April - Overcoming an aversion to black

So with April at a close I can proudly announce that I have overcome my aversion to black and as a result finished all the planned projects!

So onwards to May; My planned projects are as follows:

Master Gunner & Sentinel 

Saker Cannon & Crew (inc engineer)

Demi-Culverin

Painting: Pike & Shotte/Pikemans Lament - English Civil War: Foot Dragoons

In this post I will outline how I painted 12 ECW foot Dragoons, the important part (in my opinion) is that I didn't use black at all!

The paints used were from the Vallejo game colour range, unless stated otherwise.

I started by undercoating them all in grey.

I used the following process, which was consistent on all of them
The coats were paint with GW Mephiston Red
The musket stock was painted with Scorched Brown (72.045)
The musket barrel, trigger and lock was painted with Vallejo Model colour Gunmetal grey (70.863)
Musket fuse was painted with Plague brown (72.039)
Flesh was painted with Tan (72.066), then Dwarf skin(72.041)
The collar was painted with White primer (72.002)
Any Sash was painted Imperial Blue (72.020) then highlighted with Magic blue (72.021) then washed AP Blue tone
Sword hilt was painted with Chainmail silver (72.053)

Trousers, areas of leather and hair were all painted differently using any of the processes listed below

Leather (including shoes and hats)

• Beasty Brown (72.043), then Leather Brown (72.040)
• Beasty Brown (72.043)
• Leather Brown (72.040)
• Scorched Brown (72.045)
• Scorched Brown  (72.045) then Beasty Brown (72.043)
• Plague Brown (72.039)

Trousers

• Sombre Grey (this was also used on the cuffs of the (red) jackets) (72.048)
• Plague Brown (72.039)
• Desert Yellow (72.063)

Hair

• GW Iyanden Darksun
• GW Macharius Solar Orange
• Scorched Brown
• Beasty Brown
• Leather Brown
• Earth (72.062)
• Cold Grey (72.050)

Once the model had been painted AP Strong tone was applied all over except for areas of skin, muskets, Sword hilt and trouser painted with Sombre grey.
Areas of flesh were painted with AP Flesh wash
Muskets, sword hilts and sombre grey trousers were coated with AP dark tone

The command group was painted using a similar method with some changes/additions:
Leader
Bright Bronze (72.057) then Glorious Gold (72.056) on the jacket trim and the sword hilt
Chainmail silver (72.053) on the halberd blade

Drummer
Drum skin: Bonewhite (72.034)
Drum trim: Imperial blue, AP Blue tone
Drum string:Plague brown, AP strong tone, Bone white (72.034)

Standard bearer
Standard pole/Lance: painted beasty brown

once all the models have been painted I covered the bases in sand, painted it scorched brown, then covered it with static grass

So close and yet so far...March objective failed

So for the first time, so far, this year I didn't finish all my intended projects for the month.

I completed the ECW cavalry (Click here for details) and the Genestealer cult Patriach, but couldn't find the time to complete the 4 genestealers and 2 familiars.

In light of the above, my objective for April is the following:

• Complete 4 Genestealers  (From March)
• Complete 2 familiars (From March)
• 12 ECW Dragoons on foot

Onwards!

Painting: Pike & Shotte/Pikemans Lament - English Civil War: Parliamentarian Trotters

I have completed part of this months target, the English civil war parliamentarian trotters.

As ever the majority of the colours used are from the Vallejo colour range, unless indicated otherwise.

I started with a grey undercoat.

I painted the riders first, starting with the tunic using Plague Brown (72.039), then the pistols wood with Beasty Brown (72.043), the metal for the pistol was painted with Gunmetal grey (70.863).
Leather including the sword scabbard was painted with Charred Brown (72.045)
Boots were painted with GW Abaddon black
Any other metal (armour, gauntlet, buckles, helmet etc) was painted with Chainmail Silver (72.053)
The sword hilt was painted with Bright Bronze (72.057) then Glorious Gold (72.056)
The sash and trousers were painted with Imperial Blue (72.020)
I tried to paint the hair differently; one in GW Iyanden Darksun (Foundation Yellow), one in Beasty Brown (72.043), one in GW Abaddon Black, One in Leather (72.040), one in Earth (72.062) and one in Plague Brown (72.039)
Flesh was painted with Tan (72.066) then highlighted with Dwarf skin(72.041), then washed with AP soft tone
Once all the base colours were on and the riders were tidied various washes were applied.
Tunic & light colour hair: AP soft tone
Leather and dark hair: AP Strong tone
Pistol and sword hilt: P3 Armour Wash
Sash and trousers: AP Blue tone, then highlight with Magic blue (72.021)

The horses were painted using the instructions found here: https://www.facebook.com/brushstroke.painter/photos/ms.c.eJxFzcENwDAMQtGNKoLt2Oy~;WCXUpNenjyCUgKJzdezUQ8OoDFofCMQkon4oQ84B0pOdtxhD32KlJ3FeFNWFrbkTjgvWCyN9HpY~-.bps.a.2094007537507166.1073741883.1691782607729663/2094009374173649/?type=3&theater
The paints indicated in that link are all GW paints so I used the dakkadakka forum paint conversion chart https://www.dakkadakka.com/wiki/en/Paint_Range_Compatibility_Chart.
With the exception of Eshin Grey which I had to make by mixing black and Cold Grey (72.050).
The saddle and various straps were painted with Charred Brown (72.045). On some of the horses I then painted the saddle with Beasty Brown (72.043). The saddles were washed with AP strong tone.

The bases were then painted Charred Brown (72.045), covered in PVA and dipped in sand, once dry the sand was painted Charred Brown (72.045), covered in PVA again and covered in static grass.

Summary:
Rider:

• Tunic: Plague Brown (72.039) wash with AP Soft Tone
• Sash and trousers: Imperial Blue (72.020), AP Blue tone, then highlight with Magic blue (72.021)
• Leather gloves, straps and scabbard: Charred Brown (72.045)
• Pistols: Beasty Brown (72.043) & Gunmetal grey (70.863).
• Sword hilt: Bright Bronze (72.057) then Glorious Gold (72.056), P3 Armour Wash
• Helmet, Buckles, stirrups: Chainmail Silver (72.053), P3 Armour Wash
• Flesh: Tan (72.066), highlighted with Dwarf skin(72.041), then AP soft tone 
• Hair: GW Iyanden Darksun (Foundation Yellow), Beasty Brown (72.043), GW Abaddon Black, Leather (72.040), Earth (72.062) and Plague Brown (72.039)

Horses:

• https://www.facebook.com/brushstroke.painter/photos/ms.c.eJxFzcENwDAMQtGNKoLt2Oy~;WCXUpNenjyCUgKJzdezUQ8OoDFofCMQkon4oQ84B0pOdtxhD32KlJ3FeFNWFrbkTjgvWCyN9HpY~-.bps.a.2094007537507166.1073741883.1691782607729663/2094009374173649/?type=3&theater using dakkadakka paint conversion chart (https://www.dakkadakka.com/wiki/en/Paint_Range_Compatibility_Chart.)
• Saddle: Charred Brown (72.045) (some highlighted with Beasty Brown (72.043), AP Strong tone.

March Objective

So with February out of the way I have achieved a lot more than expected;

In addition to the objective I set myself (See "Well that was Quick") I also completed the following:

Genestealer Cult: Clamavus

Infinity: Nomad: Moderator of Bakunin with Spitfire

Infinity: Nomad: Wildcat with heavy rocket launcher

Infinity: Nomad: Reverend Moira  - This model had been started last year, so was just a case of finishing it off 

Bolt Action: Soviet infantry (This photo was taken before I finished them, I forgot to take a photo of the finished set)

As such my target for March is as follows:

6 ECW Cavalry armed with pistols (trotters in Pikemans Lament)

4 Genestealers

2 Familiars

1 Genestealer Patriarch - started previousily

Gates of Antares - Ghar: Assault Suit

I started by undercoating the Assault suit with a matt black primer 

Next I used a flat headed small drybrush to apply GW Ceramite White, in a drybrush style (as in I removed as much of the paint as I could on a piece of paper) I brushed over the armoured areas trying to leave the gaps in the armour free from paint. Ceramite White is classified as a base paint so it needs to be used lightly to give a good coating.

I then followed the same process using Bonewhite (72.034), but this time applying several light coats to get a consistent covering; as free from streaks as possible. Using the Bonewhite stops the black showing through, helps the next stage provide a consistent coating and applying it on top of the Ceramite White helps ensure that further.

Next I used Dead white (72.001), again in the same fashion as the Bonewhite, this creates a solid white covering.

The next stage may seem a little odd, but bear with me: In this stage I drybrush Ceramite white over certain edges to bring them out. The reason for this is that Ceramite white has a brighter white pigment than Deadwhite so, I feel, you can see the difference.

As you can see the white process leaves the model looking somewhat messy, and as I want the other areas black (apart from the “power nodes”) I go over those areas with Black (72.051).

Next I applied GW Mephiston Red to all the power nodes and sensors, washed them with Army painter strong tone, then painted them with Blood red. The blood red was applied to the majority of the node/sensor but leaving the base in the dark washed red I started with and in several light coats an all over smooth red finish was achieved.

The black and white areas where tidied up where required, then as I can’t leave the black areas looking so flat, so I drybrushed them with Stonewall Grey (72.049).

Red wash was then applied to the gaps.

I then applied Matt Varnish all over; It was at this point that I discovered (to my horror) that the red wash hadn’t dried and was smearing over the model. So I stopped, waited 24 hours and tried again only to experience the same issue. This has meant applying white to cover up the smears, ruining the original white coat I had applied. In future I think I’ll use red paint. Was that situation was resolved I applied gloss varnish to the power nodes and sensors.

Next I glued sand to the base using PVA. Once dry I painted it Charred Brown (72.045), drybrushed with Plague Brown (72.039) and then drybrushed with Bonewhite (72.034),  after which Static grass was added.

Painting: Ancient British Warriors

So when I started painting these I found the concept of tartan or other traditional "Celt" colours a little daunting and as these were going to be used more for Frostgrave or other non-Hail Caesar games I decided to go with plain colours.

I have since watched the new "Asterix" film (with my 6yo honest) and feel inspired to try another techniques, so watch this space...in the mean time the below is how I painted what I did.

As ever the colours used were mainly Vallejo game colour unless stated otherwise

Flesh

Dark fleshtone (72.044) all over
Tan (72.066), on raised areas
Dwarf Skin (72.041) over most of the Tan areas

Hair

Brown
Earth 72.062
Strong tone

Bestial brown 72.043
Strong tone

Grey

Cold grey 72.050
Dark tone

Ginger

GW foundation paint Macharius solar orange

Orange fire 72.008
Strong tone

Blonde

GW foundation paint Iyanden darksun
Gold yellow 72.007
Soft tone

Spear shaft
Plague brown 72.039
Strong tone

Earth 72.062
Strong tone

Leather: Shoes, Belt etc
Charred Brown 72.045
AP Dark Tone
Bestial Brown 72.043

Swords & spear heads

Chainmail 72.053

GW Wash: Nuln oil

Drybrush: Silver 72.052

Jewelry (Gold technique was used for the horn)
Bronze 72.057
GW Wash: Nuln oil

Gold
GW Wash: Nuln oil
Drybrush: Silver 72.052

Bases
The bases were covered in PVA then sand was liberally added, once dry the sand was painted with Black (72.051), then Charred Brown (72.045) and then static grass was applied.

Trousers

Ultramarine blue 72.022
AP Dark tone
Drybrush: Magic blue 72.021

Trousers

Red base 

Strong tone

Drybrush: Blood red 72.010

Trousers

Camo 72.031

Strong tone
Drybrush: Sick green 72.029

Trousers

British battledress (FoW paint range)

Strong tone
Drybrush: Earth 72.062

Painting: Bolt Action - Soviet Infantry

So for a little while now I have been working on my soviet infantry.

This has certainly been a learning curve and I'm still not quite there; essentially I had ideas of where I wanted to go but not quite how to get there, so trial and error have been my only option.

I have followed the same initial process for all 40 models:

Undercoat of Army Painter Desert Yellow

Then following the guide on the soviet paint set, which are from the Vallejo Model color range:

• Flat Earth (70.983) for the webbing
• Cam Olive Green (70.894) for the helmets
• Luftwaffe camo green (70.823) for canteen, grenades, molotov bottles 
• Tan Earth (70.874) for the bedrolls and bags

then outside of that paint set I used the following from the game colour range

• Beasty brown (72.043) for the gun stocks, handle of the knife and some hair
• Black (72.051) was used on gun barrels, ammo casing, boots and some hair
• Gunmetal (72.054) was used on the catch of the canteen, blade of the knife/bayonet, anti-tank grenades and drybrushed on the helmets
• The boots were drybrushed with Stonewall gray (72.049)

The fire of the molotov was painted with a base coat of GW Iyanden Darksun, then Sun yellow (72.006), then Bloody Red (72.010) around the edge.

That was the basics after that things didn't stay as consistent as I wasn't happy with the results:

On some models the gun barrels were painted with Gunmetal (72.054), then washed with GW Nuln Oil. I wasn't keen on this as it resulted in overly shiny guns. So I tried Gunmetal grey (70.863) which is much darker and provided a better look for the weapons, this was then washed with GW nuln Oil. This can be seen in the flesh pictures below.

The flesh on most of the models were painted using Bronze flesh tone (72.036) then a wash was applied which was then drybrush/highlighted with Elf Skintone (72.004) but this gave the models too pale skin, everyone looked scared or drained so multiple different techniques were tried for the remaining few that hadn't been through this process.

I tried:

1. Tan (72.066), then Dwarf Skin (72.041), then Elf Skintone (72.004) on 3 models
   
2. Tan (72.066), mix of GW red wash and Army painter strong tone in the gaps, then Dwarf Skin (72.041) on 2 models (courtesy of this guide: http://www.talkwargaming.com/2015/03/tutorial-how-to-paint-bolt-action.html?m=0) although the mix ratio wasn't quite right so ended up a little more red than I had hoped.
   
3. Tan (72.066), Dwarf Skin (72.041) soft tone on 2 models
   
4. Bronze flesh tone (72.036), soft tone, Elf Skintone (72.004) on 2 models
   

Processes 1 - 3 had improved results but I still want to find a quick process for painting flesh, as these processes are too long winded in my opinion for infantry. I don't mind spending time on characters and specialist units but for standard infantry I want something that can be done quickly and easily.

Further to the issues with painting flesh I was unhappy with how I washed the troops; 20 were washed with Army painter dark tone, although this looked good it meant that any highlight didn't work so well unless it was bright and a bright highlight didn't work (various paints were used from plague brown to bone)

The next 20 were washed all over with AP strong tone, this produced a much better look that allowed the uniform to be drybrushed with Plague Brown (72.039), the bed roll with Khaki (70.988) and the webbing with Leather Brown (72.040).

The bases! the bases almost drove me to insanity! By all accounts they shouldn't be that difficult to add sand to a base and paint it but I encountered two issues;
one some of the positions (in particular the laying down models) were difficult to cover in sand, resulting in some locations getting missed.
The other issue was having to paint the sand on 40 bases! this took ages and lots of black paint.
Going forward I will cover the bases with sand, spray black and then glue the models (I know that's a bad idea, so maybe I'll just do it to the laying down ones and invest in some childrens acrylic black paint so not to use my own "expensive" model paint)

After this I added some static grass and some foliage.

So overall, what I feel is working is:

Undercoat of Army Painter Desert Yellow

• Flat Earth (70.983) for the webbing
• Cam Olive Green (70.894) for the helmets
• Luftwaffe camo green (70.823) for canteen, grenades
• Tan Earth (70.874) for the bedrolls and bags
• Beasty brown (72.043) for the gun stocks, handle of the knife and some hair
• Black (72.051) was used on gun barrels, ammo casing, boots and some hair
• Gunmetal grey (70.863) for the guns, followed by a black wash
• Strong tone wash over the majority of the model, but not the flesh.
• Uniform drybrushed with Plague Brown (72.039)
• Helmets drybrushed with Gunmetal (72.054) to give scratched look
• Boots are drybrushed with Stonewall gray (72.049)
• Webbing with Leather Brown (72.040)
• Bedroll and bags with Khaki (70.988)
• Matt Varnish (70.520) all over
• Gloss Varnish (70.510) on Molotov Bottle

So now I need to find a quick, yet effective flesh painting process...