Retreat 1812 - More frozen Frenchmen...

Although my main task during the last two weeks was to finish the Broodlord for the fortnight bonus round, there were some other figures to be finished. Last year I bought some sets of the 1812 retreating Frenchmen by Alan and Michael Perry. Unique figures for a backgrounSd most manufacturers ignored until now. Maybe they thought there isn't enough chance to build an interesting range around Napoléon's defeat in Russia but the twins prove that black is white.

Here are the eight miniatures I painted lately:

Württemberg Grenadier

The miniatures are from different sets from the Perrys' Napoleonic range more exactly from their sets FN168 to FN171. Some of them are wearing a rather usual kit as provided by the French army and other look ragged and wear civilian clothing they might have looted somewhere in Russia.

French infantry officer with a looted pelisse

Grenadier of the Old Guard

Grand Duchy of Berg Lancer with civilian coat

French Fusilier who might have robbed Santa

Allied Officer wrapped in a simple blanket

Chasseur à Cheval with a rather original kit

Voltigeur who improved his kit with a civilian jacket

It was real fun to paint these miniatures. They are all extremely well sculpted and cast all the details are crisp and clear. Especially the faces are awesomly vivid and full of expression. Although I'm a great fan of Perry miniatures there are some range where the faces are a bit impassive which makes it very difficult for me to work out the highlights properly. But these Frenchmen are absolutely top notch. Until now I've rarely painted better figures.

As usual I painted the miniatures with Vallejo Model Colours paints and some Armypainter Quickshade for the shading. But after shading I took the time to highlight the clothing and the skinny parts in one or two stages and especially the faces work worth every stroke of the brush. Although I saw much better painted versions of those guys I'm absolutely happy with the result since it is one of the best for me so far.

For the basing I used corundum sand mainly. It's a very white and very fine sand which is usually used as grinding medium in dental technology. In addition to its bright white colour it has some sparkling grains in it and is very durable. To prevent that the drying PVA glue shines through yellowish I mixed a drop of white colour into it when I glued the sand onto the base. The grass tufts are by Mini Nature and come just ready to use. Fortunately I found them in a wargaming shop in Düsseldorf randomly.