Lots of options off the sprue with both horse and men gluing up nicely. I employed a painting "cheat" to speed things up. I sorted the horse into 4 lots and then hit them with either Army Painter Black, Leather Brown, Bone or Fur Brown primer. I then worked up the socks, manes and tails before washing. The cheat worked well with Leather Brown but not so much with Bone. 2 tone highlights were in order for some of the models, while others looked fine with just a colored primer and wash.
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| Don't look at me, I'm hideous! |
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| A close look shows who was primed with what color. |
I managed to squander the time saved with colored primers in my next step! I've seen some of you make painting stands for mounted troops so I tried to copy that. I drilled out water bottle caps, clipped out piano wire, drilled holes in the the rider's bottoms (hey now!) and blu tacked them down. This was a poor idea as the figures kept swiveling about on the piano wire until I blu tacked the feet as well. HINT! Just glue the damn figures on their mounts and paint away. It's not like we're painting for the Louvre.
Fantastic looking figures - your method and speed all the more impressive. I like how you stained the horses; they look great. I too like the price of plastics - their details is on par with the best metals too. Best, Dean
ReplyDeleteThanks Dean, I appreciate it. Other than assembly, I don't think metals have anything on plastics any more!
DeleteBeautiful horse colors and that is an impressive group of riders. The colored shields are great, but I really love the plain wood - it looks very real.
ReplyDeleteThanks to you, I have a poster of horse colors on the wall of my painting wall. Having that visual reference out like that is a big help in painting horses!
DeleteGreate looking minis Monty ! Fancy shields to indeed ! at least 8 of them;)
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to see the Milites next ! and hear about your overall thoughts about the Conquest Games Norman kit.
Seems like Gripping Beast at last will release their unarmoured Dark Ages Warriors at Salute, that will bee a nice addition to all SAGA warbands.
Best regards Michael
Michael, thanks! One day, I'd like to be able to get in the ballpark of what you do with shields! Practice, practice, practice!
DeleteHi Monty,
ReplyDeletewell done! they are so hard to assemble before having a good time with the paint work, the plain shields looks really great ;
if I signed in your army, I'll stay with the footmen,cause I'm allergic of the blue tack ;-) is it because painted many ottomans that you think empaling the christian knights is a normal storing system? ;-)
and congratulations for your prize! and what you done with it!
for me you won also the best sportsmanship prize ! the great class!
Cheers
Gilles
Gilles! It is true that when I was assembling them all at once, I did have my doubts about plastic versus metal. But once they're assembled, the fun starts and you forget about the fiddly bits!
DeleteLol on the Ottoman storage system. I'm sure Vlad would approve!
Fantastic Monty! I do like the shields, you've managed to creat a great unit of cavalry...
ReplyDeleteCheers,
Phil.
Thanks Phil! Lets hope they stomp the enemy into the ground!
DeleteThey look good Monty, I like the shields.
ReplyDeleteThanks fire! Some of your local gamers do Saga. It hasn't sucked you in yet? ;-)
DeleteNot yet. This is officially the year of killing the Magpie.
DeleteYour willpower is to be commended! I've got my 3rd warband spread out of the box on a side table so I can't say much about Magpies or willpower.
DeleteNicely done Monty,
ReplyDeleteI have some Conquest Normans on my workbench and I think you have just given me suitable inspiration! Great work - I love the bare wood effect you have done too.
Best wishes,
Jason
Thanks Jason! I take so much from my fellow bloggers and hobbyists that I'm very happy when I can contribute!
DeleteI think the horses look brilliant. I've read about coloured primers but haven't tried them yet. As for getting the figure to stay on the mount-bloody hell I haven't thought about how to do mine!
ReplyDeleteAnne, THANKS!
DeleteWith the beautiful figs you do, there's no need for a cheat. I had to go a bit factorylike to move all of these figures along and then earn it back with the riders & shields. Happy St. Patrick's Day!
Really nice strong colours! Well done!
ReplyDeleteChristopher
Thanks Chris! I'm sure loving your M&T skirmish project.
DeleteNice work Monty, love the shields. I used to stick cavalry figures to pegs rather than on the horse to paint. It did make the horses easier to paint but it was a nightmare trying to glue the figures to the pegs. Stick 'em on the horse, its so much easier in the long run.
ReplyDeleteThen it's settled, no more pegstands! Thanks Ray!
DeleteThey've come up well. I still paint my figs separate from my horses though : ) .....it's just a personal thing I suppose. So long as they get done that's the main thing.
ReplyDeleteWell, for good reason, Tarty! You could hardly load up your Romans with all of that detail if you can't quite get your brush in. If I'm going for Impetus showroom quality, I'll go back to some sort of pegstand yet to be determined. ;-)
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