Sunday 31 October 2021

War of 1812 US Militia

 Progress this week has been glacial - cant really explain why but I got home from work closer to 7pm than  6pm a couple of times and just could not be bothered heading out to the painting desk in the garage to do any work on these. Additionally, if I am honest, I find non uniformed figures from this kind of era pretty uninspiring to paint, so I don't really enjoy them - fortunately, this is the only militia unit I had to do, the remaining four unpainted US units are all in regulation uniform - the first of them are under coated and ready for me to start work on. As with all my US 1812 collection, the figures are by Old Glory.


This is the full unit - the Stars and Stripes are how they appeared in 1812, according to Google


I put the officer in a semi regulation uniform


The rest of the figures are in a mixture of civilian dress


There are several wearing what appear to be sombrero like straw hats - I assume the sculptor had some reason for putting his figures in this type of headgear!



Hopefully I have a better week at work and painting motivation will be consequently higher, leading to another completed unit of US Regulars this week - stay tuned!

36 comments:

  1. Superb militia, love the diversity of the figures...Great job!

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  2. Nice, a good range of uniform colour and the 3 to a base works well. In the UK, we are just getting into shorter days, so natural light for painting is pretty much gone by getting home time.

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    1. Thanks Norm....all my painting is done under artificial light (angle poise lamp) so that's never been an issue for me. Our days are of course going in the opposite direction!

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  3. Great figures, especially the militia

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    1. Thank you TGM and thanks for dropping by and commenting!

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  4. You may think it's glacial, but much faster than my meagre efforts Keith! They look great but I know what you mean about non-uniformed figures being more awkward to paint. Let's hope you get back home at a reasonable time so you can get some painting time in.

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    1. Yes that my plan - in tact, we have builders in at Head Office this week and they wont work if any staff are on site, so I will be forced to work from home on Weds Thurs and Fri!

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  5. Sometimes the mojo isn’t there for a particular unit, for me I find several units on the go at once helps I just pick something else up. Anyway the militia look good 👍

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    1. Thanks Matt - yes, a combination of things caused the painters block I think - later finishing time and not particularly inspiring subject matter were the main two I think!

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    1. Very kind Michal - I think they are bit average myself but they will do and I am glad to have got them finished off!

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  7. A brilliant looking unit Keith. They take a bit longer, but I always enjoy painting this kinda unit. I pick a colour and paint something different on each figure. Then another colour and so on....Before you knowing the units finished. Looking forward to the next unit in the queue.

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    1. Cheers Ray - yes, I tried something similar although as I paint the figures in batches of six or nine at a time, I had to be careful they did not all end up with the same three or four colours!

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  8. Those are wonderful looking figures. I also have trouble painting militia types rather then regulars. Its very slow going as each one is different. BTW hope work goes better.

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    1. Thanks a lot Mark - work should be fine - its very rare for me to be there that late!

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    2. The figures are very nice, your care is evident. Sometimes the lack of fussiness of the uniform is a challenge to define the spirit of the unit. Lacking epaulets, rows of buttons, yards of lace, these figures still show the care you've put into them.
      Hopefully work sorts itself out for you. Have fun with the regulars.

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    3. Thanks Joe - I almost missed your comment as its added as a reply to a reply by the looks of things! Mr Freitag has done that to me a couple of times too...
      Appreciate your comment - I try to keep the level of effort up, even when the subject matter doesn't quite take my fancy, so to speak.

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  9. A lovely looking unit Keith…
    I agree with you on painting irregular units… the final effect looks good but the journey there is a bit of a pain…

    All the best. Aly

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    1. Thanks Aly - I just find civilian clothing a bit uninspiring unless its a one off figure!

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  10. I like ‘em, Keith! Non-uniform units can slow down the production line. They sure look good when finished and then you can move on to more enjoyable painting tasks. Here is to hoping the workweek allows some more leisure time this week.

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    1. Thanks Jon - in respect of work, I am hopeful that will be the case!

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  11. Nice work there Kieth- even if your not fond of painting civilian type uniforms- you've done very well. Cheers. KEV.

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    1. Thanks Kev - looking forward to seeing some more of your sci fi work soon too!

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  12. Great looking militia, Keith! I always shy away from irregulars due to the longer time painting varied colors of clothing, but the overall look, as with yours, is very rewarding.

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    1. Thanks Dean - I must admit, I prefer uniforms - otherwise, I would be a model railway enthusiast rather than a wargamer, wouldn't I?!

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  13. They look great Keith. Like you, I much prefer painting regular uniforms. I've never been an evening painter myself, as I find I'm normally too tired after the end of the working day. I much prefer the mornings.

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    1. Thanks Lawrence - funny how different people are - I never have time in the morning and I think I actually prefer the glare of artificial light when I am painting too! I do some daytime painting at the weekend or when on a day off but basically 85% of my painting is done in the evening. When I did shift work years ago, I used to paint until 2300 then head off for a midnight start!

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  14. Great looking militia! I like irregular units,I need to if I want to paint Italian wars, finding painting Napoleonics a bit more of a slog and seem to be either doing lots of prep or I'm just too tired after work, like you I'm an evening artificial light painter!
    Best Iain

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    1. Thanks Iain - thinking about it, my light preference is probably genetic - being Scots, if I relied on natural sunlight for painting, I would be restricted to three or four months of the year at most! Lawrence, being a native of the Antipodes, is used to month after month of blazing sunshine!

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  15. Those came out great even if not particularly loved. I find that even figures that I have to grind out look the same as ones I liked better in the end. It’s always nice to have figures painted than not. 😀

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    1. Thanks Stew - they look ok but will never be a favourite of mine - of course, because I dont like them, they will probably always perform heroic acts on the table top - defeating the Guards or the Black Watch or some other Elite British unit!

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  16. A great looking unit, non-uniform troops have always been a challenge just simply deciding what colours to match, but these look fine.
    Cheers
    Stu

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    1. Cheers Stu - I could have made more effort and done some pinstripe or checked trouser patterns - but I couldn't be bothered!

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