I decided that 8 figures across for a pike block doesn't really give me the impression I want, so decided to expand my Pink Pike unit to 64 figures in 4 ranks, effectively doubling the frontage. I also decided that I wanted to mix up the colours on the armour, having seen Adam's Blue Boys on the Aventine site http://www.aventineminiatures.co.uk/gallery/displayimage.php?album=34&pos=34
Adam has mixed up his two primary coulours of blue and white to give a varied but still very homogenous looking unit. Being the magpie that I am, I decided to pinch the idea!
My plan is to paint perhaps a quarter of this second batch the same as the original figures, so that when I mix up the bases they should all blend, without it being too obvious that half of the figures are more uniform than the rest. I'm also thinking of adding a bit of extra colour to one or two of the previously finished figures to help break up this impression.
Figures still need shields, varnish and basing, but this will wait for the other 16 figures, as these will have alternate tunic colours (probably red and off-white).
In case you were wondering, there is a fourth base, but the photo was a bit poor so I discarded it.
Very nice Craig. 64 man units is the way to go, I quite fancy that for our game. I'm getting my pike out on Tuesday for a try with HC.
ReplyDeleteHave you thought about putting a wash over the top? A very thin black ink wash in Johnson's Kleer might look very good over those pteurges. Maybe worth a go on a test figure...
Just like the others very, very nice!
ReplyDeleteChristopher
Hi Simon,
ReplyDeleteI block painted these and then washed with GW Devlan Mud. First time I've tried this, having used it before only on the bronze on my Romans. The other pike were done using Army Painter dip. The mud wash is harsher than the AP, with the AP giving a slightly subtler shading effect. Problem with the AP is that it's messy and smelly, even when applied with a brush. You've also got the extra process of matt varnish required to kill the gloss prior to highlighting. Part of the fun for me in painting is developing a process to give good results with minimum effort and any extra stages frustrate me! I'll try the mud on the second batch with a bit more control; I may have been a bit heavy handed first time around. Let's see how that works.
Hi Craig, you might like to try a tip that David Imrie recently suggested to me; mixing ink into Windsor and Newton Galleria Matt Acrylic Varnish, for use as a wash. I used this on the most recent Gallic cav, and the results were quite reasonable; shading and matt in one step.
ReplyDeleteI'm very much from the same school as you re time saving methods, and love to experiment...