Napoleonic Adventrures: Painting a Prussian Musketeer

In this episode I go through how I am painting my Prussianm Musketeers, there is an article on the blog to all the links of information sources and so on I have used: www.ringo-simpk...
Since doing this video I have come across some further information, apparently sword scabbards would be a leather brown colour (same as the - what I now know is the musket sling around the greatcoat roll over the shoulder), rather than black. I think my kollets are a bit too blue, the jackets were a really dark blue, so I might not use the light blue all over in future, just as a fleck of highlight. The officer's sheath was of red leather, not black and I am still hunting out the colours of the epaulettes of the officers greatcoat as I am not certain if they were just grey or of the same colours as the regimental distinction (in this case white) or rank. I did not paint the NCO's collar or cuffs with the gold lace, not through ignorance, I was just being lazy.
Thanks to all who have helped me out with this.

[@khankrum1]

Living in a Bulgarian village obtaining appropriate paints like Valegio is expensive and very difficult, so I make do with what I can obtain locally, For undercoats I use spray can matt black car pain and car undercoat. I paint 15mm Napoleonic's, but it is always welcome to be able to watch someone else' work on KZbin.

[@paulhowes1396]

I like the shine! It makes them look like the old traditional Britains Toy Soldiers. Great job of painting and presentation on this unit. BB

[@PanzermansBunker]

Good tutorial on table top painting.......the Prussian Musketeer turned out great. Ready to do battle with his cohorts. Of them all, I like the bandaged head figure the most....lots of character there. Thanks for sharing your skills with us. Bill.

[@RingoSimpkinsUK]

***** Cheers Bill, hope it helps someone out sometime

[@johnwayneeverett6263]

I KEEP COMING BACK .....THANK YOU BUDDY , YOUR SITES ARE A WELCOME SITE .

[@athilith]

It does look like a nice toy soldier. :) A very good video and useful to anyone into napoleonic era. Cheers, Tristan.

[@RingoSimpkinsUK]

athilith Cheers Tris, I do like my toy soldiers

[@Forge_n_Brush]

Well done once again. I like that bandaged model to. Nice look and feel to him.

[@RingoSimpkinsUK]

Kurtus Brown Out of all of the company, he does look the best, battered and bruised at Ligny but still up for the fight

[@marksmangaming9306]

great to see the whole stages of the painting and basing. Cracking stuff mate.

[@RingoSimpkinsUK]

Marksman Gaming Cheers, they are fun to paint, varied and interesting enough not to get too bored when doing 32 of 'em at a time LOL

[@GrahamFoulston]

I can't wait to see your painting skills on your layout Ringo, if these figures are anything to go by then it should look absolutely stunning. Great tutorial and I learnt a lot from that, thanks. .............Graham

[@RingoSimpkinsUK]

Graham Foulston Cheers Graham, I'll be taking a day return to Lakeside soon ...

[@GrahamFoulston]

***** There's a special deal going on at the moment apparently!

[@provjaro]

That was excellent Ringo, your Silesians are looking lovely and the video will be very useful to anyone starting late Prussians. (I'll pop a link over from my next Prussian blog post). I was the same as yourself trying to track down the little details like the scabbard colour and officers shoulder straps. Be looking forward to you covering each branch of the Prussian army. Interested to see how you paint your drummer. Cheers Paul

[@RingoSimpkinsUK]

Paul Alba Cheers Paul, my view on this sort of thing is, if I can't find the info I need to do the figure I want to do, then I am sure there are others in my position. I am painting my musketeers in a very basic table top standard, and I am discovering more info all the time, but I am hopeful that this vid helps someone out.

[@gkspain1]

Very nice tutorial, lovely paint job, thanks for sharing

[@MrSuperchippy74]

Excellent video Ringo. Great job on the figures, I'm with you about the figure with the bandage, he's my favourite figure too.

[@RingoSimpkinsUK]

MrSuperchippy74 He does paint up well, you'll enjoy painting him

[@vonketteringham]

Very good vid Ringo. Always interesting to see how others approach the painting of their figures. The battalion looks excellent. Top marks :0)

[@RingoSimpkinsUK]

vonketteringham From the master, that is great praise indeed, cheers

[@Paul1970]

Great tutorial and paint job. That's a really nice idea to use metal bolts and a block of wood to support the troops during the painting process. Cheers.

[@RingoSimpkinsUK]

Paul 1970 Cheers Paul, your back! Great stuff. I have learnt so much more since I did this video, I am going to have to do an updated one I think ...

[@Paul1970]

I'm working on some Naps again after a hiatus and hope to post a new vid relatively soon.

[@michaelwebb9718]

Great looking figures again ringo!

[@RingoSimpkinsUK]

michael webb Thanks, I have enjoyed doing these, they are fun to do and are surprisingly simple to do

[@artourious6346]

Good wargame standard, nice to see your production.

[@paips4]

Looks great

[@RingoSimpkinsUK]

paips4 Cheers, much appreciated, thanks for the comment.

[@RobertChisholm]

That dip gave him some life.

[@RingoSimpkinsUK]

Robert Chisholm I think they would pass muster on anyones game table. When you are doing the "dip" the mini looks quite basic until you bung on the brown stuff, then everything pops out. If I were doing a one off "figure" for display (not that I do anything like that these days) I'd approach the whole thing in a quite different way and be a damn sight more tidy LOL.

[@BritishLegion666]

You are a clever old bean. Yes English uniform does make a great leather colour. Top Draw mate.

[@RingoSimpkinsUK]

***** I am glad I shared that tip with you make sure you use it. Cavalry Brown is a useful colour to have around too ... LOL

[@Hello-1814]

They look great! I hope you get lots of battles with them

[@jamjar3451]

That looks way awesome. Great tutorial.

[@RingoSimpkinsUK]

Jam Jar 34 I am going to have do an update, there are a few "mistakes" I've spotted

[@philRminiatures]

Nice tuto for a famous unit!

[@Volgan16666]

Very nice indeed.

[@IDICBeer]

Looking good mate, nice vid

[@RingoSimpkinsUK]

***** Cheers Nick

[@pancakepayneypayne6499]

Great vid mate.. cracking work they look superp .

[@RingoSimpkinsUK]

pancakepayney payne Cheers PP, thanks for saying so ... I'll catch up with you soon enough LOL

[@jackarmstrongiii3669]

Great stuff Ringo!

[@RingoSimpkinsUK]

Jack Armstrong III Thanks Jack

[@liberator2408]

Great stuff mate, figures look ace.

[@RingoSimpkinsUK]

Liberator240 Cheers, I am cracking through them .. got a bleedin' horse in the next batch ... :(

[@unkhter]

great vid, very nice job, minis are looking great :)

[@RingoSimpkinsUK]

unkhter Thanks, the first battalion is now almost done!

[@Slaanesh1000]

I have comments & questions. I think the whole thing of producing batches that are used in gaming in a more basic paint job is spot on. Especially in 28 mm Napoleonics where its the numbers that impress not the detail of an individual. If you want you can tart up your colonels and generals which would not be out of place given that senior officers augmented their own uniforms with that personal touch that the ordinary ranks just could not do. My questions are: why the gloss coat on the soldier before the matt. I hate the gloss effect and it still shines through. I tend to spray my troops with matt varnish which works to stop the wearing of the points and corners that would otherwise lose paint. And why so many brands of paint in one project. I have multiple brands but they tend to be used with specific projects like FoW or Napoleonics.

[@RingoSimpkinsUK]

The gloss varnish is really tough and hard waring, plus the ‘dip’ is only available in gloss. It all boils down to personal choice and what you are happy with. In my view there is only one thing that matters and that is what you are happy with as after all, once you have represented the unit the only other thing thats important is your own personal feel of how you want them to look on the table. There are no rights and wrongs, just your personal preference.

[@philliphealey7573]

thanks great vidio

[@WARdROBEPlaysWWII]

Nice tutorial - Ringo rocks

[@RingoSimpkinsUK]

ItinerantHobbyist With my back, my rocking days are behind me LOL.

[@vonerker2607]

Thank you

[@RingoSimpkinsUK]

LOL, you are welcome ... but for what? LOL

[@vonerker2607]

***** I am picking up techniques from you guys in England. It was super to see how you do your guys. I have been playing with washes...

[@johnwayneeverett6263]

NOW THATS A GREAT STATEMENT ..

[@Helghast470]

Nice work, I like the details as well! I guess I should use my quickshades more! :)

[@RingoSimpkinsUK]

Helghast470 Once I worked out how to use quickshade for a specific purposes it becomes a very useful tool. I'd not use it on "figures" but on game miniatures it's a great aid to knocking an army out, I've experimented with it for years now and have a pretty good handle on how to get the best out of it for a paticular look. I have a few cans of the stuff in different dilutions of thinner to shade, so it gets used quite a lot in Ringo's World.

[@johndonnellan5794]

Love them Prussians

[@wojsport]

Well done

[@RingoSimpkinsUK]

Thanks :)

[@marksmangaming9306]

I like how you have based the figures for painting, can I be the first (and last) to say 'Bolt Action'. fx: Tumbleweed blows across Ringo Towers....

[@RingoSimpkinsUK]

Marksman Gaming LOL you can indeed

[@mattmatthews951]

Great material here! I am now painting the French Calpe. How should I handle the shade on the white pants? Agrax earthshade?

[@RingoSimpkinsUK]

White is a difficult one, I keep trying new things myself, I am nowdays just paining white with a base of ivory then white on the highlight areas. As I use the Army Painter Quickshade I let that handle the shading, although I try and get a fair amount of it off the white areas, it's a bit hit and miss. As with everything, experiment. Agrax, thinned a bit, should give you shades, but it may "muddy" the white.

[@Hello-1814]

Calpe makes the best Prussians in the world!

[@nikthequick9688]

Hello, I am looking to get into Napoleonics. Prussians mainly for the looks and color plus part of my ancestry on my moms side. I know Napoleonics has a ton of information out there which can be a bit overwhelming so I do not know where to start. I will check out your other videos with time Any tips is helpful. I was wondering if you had any recommendations on minis as well. I bought a box of Perry Prussian line infantry that is on its way to me but they are all marching. I finally found the calpe you did and the look nice, wonder how they compare in size to mix and match. Also is there any company that does good quality minis like these companies of lines firing. I find that to be very rare. Thanks in advance.

[@RingoSimpkinsUK]

Front Rank do a really good range of Prussians www.frontrank.com/product-category/napoleonic/napoleonic-prussian/ the reinforcement packs have a firing line set. Front Rank figures are suberb, well on par with Calpe. Both Calpe and Front Rank are quite a bit chunkier than the Perry sets, I know I am putting my neck on the line here, but I prefer Front Rank and Calpe to the Perry sets, although for officer groups/bases the Perry figures are really good. Calpe do suberb artillary sets, but you have to go to the other Calpe website to find them .. veterans.calpeminiatures.co.uk/ and use the dropdown box in the menu, incidently you can get a full firing line set from this site too I notice. Dont be put off by the 25mm, they are bigger than that, most of the Prussians you have seen me paint are Calpe from the vetrans site. Hope this all helps.

[@nikthequick9688]

Thanks for all the info. They do look a little beefier than the Perry models. Front line looks very similar to Calpe so thats good. Might be good to keep them separate. I have never played any games but I see that either 6 or 8 minis are used to represent single Companies I believe compared to the dozens in real life, I presume, or where they that small? Any tips on how to choose what Division or Brigade to choose depending on history. I ordered the osprey books men at arms Prussian line infantry book but lets see how long it takes to get here. I also saw a review of a book that had a lot of uniform pictures from another publisher. Sadly being in the states increases the cost of this hobby with shipping and all but I will try to get some Calpe. Do you recommend Black Powder as the game of choice for this period? Thanks again

[@RingoSimpkinsUK]

I think Black Powder is the most accessible ruleset being a mainstream product from Warlord, so getting it in the states should be easy. The Albion Triumphant Volume 2 suppliment will give lists for the Prussians - but only as related to Waterloo - for Black Powder rules. Take a look at centjours.mont-saint-jean.com/unitesPR.php for uniforms, it's a great resource, although it's in French it's pretty easy to understand. It's focus is mainly the 100 days campaign but the uniforms were pretty much unchanged (as far as I know) from the previous 4 years or so. Also, check out Tabletop Commanders kzbin.info/door/qwCzP9ydVVMF6lmsflwsAw for rules tips. Most rulesets work at Battalion level in 28mm (from what I know at least) so most units are represented as one base equals one company, so yes in prussians you are looking at 8 figures per base and four bases for a battalion. Not a hard and fast rule, you can use 6 figures per base (Warlord Games boxes come in 24 figures) but I prefer 8 per base, looks more impressive IMHO. A Battalion had about 800 men plus officers, so 32 figures is a 1:25 approx represenation. You can see a good bit of info at www.napolun.com/mirror/napoleonistyka.atspace.com/Prussian_infantry.htm - another fantastic resource for all things Napoleonic Wars.

[@nikthequick9688]

Thank you for all the help. I definitely feel like 8 is the way to go. More the better. Where do you get the bases? I saved all the links you posted. I would love to find a Division or battalion from the area around my heritage which is south of Berlin. Thanks for all the help hope I can get some done and do a video on it or post pics at some point.

[@RingoSimpkinsUK]

For bases just search for laser cut mdf bases, I am sure in the States there are places to buy them online

[@PtolemyTheNorthernChap]

Lovely :)

[@alejandrotabilo1988]

Do you play? I would like to see your armies!! Cheers

[@RingoSimpkinsUK]

I do play yes, but over the last good while I have been away working so not had much time to do anything much. I do intend to be starting a 2018 big project in 15mm, the Portugese figures have started to arrive this week, looking forward to getting cracking on these,. French, British and Spanish will be in the purchase pipeline soon!

[@raulheinemann8869]

That did make some look dingy and dark and dirty they did look good before the dip

[@solowarmaster9141]

When you brush on the surface primer do you thin it at all?

[@RingoSimpkinsUK]

I don’t thin the Vallejo Surface Primer, i whack it on. It is extremely thin already, i do always leave it for 24 hours to dry out properly, if i need to touch it up a bit then i can see where it needs it after a few hours

[@jackboyce9496]

What washes do you use ???

[@RingoSimpkinsUK]

+jack Boyce I used citadel washes on this, Argrax Earthshade and Nuln Oil. Hope that helps

[@juanito20portugal]

ɷɷɷ Heeey Frienddss I Have Foundd W0rikingg Online Hacck visittt : - t.co/oV7lYg9GpH

[@michaelwhite8031]

Great work ! I am like you l prefer them to look like toy soldiers.

[@johnwayneeverett6263]

I LIKE MY TOY SOLDIERS TO LOOK LIKE TOY SOLDIERS ...