Sunday, 26 January 2025

Keeping a Painting Journal will change how you paint forever

Are you struggling to improve your miniature painting skills? Whether you're a tabletop wargamer, historical wargamer, or miniature painter, keeping a painting journal is the game-changing habit you NEED! In this video, I’ll break down why a hobby journal helps you track progress, refine techniques, and master colour schemes—so you can level up your Warhammer 40K, Age of Sigmar, Bolt Action, Flames of War, and D&D miniatures like a pro.


Discover how the best painters use painting logs to avoid mistakes, experiment with acrylic paints, contrast paints, washes, dry brushing, and layering techniques, and recreate stunning effects like non-metallic metal (NMM), weathering, and realistic highlights.

Don’t waste time guessing your paint recipes—learn how to document colour mixes for perfect results every time! Whether you're painting Games Workshop miniatures, historical figures, or custom 3D prints, a painting journal will make your workflow more efficient and help you achieve stunning, pro-level tabletop miniatures.


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📜 Drop a comment if you already use a painting journal—or if this video convinces you to start!
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Saturday, 25 January 2025

Don Cossacks and Officer

This week I have a unit of Don Cossacks charging across my desk. It is said that just hearing their cry of “Hurrah” could send entire battalions into retreat. Even Napoleon seemed impressed by these wild undisciplined horsemen, stating “Cossacks are the finest light troops among all that exist. If I had them in my army, I would go through all the world with them."







The Cossacks had a fearsome reputation and formed fast units that could exploit open flanks and harry retreating troops. They were excellent for reconnaissance when they could be bothered to report back on the position of enemy troops rather than chase after them. It was said (mainly by the French) that the easiest way to distract Cossckas was to present them with an unguarded baggage train. This unit is painted as Don Cossacks with a dark blue uniform, red trim, and a broad red stripe down the leg of loose-fitting trousers. They wear various cloaks and many have ill-matching headgear, from tall fur busbies to soft forage-style caps. All bar the officer carries a lance and I can testify to the sharpness of these…they drew blood on several occasions when I let my attention wander while handling them! 






Unlike the regular troops, the officer was cast as a single figure. That said, I decided to assemble all the figures before painting…a practice that doesn’t have universal approval, judging from a very quick search online. I think I prefer this method, and while it makes painting some parts of the model a little more tricky, overall, I found it easier than trying to combine painted figures without destroying the paintwork. 

I’m happy with how these turned out although I think I’ll take a rest before painting more cavalry! 

Wednesday, 22 January 2025

Russian 12pdr Gun & Crew

I have been looking forward to getting started on this piece since I bought it at Partizan last year. This is a Perry miniature and comes with four crewmen. But it was only last week that I realised that in Sharp Practice guns have five crewmen…so I found an extra figure from another set to make up the numbers. I’ll worry about replacing the crew from the other gun later. The sculpts on these are outstanding and the crewmen all look suitably cold, especially the guy hugging his hands in his greatcoat. He looks thoroughly miserable and makes you realise that while the French army had a terrible time in Russia, the Russian troops weren’t much better off. There’s a good reason why campaigning in winter is a silly idea, even if it is your homeland and you are used to the weather. When the temperature drops to -20℃ everyone suffers. 


The 12pdr was the standard heavy artillery piece of the Russian army in 1812 and their crews have been described as highly professional and very well trained. At the Battle of Boridino, General Kutuzov ordered the artillery to hold their ground to the last possible moment and then fire at the enemy with canister. When artillery are about to be overrun it takes a significant amount of training and discipline to follow such orders. 



I also wanted to get a few more officers painted so here are three, including one who seems to be overcoming the cold from the bottom of a bottle. All three officers are from Wargames Foundry and are beautiful minis with plenty of character. 


  

Already on the workbench are the next unit, a fearsom-looking unit of Don Cossacks. Once again, I should stress that I haven’t painted multi-part 28mm cavalry in decades so I am approaching this unit with some trepidation. However, now that I have got started I am enjoying it. Whether they are finished by the next submission day remains to be seen. I’d rather take my time than rush these… especially with their sharp lances. I’ve drawn blood already and I’m not even half done.

Sunday, 19 January 2025

Get Motivated and Paint!

How to get motivated and paint!

We all have times when starting a project can be an uphill struggle. So here are my top tips for overcoming inertia and getting motivated to paint your pile-o-shame / Lead Mountain. 


 

Friday, 17 January 2025

Russian Jӓgers & Officer 1812

I'm a bit behind with my posts here, these figures were finished a couple of weeks ago. 

Russian Jägers were light infantry who were known for being superior marksmen and agile fighters. They could form line units (indeed I intend on adding a Jäger Line unit to my force at a later date) but their primary use was skirmishing in open order. In many ways, their uniform was very similar to that of regular line/musketeer units. The main visible differences were black leather belts rather than the white of musketeers and grenadiers, and dark green breeches rather than white. These models all wear the soft forage cap which was used, as far as I can tell, by most branches of infantry. Indeed North Star (who make these figures) describe them as Musketeers/Jägers so they could be used for either type, just with different colour belts showing the difference. 



Tuesday, 14 January 2025

The Wargamers Secret Weapon

Without this my hobby would have withered years ago. Indeed, it's such a secret I forgot to post it on my blog on Sunday 😆



Sunday, 5 January 2025

Three products that change how I paint forever

I've been painting miniatures for over forty years, so it is inevitable that my style of painting and the products I use will have changed over the years. But what are the three products that have changed the way I paint and have become permanent features on my desk?



Wednesday, 1 January 2025

Russian Line Musketeers 1812

My second entry to the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge was on Sunday with these Russian Line Infantry for 1812. Once again they are wearing the 1808 pattern ‘stovepipe’ Shako, this time covered with an oilskin cover to keep them clean on the march. I will eventually get some infantry with the 1812 Kiwer Shako but many regiments hadn’t adopted the new style before the French invasion. One thing my troops have in abundance are Greatcoats. So as well as making my figures considerably easier to paint than the French troops, they were also much more comfortable in the harsh conditions of the Russian winter. Ironically as my boys are warmer than the Frenchies the greatcoat is also a great way to show the cold by dusting its lower edges with frost.