Slight change of plan - the aforementioned cavalry unit is finished, but their identity has changed at the last minute! I have a (short) list of Blenheim period units to paint up, and as progress with this one has continued I've become increasingly uncomfortable with the facing colour for this unit of horse. When I eventually managed to print out the intended flag for them, the problem was clear, so I've gone back to my original intention, and they are now (once again) the Earl of Plymouth's Regiment (that's Cornelius Wood's Horse in the Blenheim Campaign).
The previously-billed Queen Dowager's Regiment will follow as soon as I have some "sea green" paint for more authentic facings! At least this change of heart will have confused the life out of the enemy...
Never let it be said that I can't make decisions - I make a lot of decisions, more than most people!
The troopers are Les Higgins figures, though the command chaps are from the Irregular "Marlborough" range - the horses are all by Les Higgins, to iron out any scale issues.
Having convinced myself that a single unit is a comfortable sort of project, I'll be looking to paint some more British cavalry next.
Or some more artillery...
Or some French horse would be nice...
Very good. Stick with redcoats - 'proper' soldiers. None of that grey-coated stuff.
ReplyDeleteAn army which is entirely red is more than a little alarming - you can see why they put their artillery into blue later on - just for a bit of variety.
DeleteWell yes, it is very striking that the whole army is dressed in unrelieved red, without a hint of variation. Well, except for different shades of red. They do stand out though.
DeleteDidn't some contemporary writer describe Marlborough's army on the march as a "red caterpillar"? I confess I should probably know this, but why red? Is it because of the New Model, or was red a thing before that? Or was red dye very cheap?
DeleteI thought it was originally adopted due to the relative cheapness of red dye and the fact that it didn't fade as badly as other colours when exposed to weather, though I couldn't tell you where I got that from. Red was quite popular for soldiers attire even before the NMA adopted it; the King's Lifeguard were in red too, for one. I suspect the tradition was established by the Restoration army but how much it was retained because of military inertia (aka We've always done it this way) I wouldn't like to say. I seem to remember something about Ulster troops refusing to be fobbed off with grey coats in the 1690s because red was the 'proper colour for soldiers'.
DeleteThey are quite splendid Tony. You make it very hard to resist the Marlburian period. Sometimes I drift perilously close to it, having just ordered several regiments of Prussian SYW chaps for reasons I can't quite explain.
ReplyDeleteCheers,
Michael
You are very kind Michael. Flash photography of gloss varnish rather makes the point that I must do something about improvising some kind of light box! I am keen to keep to the early 18th C, to keep the warfare as different from Napoleonic as I can.
DeleteLovely looking unit of horse Tony, beautifully done.
ReplyDeleteThe green is in the eye of the non-colour blind beholder, but then, even without such a gift from Ma' we all see colour a little differently, don't we? Which one is that? It looks a lovely deep green to my eye. Goes splendidly with the red coat. A little darker than the flag, perhaps?
One of the joys of painting for me is mixing up various colours that 'match' (again, to me) the 'swatches' provided in books such as my copy of Rousselot or Rawkins' Austrian army. Great fun. Some I keep for later use, others are mixed each time, so just that little bit different on each occasion. Barely discernible though. Thus I have recycled paint jars (or whatever a little plastic paint container is called) with garance, capucine and isabella.
Enough rambling from me. Sorry!
Regards, James
Thank you James. Mention of colour vision is right on cue, I think. My own has never been great - i have to consult my wife about critical colour matches (Does this tie match my socks?), and my own experience reveals that I am good at identifying shades which I don't like, or which I feel are not "right", yet my own attempts to mix paints invariably turn out as (to coin a phrase) isabella.
DeleteMy book on British uniforms indicates that both the Earl of Plymouth's and the Queen Dowager's regiments of horse had green facings. Fair enough - this unit has Foundry's "Bright Green", which seems unambiguous. Some weeks into this British sub-project, I started to read of "sea green" for the Queen Dowager's lot, and the flag I have for them certainly doesn't look like bright green to me! Colours seem to vary for me from minute to minute - this green ended up darker after it was varnished (and the undercoat was, I admit it, red...), and the flash photography changes everything. My smart-ass camera also tries very hard to correct colours (it doesn't like my LED overhead lighting on the battlefield, for a start). I have come to believe in pots of paint which are manufactured with a label on the outside which says what I think I am looking for. If someone calls a particular shade "Bavarian Cornflower Blue" then I'll take their word for it - at least someone apart from me says it's the right stuff. Twenty billion flies can't all be wrong. I am amazed when I read debates on TMP where the guys are arguing about the authenticity of a particular colour. Some hero will eventually trot out the old wives' proverb about how fading and dirt would change the colours on campaign, therefore you can use any colour you wish. I am sure this is true, but it has never been helpful, and maybe we could all just print it on a card and keep it in a drawer somewhere, so we don't have to waste too much time reading it.
Anyway - if you can mix paints then you have my great admiration (you do in case, of course!) - something I can't do.
I'm interested that the flag on this cavalry unit is paler in the flash photo than I think it really looks. This, of course, is because the white paper shines through under the flash, in the same way that flash photos of my soldiers often show up the undercoat to an alarming degree!
Ah, I wasn't even considering the way it looks in the photo as opposed to real light with real eyes--silly, stupid duffer me! I have re-photographed figures on several occasions as I have looked at the photos and said to self, they don't look *that* dark/colour/fuzzy/badly painted to me, even with glasses on!
DeleteI was this far from mentioning that old colour-changes with wear and tear idea—missed out being a nob by that much. Just as well I considered the intelligence of the blog author first!! :)
Thanks for bothering to answer/address my ramble.
All the best, as always, James
It was an excellent ramble - thank you - I also realise that if you'd considered the brain power of the bloggist you'd have used much shorter words. Colours are a miracle to me - I enjoy them, of course, but I know that my own perception of them is probably unreliable, so it's a bit like a discussion of faith - I know what I'm supposed to think, but I struggle a little!
DeleteI will definitely have a read about making up a little light-box or similar, because I rather rely on photographs to show me how things look. Yes - this is definitely a faith issue. On dull days (and the weather here is currently dull and wintry), I struggle to find somewhere to take close-up photos - in nice weather, a shaded area of the garden is usually a good option for me!
Smashing, they are such classic figures.
ReplyDeleteA lovely looking unit Tony...
ReplyDeleteRed with green facings is such a nice combination...
I always think of sea green as being a bluish green as opposed to a citrus shade...
I am not sure anyone can say for sure what is right or wrong especially when referencing printed material...
Most real uniforms I have seen look nothing like the colours I choose to paint my toys...
All the best. Aly
Green is a funny one - in the world of toy soldiers (Rene North, take a bow) I've always wondered exactly what "vivid", "emerald", "Gosling", "light" and so on actually look like, and how they might relate to "Goblin", "Dark Angels" and, of course, "Snot".
DeleteFor sea green, I understand a blue tint is required, as you say - I've ordered up WF's "Teal" - medium shade, which looks reasonable.
You're right about different opinions of what is a very subjective experience - I usually look for guidance if I'm stuck, just to check how things look to others!
Decisions Decisions! But they do look rather nice!
ReplyDeleteThank you Ray - I chose my British regiments for the WSS in the same way I chose my French and Austrian regiments - a good measure of variety!
DeleteNice looking unit, Tony. How are your WSS rules coming along? Have you made any major updates since that battle you fought using them a few weeks ago (the one with the sarcastic swans)?
ReplyDeleteThanks Dave - the WSS rules are undergoing a hefty re-write, in the sense that I have made major changes to the combat system, and have simplified a lot of other stuff, and now have the challenge of writing it all up coherently without making it obvious what a lot I've pinched from Polemos...
DeleteI also have that interesting phase of wondering why I wrote such and such, and why I am such a pompous git.
Feel free to pinch. Glad you're finding it useful.
DeleteRed and Green is always an effective contrast as to shades of try looking at how many variations of yellow the British army has!
ReplyDeleteI can understand why GW went down the surreal labelling.
As you will have gathered from my blog and armies I love the effect a British army presents on the field of battle - the red wall always looks so good 😁
Yellow - yes indeed. In my wargaming apprenticeship there were no decent, bespoke military paints - I used to use the basic Humbrol set, plus their model railway paints (many of which needed the addition of flatting agent to make them matte - LMS crimson, I remember...). When Humbrol produced their military ranges I couldn't believe how wonderful the world had become - I threw out a big box of Humbrol tinlets of solid paint a few years ago. That was an age when there was no such thing as orange paint, I recall, and a few other colours seem to have been banned for some strange religious reasons or something...
DeleteLovely looking unit Tony. Per previous comments, green is such a tricky thing; so many shades. I sometimes think 2/3 of my paintbox is ‘green’, ‘brown’, ‘blue’. Thankfully my daughter (9) is very good at explaining the difference between turquoise, sea green, and pea green. Natural talent I guess. So when we will see some ‘Maison du Roi?’ Can’t have this English horse unopposed!
ReplyDeleteHi Ivan - next units of horse will be British, but there are some French coming - line cavalry - nothing too glamourous! The British can help fight the Bavarians in the short term.
DeleteI think that red and green always come out well in photographs although I doubt if this was the reason the British army adopted the colour. I tend to go for a light shade for facings on my redcoats as I like the contrast. These horsey lads certainly look good.
ReplyDeleteThanks Ian - my (current!) intended list of British cavalry units are largely chosen by facing colour, which is not very scientific but works OK for me. I hope to end up with the one green, one blue-green, one buff, one black and one dark blue - the dark blue one might be dragoons. Keeping the facing shades light is a good wheeze!
Delete