Inking the wee 15mms

Last week, I wanted to see if I could get a nice shadow effect by painting neatly on an ink wash on white primer.  I usually block paint, acrylic wash and highlight but this time, I'd start with neat painting on the inked figure, cutting out the acrylic wash, leaving the ink to give the shadows.  I quickly realized this was not a time save but I could see the detail better than painting a figure primed white or black.  So THATS why some of you prime black and drybrush with gray before you start!

The result is a decent and darker look but not a time saver.  At 3 feet, I can't distinguish these from block, washed and highlighted figures. If I keep this, it'll probably be to highlight the detail only for painting.

Ancient Spanish light horse finished with the block, wash and highlight method.

I got a good jump on the 96 Dailami foot this week. All that's left is 96 scratch-painted shields.  Yea, all that's left is the hardest part!

I've got Dailami archers and ellies in the pan!  I'm excited about doing Arabesque ellies.

Bottom's up! Naked Gauls and a burst of 15mm madness...

With my Welsh warband sidelined by a lost parcel of shield transfers, I jumped back into 15mm with both of my size 11 1/2 feet.  First up, 96 Naked Gauls. I've paint 2 Gallic armies in the last 2 years. Each army was a bit of a trial or chore, depending on how fondly I remember it  Under Field of Glory v2, Gauls are slightly less rubbish than before so I thought, three times a charm?  The question I sought to answer in painting this bunch was, can I gut my way through painting Gauls a 3rd time? The lead photo is a bit of a spoiler!

Before every charge, the Gauls were heard to scream "PANTS!"

Gaesati warriors will be the core of my Gallic army v3.  Gaesati are rated as Superior, Impact heavy foot, and naked as the day they were born. Nakedness does not provide a combat bonus but it is a +10 bonus on the painting table.  These fellows started with Army Painter's Barbarian Flesh primer.  2 coats of GW flesh wash later, the actual painting started with flesh highlighs.  The time saved by their nakedness was quickly lost in the shield stage.  There isn't much room to work with on these shields.  Still, it went down well and I'll order up the rest of the army from Old Glory.  I might grab my 12 stands of chariots from Splintered Light as they are spectacular to paint and look at.

I also finished up the Russian SYW cannons. We're firing up another Maurice campaign in the weeks ahead and one of our Field of Glory regulars has left the ancient world to join us in the 17th century.  Klay, I hope these cannons give good service in support of your new cause!  The best thing about painting these Old Glory figures was, no shields!  2nd best thing was they're all wearing trousers.

I sold my 15mm Carthaginian army last week and in the process, created a few holes in my ancient Spanish army. To fix one of them, I  just finished up these Old Glory Spanish light horse.  I clipped the plumes off their heads so they'd fit in better with my Xyston Spanish light horse.  These lads are poor and rough, so I went for a loose painting style.  I did sneak in some bright colors to keep them from disappearing off the tabletop!

I sold off the slingers I was using in my ancient Spanish list so here's a few more in a bit of an experiment. I'm going to see what I can do with inking in 15mm.  If I paint neatly, I should be able to use the ink for shadows.

Lastly, 96 Dailami warriors in the paint pan in case the Welsh shield transfers don't make an appearance. So, enough about me.  How was your weekend?

Welsh warlord and hearthguard

I drove to The Source on Sunday to get in a game of Saga.  Freezing rain made for treacherous driving, so my buddy Hugh had to turn around. Just like that, game off.  The silver lining in the snow filled cloud was I spend the rest of the day painting.  It was either that or axe through a door, poke my head through and yell "Here's Jooohny!"  My family was having none of my cabin fever antics, so, off to the painting table.

This Welsh warband is built with both a foot and mounted warlord.  You can only run one warlord per warband in Saga but by painting up both, you can choose which to run depending on the scenario. Since this batch is the hearthguard and warlords, I put the pedal to the floor for colors and stripes.  We are the 1%. Look upon our clothes and weep, levies and warriors!  

You've probably noticed that I've hit a road bump with the Welsh.  The LBMS shield transfers are still in the mail, probably looping endlessly around the globe.  In the meantime, as I finish each batch of shield-armed Welsh, I have to stop at the white shield stage and move to another bunch.  Posting up nearly finished figures is a bit like a date ending with a kiss at the front door.  Nice, but perhaps not all you'd hoped for.  Sadly, it'll have to do for now!
 
I still haven't got the hang of the work in progress posts.  By keeping my cellphone handy, I remember  to take a picture from time to time.  That's good!  With each batch of figures, my work surface gets messier and that detracts from the pictures.  That's bad!  If you think my painting surface looks messy, you should see my hands.

When in doubt, grab some bark

A few of you have asked if I'm done with 15mm.  To that, I thought I'd show rather than tell!

SYW Russian battery

I hope it's warm and beautiful wherever you are.  Birds singing, flowers blooming, and green grass.  I remember those days; the days before I moved to Winterfell.  Right now, we're getting another 6"! 

Looking out my back door.