Technical Difficulties

I had been hoping for another post before the month was out.

 

My computer had different ideas.

First Redcoats

Well, not really the first.

The true first Redcoats were painted almost a year ago, and they were not a pretty sight. Bayonets broke, white webbing overflowed, and Bugman's Glow proved an entirely inadequate basecoat for British skintones. Five or so figures, plus one attempted recently, had to be scrapped as a result of these failings. The figure above and below is the first true success.

Pants are Vallejo Imperial Blue washed with Kantor blue, no highlights. Jacket is Mephiston Red, washed Crimson, then highlighted with Evil Sunz Scarlet. Black is done with Corvus black washed with Nuln Oil. Wood is mournfang brown washed with Nuln oil, metal is Iron Warriors washed Nuln and highlighted with Ironbreaker. The puttees and pith are Zandri Dust washed Agrax and then highlighted with Zandri again. The webbing is a Corvus basecoat, Vallejo Ivory covering, Nuln wash, and Vallejo covering again. The leather is Doombull Brown with a Nuln wash. My first go at skin was Cadian Fleshtone washed with Reikland, then highlighted with Kislev. This was unsatisfactory.

The second figure uses Rhinox Hide washed with Agrax for hair. The helmet was glazed with Zandri Dust in addition to a highlight, Ivory highlights were reduced in size, and Evil Sunz highlights were expanded to be more like a partial layer on the torso. The biggest change was in the skin recipie, which is now 50/50 Cadian Fleshtone and Kislev Flesh, then Reikland, then 50/50 Kislev Flesh and Flayed One Flesh. I think looks much better all things considered.

The historicity of Redcoats in Afghanistan in the 1880s is questionable, but the Perry Brothers list it as a possibility in the pamphlet that came with the kit. My plan is to have only a single platoon's worth of Redcoats, the rest in a more typical Khaki. To me at least that seems a decent compromise.

The trick with painting this kit came in two parts. Firstly, Vallejo Ivory is a mandatory paint. The Games Workshop equivalents simply do not meet the same standard. Secondly, the straps must be undercoated with Corvus Black before the red parts of the tunic are basecoated. Then, after the basecoat is carefully applied, Ivory is painted only on the top of the straps. This is what creates the shadowing effect, and it helps to prevent messy overspill. Painting in assembly is also mandatory with the delicate bayonets and complicated front details. I have started basecoating and shading separately, and then combining the assemblies before the highlighting stage. The logic is that portions of the figure it obscures with its own body will be shadowed, and thus not naturally highlighted by any imagined light source. It also means that I can use highlight paint over any obvious seams as a cheap gap-hider.

The Blood and Plunder starter set has also arrived today. It is my hope that working on two projects at once will be more stimulating than one at a time, since with the Afghan portion of the project I found myself frequently malingering or distracted.

Last Afghans

 For now, anyways.

The command units were saved to last. There are two flagbearers, in addition to one painted much earlier, a drummer, and several generally fancy individuals. Here is one of the flagbearers. The flag will be made of glue-stiffened paper, possibly a historical design or maybe a self-designed one.

 

The total number of completed Afghans is 75. Only one remains incomplete, but he will need to be scrubbed of paint before I can try again. It has been just over a year since I started this project, though I doubt I have painted for much more than half a year's worth of days, accounting for travel and work and a thousand other distractions. There will be a group shot at some point once the figures are all based and cleaned up around the arms.

The next step is to work on the British, and I have already completed a test figure with a second example on the way. They will only need 40 or so figures done. 

This figure's blue clothing is not as reflective as it may seem in the photo, something about the paint mix does not photograph well. 

This figure was originally intended as a group commander, but he came out so well that he has been promoted to the overall leader. I cut up and reposed his left arm to be reaching for a pistol tucked in his belt, but the stance does not quite sell that idea. Still, this is about the best I can hope for from a battle-ready paintjob. And there is an important distinction. While I could have spent four years on meticulous paintjobs for each figure, I instead chose to spend one year on decent schemes with the understanding that they will not be winning any contests. These, and the British to follow them, are an opportunity to practice painting in batches neatly, but not complexly. Even the stripes on the turban were a simple two-colour pattern rather than a more complicated one.

The pirates, who I will be working on alongside the British for the next few months, will be painted to a hopefully higher standard since Blood and Plunder has much smaller unit sizes than The Sword and the Flame. I have just about managed scale, so now the trick will be to manage quality.

Posts will be piled up over the next few days, and then there may be a period of silence.

Corsario Continuation

 Thinned washes were not in my repertoire before this figure.

They work magnificently on the fabric, but I think I may have over-thinned on the face and leather. I used the same technique for yellow fabric on the cape as on the Afghan figures, but with traditional highlights instead of drybrushing. The blonde hair was another first, but I think it could have come out more yellow with a thicker wash and more saturated highlight colour. Some experimentation is due to be certain. Red is the colour you would more expect of a British miniature, but this is a Spanish unit. It is rather early to be crafting lore for a wargame I have only painted two models for, but I think this may be a crewmember of the dreaded "Carmín Corsario" of the high seas.

The sword is not my favorite part of the sculpt. I can understand why it is as thick as it is for the purposes of durability, but it is really more of a club at this point. I have three Cursed City rapiers I should like to attach to musketeer-style figures at some point and those swords are much closer to what I would like to see.

Aside from practicing thinning washes, I need to work on eyes. He looks a little like he has just been slapped, or maybe he has had a dodgy lunch.