Saturday, July 28, 2018

6mm Napoleonic French Infantry

I'm still playing around with some smaller figures to see if they hold any appeal for me.  This morning I primed these 28 Baccus Frenchmen.  It took about 90 minutes to paint and base them.





I do like them.  Fifteen years ago I had painted enough Baccus figures to play a small General de Brigade scenario.  My painting skill has definitely improved over the years.  I don't know if Baccus has solved the fragility of the bayonets since 2003.  Most strips are missing at least one bayonet.

How do these compare with the PicoArmor 3mm figures?  Both units have a frontage of 60mm.  With the 6mm figures I put 24 figures on the base; with the 3mm figures, there are 94 figures in the same area.




They both look like a line of troops.  The 3mm figures are less evidently French infantry.  The Baccus figures do succeed in looking French.  I know the whole point of smaller scales is to get away from individual figures and look at them en masse.  You're really painting a formation, not a figure.


The below picture really shows the difference in size between 3mm and 6mm.  Those 3mm figures are tiny!


What do you think, fellows?  If I do start a small scale project, should it be in 3mm or 6mm?

16 comments:

  1. Well done but not really my bag. I do not ¨see¨ the point of anything below 15mm. :)

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    1. Well, 15mm is my preferred size, but the smaller figures do give the impression of a battlefield!

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  2. You know, I think I prefer the look of the 3s!

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  3. I would say 6mm because you can at least see they French.

    Christopher

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    1. Yes, that is my thinking too. Also I like the look of paper flags much better than cast flags.

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  4. Your French regiment turned out quite nicely. Having painted an entire 6mm collection for the 1809 campaign I would actually recommend doing 6mm or even stepping up to 10mm. When I see my 6mm figs on the table, the colors all tend to fade away except for the primary uniform color and the banners. The 3mm figs look good inside of 2', but I think vanish at the normal viewing distance on a 4'x6' table.

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    1. Yes, the Old Glory 10mm figures also appeal to me, although I have not seen any of their Napoleonics. Baccus fits four 6mm figures on 20mm frontage; Old Glory fits five 10mm figures on 25mm frontage. Both use 5mm frontage per figure, but the Old Glory figures achieve that shoulder-to-shoulder look.

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  5. 6mm is the sweet spot for me in terms of mass. Still look like what they are at a distance, but you can get a decent close-up effect.

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    1. Just looking at them on my desk here, the 6mm figures have a stronger appeal. That's viewing them from about three feet distance.

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  6. I like the look of the 3mm. My 6mm are in 4 battalions per base for Blucher. But as you fancy.

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  7. I see the attraction to both small scales; however, I think that 3mm needs someone with your skill and enthusiasm to give it a "shot in the arm" and show the world just what can be accomplished in this under-appreciated scale. Well done on both accounts!

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    1. I am surprised that more gamers haven't given the 3mm figures a try. Maybe I'll paint up a second unit and see if I can refine my technique a bit.

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  8. Hi Scott. Both are appealing, but I would go for 6mm. I think at a certain point the gains from downsizing pan out if you have a 'normal' 8'x 6' table and you have to ask yourself if there is any further benefit in going super-micro.

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