Greetings Grognards and welcome to another installation of 'Of Dice and Army Men'!
It has been some time since my last post, so I do apologize. Much to do on the home front these days, but finally had a chance to make good on my original promise of getting those 54mm AWI Continental Light Dragoons painted and ready for the table.
So, without further delay, I'll get stuck in....
All of the models (6 for this unit, however 5 come to each AiP box set) again are from the Armies in Plastic line of 54mm soldiers. Being made of soft plastic, they do present some challenges. Just as with my British Light Dragoons; sabers, pistols and rifles were going to present an issue for paint adhering even if made specifically for plastic.
All figures were first washed with warm soapy water and left to air dry. This was to remove oil and mold release agents. First, using a modeling knife (carefully...) I trimmed away the portions of the tricorne hats to give them more of the dragoon helmet look. Refer back to my article on the 54mm AWI British Light Dragoons for full details. Once again some pipe cleaner cuttings were used to make the whispy horse hair trails/ tassles/ 'thingees'...(with the later probably being the more technical term).
The sabers, pistol and rifle were all given a good old coating of mod podge. This would help allow them to flex but still hold paint. Next was a good old base coat in gray with the Rustoleum plastic primer.
After drying, I selected the first victim, er...volunteer from the squad to be my test paint. I like to select one model to test out the paint scheme before I go crazy over the rest of the troops, only to hate it and then have to start all over again. Always good to avoid that nonsense whenever possible.
I started with the officer of the troop and went for the look of the American 3rd Light Continental Dragoons. Their jackets would be white with blue trim. The bugler would be a reverse of this color pattern. I painted the officer all of the way through and once done, went back over the blue with a more royal blue. I am very pleased with the outcome.
Next was the bugler. Painting him all the way through, I was glad I had gone with the more royal blue as it really popped for this jacket, making him standout and it looked more historically correct.
After that I powered through the remainder of the troops. The next day, I was able to gently brush on stain to get the detail wash. The temperature around here was changing to colder weather, so they had to dry two days in the garage before hitting them with a good old matte coat of spray to knock down the shine.
Overall, I really like these guys and can't wait to get them on the table. I'm thinking about taking them to Siege of Augusta in January 2022 (check the link on my blog webpage view) for some Rebels and Patriots games. Also, may run them with a modified Firepower rules from Perry Miniatures. I like the spectacle of the large figures at a convention. I run 54mm Civil War as well and may drag them along, but that's another story...
Hope you enjoyed the latest, so that checks off another army from my list. Updated scorecard below. Not quite getting to all of the goals so far, as the pile of unpainted has grown..no multiplied exponentially is more like it. Somehow I found myself going back to old school 3rd Edition Warhammer 40k. There is now a Chaos Night Lords army on the table, built and waiting to be primed. All figures were ebay rescues. So now the big question is do I finish the Night Lords or move back to finish up the elves I have rescued for Dragon Rampant? We'll just have to see. So until next time...
Keep your saber sharp, your powder dry and your pistol at the ready. GAME ON!!!
Next...hmmm...let me know what you would like to see next...Elves or Night Lords?
2021 Painted Miniatures Scorecard
Unpainted: Classified
Painted: 169
