Firstly, the podcast is going great guns. I am really pleased with how things are going and the amount of downloads suggests that there is a market for it! The next episode should be out tonight with an interview with Greg Wagman from Little Wars TV Suffice to say I really hope Greg returns to the podcast at some point - maybe with another member of the team who can extol the virtues of 6mm :-)
Hobby wise, I have now completed a division of British and a division of Germans for my Mons game using Great War Spearhead.
The first picture is before the 'Magic' is added. The 'Magic' is Windsor and Newton Nut Brown ink. It really is magic as you'll see. I am very much of the minimalist school of painting. Especially with 6mm, for me it's about getting enough done to let the viewer know what they are looking at, without fussing over every last belt and strap. These Germans have been sprayed with Halfords Grey primer then 5 colours added. Army Painter Leather Brown for the boots, pouches ans hair, Army Painter Fur Brown for the rifle, Army Painter Plate Mail for the rifle barrels, Army Painter Barbarian Flesh for the er....flesh and Army Painter Skeleton Bone for the helmets.
This picture shows the before and after the 'Magic' . Up close and personal it may look a bit rough, but at gaming distance (the 3 foot rule...) they look excellent!
The next three pictures are the whole division minus two infantry units I'd already done as a test for the scheme. Always useful to paint a unit or two up two nail down what colours go where. In 6mm, this can be literally half an hour or even less and is time well spent. I painted the rest of the divison in a long afternoon.
And for those who haven't seen it in the flesh, this is the wash (actually an ink) that I use. Per Broden from Roll a One and Dr Mike Salwey who runs the painting clinics at Joy of 6 and the Partizan shows were the original proponents of this ink. The magic refers to the way the ink runs into the creases and crevices of the 6mm figure leaving the principle colour practically unchanged. There is a slight darkening of the main colour, which is why you should always use a colour a shade lighter than you would for larger figures.
In other news, I have painted up the first two regiments of Confederates for the Antietam game. I have painted Rebs in every scale going and for some reason love it! I think it's the freedom to use so many different uniform combinations, getting away from a 'uniform' look! The plan is to get them done by Christmas. This might be a bit optimistic. I am confident I'll get a game on before Christmas playing the Bull Run Altar of Freedom scenario as it's quite small in Altar of Freedom terms with only around a dozen bases per side. I'll update with progress as I go.
The Napoleonic Austrians are going well. No pictures yet, but I'm well on the way to having the Baccus army pack done, and have ordered extras to bolster them out to complete the order of battle for the Sacile scenario using Blucher. So, Grenzers, Jaegers, Grenadiers plus some infantry in helmets are on their way to me.
That'll do for now. Hopefully time for some more painting later. I'm also awaiting bases from Warbases for the Germans so I'm hoping the postman has a small package for me later.
As ever, play nice and keep talking about six.
