- NAP601 Infantry in shako
- NAP602 Infantry in shako with plume
- NAP604 Infantry in shako with command
- NAP635 Chasseurs a cheval
- NAP636 Chasseurs a cheval with command
For a price of GBP 3,50 per pack (EUR 3,75) they are very affordable.
The order was shipped to me (from Great Britain to the Netherlands) within 2 days and arrived 6 days after shipping.
My first reaction when I saw the 3mm's was "they are indeed small !", but I also noticed the large amount of detail.
The infantry comes in 15 strips of 10 man each per pack, for the command packs 3 different strips (5 each) with different amount of man. The cavalry comes in 15 strips of 3 man, where the command pack has 5 command strips and 10 regular strips. So that's 150 infantry or 45 cavalry per pack !
Most of the strips have a bit of "flash" (leftovers from the molding process) but that can easily be removed with a good pair of scissors or a small wire cutter.
Painting
In the meantime I had already read some other blogs and forums about 3 mm's and took some important tips from them.- Use a primer.
- Use bright colors.
- Paint units, not individual figures so don't bother about every detail.
So I bought some supplies for the paint job. As primer I bought a small spray can of grey Tamiya modelling primer. Next on the list were some brushes and a few bottles of Vallejo paint. I decided to buy only the basic colors and blend them as required. I choose a total of 10 colors:
- black
- white
- flesh
- blue
- green
- yellow
- red
- brown
- silver
- gold
I was ready to start.
So I ordered a magnifying lamp to assist me and it prooved to be very helpfull.
In the end the result was satisfying, although I realised that with time I would get more experienced and could achieve better results.
Unit organisation
After a lot of reading, both online and offline, I decided on the following unit scales.
French Infantry
One company consists of 3 ranks of 10 man (3 strips).
A battallion has 4 fusilier companies, one grenadier company and one voltigeur company, making a total of 180 man per batallion. This would mean a 1:3 ratio (compared to actual strength). For the fusiliers I will use the regular infantry in shako and for the grenadiers and voltigeurs I use the infantry in shako with plumes. One of the fusilier companies will carry a flag. With 4 x NAP601, 2 x NAP602 and 1 x NAP 604 packs, I can make 5 complete battallions and I will have some command figures left for the regimental command group and a group of sappeurs.
French cavalry
One squadron consists of 4 strips of 3 man. The regiment will have 4 squadrons (most of the time, depending on the order of battle and losses during the campaign) where 1 squadron will have a (regimental) command strip. Total of 48 man per regiment would mean a 1:8 ratio. I'm still in doubt of the squadron size and comtemplating if I should double them to 8 strips of 3 man, making the ratio 1:4 and thus closing to the infantry ratio.
Basing
The final thing to think about is basing. I have seen bases containing complete batallions of regiments, but although they look great, I prefer to have more flexibility in unit formations. I want to be able to use a march column, column by platoon, column by division, line, square and using skirmishers or not. That leads to a standard base of 10 x 10 mm with 3 ranks of 5 infantry or 3 cavalry on them. I use thin cardboard (cereal packs) and apply a piece of sheet magnet at the bottom. Because moving all the bases individually is not realistic, I will make movement trays from 0,75 mm steel plate where the magnets will stick to. The trays will have different dimensions, based on the unit type and formation used. I still have to make my first trays so I will report later more about them.
That's it for now.
I've ordered a second batch from Magister Militum consisting of 20 packs including some artilery, line lancers and more infantry.
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