ONE STEP UP...TWO STEPS BACK...

Above, lovely pro-painted figure (right) as done in earlier batch, and (left) a recently received figure in the process of being repainted (straps underpainted in black and overpainted in white: still to go, trousers, facings, buckles). 

 First step done: repainted straps and belting.

In one of those happy/frustrating moments, I recently received a long anticipated parcel from a pro painting service. It was a consignment I had commissioned to round out my Austrian infantry (repurposed Perry British Intervention Force British Infantry) and artillery. I wanted to avoid the challenges of the white on white: things like black lining the strapping--as well as assembling and painting the artillery pieces.  I turned to a painting service that I had used before. They had done a spiffing job on my first batch, but unfortunately, this second was not up to snuff. Not only were the straps not black lined (as they had been the first time), but many of the details were left unfinished on many figures--most notably the facings, belts, buckles, and some of the black ammo pouches. I've seen this before, unfortunately, but mainly with black primed figures from pro painters. I get that the process of black priming and then hitting details with color is a shortcut to begin with, but there is a point where it stops being a shortcut and starts being incomplete (things get left off). That's what happened here, only with white. The color match on the trousers between the earlier batch and this was too far off for my likes as well, but I can't blame the service for that, really. So, I wound up painting those, too.

I wound up redoing the guns as well. For some odd reason, this painting service does Austrian guns in what I can only describe as tan--not at all yellow.  This was not new. They did it with my first order, but at that time I had decided that I could live with the not quite right color rather than repainting the guns.  But when the second set of tan guns came in, it was too much. As long as I was tucking in to repaint all that infantry, I went for the guns, too (I will say that they did a splendid job on the gunners--those I didn't have to touch!). 

My new toys, all done--with a proper line of canary yellow guns!   

I generally expect to have to touch up pro painted figs. This was beyond the norm, though. I have to say that this was out of character for this service (I have used them on multiple occasions before, as have my friends).  I think they just got rushed over the holiday period when these were being done.  The repaint task was still miles ahead of starting with naked lead.  I guess the upside is that I can say in truth that I pretty much painted these, or can at least take more credit than one might otherwise do for pro painted figs  (we'll leave out that I paid for the privilege of doing so).   Ah well, in the end, it all worked out. On to the next project!

 Excelsior!