One of the most common observations I receive when I exhibit my 6mm armies is that the painting of them must strain my eyes, nothing could be further from the truth, although I have recently obtained a pair of glasses. The key to successfully painting 6mm figures is the same as any other successful enterprise, preparation and planning.
Preparation
Firstly good light is important irrespective of any figure scale, I add to the daylight by using a high powered overhead light shining over my left side, (I am right handed.) Secondly when I am using Irregular Miniatures figures I paint a regiment at a time. which for my organizational purposes are nine strips of figures. To explain to any non-6mm gamers, Irregular Miniatures produce a lot of this range in strips of six figures, all ready based. Thus, the look like the figures to the right.
I therefore lightly glue the figures on a strip of care for easy handling. The third stage is to undercoat the figure, obviously a matter of personal preference but this acrylic paint gives a totally matt finish. The rest of the paints I use are Colour Party paints and the excellent Vallejo range of colours. This range is an excellent medium to work in.
Once the figure has been undercoated, I cover the figures in the main coat colour, for French Napoleonic figures, blue, British red, etc, etc. When the coat colour is dry I drybrush this with a lighter version of the coat colour concentrating on the arms and back areas. I then paint the trousers and crossbelts in the relevant colour. The musket, I paint in burnt umber colour before highlighting this with a sand colour. The flesh is added at the end, with the shako, cartouche and shoes being painted last. I then use acrylic black ink to exaggerate the crossbelts and shading areas. The metal fitments are added at the end as and where appropriate.
The painting of horses is different. For these I once again use a black undercoat before painting the horse a burnt umber colour making the effort not to cover the deep cuts of the horse. I then apply highlight to the flanks of the horse; I usually use a deep orange or yellow ochre colour. When the figure is dry I wash the entire figure with acrylic ink, usually a citadel brown ink or brown flesh ink. The effect is to give the horse a rich, deep tone.
For the cavalrymen I use the same technique as the infantryman although I add additional highlights to the saddlecloth etc. For me the key is to slightly exaggerate the figure colours in order to make them stand out, this is purely a personal thing however.
For bases I use artist mounting board which once the figures are placed upon it is carefully painted with Basetex textured paint. This paint is a deep green emulsion with fine sand in it that is excellent for covering bases. It is available from Irregular Miniatures. When the Basetex is dry I drybrush it with a fine covering of deep Plaka yellow. I then paint on areas of burnt umber, drybrushed with a dull earth colour, a sand colour and finally a fine dry brushing with an almost white colour.
To the reader this must sound a lot of work but I can assure you, if you follow a conveyor belt method it does get done quickly and more importantly looks very effective. How many figures have been let down by poor basing? As a final touch, but this is purely a personal choice, I paint the edge of the base matt black, again to make the unit stand out.
For individual commands etc, I base them on two pence coins and one pence coins, which is probably equivalent to an American quarter and a dime, but obviously much cheaper. These figures are given the full treatment especially the bases, which are littered with battle debris, corpses, etc.
I use a lot of Heroic & Ros figures which being individual pieces, require slightly more preparation when starting to paint them. However I use the same painting principles after the figures have prepared. Just recently I have been experimenting with the Bacchus Range of 6mm figures. These figures are more accurately 8mm but have a nice rugged quality about them. The experimentation mainly involves washing the figures with inks, after the black undercoat and basic coat colours have been applied. The Bacchus range is ideal for ink washes.
Terrain
Nothing lets down a wargame more than poor terrain. Having always had as my ideal a terrain comparable to Peter Gilder's tremendous set up, I attempted from the start to have the 6mm equivalent of that type of display. For my terrain boards I use half-inch chipboard which is pre-cut for me. In order not to allow this to warp I paint wallpaper paste on both sides of the boards. This forms a waterproof base and helps the terrain adhere to the boards. Once dry I prepare a plan of the terrain. Having specifically made boards for certain battles the plan is indispensable because things can get complicated with roads etc. For my hills I use a combination of pieces of polystyrene, wet newspaper and Modroc. Modroc is used in miniature railway displays and whilst expensive, if bought in bulk goes a long way. For people who are not aware of this medium, it is basically bandage soaked in plaster of paris which when dry gives a solid finish to the hills,
To soften the straight edges of the polystyrene I pad them out with wet newspaper and watered down tetrion or household plaster. Each of the boards measure 2" x 2" and I attempt to give each one an individual feature, for example a small village, lake, wood, etc. Once the hills have dried I paint the entire board with household emulsion paint, mixed with builders sand. The emulsion is an olive green colour but this is purely personal choice. I would recommend that the sand is thoroughly stirred into the paint, otherwise the effect can be overpowering.
When the paint is dried I brush off any loose particles of sand before I dry brush the whole board with a deep plaka yellow. Obviously to cover a large area, we are talking about a 2" decorating brush, carefully vandalised. When the yellow has dried I apply areas of burnt umber to such features as rock out crops etc, These are in turn dry brushed, with sand, pale yellow, and finally a very fine dusting of white. Storage of the boards has always been a problem, but I store them under my table, stacked like records, on the edge.
For rivers and large areas of water I use the following method. After building the hills I apply areas of plaster to the boards, into which whilst still wet I sculpt riverbanks and water edges. When the feature is dry I paint the river matt black, followed by dark blue, dry brushed with a lighter blue. After it has been painted, I carefully pour a resin into the feature. The resin comes in two parts and is readily obtainable from hobby shops where it is used to make key rings and the like.
I recommend that the resin is allowed to dry outdoors, as the fumes as poisonous. Manufacturers have neglected 6mm games as regards to buildings, however Hovels produce a small range. Irregular Miniatures produce a good range of metal buildings including Hougemont and La Haye Sainte. Also a company called Faust Studios produce a nice range of cheap resin figures including a lighthouse and two windmills.
Storage of the boards has always been a problem, but I store them under my table, stacked like records, on the edge.
Conclusion
I hope that this article can be of some assistance to would be 6mm gamers. There is absolutely no reason why 6mm gamers shouldn't have eye-catching armies with complementary terrain.
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© Copyright 2000 Hal Thinglum
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