One crossbowman and many warriors...

Not much to show for the moment, except this crossbowman (this third unit is really hard to complete):


Now that the Brush Slave League is finished, I had to find another excuse to make me paint more dwarfs. The Bugman's Brewery forum gave me an excellent opportunity to start a new regiment: for the 3rd unit painting challenge, you have to paint at least 10 models including a standard bearer before the end of September... seems feasible with some holidays.

Here are the models I intend to present (well, at least 10 of them)... 

Dwarf knight #3

Last member of my trio painted for the 8th round of the Brush Slave League, I've slightly modified the helmet by adding a little flag from a bretonnian plastic sprue. As for the painting, I think I could have spent two or three times more hours on the armour (the NMM still lacks 'smoothness' on some parts). Fortunately, I had to stop to meet the BSL deadline :op

Now I'm considering changing his mace for a cavalry lance because for the best place for the musician is the right flank of the unit...

The Brush Slave League

I just wanted to thank Clam for organising the second edition of the Brush Slave League on Chaos Dwarf Online. I'm really happy to have entered this contest, first, because it gave me the opportunity to paint 25 dwarfs in 8 months, and second, because I won! On top of that, Clam has commissioned John Pickford for designing a very nice trophee, the Mad Painter... I'm looking forward to painting this model!

So here is a summary in 8 pictures of what I've painted for the Brush Slave League: dwarfs again and again, and except the ugly mutant, they've been all recruited for my crusader army :o)

Round 1: Brewer, Dimbo and Number 8

Round 2: The Jolly Wood Choppers

Round 3: Ménage à trois

Round 4 (cinema theme): The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Round 5: Three Marauders

Round 6: On my command!

Round 7: Who did shoot Snow White?

Round 8 (cavalry theme): Three Knights of the Red Beard Order

Thanks again Clam! And you painters, do not miss the third season this autumn: it's really fun and encourages you to paint even more minis!

Dwarf knight #2

Second dwarf of my unit, I've simply swapped his lance for a plastic one from the box of bretonnian knights.

Initially, I was planning to post a step by step on the painting of this model, but I ran out of time and stopped taking pictures: so, here is the beginning of the NMM work on the armour.


A few days later...

Dwarf knight #1

I know, I know, I was supposed to finish my crossbowmen then... Bam ! Clam announced the theme of the final Brush Slave League round: cavalry... Not exactly good news for a dwarf painter :(   

Fortunately, White Knight has just released two packs of dwarf knights. Their style is clearly inspired from Renaissance armies, but by avoiding fancy plumets, I thought I could give them a medieval look (and I was wrong).

Anyway, my first painted knight was the musician of the band: not much to say, except I've filled the hole in his helmet to avoid adding a crest on top of it. Contrary to my previous dwarves, I've decided here to use pure black mixed with Dark sea blue to deepen the shadows of my NMMs. I'm reasonnably satisfied with the result, except the trumpet, to 'flat', and the flag, because I've been unable to paint a decent black cross on it...

 

 

 

 

 

Crossbowmen #16 and #17

This time, two models designed by the Perry brothers. I've got them for more than 20 years, but I've never been able to paint them, mainly because of their (ugly) plastic weapons.

Thanks to Stone Cold Lead, I've discovered that Wargames Foundry produces metal crossbows (you have to ask them, it's not visible on their website): for 5 pounds (plus shipping cost), you'll receive a pack of 16 weapons. And as you can see, they work pretty well with Citadel minis:



Below, a picture for size comparison:

Crossbowmen #14 and #15

I've been trying to finish my second unit of crossbowmen for several weeks now, and it's really not easy. The reason is I don't like the last models I have in my possession, and I don't feel a desperate need to paint them. But before starting something more exciting, this has to be done... (boring)
 
So, let's start with two Maurauder Miniatures quarellers, probably the worst models of this range: look at their clothes, they look like dressing gowns! Fortunately, the beard of the red hair guy is really nice to paint.


And before I forget, Clam asked me to explain how I take my pictures. So here is my painting and shooting corner: two IKEA desk lamps equipped with day-light bulbs and a blue sheet of paper.

That's it!

Viva Bretonnia!

Last phase of my cunning plan, a series of articles published in 1991 featuring the painting of a Bretonnian army. To be fair, I have mixed feelings about this one: some models are really great, others are barely tabletop level. Still, some tips and design ideas can be very helpful and if you're not totally convinced, check Blue in VT and Stone Cold Lead's blogs to see OOP bretonnian models painted by talented guys. 

To my knowledge, it all began with a 'Eavy Metal article published in WD136 explaining the painting of bretonnian knights (if you look closely at the second picture, you'll notice the unique apparition of some crossbowmen, knights and men-at-arms probably coming from an older army).


One month later in WD137, several regiments were joining the bretonnian army: les Archers de Brest, les Arbalétriers de Lyons, le Baron d'Angon, l'Ordonnance du Roi, the Feudal levy and les Hommes de Renault. Interesting color schemes, but look at the peasants and the cannon servants: they've received the basic flat colors on each area... and that's all! Rather disappointing considering the usual 'Eavy Metal standards...

Best article of the series IMO, WD138 showed a new unit of knights and three character models: the General, the Army Standard Bearer and a Wizard. Painted with more care than the rank and files, they really stand out and give us a glimpse of what a bretonnian army can be when painted at the highest standards.



As far as I know, WD143 featured the last addition to this army: a regiment of Mounted Spearmen, painted by Neil McIntosh and Matthew Fletcher.

"The horses were all painted different colours, but the techniques for the shading and highlighting were the same. After the base coat was dry, the highlights were gently drybrushed on in lighter shades of the base colour. To smooth out any roughness in the highlights, a thin wash of ink was applied before the reins were painted in Chaos Black. When the black was dry, the reins were painted Skull White, leaving a thin line of black on the edges of the reins to make them stand out against the horse. Finally, the white coat was painted over with Blood Red."

 

 And that's it! I don't think I've ever seen this army again.