Welsh Pony & their warrior riders

In Saga, these mounted Welsh warriors will ride into javelin range, throw, and ride away.  Hit and run horse will be very annoying for anyone facing them, I'm sure.  It will be extra annoying for warbands that don't have mounted  forces.

The Gripping Beast Welsh ponies are adorable.  I liked them enough that I read up on the breed.  The Welsh Mountain Pony predates the arrival of the Romans. They were a hardy breed on account of the harsh climate, limited shelter and sparse food. The ponies are able to thrive on minimal forage. The breed has a small head with large eyes, sloped shoulders, short back and strong hindquarters.  They're known for stamina, soundness, and intelligence.  Other horse breeds might mock the Mountain Pony for their appearance but for the fact that the Welsh are their intellectual superior.

Welsh mounted warriors with shield transfers by LBMS.  You may notice, the Welsh do love their capes!

And if that isn't enough horseflesh for you, how about the Welsh hearthguard?

One last morsel of Welsh eye candy!  Neigh, neigh, neigh, neigh!

Pony is a member of MENSA, the rider is not

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?