Back Again

Ok
Radical rethink time!!  I have decided to keep two blogs going for a while. I now have a different approach I'm messing about with, more later.

BLOG MERGER

I have decided to merge my two blogging efforts into one mighty blog!!

if you want to continue following the feeble efforts involved, in getting this project finished, slip on over to

http://nigelh-viewfromtheduckpond.blogspot.co.uk/


and join the party over there

cheers faithful followers :-]]]

A Fresh Start!!

I've rebooted this project, as I badly need to get something finished this year, and this army is just about my only hope of doing that.

So, on the desk we have, from left to right

Thureophoroi, and one of the elephants, with its crew

Thesssalian Greek Medium Cavalry, and in the centre, the leader of the Oscan unit.

Cretan Archers

Oscan Infantry unit, some of these are already done.















and completed so far, I have

Again, going from left to right

Macedonian Phalanx















Epirote Phalanx   

Tarantine Phalanx

Tarantine Light Cavalry

Slingers, with a couple of the Oscan Infantry in front of them.

My mate Doug has the other Elephant, and the Agema Cavalry to paint, so hopefully between the pair of us, we can crack out this army, and I get a game of Basic Impetus with it.

Oscans on the way

Got the first two finished, only another, ohhh ten or so, for the first Impetus base.
Tried out the new Doug bronze on these two, and its worked out quite nicely. Figures are from Crusader, with Gripping Beast shields ( LBMS don't have any transfers for the Crusader ones).

Also got some A & A Samnites in the post today, decided on a couple of packs, just to see how they fit with the Crusader figures

They need a bit of cleaning up, but nothing I've not seen before. I think they fit in perfectly well, and are actually nicer figures then the Crusader ones!!! I shall be investing in a few more of these I think.

Finally, I was pointed in the direction of a decent matt varnish, by my mate Paul Cotton

It goes on really easily, brushes can be cleaned with water, and it dries to a pretty good matt finish too. Well worth a look I would say

More Italians!!!

Started work on the next unit, this time its more Italian allies. Using figures from Crusader, A&A, and SHQ, as Aventine have not released any suitable figures yet :-[

These figures are hard work, need a bit of cleaning up, and the detail is nowhere near as good as the Aventine models. Crusader have different shields to all the other models, and no LBMS transfers available, so I have ditched them for replacements from Gripping Beast, and A&A. I think they will all look OK once I've done them.

I'm using the Doug Bronze method mentioned before, and so far the results are looking pretty good, I may have to do another Phalanx now, to replace my Epirote one!!

Hope Aventine return to the Pyrrhus range, and finish it off, with some decent Oscan types.

Bronze - A Receipe

The problem with painting Bronze Armour, well no two alloys will look alike, its all dependant on the mix in the metal itself. I have seen various differing takes on what painters feel the most accurate depiction would look like. My own efforts look a bit too orange for my liking, and I think its down to the fact that I use Vallejo Brass as a base colour, with a GWs Griffon Sepia inkwash.

I'm going to have a crack at painting bronze like my mate Doug does, as I think his results look pretty damn good.

Paints etc required, Vallejo Bronze, Vallejo Old Gold, Miniature Paints Bronze, W&N Peat Brown Ink, Liquitex Glaze Medium and Retarder.

Doug undercoats in white, then gives the figures a wash of dark brown, to help show the detail, and provide a first level of shading. 

First off, base coat of Vallejo Bronze, thinned with the retarder, try to use a few thin coats of paint, rather than one big thick coat. mix 50-50 Vallejo Bronze, and Old Gold, and use this to add highlights, it is an arse about face way of doing things, but it works!! Now shading, Miniature Paints Bronze, Glaze medium and retarder, in a 25% paint 75% mediums mix, work this over the armour, making sure the recessed areas get a good covering, follow up with a very thin wash of the Peat Brown ink. Once its all dry, go back and add a highlight of Vallejo Old Gold to the edges, and the very tops of raised areas. When you varnish the finished figure, make sure you go back, and recoat the armour areas with gloss, to make them shine. 

Simples, as a certain annoying furry thing would say!!

To Answer Some Questions

The paints used on the armour were Vallejo Bronze and Vallejo Old Gold, W&N Peat Brown Ink, and Miniature Paints Bronze. Doug has a certain method to paint the armour involving various Liquitex mediums, and the aforementioned paints.
The shields are all transfers, mostly from LBMS.
I would love to say its all my own work, but these models were painted for me.
I am changing the way I paint armour, to the same method Doug uses, as the effect is quite realistic..