of those figures are similar, even from different armies and different eras. They come fewer figures in a set but that is ok.
|
|
|
|
Post by leswhite on Jul 20, 2019 9:50:49 GMT
jimmn,
Thanks for that. I try to be helpful with my comments.
You're right although you get less figures in a Cavalry set, you don't normally have so many in a game anyway. Some rule set only call for 4 - 6 horse to make up a cavalry unit, so 5 is a reasonable compromise.
Head swaps will work with most of the cavalry, either to create a unit for a different war or a different unit for an existing range. As I mentioned before it just requires a little research on the internet.
Just had another look at your painted 95th rifles. Their shakos should be Black with Green cords and tuft. The Shakos were a Black felt material. Here are the guys from the TV show 'SHARPE' 
Here is an alternative colour scheme for the '60th Rifles', little bit more colourful and a possibility to create another unit from the set that you acquired. 
|
|
|
|
Post by jimmn on Jul 20, 2019 12:28:05 GMT
I enjoy the Sharpe books so much that I have fallen into reading the series through every year. Must be a sign of old age when you opt for reading the same books again and again. Anyway my go-to authors are Bernard Cornwell for hx fiction and BV Larson for syfy. And I read the Jack Reacher series through again and again.
When the price per episode goes down for the Sean Bean series I will start watching them. He was great in the first season of Game of Thrones. Some of his other parts have not been good for him.
|
|
|
|
Post by leswhite on Jul 20, 2019 22:02:48 GMT
You must know the 'SHARPE' series back to front by now, but to re-read them just for the sake of it seems extra effort that could be put into another book series that I think will be equally enjoyable to you. I think that the stories that were not made into TV Episodes are the better ones - GOLD, HAVOC, ESCAPE which have very game able scenarios. I'd like to recommend 'The Simon Fonthill Novels' by JOHN WILCOX, these are really an extension of the 'Sharpe' concept put into another era. The hero is an Lieutenant with the South Wales Borders that is not happy with army life, his father was a well respected officer of the same regiment, and is persuaded to do some scouting work instead of leaving the army. With his batman , a regimental boxer and sergeant, they go on adventures through historical events (just like Sharpe). The first story 'Horns of the Buffalo' starts with the ZULU WAR 1879 and through 10 novels ends with WW1 in AFRICA. Wilcox intertwines his stories into actual events and meets actual historical figures, so very much like Bernard Cornwell does. Through the 10 books there are numerous scenarios suitable for gaming, especially if you like the British Colonial wars. For the flip side of the Napoleonic Wars there is the 'Alan Lausard Adventures' by RICHARD HOWARD. First story is BONAPARTES' SONS set in 1795, our hero is a military trained aristocrat hiding out from the mobs of Paris that ends up in jail and is recruited with other criminals to serve in the French Dragoons. The 6 stories take them through the end of the French Revolution to Egypt and back to Europe for campaigns across the continent and Russia. Just like 'Sharpe' actual historical events are woven into the stories. Once again some great scenarios to game for cavalry action, both mounted and dismounted. These books are not great works of art but easy to read and enjoy as a way of relaxing and getting ideas for games. Sean Bean was O.K. in the part of SHARPE but by the book description he really should have been the guy that plays Wolverine, Hugh Jackman The 'Sharpe' series in available on DVD. Are they expensive in the USA ? |
|
|
|
Post by jimmn on Jul 20, 2019 23:02:13 GMT
I bought book one of Napoleans Sons. Fontll is on my list. Thanks for the tips.
DVD? Obsolete tech. The series is not free yet on amazon or Acorn. Since i pay a fortune for broadband, cell phone, amazon prime etc, i drew line at paying for a video.
|
|
|
|
Post by leswhite on Jul 21, 2019 23:49:50 GMT
I'm pretty much old school as far as tech goes , so I still buy cheap DVDs, as I might want to watch them a few times over, especially the action sequences. We pay for a TV license over here ,just to have the 'privilege' of watching a TV, so I'm not about to pay extra to watch programs from a company that want to charge me again ! The local 'POUNDLAND'(Dollar Store) sells DVDs that are pre-viewed (that's retail speak for second hand ) that have been checked for quality. So I've added a few interesting movies to my collection recently. At these prices I can't go wrong If Sharpe were on Amazon or Acorn, would you be able to watch each episode more than once without a problem or do they only have the shows on for certain length of time - over a month or two then it disappears. Some people with SKY over here ,watch a episode part way through, stop it to go and od something and when they return they can't continue has the machine has determined that they have watched it all and will only go onto the next episode of series. I would find that quite frustrating. |
|
