Following the example set by Dino over at Chaosbunker, starting last month, we shall abide by a simple rule:
Every month I have a budget of $25 for my hobby.
Big ‘ol pile of paints purchased from a handful of different hobby shops nearby. In order to track down all the paint I needed I went to:
Each of those excellent shops had some, but not all, of the paints I need for my current endeavor – Black Powder: Epic Battles – Waterloo! I couldn’t have done this alone. Thanks to the excellent painting videos from Stuart at Miniature Realms I was well prepared for this journey into the vast world of Napoleonic wargaming. And seriously, if you are considering starting a Black Powder Epic project, give Stuart’s videos a watch.
| Month | Funds remaining | Item |
| Jan. | $7 | Wargames Illustrated 410 ($8), paint ($10) |
| Feb. | -$120 | Epic Black Powder: Waterloo French Starter Army ($145) |
| March | $25 | No purchases |
| April | $-4 | Geek Gaming Scenics ($35), GCmini ($119), Woodland Scenics ($13), Vallejo ($20), Books sold (+$427) |
| May | -$267 | Cigar Box Battle Desert Mat ($75), Forgotten City terrain ($217) |
| June | $245 | Selling (+$220) |
| July | $6 | Grass Tufts ($19) |
| Aug. | $19 | Lots of paint ($73), Books sold (+$67) |
| Total | $268 |
I’ve never done hobby at this scale (15mm) and it’s been a learning experience. I’ve also never used the new Speedpaint from The Army Painter or much of Citadel’s Contrast and this Waterloo project called for liberal use of both. I painted these in my usual batch method. But instead of six individual models, it was a batch of six strips of 10 “individuals” (three bases of two ranks). I didn’t find that painting at this smaller scale was faster than 28mm per say. The batch of six strips took about as long as a batch of six 28mm models. But, when this batch was completed, I was looking at an entire unit of 60 Line Infantry ready for battle – as opposed to just six individual 28mm squad members.
The Contrast and Speedpaints were a joy to both use and discover a new method of painting. I’m not completely sold on their uses in larger scales but at 15mm they are incredibly effective. I think the unit basing needs work, I love how the models turned out but not so much on the bases. Maybe a lighter color scheme on the mud?
Anyways, the first (of hopefully many) French Line Infantry Brigades is complete. Vive L’Empereur!
– Andrew
The Fine Print
The $25 per month limit applies to models, rules, paint and supplies. It does not apply to event tickets or travel costs.
Chicago Dice 