Readers of this blog will know that one of my favorite sets of Napoleonic rules is “Et Sans Resultat” (ESR), published by The Wargaming Company. The company is now starting to produce a comprehensive range of 10mm Napoleonic figures.
Although ESR, and its published scenarios, can be played at any ground scale or figure scale that one prefers, the “sweet spot” for the ideal ground scale is probably one inch = 150 yards. At that scale, all of the scenario maps will fit on a five foot deep table, and there is plenty of room to maneuver. At that ground scale, an infantry battalion, a cavalry squadron group, and an artillery battery all fit onto a unit base that is 1 1/8″ square. Groups of 10mm figures fit very nicely on bases of this size.
A few months ago, the owner was kind enough to send me some samples of the new figures. I received 30 French Light Infantry figures (enough for three battalions), four artillery gunners, and two sappers. The figures came with four laser cut bases (1 1/8″ square for the infantry battalions and the artillery battery), and one small round base (for the sappers). I also received six flags — three for each of the two patterns that were in use during most of the Napoleonic Wars. Getting everything you need in one package is a very nice touch.
I meant to post pictures of the figures when I received them, but I wanted to get some of them painted up first, so I could show how they look both painted and unpainted. Well, other things got in the way, and my good intentions did not come to fruition. Then, in March, I went to the HMGS Cold Wars convention. While there I took a painting class on how to paint 10mm Napoleonic figures, and, lo and behold, the figures that we painted were samples of the new ESR figures!
The painting class, taught by Hobby University, was excellent. To practice the techniques as we were learning them, we were given a strip of ten French Line Infantry figures — primed light grey and glued to a tongue depressor. Although I had looked at the figures very closely when I received the samples, I was once again struck by how nice these figures are.
The ESR figures are digitally sculpted and are produced in thermocast plastic (which, in my opinion, is just the right medium as it is not too flexible and not too brittle). The details are amazing — for example: the drummer has lace on his sleeves and his drum has clearly discernible rims and cords; the officer is wearing a gorget, and his buttons can be seen; the straps on the backpacks are well detailed; the faces look good; etc. The details are very crisp and I found them to be very easy to paint. All of the non-command figures are in one pose (march-attack), which makes them easy to paint in batches. The figures are a true 10mm scale, and they look really small compared to the 18mm figures that I normally paint, but with the techniques I learned in the class, I think they turned out pretty well.
During the class, in addition to learning some good techniques for painting these tiny figures to a nice standard in a reasonable amount of time, I also picked up some useful tips on batch painting, and also tried using a pair of 2X reading glasses to make it easier to see the details (which I liked a lot). We talked and painted at a leisurely pace for two hours and I managed to get the figures mostly done by the time the class ended.
Although the figures were looking pretty good, I still wanted to put a little more time into them to add some of the smaller details, particularly on the belts and straps, the shako details, and the separate details for the officer, drummer, standard bearer and the two elites (one grenadier and one voltiguer). I find that, in addition to the face, the eye is drawn to these details when one looks at a painted Napoleonic unit, and to me, the unit is not done until these details are right.
At the same time, I wanted to paint the figures quickly, as they are intended to be used in large armies, so I gave myself a time allowance of just one more hour. The one hour limit turned out to be plenty of time to finish the details to my satisfaction (I even added some red piping to the white turnbacks), and now I am happy with them.
So these ten figures took me a total of three hours to complete, or an average of 18 minutes per figure, which for me is pretty darn fast!
The photos show the unpainted and the painted figures. Although I like these 10mm figures a lot, I have way too much invested in my 18mm collection, so I am not going to change scales, especially since we can make ESR work for 18mm figures. But if I were just getting started in Napoleonics, I would be all over this new range of figures.
- TJ