From PeterD: 28mm War of 1812 US 13th Infantry (82 points)

From Peter:

So I got these guys finished just in time for the final deadline for the 4th Analogue Painting Challenge. These are 16 members of the US 13th Infantry from the War of 1812.  The are Victrix figures from the British Penninsula infantry boxes, with heads from the Victrix artillery box wearing the Belgic Shako.  Let's just say that the honeymoon is over with Victrix and I have deliberately not given any closeups of this unit.  I think that I've got bits from 3 different Victrix sets with torsos from the flank company box with left over arms from the centre company box.

For the 13th I gave them the regulation blue coat - the coats are blue but my lighting and camera skills give them a purples hue.  I have used the Belgic shako to represent the false fronted "Tombstone" shako adopted by the US regs in 1813.

Loki has mentioned the Fat Lady Singing.  Hopefully at our house Sadie (picture enclosed) will be singing- she's not over sized but certainly has some nice curves.  No Fat Ladies singing, only an out of shape middle aged dude bashing out Beatles songs on a guitar. 

Thanks for running the Challenge Curt.  Have a large glass of something strong - you've earned it.

I'm glad you made it in with these - nice work Peter. You've really had a great push over the past 3 months with your 1812 project and I'm looking forward to some games in the near future.

This regiment of US regulars will give Peter 82 points. Congratulations, you've almost doubled your original goal - Well done!

From PeterD: 28mm War of 1812 British Artillery & Command Stands (125 points)

From Peter:

I've got a bunch of odd bits that I've worked on over the challenge that I am submitting as one War of 1812 smorgasbord.  The enclosed pictures are of

• 9 Royal artillery gunners using the Victrix plastic set.  I like the Victrix artillery set, but am going off the Victrix experience as a whole.  The unit of infantry that I'm finishing off was a real bugger to assemble and paint.

• 2 Victrix 6 pounders from the plastic box set.  They went together ok, but a tad fiddly.  

• 2 metal naval guns from Brigade Hobbies picked up at the same time as the Meese.  I believe that these are an 18lber and a 12lber.  From what I can tell, fortress guns in North America often came on naval carriages (that is certainly the case at Louisbourg). 

• A US command stand including a General and a Light Dragoon escort (both on horseback).  These are modified from the Perry French Dragoon set.  The general has his lapels trimmed off and a Victrix infantry officer head.  The dragoon was modified as with my earlier unit of the 2nd Light Dragoons.  I really like the plastic dragoon set.

• A British command stand including a General and an Aide-de-camp from the Canadian Fencibles Regiment.  Again, these started life as French Dragoons.  I trimmed the lapels down but not off to represent the British officers' coat which frequently had a triangle of coloured lapel showing.  The general's head came from the Perry British infantry box and his aide de camp sports a Brigade Hobbies round hat (the ex-Victrix Royal Marine Hats).  The round hat was apparently the very height of fashion with the beaux sabres on the Niagara in 1813.  Much like the Dukes of Hazard hair and moustache in 1990s Biloxi I imagine. 

For the artillery, I opted to mount the gunners on one base and the pieces on a separate base so that I could switch the weaponry around to suit.  

I've had a good laugh at your CSA uniform.  In solidarity with your coming out, I enclose another entry in the "dumb looks from the past while in uniform" challenge. The year is I think 1976, my scout troop was one of the few to wear kilts, and yes that was a lot of hair.  

The only good thing is that given what was fashionable at the time, this picture would likely be more embarrassing if I was wearing pants.

That picture of you is wonderfully dorktastic so I heartily welcome you to the club, congratulations! I must say I get a bit of vertigo looking at the photo as you're pretty much upright but that building in the background looks like it's in the midst of a crash dive or being slowly dragged away by a Cthonian (who must be just off camera).

Great work on the artillery and command stands. I quite like those naval guns on their deck carriages. I can't imagine how difficult it would be to manoeuvre one of those monstrous things in uneven terrain. I have a box of the Victrix guns in the wings and I'm looking forward to giving them a go after seeing yours.

These guns, their crew and the mounted officers will give Peter 125 points. Well done!

From PeterD: 28mm War of 1812 Native Warriors from Grand River Six Nations (60 points)

From Peter:

Next up for the painting challenge is another War of 1812 unit - as Anne O'Leary says I've got around to the good guys. This is a unit of 12 native warriors from the Grand River Six Nations, who featured in many War of 1812 actions especially along the Niagara.

The figures are 28mm from Crusader's FIW range. I did some poking about of Webstores before settling on the Crusader figures. I was looking for figures which had a mix of European and native clothing and equipment, and these guys did the trick. I have some Crusader figs in my El Cid armies so I knew the company. Plus Caliver Books in the UK had them in stock and they ship world wide post free if you order £15 of figures. At some point it would be great if North American hobby suppliers could be even in the same ball park as the UK firms in terms of shipping costs and timeliness of delivery. OK, I'll get off the soap box now…..

For painting these figures, for me the big challenge was skin tones. I live in a city with a fair Native population so have the ability to do some people watching among fellow bus riders, shoppers and people wandering the halls of academentia. I hope I didn't come off as too creepy!

I settled on Liquidtex "Dark Portrait Pink" with a heavy wash of "Raw Umber" - being a Artist's Acrylics man at heart. This contrasts with my European figures which use "Flesh" topped with washes of "Terracotta" to give a tanned look and Raw Umber to get the crevices. This Bloom County gem from the 80s sums up the process nicely I think.

I never paint eyes on 28mm figures, or at least I haven't in 20 years or so. I subscribe to the theory that eyes are only discernible at much closer range than that implied by a 28mm fig. That and the fact that most figures I see with eyes remind me of pandas and raccoons.

I wanted to base these figs to give the impression of native warriors operating in a loose order and taking advantage of cover. Therefore I used double sized bases with 2 figs per 40mm square base instead of 2 per 40mm*20mm. The fuzzy caterpillar grass is an Evil Empire product while the other scenic items were produced by mother nature. Incidentally SWMBO had me roast the sticks at 400 degrees to make sure that no new friends were introduced to our indoor environment.

Lemme get this straight: You cooked your sticks so they would get past house-safety quarantine? You need to tell your lovely wife that it's not the outdoor critters that are the danger to your household, rather it's you being around any sharp tool or piece of cutlery. Last I heard you barely escaped cutting cabbage without losing a digit!  :)

Great work Peter! Your recipe for Native American skin tones looks very convincing and I see you have been converted to the 'Cult of the Tuft'. Good man. I look forward to seeing these fellows in a game soon.

These Native Americans will give Peter 60 points.

From PeterD: 28mm War of 1812 British Infantry - 8th King's Regiment (122 points)

From Peter:

This is the 8th (King's Regiment) from the War of 1812. I have plugging away on this unit for a while now and finally finished them last night. I was slowed down by February blahs and grumpiness, a broken figure (thanks Victrix for the weak joint) and another kitchen injury involving chopping vegetables. This time it was a sweet potato and I sliced a bit of the tip of my left ring finger. Next time, I'll listen when my wife says that the knives need sharpening.

Anyway not a lot to say about this unit (24 strong). The figures are all Victrix, except for one of the standard bearers. The flags were downloaded from Warflag (a great free resource).

I've developed a real preference for the Perry plastics after working with Victrix. The Victrix poses offer ore variety at a cost of far more fiddliness. Plus I find the Perry poses more natural and easier to paint.

I believe that this takes me over me Challenge target (yeah me)!

Ah, this is great as I know you've been working on these fellows for a while - must be great to have them completed. They look wonderful! I quite like the cords and finials on the standards, they give a very nice finishing touch to the colour party. I agree with you about Victrix vs Perry: the flexibility of accoutrements and pose with Victrix is a boon, but they are definitely more fiddly to assemble than the Perry offerings (and somewhat more fragile in my experience as well).

This battalion of the 8th will give Peter 122 points, which includes a couple extra for the smart set of colours. This will indeed put him over his 500 point Challenge target. Well done Peter! Now go re-attach your finger and remember: don't run with scissors. 

From PeterD: 28mm War of 1812 Canadian Incorporated Militia Battalion (40 points)

Peter adds some additional reinforcements to his War of 1812 collection.

From Peter: 

It's been awhile since my last submission but I've had several units on the go. These are a 24 man unit from the Incorporated Militia Battalion of Upper Canada. However, only 8 count towards the challenge as I had painted the original 16 last year. The unit is mostly made up of Perry plastics with with a few exceptions as follows (all in the 8 new additions): The two kneeling figures are Victrix plastics, but with Perry packs so as to have the same kit as the rest of the unit; the officer with the round hat is from Brigade (ex Victrix) and comes in a pack with 3 metal command figures and 30 heads to turn Victrix British infantry into Royal Marines. Apparently round hats were all the rage among the young Canadian officer corps during the war.

My old gaming buddy Ross had noted that my American infantry regiments gave the look of individual figures firing at will. With this unit I tried to get the impression of platoon fire by completing the new 8 figures in firing poses and basing them together. The remaining 4 bases hold figures in the process of reloading and readying to fire.

The Incorporated Militia Battalion was formed as a permanent standing force from men in the existing militia units of Upper Canada (now Ontario). They were well trained and pretty much as good as regulars and fought well during the War of 1812. Members of the unit served all along the frontier and fought in many of the battles.

The original plan was for red uniforms, but supply issues led to them getting green faced red for a time. This makes a nice contrast in the thin red line. 

Officers apparently got scarlet coats faced blue, and darned if I can find any reference to the musicians. In the end I decided that they got the regular green faced red with extra lace.

Great work Peter! I really like the variations in kit, colour and uniform that you've added to reinforce these as bodged together Canadian militia, especially that posh round hat for the officer - very nice. 

These eight fellow (doing great credit to the rest of their battalion) will give Peter 40 points. Well done!

From PeterD: 28mm War of 1812 American Light Dragoons (60 points)

Peter accelerates his pace with this excellent unit of American light dragoons from the War of 1812.

From Peter:

My next entry for the painting challenge are these 6 members of the US 2nd Light Dragoons.  They will serve as a small unit in my war of 1812 Black Powder base games.  The figures are Perry Miniatures plastic French Dragoons, from the same box that provided the light infantry unit the Trojan Greens.  Conversion work was minimal - I trimmed off the Plastron of the jacket otherwise everything else was paint work.

The French dragoon sword is really too heavy for light dragoons but it works.  I retained the dragoon muskets instead of rigging carbines, I also used an arm from the dismounted figures so that one trooper carries a firearm in hand.  I don't have a lot of info on the horse furniture (I love that term, it makes me think of equine recliners) but i think the French sheepskin and shabraque works ok.  I really enjoyed painting these figures, especially the horses.  However, my patience is not really up to the task of the assembly and gluing as I always rush things to get to the good stuff (the painting).

There were two regiments of US light dragoons and between the two of them detachments served at mos of the actions of the War of 1812.  likely their best moment was at Crysler's farm where the 2nd charged British regulars.  They were repulsed by fire but their action allowed most of the artillery to get away.

Excellent work Peter! I must admit I'm a bit amazed at your output during this Challenge. It must have something to do with your daughter going to university halfway across the country this autumn! I look forward to eviscerating these Yanks on the tabletop...

These American light dragoons will give Peter 60 points and I see he has several others waiting in the wings so stay tuned for those.

From PeterD: 28mm War of 1812 American Infantry (40 points)

Peter continues with his War of 1812 project by completing this fine battalion of American infantry.

From Peter:

Eight of this 24 man unit make up my second submission.  These are the US 16th Infantry Regiment from the War of 1812 in 28mm.  The original 16 men I painted much earlier this year are Perry plastics and the 8 men I painted this week are Victrix plastics.  

These figures are based on a plate in the Osprey on the American War,  The US Army had difficulty obtaining blue cloth for its units, due in part to the trade embargoes that led to the war in the first place.  Many units made due with other colours, including the 16th who had black tunics with red facings and white lace.  Since officers bought their own uniforms they typically had the regulation blue faced red (although one expects as a premium price).  

My original plan was to put the Victrix figures on two separate bases and leave the 16 Perry-men as they were.  However, the two figure manufacturers have very different interpretations of the packs issued to British infantry.  The Perry figures have a shorter squatter pack while the Victrix packs are tall and skinnier.  Worse still, I took the blanket rolls off of my Perry figures (since the US didn't typically store their blankets on top) but left them on the Victrix figures.  I course noticed this right after I finished painting them in black tunics…

I  decided that a miss-match of equipment was likely in 1813 and that using captured Brit kit to supplement was done as required.  But it looked better to blend the Victrix into the Perry masse rather than have them send out on their own.  The two makes fit together well.  Once they were based I was telling them apart by their base shapes (Victrix's are square and Perry's round) or their packs.  Given equipment and uniform issues, I gave the lot of them different coloured trousers.  My Trojan Green's faces didn't show the level of detail that I like so I gave these guys an extra wash of Raw Umber to bring the details out more (I hope).

Anyway the 16th fought in many of the key actions in the Niagara, Lake Ontario and Montreal campaigns.  Elements who present at York, Stoney Creek, Crysler's farm and Cook's Mills.

Great work Peter. I found the Victrix French plastics to be very nice but a bit fiddly to assemble whereas the Perry models seem a bit more straighforward (if less open to options). I'm quite looking forward to having a game with these and I expect your British will find good allies amongst my Penninsular War lads in future tabletop adventures.

These 8 figures will give Peter 40 points. Good job!

From PeterD: 28mm War of 1812 American Militia (48 points)

Peter debuts with these great dismounted dragoons for his War of 1812 project.

From Peter:

I signed up for Curt's 4th Painting Challenge, but was much later off the starting line than many others.  I plead an acute case of real life - 120 Stats papers, 30 Financial mathematics papers, swapping the furniture between two bedrooms in our house and the return of our daughter after a storm delayed flight home from University.  I swear that Curt sets the timing up to put me at a maximum disadvantage - really Curt I have both Final exams and Christmas to deal with.  [Douglas, you don't fool me for a minute. I know that even if the conditions were absolutely perfect you'd still be a drag-ass paint slug...- ed. :P ] 

Anyway, this year I've decided to keep my submissions to bite sized morsels rather than full meals.  First up are these 8 members of the Trojan Greens, a War of 1812 Militia unit from upstate New York. Figures are kit bashed from the Perry 28mm plastic dismounted French Dragoons.  Construction wise I quite like the Perry plastics, but I am rather ham-fisted in my approach.  

In this case, the major bashing involved trimming the boot detail off of the rank and filers to represent trousers.  I left the officer in boots and breaches as this seems to be a unit composed of uppity upstate mucky-mucks, and I figured that the officers would be trumped up Johnnies who would dress like gentry. Otherwise, I swapped in arms from the mounted figures for the trumpeter and officer.  I left them with the cavalry belts and cartage box, I'm sure a button counter will tell me that's not accurate but it works.  

I don't have a lot of info about the unit - they were rifled armed and from the Albany area.  They appear to have served along the St. Lawrence frontier and I believe that they were one of the volunteer units that existed pre-war - with the members providing their own uniforms and drilling on their own time.  I found a uniform plate here, and references here about an existing officer's coat.  The black belts on black facing and plastron always blurs details but I think that the yellow lace shows the difference well enough for my purposes.  I am not 100% happy with my lace work, but decided it was close enough and experience has told me that fussing about with yellow on black just makes things worse.  There is a similar black on black effect with the helmets and crests, but I find that a wash effect on the horse hair shows a difference in texture to get the effect reasonably.

Great job Peter! It's always nice to see something outside the main tropes of figure gaming. What system are you basing these for? Black Powder? 

These eight New Yorkers will give Peter a base of 40 points but I'm adding another 8 for the modifications he did. Welcome to the roster Peter!

From MilesR: War of 1812 US Regular Infantry (180 points)

Miles sends in another 'man-sized' US Regular infantry battalion for his new War of 1812 project. 

Like the rest of his collection to-date, these are 28mm Knuckleduster figures. Miles has mentioned on his blog that while the figures are not as finely sculpted as what you may find with some other ranges they are very characterful and paint-up well.

I'm looking forward to a group shot in a couple months to see how this collection looks then. It will be impressive.

So that's another 36 figures under the belt, giving Miles 180 points. Just enough to pip Ray!


This will make three full units that he has completed for this project in under a month. Excellent work, Miles! To me, this is what The Challenge is all about: making significant inroads on those new, existing or languishing projects - and having a little extra fun doing it. Very cool stuff.