I stumbled across Jeff Lower’s Blog recently care of Michael Davis – and he’s currently working on some new Victrix Austrians – and my gosh they do look good! The new Victrix ranges include two Infantry packs (a early 1798-1809 set in helmets, and a mid to later period 1806-1815 set in shakos), a Grenadier set (for 1798-1815), and a Landwehr Infantry set (for the later 1808-1815 period). You can check out Jeff’s progress on his blog.
It’s enough to inspire one off into a another sub-period of Napoleonics (i.e. 1805-1809) – argggh… must resist, resist, must… must… With Sam Mustafa’s new “Maurice” 18th Century rules likely to finally inspire me to get on with the WSS (War of the Spanish Succession) in 28mm the last thing I need is a second 28mm Napoleonic era to pour cash into as well!
John – Thank you for the praise and for the posting. I thought that they turned out really well too. I wanted to see if I could 1) Get the figures done quickly and 2) Do them to a better than average standard where I would be proud to put them on the table and 3) Minimize the skill element so that anyone could achieve those results. I think that I succeeded! It is great fun to seen those Austrians rolling out so quickly! – Jeff
No worries Jeff and indeed you’ve done well – very impressive – and you have a great blog for inspiration. Enmasse those Austrians will look great. That’s always the problem with Austrians, that damn white (same with Colonial Egyptians too), but I think you’ve nailed it. BTW – how did you find assembling the Victrix chaps?
John – Thank you for the kind compliments. I was hoping that those series of posts would excite people to get off the sidelines and get in the game. I’m positive that often there is a lot of talking about painting instead of painting itself! This is the easiest way that I have ever found to do white and I am looking forward to getting a few stands done. I thought that assembling the Victrix Austrians very straightforward. They didn’t have too much flash on them. The parts just fit nicely. If I missed some flash the dip shows it easily and then I would just scrape it with a knife and cover it with the highlight paint. Easy. My only complaint is that the buttons are a little small. I am used to Perry buttons which are more like medallions… but they paint up better. But that is a minor, tiny criticism. – Jeff
I’m positive that often there is a lot of talking about painting instead of painting itself!
Yes I suspect you are right – although I can’t really talk since I now commission 90% of my painting… 😮
I thought that assembling the Victrix Austrians very straightforward.
I have heard that compared to Perry’s or Warlord Plastics the Victrix’s are quite fiddly as they have more flexibility of pose in the joints and the weapons are separate from hands, etc, etc, so you need 3 hands yourself to assemble and glue them…?!
John – I *wish* that I could afford to do commissions! I think that I am a painter out of necessity! I only have one commission. It is from Martin Robson and I learned a lot from it. I wish that he was still painting (or posting about painting). He was great!
As for assembly of Victrix or Warlord or Perry… I would have to say that it all depends on the glue that you are using. I can’t speak for Warlord as I have never worked with their plastics, but as for Perry or Victrix (or GW for that matter) the ease of gluing all comes down to the glue being used.
I need a glue that is wet, hot and fast. In other words, it has to run like water, melt plastic like crazy and dry quickly. I have found that Plastruct Plastic Weld fits that criteria nicely. I snip and file the parts. Then I pinch and hold the figure between my thumb and forefinger at the shoulders so that it presses the arms in place. I can pivot them, dry fit a gun etc. When I get it to where I think it looks right, I brush the Plastistruct onto both parts that touch, then hold them together for 2-5 seconds. I quickly do the other arm in the same way. Next I add the gun or whatever. The joints are stuck together, but they still have some play in them. I can also pull everything apart if things don’t look right. I can also touch the glue brush to the joint and use the thinness of the stuff to capillary the glue around the joint. It generally makes everything hold together better when I do that.
I can prime an hour later if I am in a hurry but normally I wait 3-5 hours.
I found the Victrix to be fun to put together. If you are concerned about fitting things together properly, then start with easy poses first. I often do that before I try anything crazy, just so I can get a feel of the model. I do that when I paint too: line infantry before officers!
Hope that helps!
– Jeff
I *wish* that I could afford to do commissions!
Yes I am conscious I am lucky to have that luxury at present – however I am on a fairly aggressive schedule to do all my major interests/projects at present as quickly as possible as I can’t justify paying for such work indefinitely…
…I would have to say that it all depends on the glue that you are using…
That’s really interesting Jeff about the glue and your process for assembly. I mus confess I am similar – when I do plastic kitsets for me WW2 & Modern 1/72nd stuff I follow similar logic and much prefer the liquid glue you can brush on rather than the thicker gel-like stuff you squeeze out of a tube or such…
That’s good to know about the Victrix as I had heard (as mentioned) some people say they were too fiddly – means I can consider them for future projects with no qualms!
Keep up the great work!
J.
John – I think that it is great that you can get commissions. Without patrons, artists cannot flourish, right?
I agree with you that the gel glue isn’t very good. Ever since I discovered the liquid stuff back in the 80s I have been a convert. Regarding the fiddliness of Victrix, I think that people like to complain. If they were all sculpted in one pose, people would say that they are boring. With all kinds of options, they are too fiddly. A manufacturer just can’t win!
– Jeff