Giant Commission -- French Lancers

Here is the last of the French light cavalry, 24 lancers.  I had never painted a French lancer before, but I like the look of the uniforms.

Next up are the dragoons, cuirassiers, and carabiniers.

Giant Commission -- French Chassseurs a Cheval

The latest horsemen to gallop off my painting table are these 24 French chasseurs a cheval.

Glenn wants as many different colors as possible, so we have troopers from the 1st, 4th, 7th, 11th, 13th, 16th, 21st, and 28th regiments.

The French lancers are very close to done.

Giant Commission -- French Hussars

I have been plugging away on the commission.  I painted all 166 French horses in one go.  Now I have started on the riders.  First up were the hussars.

Glenn is making each stand a regiment, so you see here eight groups of three horsemen for hussar regiments 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, and 11.

Next up are eight regiments of chasseurs a cheval.

1/35 Scale FT-17

The annual modeling show is coming up tomorrow, so I have spent a little time this week putting the finishing touches on this beauty.  I have always had a soft spot for World War I tanks, and the FT-17 is my favorite.

The kit is from Meng, and it is a brilliant design.  The tracks snap together and stay together.  I have not glued these, and I never will.

I started by airbrushing the model all over with brown.  I used Silly Putty to mask out areas for the yellow and green.  Once the basic colors were on, I airbrushed a very thin coat of the yellow to tie all the colors together.

I did a light oil wash of raw umber, then applied a heavy pin wash to all those rivets.  I tried something new, spraying dullcote through the airbrush (after a coat of acrylic clear), but it did not work too well.  The tank got nice and flat, but I got some fogging.

After the basic painting and weathering was done, I broke out my ground pigments.  All of the tank got a light application of dust pigment.  I used darker colors on the bottom of the tank and the suspension.

Here you can see my one big mistake on the build, but I'm not going to tell what it is until after the show!

The model has a great interior, if you want to leave the hatches open.

I just love the look of this little vehicle.

The kit came with all kinds of photoetched parts, which paint up nicely.

It's not a perfect model, and I have to find someplace to build that's free of cat hairs, but I had a blast with this one.

Giant Commission VII -- French Artillery

Glenn's French army will have 20 guns with 40 gunners.

Guard Horse Artillery

Guard Foot Artillery

Line Horse Artillery

Line Foot Artillery

Guns Galore

Next up is the French cavalry.  I am priming hussars, chasseurs, and dragoons tomorrow.

Giant Commission VI -- French Guard Infantry

Here is the last of the French infantry, 72 members of the Imperial Guard.  I used the invaluable Historie and Collections book as my main resource, with additional details drawn from Rousselot.  Tony Barton's sculpting really shines here, as he depicts the guard in all the glory of their full dress.

Grenadiers of the Guard

 

Chasseurs of the Guard

 

 Fusilier-Grenadiers of the Guard

 

Tiralleurs of the Guard

 

Voltiguers of the Guard

 

Next up will be the French artillery.  I have painted 588 French infantry in 2 1/2 months.  It will be nice to have a change of pace.