The mounted standard-bearer

I always have a little apprehension when it comes to painting a standard-bearer, and this model was no exception. 

The horse was painted in the same way as its 3 predecessors (the only change being the candles fixed to its caparison).

The dreaded flag was painted separately and took me a stupid amount of hours. I have basecoated it with Vallejo Extra Opaque Heavy Charcoal, then used two shades of grey (VMC Neutral Grey and Light Grey) to reproduce the faces of Louise de Lorraine and Henri III, as proxies of Adelarde de Montfort and the late Count Heinrich of Schädelheim.

I have then painted the knight, glued his right arm in place, reworked the highlights a little bit, et voilà!

Three Knights

The mounted triplets!

 

Mounted guard #3

Nothing much to say. Same colors, same model.

Knights update

 A few pictures to show the touch up on the first knight.

Mounted guard #2

Second knight joining the close guard of the White Lady, I have again mixed metal and plastic elements. 

The painting job has been as long and tedious as on the first model. I've tried a different pattern on the lance, and I think it works better. I'll see if I can rework the same way the first knight...

 

 

The Mounted Guard (part I)

Hello everyone and happy New Year! After painting about sixty infantry in 2024, it's time to tackle my nemesis: horses! 

Since I've decided to give a try to Spearhead rules, I need to paint 5 knights and one mounted commander to field a proxy of a Cities of Sigmar force (and possibly one great cannon to replace the mortar painted last year).

Let's start with the knights of the White Lady's close guard. 

My plan was to use metal miniatures with barded horses in plastic, but I've realized that the scarf hanging on the side of the reiksguards made the junction between the legs and the torso difficult, and I've used instead legs in plastic. I have also decorated the piece of armour protecting the horse's head with a skull and a feather.

In terms of painting, I have opted for relatively simple patterns, already used on the banner of the foot guards: thorns surrounding the interlaced initials of Adélarde de Montfort and her late husband Heinrich. 

To be honest, I'm a little bit disappointed by the final result.