Hobby Update: The Empire
Hello and welcome back to another riveting entry into my hobby bloggy. This entry will cover the newest edition to my Warhammer Fantasy Battles Empire army; handgunners!
Of course, glamor shots as well!
Basing:
-Brown House Paint
-Sand Mix
-Earth Undercoat C1229
-Vallejo Cork Brown 70.843 drybrush
-Vallejo Green Grey 70.971 drybrush
As you all are acutely aware from my last blog, I'm currently working on a Reiklander army. Reikland uniforms are nice and clean white with red slashes, but are a total bear to paint. These units were no less challenging than the last, especially as I elected to paint 30 at once.
To begin, I started converting some ancient 6th edition starter set handgunners. Luckily I already had a collection from my childhood, though over the years I've accumulated more from swap meets and eBay. I needed 27 original monopose gunners (12 aiming, 15 at ease) and 3 of the (relatively) new 7th edition ones with their big ol' Hochland Long Rifles to serve as my Marksmen. To break up the monotony of the monpose figures, I spent a little time swapping heads with other state troop sets and even some Reptilian Overlords 3D printed heads (easy to spot in aqua).
To begin, I started converting some ancient 6th edition starter set handgunners. Luckily I already had a collection from my childhood, though over the years I've accumulated more from swap meets and eBay. I needed 27 original monopose gunners (12 aiming, 15 at ease) and 3 of the (relatively) new 7th edition ones with their big ol' Hochland Long Rifles to serve as my Marksmen. To break up the monotony of the monpose figures, I spent a little time swapping heads with other state troop sets and even some Reptilian Overlords 3D printed heads (easy to spot in aqua).
Once assembled, I followed my normal process of gray primer, followed by zenithal white. I think I used airbrush paint for this set, though I often use white ink instead.
From there it was a relatively straight forward blocking in base colors, washes, and highlight. White uniforms are easy to paint, when they're the only color, but adding colored slashes (worst of all being red), makes the entire process nightmarish. Unlike on the archers, I chose to very carefully paint in the "panel lines" of the white uniforms with gray, rather than use a generalized ink wash. This saved some time, but I need to be more careful in the future, as painting touchups with white paint is extremely laborious.
On my next unit (swordsmen or great swords, I haven't decided yet) I'll be extra careful to hopefully create a cleaner look and avoid the mind-numbing monotony of touching up ruffles and folds on 30 models at once.
Regardless, I'm really happy with how the unit turned out- it's crazy to see how fast this army is coming together! Here's a less-than-sexy shot of all the units I've painted within the last four months.
From there it was a relatively straight forward blocking in base colors, washes, and highlight. White uniforms are easy to paint, when they're the only color, but adding colored slashes (worst of all being red), makes the entire process nightmarish. Unlike on the archers, I chose to very carefully paint in the "panel lines" of the white uniforms with gray, rather than use a generalized ink wash. This saved some time, but I need to be more careful in the future, as painting touchups with white paint is extremely laborious.
On my next unit (swordsmen or great swords, I haven't decided yet) I'll be extra careful to hopefully create a cleaner look and avoid the mind-numbing monotony of touching up ruffles and folds on 30 models at once.
Regardless, I'm really happy with how the unit turned out- it's crazy to see how fast this army is coming together! Here's a less-than-sexy shot of all the units I've painted within the last four months.
Of course, glamor shots as well!
I've received a few requests asking for how I do my faces and bases- here are my recipes:
Skin:
-Vallejo Flat Flesh 70.955
-AP Quickshade Soft Tone
-AP Quickshade Red Tone (cheeks, lips, nose, ears)
-AP Quickshade Purple Tone (eyes, lips)
-Vallejo Flat Red 70.957 wash for red areas for cheeks, lips, nose, ears
-Vallejo Flat Flesh 70.955 cleanup
-Vallejo Ivory 70.918 highlight
-Vallejo White71.001 highlight (tip of nose, etc)
Skin:
-Vallejo Flat Flesh 70.955
-AP Quickshade Soft Tone
-AP Quickshade Red Tone (cheeks, lips, nose, ears)
-AP Quickshade Purple Tone (eyes, lips)
-Vallejo Flat Red 70.957 wash for red areas for cheeks, lips, nose, ears
-Vallejo Flat Flesh 70.955 cleanup
-Vallejo Ivory 70.918 highlight
-Vallejo White71.001 highlight (tip of nose, etc)
Basing:
-Brown House Paint
-Sand Mix
-Earth Undercoat C1229
-Vallejo Cork Brown 70.843 drybrush
-Vallejo Green Grey 70.971 drybrush
Thanks for reading!
-Nick
-Nick
White Ink! My mind is blown. I usually use inks to add a rich colour to the depths of a similar colour. Or overall tint. Does white wash out colours?
ReplyDeleteYour troops have turned out great. It reminds me I have some of the mono pose empire lurking in my boxes of shame somewhere....
In all honesty, I'm not sure- I've only ever used the white ink through the airbrush or as a cheat when needing very thinned white paint.
DeleteThanks! The minis are kinda rough, if we're being honest, but they have a charm for me.
Yah, I'm sure my nostalgia glasses are on right now. Having said that I've seen worse in minis not as old....
Delete