Love the Clint Eastwood mini. You did a really great job on his poncho/wrap. The Saracen looks really good for an hour's work!

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Respectfully,
Jonathan

Do what is right, love mercy, and walk humbly

Battle Companies

Just finished the first company of Saracens. These sculpts, by Italeri, are significantly better than the models from before. As a result, the paintjobs are naturally better as well.

I never painted any of these smaller scale stuff, but I've seen some really amazing (and huge!) dioramas made with them.

You are doing a very decent job on them, even if they are so small. Only thing I dont really like is the sand on the base. It might just be the pictures, but it looks a bit big for those minis I think. Did you ever tried pigments? Might just be the perfect thing for a desert look...

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I totally agree about the sand. I don't have the right colors to paint desert sand at all, and the sand is much too large to represent desert grains. I'm curious--can you tell me more about "pigments?"

Edit: Oh wow, ignorant me did not know that pigment was a type of powdered, colored sand--I've always understood it by its skin tone definition. But yeah, hmm, pigment would be interesting to try out as desert sands, but because its powdered and colored, I'm thinking maybe finer grains of sand would work better. Do you have any examples of pigment used on bases, MacGothmog? And thanks for the suggestion and critique by the way

Yes, I'm talking about dust pigments. The same sort of thing that tank modellers use to weather them (dust effects, mud, etc).
They are sold by many companies, like Andrea, Vallejo, MIG, even Forgeworld, and come in many different colours. As alternative, you can use dry pastel, but these come in little bars and you need to crush them into powder yourself.

I did the base of Balian using them. Its a different colour from a "desert base", which would be more yellow and less red, but thats just a matter of using different colours.

Instead of just dust the ground, you need to build it up a bit. It can be done buy mixing some powder with alcohol, for instance, and brush it on in layers. When it dries (and the alcohol evaporates faster) it becomes matte and its pretty sturdy. After spraying some krylon you actually need to scrape to take it off.

Here's an example, look at 3:12 in particular.

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Tell me... Do you bleed?
You will!
Chewy, we're home!

MacGothmog, that is awesome, and is easily one of the best hobby tips I've received in a very long time. After I typed in "pigments" into Google Images I just saw brightly colored, powdery piles and wondered why you suggested it! But now I'm definitely interested in giving pigments a try--especially since after I'm done with my 1/72 Saracen army, I'm only planning on getting smaller (either 6mm Baccus or 10mm Old Glory ACW). So, which pigment range would you recommend the most? Are any available cheaply? What brushes should I use to paint pigments? And lastly, what colors would you recommend the most?

Well, can't be of much use as I don't really have lots of experience using them either. I did try them a few times and liked how it worked out. Definetelly will use them more and more in the future.

What I am using is hard dry pastel sticks (sort of like chalk), which should be available in any art stores, both in sets or individual sticks (make sure you get hard dry pastel and not the oil stuff!), but I need to grind them and sort of mix my own 'earth' colours. I don't remember my set being that expensive, but I bought it a few years ago. In the set bellow, any of the sticks on the top would work for dust, earth or mud (you can mix colours), while the bottom ones could be nice for rust, verdigris, even toxic wastelands and that.


Obviously, we mostly need earth tones, and thats why the MIG, Andrea or Vallejo sets might be a good idea. Please note that I never used any of them, so can't really tell how good they are, but they seem to be the stuff everyone uses, really. I'm sure there are other brands.


http://www.andrea-miniatures.com/_carro ... talle=1142


http://migproductionswebshop.com/produc ... ucts_id=73
http://migproductionswebshop.com/index.php?cPath=22_34

http://www.acrylicosvallejo.com/pdf_web/CC088-Rev01.pdf

As for the brush, anything will do, just don't use any expensive stuff or you will ruin it.

_________________
Tell me... Do you bleed?
You will!
Chewy, we're home!

Wow, you've been using chalk pastels? Dang MacGothmog, that must be messy! This stuff really does look great, especially for very scenic display bases. It looks way more realistic than the painted gravel I've been using all along. I'd be willing to try it, but I'm not so sure if I want to try it right now--it seems messy to grind chalk pastels (and I don't have a lot of space to be messy) and expensive for actual pigment sets. I really do want to try this, the effect that can be achieved looks really, really impressive. Alternatively, can anyone suggest a brand of smaller gravel to use, or desert-colored paints?

Time for another short divergence from the Middle Ages: Along with the Grey Knight Terminator on the last page, the following is why I don't have the money to invest in pigments:



This is the Axis and Allies Miniatures 1939-1945 Starter Set. These are pre-painted 15mm WWII miniatures for use in a simple, fast paced game that uses printed hexes maps, dice, and stat cards. The set came with ten miniatures, a starter rulebook, an advanced rulebook, two double-sided maps, stat cards, dice, and damage counters. The game really does seem fun. I bought it specifically due to the fact that I figured I'd get some actual wargaming in while painting up my Saracen army--what better way to do that than with a simple, quick game and pre-painted minis? However...I probably should have made sure someone would want to play with me before I bought it, as I have no takers! I feel foolish. I also really don't like 40K (the game, or the dorky sci-fi background) so that's also a bust. Ah well. Here are a couple more shots:





It really was a waste of money, and I'm really regretting purchasing it--the models seem more like "toys" than proper "miniatures," if that makes sense. The paint jobs, though, are far from horrible. I don't really know what to do with this, other than keep it around, see if maybe someone would be interested in playing.

Sorry for this slightly irrelevant comment, but I didn't know Saracens were splet like that.

Also the two guys with the canon look like they're having a man-hug.

Very nice all the same.

_________________
"I am the Flying Spagetti Monster. Thou shall have no other monsters before me"
-FSM.

Fair enough That cannon is actually an MG-42 Machine Gun--but the smaller the scale, the more difficult it is to get proportions correct, so the barrel is perhaps a tad large. I'm actually set to sell the 40K minis in this thread and that A&A Minis set to Noble Knight Games. I wish I hadn't wasted my money on that stuff, but at least, if all goes well, I can get a decent return.

I've just had a week off from classes, but absolutely could not motivate myself to paint anything. So, I only got one (1!) Saracen done during the week:







At least the company base is done, and the other guy is undercoated:



So, the "sand issue" has not been resolved, but at least I've determined that I don't think pigments would be a practical solution for basing. It's too expensive, and I have too much area to cover on my bases for pigments. I'd still like the try it, though. Also, I dread painting horses!

I've heard people talking about the use of ermm, whats the name, coffee leftovers. Its not something I ever tried, but the texture might actually be good.

You gotta paint it...

and it might smell funny...

and won't it rotten?! Probably they mix it with pva and filler, I dont know, really.

_________________
Tell me... Do you bleed?
You will!
Chewy, we're home!

Nice lonely Saracen, its welll done.

I'm no expert on the names of modern warfare so I wouldn't know, I prefer medieval warfare.

_________________
"I am the Flying Spagetti Monster. Thou shall have no other monsters before me"
-FSM.

I haven't painted anything new since the last post. I did add a lot of weathering and shading to the Clint Eastwood model, and I'm much more satisfied with it. I think I might be obsessed with that model, I just can't leave it alone. Anyway, I'm on my way home from school for summer break. I'm absolutely not motivated for army building, but I have a ton of 1/72 medieval miniatures waiting to be painted for a summer campaign. Other than that, I hope to repaint eBob's Ramon (from the first page) and some older Warhammer models as well.

I want/need to get rid of a lot of the miniatures I own. I actually ended up selling my Grey Knights and Axis & Allies Miniatures to Noble Knight Games. When I go home for the summer, I plan on getting rid of a lot of other unwanted miniatures and gaming books as well. I will update my trading post here on One Ring soon.

Well, its quite likely that this thread will get numerous updates over the summer, but I apologize for not having pictures this time around!

Here's are some (poor, very poor) pictures regarding my progress. I've finally finished another company of Normans, just a few minutes ago. The lighting's currently no good, so I thought I'd at least take "generic" group shots.



The newest company of Normans--second from the right--was speed-painted within about two and a half hours. The models really don't look so hot, but they're done. And to be honest, compared to the models by Italeri, Zvezda, and Caesar, Revell's Normans weren't that great to begin with. On the left side are the completed Saracen figures; I had some crazy idea one night to try and stray a little from my WotR-variant-plan, ripped my Saracens from their penny bases, and cut up their movement trays. Well, I didn't ask the other players if they would dig my plan before doing any of that; they didn't! That's set my Saracens back a bit, as now the one finished infantry company has to be completely rebased (its now on a blank piece of cardboard). I finished the other mounted miniature in the previously seen unit, and added some not-so-aesthetically pleasing pennies to the cavalry models for extra weight. They'll have to be re-based too, I think; they're currently on two pieces of the cut-up trays taped together.

In the to-paint box:



Plus, I still haven't even bought all of my Saracens. I have no idea what the progress is for the other two players (besides my brother and I), I may have to paint their models as well. The armies were actually supposed to be done--or near done--by now, which means I'm going to have to tone down the rules, simplify the number of units, and re-organize the planned campaign if we are even going to get a game in at all this summer!

I've talked a lot about this "War of the Ring" variant--I've tried to come up with clever names, but I'm just going to call it "War of the Ring: Medieval Armies." On and off for the past several months, I've been in the process of converting the WotR rule set into a historical rule set that can be used for the High Middle Ages. This has involved converting the stats of Middle-earth units into historical units, altering the way heroes work in the game, and eliminating the fantasy elements. I'm converting WotR, as opposed to playing Impetus, Warmaster Ancients, Hail Caesar, etc, because WotR is the game that my brother and I enjoyed playing the most. In addition, with the exception of Basic Impetus, its cheaper at this point to just stick with WotR rather than purchase another expensive rulebook.

The original plan was to model a WotR: MA campaign after the campaign in the Knights of Honor video game. We were planning on having a large map of medieval Europe to play through a campaign similar to Warhammer Mighty Empires, with pitched battles when players encountered each other on the map. That doesn't look like its going to pan out. We have four players, and only my brother has his entire army collected. Suffice it to say, no one has their entire army painted! If we worked all summer, we would not have enough time to prepare the campaign before I have to leave and return to college.

Pooping on historical accuracy at this point, the current plan is to at least get one, large, four-way battle of 1000 points in by the end of the summer. The four factions are currently the Kingdom of England, the Kingdom of France, the Grand Duchy of Muscovy, and the Mameluke Sultanate of Egypt.

After that wall of text, here are some pictures.







So, my painted Saracens have been re-based. Their cardboard trays were simply drybrushed. Its a lot cheaper and easier than the previous bases, and it sort of looks a little better as far as the desert theme. A shot of the entire Saracen army so far, made up of one boxed set of Italeri Saracen Warriors:



Below is a shot of my brother's English army, made up of Italeri, Zvezda, and Caesar miniatures. Revell Normans make an appearance as a special unit. Again, pooping on historical accuracy The entire 1000 point army cost about the same amount as two LotR infantry boxed sets.



Unrelated, here's, yet again, Mr. Eastwood:



I added a lot of weathering and shading to his clothing, but no matter what I do, I'm unsatisfied with my work on the model! Finally, here's a Warhammer snotling I painted for fun:



Currently, I need to finish purchasing my army, restock several paints, and continue creating the different unit statistics. Expect more updates soon!

Time for another update:

I "speed painted" several companies. Here's a shot of the full Saracen army at this point:



One unit of Camel Riders to paint up before the Italeri Saracen Warriors boxed set is all done:



Couple more shots of the speed-painted Camel Rider unit:





Two HaT boxed sets came in the mail today. Keeping in mind that I am, in fact, pooping on historical accuracy at this point, the two boxed sets are "El Cid Almoravid Infantry," Muslim infantry that fought in Spain against the Christians in the 11th century (96 figures), and "Napoleonic French Mamelukes," a renown Egyptian group that fought for Napoleon Bonaparte in the 19th century (12 figures). So, neither the Almoravids nor the Mamelukes are historically accurate to my 13th century medieval Egyptian army, but I needed a major infantry boost, and the Almoravids, being from Northern Africa, are totally acceptable (imo) for use in my army. I needed miniatures to represent the medieval Mamelukes that make the core and elite of my army--my nation is, after the Mameluke Sultanate of Egypt--but I found nothing suitable that was necessarily accurate. So, these Napoleonic Mamelukes, while historically inaccurate, are distinguishable enough from the rest of the cavalry that I can with certainty identify them as Mamelukes. The HaT sculpts are not detailed enough that these models can't be re-purposed to different eras with the help of a different paint job (the main "Napoleonic" giveaway is a set of pistols in their belt).





Based on my research, the Mamelukes were warriors taken from Turkish tribes and sold as slaves to rulers and armies in various Islamic states, most prominently in Egypt. This phenomenon began in the Middle Ages and continued until Napoleon conquered Egypt, after which he used Mamelukes in his own army. In many cases, this caste of these warriors managed to gain control of a nation, and it was the Mameluke Baibars, who managed to become Sultan of Egypt in 1260, who inspired me to create a Saracen army. I really like the HaT Mameluke models actually; for some reason, the horses don't seem like they will be a chore to paint.

My brother has painted one unit of infantry, and two-ish units of cavalry (one model needs basing):



Here's why the camels aren't finished

nice paint work on those camels! they look great.

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goblin: "people associate me with boogers because i am green"

These look really good!
The camel rider in blue looks like he's going to behead his camel...

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Better, though difficult, the right way to go, than wrong, though easy, where the end is woe. John Bunyan - Pilgrim's Progress

He is, actually. Camels during this time period were so prevalent that they were considered an expendable form of cavalry--so much so that often times upon reaching the enemy, the rider himself would kill his mount in order to shock his opponent, reach the ground more quickly, and take away the advantage any enemy might have by killing the camel.

Just joking Yeah, that Italeri boxed set (Saracen Warriors) had a few questionable poses. And in fact, I didn't actually have to buy it. I had enough extra infantry and cavalry from the Italeri Arab Warriors box and HaT Almoravid Infantry box that the Italeri Saracen Warriors box kinda ended up being a waste of $15. But, ah well. Adds a bit more diversity.


Thanks garmenhord. I really don't care for speed painting, but I don't have enough time to do anything else with these models. The camels were simply undercoated brown and then painted bone.

Now time for an update. Here is my entire army, made up from Italeri and HaT boxed sets:



Here is my General and converted Standard Bearer:



Older camels, all done:



Painted a unit of English Knights:



And Longbowmen:



Just as I don't care much for my speed painting, I'm also not a fan of my quick-basing techniques. But, ah well. Still so much to paint!