Easy Method to Paint White

Recently, I stumbled onto an easy method for painting white.  I have multiple white paints and I've grown to hate them all. They each have issues with coverage. Some are too thick, some too thin, some grainy or crackle after they dry. After reading a positive review on a new US paint, Monument Pro Acrylic, I bought a bottle of their Bold Titanium White and 1 of Coal Black. These come in 22ml jars with a glass agitator.  The agitator is a nice touch but to be clear, the paint itself is very close to the consistency of my Vallejo airbrush paints. It is not thick at all so the agitator is just a nice touch. 

Step 1 is to get a bottle of Monument's Pro Acrylic Bold Titanium White. I haven't been this crazy about a hobby product in a long time. You'll also need a pot of Citadel's Apothecary White contrast. With these in hand, I start with a Zenithal primer over my figures. That's a gray primer all over followed by white primer sprayed directly from above and rocking out just a bit. You're trying to keep some gray intact in the folds & shadows. This does not have to be perfect.  

Step 2, apply the Apothecary White directly into all folds and shadows. I know some people apply it all over but if you can apply it just in the recesses, step 4 goes a little faster. 

Step 3, after Apothecary White dries in the folds, block in your nonwhite colors neatly.  I also do washes here so they don't slop too much onto my nice white coat.   

Step 4, paint white neatly around the Apothecary White in the folds. If you stray, you can always go back and clean up a spot or 2. I also put down a thin line of burnt umber between the tunic and pants, and the white sleeves and skin. The white paint goes down fast, thin, with great coverage and a smooth, matte finish. I've got a bunch of Teutons on the table and I'm quite happy I stumbled on this technique. Let me know what you think. Also, if you have a neat trick for painting white, I'd love to hear it! 

Mutatawwi'a for Saga

Mutts are my Groundhog Day project. I keep painting, selling and repainting them. And usually getting a few reps in playing them as well. Looking back, this is my 4th version. This one started with me reacquiring 16 unpainted mounted Saracens I'd traded away to my buddy Brent years ago. They sat in a box until fate saw them boomerang back to me in another trade. I decided to go for a bright, colorful version. Basically, the opposite of the last version I painted a couple of years ago. Almost all Footsore figures with a few Gripping Beast Western Knights used, Gripping Beast Objective Markers and a warlord on a camel by Warlord Games.  

I decided to hand paint the shields and banner using only black, tan and white to pull the warband together. The shields started out looking quite dull and uninspiring so I slapped down highlights, washes and dirt to raise them up a bit. Overall, I'd count it as a success! 

In Saga, Mutts are a wild and wooly bunch. Really a fun lot to play.  I think they'll make a good opponent for the Teutons I've started painting. 

And to close, here are my prior 3 versions of Mutts! 

Back with Byzantines!

This is my Age of Crusades/post-Manzikert disaster Byzantines.  Information on what the Byzantine army looked like at that time is quite thin. Into that space, I created a "down on its luck" appearance where armor is quite rare.  

The force is composed of Fireforge plastic Byzantine Spearmen & Auxiliaries (for the robed bodies), Gripping Beast plastic Arab foot (more robed bodies after I sawed off the left arms), light cavalry and heavy cavalry.  I sourced extra shields and my warlord from Gripping Beast. The shield transfers are from LBMS and Wargametransfers.com.  Lastly, I mixed in Arab heads and torsos to reflect an Arab influence in appearance. I'm quite happy with them at the finish line.  

I assembled these March of 2019 for the UK Saga World Cup. Then I had the bad luck of breaking my foot in 3 places and being misdiagnosed for 3 months. Limping on a broken foot for those months was a disaster. I thought I had a soft tissue injury and tried to gut it out. In the end, I could hardly walk or stand on it, ended my plans for the big show. Disappointed, I sold my unpainted Byzantine warband and then at the start of this summer, I reacquired and painted them.   

Last summer, I also was heartbroken to discover my blog was broken. Most of my posts from 2017 and older lost their links to photos. I've been relinking pictures with my old posts but its a slow,  painstaking task. It was such a mess that I quit my blog.  

I've had a change of heart. I'm going post when I can and continue fixing my old posts.  After a year's break, I'm happy to report I'm alive, well and gaming when I can. So, how was your year?  ;-)