How many 10mm do you paint at one time?

[Gunfreak]

When I paint 40mm, I paint 6 at a time, 28mm, 8 at a time, 15mm, between 8 and 20 at a time, and with 6mm I can paint up to 200 in a day

I hope to paint my 10mm more or less like 15mm, so I'll spend alot of time on them, but I still hope to do 1 unit at a go, so if a unit is 18, I'll paint that, if it's 24 I'll paint that.

The exeption is my Alamo thing because each unit will be about 300 figures and I rightly can't do 300 figures at a time.

So when you paint how many do you paint at a time,

Second question, how much time do you spend a figures, My plan is to paint 10mm as 15mm, so there will take some times, but mabye other paint 10mm more simple?

[FierceKitty]

I've just finished 100 Chinese infantry. It was a bit too ambitious; took forever. The curse of rabble troops; you need so many, and then they don't fight nearly as well as the smaller units of quality troops, so you end up grouping them around the baggage to stay out of trouble.

[KaBar]

I'm starting some 10m Napoleonic figures and will be using them in larger units (60+ figures per battalion) in multiple ranks.  Still trying to decide on two or three ranks deep.  I cleaned and based up around 120 Russian infantry and 30-40 French today.  I'll probably paint all of the Russians in a single block.

Considering I'm looking for the massed ranks effect I don't plan on spending a whole lot of time on each figure. A more impressionistic style should be fine.   At three feet distance you won't be able to see a lot of detail.   If I go with three ranks, the middle rank doesn't need much work at all since all you'll see for the most part are heads and muskets.

Bart

[lentulus]

By the unit - couple of dozen foot, 9-12 horse, whatever.

That way, I can say "the such and so regiment is done"  very satisfying.

I prime and flock in larger batches.

[Aart Brouwer]

Right now I am painting 8mm Adlers (that's right, put them alongside a ruler and you'll see) for a 1806 Napoleonic campaign, using Black Powder for the actual games - which necessitates at least  four stands per unit.

How do I paint them? One. At. A. Time. I am an incorrogible fascist when it comes to historical detail.

I ordered two books on eBay and borrowed five from the University Library of Amsterdam to make sure my basing and painting of a Prussian Light Infantry battalion (7. Königlich Preußisches Fusilier-Battalion Rosen, for those who care to know) was exactly right. Some of the things I wanted to find out was if these lads indeed stood three ranks deep and if the shakos they wore since 1801 had the rapier thin white bands around the tops as shown in some contemporary illustrations, as opposed to certain others... Even now I am not sure about the colour of their pants: it was either white (Funcken) or cream (Osprey). So I mingled white and cream pants, just like I gave some of them black hair, others blond, and still others chestnut brown.

That's how bad it is. One day someone is going to have to slap me to help me snap out of it... 

Cheers,
Aart

[lentulus]

. I am an incorrogible fascist when it comes to historical detail.

Heck, Aart, they didn't even *make* the uniforms one at a time.

[Shecky]

I glue 10 figures to a craft stick and usually work on 4 - 5 sticks at a time.

[GordonY]

28mm one at a time, 15mm and below, I do them in sixes, but all get painted with the same (in)attention to detail. I'm a great believer in the 3ft rule, if you cant see that strap/canteen/pouch at 3ft its not worth painting. For my 15mm ACW as long as when theyre on the table you can see its some guys dressed in blue on foot with muskets, thats enough detail.

Gordon

[Lord Kermit of Birkenhead]

I do several Warmaster sized units at a time.

ianS

[Steve J]

I try and do 9 bases (4 figures to a base) at a time for use with BKC or CWC. They equate to a platoon or battalion depending upon which 'scale' you are playing at. That way you know that you are painting up complete 'units' for use in games and it helps me maintain focus etc. With support units (mg's, mortars etc) I tend to do 3 at a time, again because that equtes to complete 'units'. Command bases I tend to do in one batch at the very end.

[capthugeca]

As many as I can is the simple answer.
Whatever the scale I stick all my figures individually on bottle tops to paint them and store them in two Ikea A4 trays. I will focus on a group of 5-10 figures at a time but have the others at hand so that if I have some paint left over I can use it in them where appropriate.

[Jagger]

I like to paint 8 to 12 figures at a time.  I like to start and finish them in a single sitting if any way possible.   Doing small batches gives a sense of accomplishment and they are done. 

I get too bored doing the same set of shoes or packs or whatever with large batches over several sessions.  I also find it is very easy to switch to something else and have half completed projects sitting all over the place that seem to never get done.   

[nikharwood]

Good thread question this  - fascinating to see different approaches

I'll *always* buy figures in their entirety: ie everything I need to complete that project in one go, regardless of scale. I'll then prep, base, texture & undercoat everything - again, all at once.

For 10mm painting, I'll then do all the bases for that project (which is usually two complete armies as I mostly game solo) and then get cracking: more often than not, I'll flip a coin to see which army gets first treatment 

I'll tend to then have the complete army laid out on my painting board - and paint in 'type' batches: so all cavalry, all infantry, all light infantry, all artillery, all commanders etc. I will invariably leave all the basing until the end & then blitz it.

This, I guess, is reflected in the Painting Diaries I've posted here 

[Last Hussar]

1 complete unit at a time.  So for Black Powder that is 36 infantry (occassionally 72)

36 x 1 colour is a good period for me to then have a break - it's about as long as I can go with out REALLY hating it.  For instance I've just done the flesh on the latest unit - took about 20 minutes.  other stuff sometimes takes up to 45 minutes - thats when I MUST take a break.  Sometimes I will do a half unit - for instance when i did the black it was tricorne, ammo box, boots, and on this one I am experimenting of black base for the belts before painting the leather over it, to try and give some definition (tan on white or grey isn't showing up well)

[DanJ]

I generally order enough figures for about 5 or 6 units so I don't get depressed by the size of the "lead mountain" and paint a unit at a time, about 30-40 infantry and 12-15 cavalry plus command stands.

A unit takes me about 1-2 weeks so after a month or so I've 2 or 3 units done and made a dent in the figures to be painted.