Speed Painting Napoleonic Russians

 In a previous post I detailed my successful experiments painting French Napoleonic line troops with some old- and new-school techniques.

Perry 28mm Napoleonic Russians

This was the first time that I put the speed painting ideas in full production and I'm pleased with how they turned out. I was able to get the first box done in about 2-3 week's time... which is astonishingly fast for me. It took me a while to settle on the colors, but this is what I ended up doing:

Colors Used

• Tamiya white spray with white drybrush
• Face/Hands - Guilliman Flesh
• Coat - Creed Camo 2 coats
• Bedroll - Basilicanum Gray
• Hair - Gorgrunta Fur
• Crotch V - Templar was too dark so Basilicanum Gray
• Shako - Black Templar
• Shako cord - VMC Sky Gray and then dot VMC White
• Red stripes on leg - (1) Basilicanum Gray with fine brush, then (2) Contrast Blood Angels Red
• Pom pom - Contrast Warp Lightning
• White straps - touched up with VMC Sky Gray > VMC White leave recesses on straps
• Metals black > Musket AP Plate Metal and Canteen AP Gun Metal
• Saber - Handle/Strap/Scabbard - Black Templar
• Saber white strap - VMC Sky Gray > Basilicanum > Sky Gray highlight

It seems like a lot of colors, but it goes very quickly. Even the places that get two (or three) steps don't take that long. In the past it would take me 1-2 months to get 6 figures done. Now I've got it down to a fews weeks for 40 figures. Amazing!

I'm planning on trying out Army Painter's Speedpaint 2.0 offerings in place of my Contrast Paints. I've read that they are just as good at half the price.