Master Class Painting Review of La Haye Sainte

In the previous post I stated I would do a follow up once I had the La Haye Sainte kit in hand. Literally one week from when Denise at Master Class Terrain Painting received it, I had it back on my door step. This post would have gone up earlier but I was busy with a variety of things.

The package arrived packed well enough. I was asked to follow up with a comparison of a figure for reference in scale. An 18mm AB French sergeant is being used here. As you can see, the scale is just great. As for the painting...

Well who could complain! The coloring is quite realistic and appears to be as if you're looking at the genuine specimen. Since the real building is painted brick, paint does wear thin over time as sun and rain takes its toll.

The wood on the doors and shutters appears as real wood ought to appear. If La Haye Sainte had painted wood, there isn't much documentation to represent it.

The uneven weathering of the roof is apparent in this image. The uniform, eveness we see today is a result of factory production instead of local shops turning out batches with possible variations.

Here we see the rear of the farm. Again, weathering applied quite well to enforce a realistic appearance. All the small brickwork still evident in the model and the painting. No heavy-handed dry brushing going on here.

Here the side door has stone work around the windows that is picked out with subtle greys. All the various weathering with the green vine gives it a good look. Denise really took time blending colors so as to avoid sharp and harsh transitions that I was hoping to avoid. My instructions weren't too detailed, just weathering being a prime concern. This complex was not new at the time of the battle and I didn't want it to appear like a cartoonish version with overly-bright colors and sharp lines defining transition.

Denise exceeded what I had expected this kit could look like in my mind. She was quick to respond with questions and updates. Some people we deal with in the miniature or painting business display an almost apathetical attitude toward customers, but not so with her. Followers of this blog may recall my other buildings she did as seen here: http://thepeninsularwar.blogspot.com/2011/02/review-sabol-designs-spanish-villages.html

Her skills are truly honed to a rare state of perfection that most modelers hope to achieve at some point in their life. From reviewing her other work on her site: http://www.masterclassterrain.com/, one can see she's not some amateur. If you are considering having some terrain painted up nice so that it will enhance your gaming table and impress your friends, then give her a try. In the future, I will be sending more terrain her way and will keep the blog updated with new terrain as it all happens.