Darvin the Bergjaeger

After completing the crossbowmen, I decided to start a new regiment of shooters: the scouts, also known as "Bergjaeger" in the Warhammer Fantasy Armies book.

These are trackers and hunters from the mountain regions of the Empire. They are exceptionally resourceful and much valued as scouts.

Possibly resourceful, but undoubtedly shabbily dressed according to the illustration (let's keep that in mind for the selection of models).

When Pfeildorf is in danger, trappers and hunters come down from the Grey Mountains, knowing that the city council can be very generous for its allies. Indeed, even if the city has its own contingents of archers, mustered among the population, with the support of the Bowyers’ and Fletchers’ Guild, the experience and camouflage skills of these hardened hillmen are much valued.

OK. Considering these few elements of context, I knew that I couldn't re-use the same colors as the remainder of the army (they're not from Pfeildorf), and I also needed to paint them in "camouflage" tones. Initially, I wanted to use desaturated brown and green tones, with a bright red for the tails of arrows (well, not so bright actually). As you can see on the Citadel "Dog of Wars" model, Darvin, the result wasn't very convincing.

Discussions with my pal Haekel made me realise that even if I used different colors, all of them had more or less the same value (or lightness), resulting in a rather dull model. It's easier to see in black and white: check the arrows, the green shirt and the brown hood, we can barely make the difference!


To improve the contrasts, I've given up the red tails idea, darkened the trousers, lightened the shirt and used a colder brown for the hood to make the face stand out. And, although it is barely visible on the picture, I've also reddened the noise to add a small touch of colour.


"Better, but the feet and the trousers are too clean!" said Haekel.

So, here is the final version, with more mud (VMC Leather Brown) on the lower parts. I hope you like it, as this guy should define the color scheme for the whole band.