HYW Knight update

You will recall some ten days or so ago I uploaded a post of a 28mm HYW knight which I had specifically painted to participate in a local painting competition. Well I'm happy to announce that I placed first! A big well done to all who participated and thank you to all who voted. A big shout out also goes to Gold on Dice Events Malta who organised the competition.

Given the interest this figure generated I am posting a series of work-in-progress photographs with the hope that fellow modellers will find them useful in developing their painting techniques. I know I posted something similar a few months back but since this knight involved small repetitive patterns which meant a bit more work I thought of putting up another post. Unfortunately I am missing some steps towards the end but I still hope you will get the idea so here goes. 

Base coat in dark colours just to get the quarters right

A dot pattern is laid down to mark the positions of the Fleurs de Lis

Once the positions are final the dots are turned into lines of approximately equal length. Note the different directions to conform with the folding of the bard.

The fleurs are put down in base colour and a lighter blue shade is applied taking care not to encroach on the pattern and leave a dark blue outline around each fleur

More blue is added and highlights applied to the folds in the blue sections always taking care to work around the fleurs' pattern

The final yellow highlight is applied to the fleurs de lis patterns

Rough outlines for the dolphins are laid down on the yellow base. Note the final shade of yellow has been applied to the horse's head

The final yellow shade is applied and highlighted and the various dolphins are fleshed out and detailed. Knight is still missing some final detailing and carries no shield

Done!

Foundry Chasseurs a' Cheval Garde unit in 28mm

In between projects I like to fill in by painting the odd miniature and build up Napoleonic units over time. I prefer the smaller scales and do not usually game in 28mm (for Napoleonics at least) but as the scale allows for gorgeous detail on minis, I enjoy painting the occasional showcase pieces whenever I am idle or short of inspiration for new projects. Visitors to my blog will recall that way back in February last year I posted a Chasseur a' Cheval Garde officer which was an absolute joy to paint. Now his unit is finally recruited and he proudly leads his men into a charge........

Note the rear rank have their shabraques upturned - this was done on campaign to protect the intricate eagle embroidery

Badass command section

An infantryman's view of the charging unit

Needless to say, the elite Guard Chasseurs are one of the most - if not the most - colourful units of the Napoleonic era and for this reason are very popular on wargame tables. The figures themselves are from Wargames Foundry. The officer and his mount is a classic sculpt and the troopers are highly detailed even though their busbies do appear a little oversize.  On the other hand I found the horses to be undersized which give the impression of ponies rather than the sleek light cavalry horses specially hand-picked for the elite of the elites. What's more is that half the unit have the shabraque ends upturned - this was done on the march to protect the embroidery from mud and such.  However, since the men are in parade uniforms I could see no reason why their mounts should be represented in campaign mode.  That said, however, these figures will always make an impression both on a table or in a display cabinet.

Carry on gaming and thumbs up to health workers everywhere !

Hundred Years War knight in 28mm

To combat the boredom caused by this COVID19 thing, with people being locked up at home and all that, my local gaming club W.A.R.S Malta (for those who would like to look it up on FB) last Sunday organised a paint-at-home competition. Contestants were asked to submit a photo of an unpainted figure on the club's Facebook page and then upload a second picture of the finished model by tomorrow Sunday.  Voting will take place on FB for the next seven days with the entry garnering most likes by next Sunday being declared the winner. This is my entry for this competition - a Front Rank HYW knight in 28mm.  Winning or losing is not important to me, the most important thing is I have another addition to my medieval collection. I'll post an update with the results next week.  Till then, stay safe and keep painting.

And finally one for those flat-earthers who will maintain that the figure is larger than 28mm :)

Airfix DAK Pzkpfw IVF2 diorama in 1:72 scale

I am by no means a WW2 armour expert, having only a slightly above-average knowledge of the weapons used in that conflict but my favourite AFV by far is the German Panzer IV. I don't know why but I find the lines of that tank captivating. So it came as no surprise that once I was in modelling mode, I got the urge to dig deep in my war chest and fish out an old Airfix 1:72 scale specimen bought on ebay that had been lying there for years. Having added on extra equipment from Czech company Black Dog, I also decided to try out some weathering and rusting techniques (using very easy-to-apply AK Pigments) on the model and fit it into a diorama base to enhance appearance.  I discovered a great Dutch company called Diodump (www.diodump.com) who supply ready made high quality diorama bases. Great service too. Thoroughly recommended!! Found a set of detailed (but expensive) Nikolai resin 20mm Arab civilian figures and got a box of excellent German multipose tank personnel from Preiser and voila'! - a Deutsche Afrika Korps Panzerkampfwagen IV F2 rolling into a North African village looking something like this:

I tried to go for that dry dusty look normally associated with desert terrain, giving particular attention to lay heavy dust on the tank's tracks, wheels, and rollers as well as on the civilians (particularly their lower limbs) and on the building's surfaces.  I yellowed the tips of the palm leaves to give them that partly-wilted, thirsty look (a sight we are very much accustomed to in my native Malta). I particularly enjoyed painting in the tiles in alternating colours on the building rooftop giving that distinct Arab look. Thanks for visiting!