A tale of two romans

So back to dipping again...

Now romans seem to be the ideal candidate for dipping. The reds, dark creams and armour should all work well. They are quick to paint anways and much of their aesthetic is derived from the shields for which I used transfers.

I painted two foundry romans. Both were done fairly briskly as I would when doing a large batch of grunts. However, one of these got base coat, GW dylan wash, one/two further highlights. The other got just got one coat plus dip.... Actually, for the flesh I couldn't resist adding a couple of highlights but this was done BEFORE the dip so not cheating.

See what you think. Hard to capture it on camera as always but I think they are pretty close to be honest. Anything over two feet and you cant tell with my eyes ...

Red and Romans

Having re-watched the second series of "Rome", I couldn't help but grab a pack of these on my recent visit to static. They are made by "companion miniatures" and are modified perry sculpts. Very cute figures with loads of character.

I used these to practice my red and I am now happy that I have a system that works. Most of what you see in the pictures is just two colours. Actually, two tones applied well is far more effective than three done "wrong" I think.

What I do is first apply a dark red (GW scab red in my case).

When it comes to the shading stage I used GW dylan mud as a wash. You must ensure that not too much wash gets on the raised surfaces. You can either be more careful where you apply the wash or simply wipe off the excess afterwards (this is what it says on the bottle as it happens). The result should be scab red which is darkened even further in the recesses.

For the highlight I apply only one colour but is several layers. I use coat'd'arms "British scarlet" It is best to use several thin layers. This sounds tiresome but it is not. Apply one layer that is thin enough so that by the time you finish the whole model the first bit you did is dry. You can then go over it again with a second layer. You ll notice as you apply the layers it seems like you are using a lighter shade. The aim is to build up a bold, solid red that contrasts well with the base. The shading adds that bit more depth.

A third highlight may improve things a bit but light reds/pinks take time to do right. Not worth it for bulk troops.

Anyways, think that's the longest post Ive ever written. Hope it is of use to someone!

PS I forgot to mention the dustyness I added to the cloak and shields. I really like doing this though curious of what others think. Its just tan earth drybrushed on. A very useful colour for all sorts of things.








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beardy horde

Heres base of pagan saxons/germanic types. I'm still thinking about adding a few severed heads to the banner pole... Have been looking on eBay for zombie types I can decapitate...

Now here Ive gone back to my old school basing in terms of the dirt bits. I used the standard grit, paint, dry brush method. This was british khaki with two rounds of drybrushing (linen to lighten). I find it gives a much better look than brown. Trust me on that one!

One more small tip regarding the linen/cream colour of their clothes. When you want to use a light colour but not a boring old white use "linen" or a light cream. Wash with GW serpia and then add more linen. You can then add a final highlight mixed with white if you can be bothered. You will find it this method gives easy results.

The potential for an dark age pagan horde is quite appealing to me. Perhaps a wicker man as a "baggage train" for impetus?

PS I just edited this post to make a point about my basing mentality (or menalism for those who know me). Although it may look a bit random I actually took an unusual ammount of time positioning them. The impression I want to give is a unit close to the action. Although they are "barbarians" this is an elite unit (as you can tell from their atire). I want them fighting more close ordered than a "horde" but not too ordered.

To get this look I put the outer four figures perfectly aligned as the four corners of a rectangle. The rest of the inner two ranks are staggered to look more ragged. I think this gives the impression I was aiming for.

painting outside my comfort zone

Now my lead pile ain't that massive but I had a few moors left over from my crusader project. I decided to make up an impetus base (current ones are on 60mm squares).

I went for the "comic book" style. Normally I find it easier to do subtle, natural stuff but I want to learn to paint more boldly.

Next up the Saxon impetus base!

a red Indian ..

Got an extra figure thrown in with my order from thunderbolt mountain. Decided to go all devil boy on this one.

Couple of new things painted

Here are the last of the saxons I bought at the Edinburgh Show. I actually ordered a few more to make up an impetus base. Looking foward to finishing that. Incidently Musketeer miniature orders now go through Gripping beast.






And here is a FIW whale boat (made by Redubt Enterprises). I have been spoiled for painting 1st class miniatures of late. Poor redoubt seemed very dated when compared to the likes of perry/conquest. Also, they dont answer their emails .. ever ...

Army painter DIP

Hello,

Bought some Franco Prussian figs on Ebay. They were going cheap so I stuck in a bid on impulse.

I decided to use these to test the dip method. I block painted a single coat then added the dip. Actually thats not quite true. For the face I wanted to see how the dip would look over two layers. I put on a GW flesh base and then highlighted with elf flesh creating a high contrast. The red also required a bit of touching up. I have yet to find a red that works in a single coat over black.

BEFORE




AFTER