Dismounted Templar Grand Master

Spent some time painting the Templar - he didn't quite come out as expected.  He's not horrible, but just not quite what I was expecting.  Should have taken a picture from the back to show his lion cloak.

Rank N File Started

It's been awhile since my last post - I was hemming and hawwing over what province to go with on my rank n' file.  The yellow recipe I tried didn't come out as planned.  Vermin brown basecoat makes it look too dirty and I wasn't happy.  I'd hoped to go Nordland (blue/yellow), but had Altdorf (blue/red) and Middenland (blue/white) as back-ups because red and white are easier.  But first, I decided to give yellow another try.

Second try, I laid down a basecoat of Golden Yellow and washed some Vermin into the shaded areas.  Not perfect, but I like it enough for tabletop. I actually highlighted with Sunburst yellow too, which is anethema to some painters but I think it looks just fine.

I'd bought these minis used and already assembled - didn't realized they hadn't been cleaned so there's still some bad mold lines.  Oh well.

As you can see, I prime white for brighter colors, use GW metallics for armor / weapons and leave the heads off so it's easier to paint.  Since it takes me soooo long to paint, most the armies I play don't have heads for a long time.

Red accent color for ribbons and such, bone colored parchment, skulls and - well - bones..I paint the barefoot guys with dark brown feet so they look like shoes and don't draw attention.  Thinking I might do everyone with hair as a ginger.

More Work on the Swan

Lots of progress and changes.  I hit the yellow feathers with a bunch of coats of Golden Yellow using a fine brush - it came out far better than my last attempts so I'm pleased with the results.  The pics don't show it very well, but there's  a nice contrast to the Vermin Brown and it doesn't look dirty.  I'm hoping I can repeat this performance with the red and I've given them a light Badab Black wash to start.

The chestplate and seat got a first coat of Shining Gold and then a wash with Devlan Mud.  I decided that the Captain's blue armor looked a little too matchy-matchy so I repainted it to Boltgun metal.  I'll highlight it up to Mithril to make it look all fancy.  I like the contrast better and it adds more color to the model.  It also makes deciding on the sleeves a lot easier. I painted the slashed up to Golden Yellow and gave the rest a basecoat of Regal Blue.

I revisited the feathers on the Swan.  I think I went too heavy on the bone/white before and they lacked a bit of depth.  I hit the shaded parts again with a very light Devlan Mud and think it turned out good.  More of a contrast, especially on the under-wing.

He's trucking along!

Templar Grandmaster on Foot

Long have I admired Rafal Maj and his work over on Bloody Beast, his Warhammer blog.  Especially his Elector Count conversion.  Striking and imposing, I was inspired to create my own - imagining him a stalwart Grand Master of the Knights Panther leading a unit of dismounted nobles, a lion's cape draped over his shoulders.

The conversion is simple enough - Chaos Warrior body, Empire Knight head, and a plastic Runefang where Rafal kept the original Warrior's sword.  I chose the warrior body with the claw and the skull on the kneecap.  What's Empire without a few skulls?

Hmmm.  Now for the shield.  Need something worthy of this stallion and big enough to cover the chaosy arrows on his breastplate.  After checking around, I found that Scibor makes some pretty awesome shields.  This one is just stuck in place for the picture and I'll need to sculpt an arm to go along.

Hellz yeah.  Like I mentioned, I plan on painting the cloak like a lions pelt: brown mane and desert yellow skin.  I could do the armor in a blue lacquer and the headdress like Rafal's.  The shield, I'm thinking, could be cool in a blue field with a gold lion - or even a gold field with blue lion.  Hmmmmm.  I may liquid greenstuff the chainmail in to make it into cloth - another opportunity to add color and tie the look together.

He really towers over the standard Empire troops and there's no mistaking that he's a hero.

Color Scheme -

I've painted a couple of Empire armies in the past.  Altdorf was my first, back in 6th edition, and the red came out really flat.  Next was the Talabheim red/white that was so popular in 7th.  For this army, I might fall back on at least one of the colors being blue.  It's easy to do and pops.  I can do creamy white well too, but that would leave me with Middenheim colors, which don't really leap off the table.  My other option is Nordland, as I like the blue/yellow combo, but I haven't quite mastered yellow yet.  Well, guess this is my chance.

I've started with a vermin brown basecoat, then golden yellow, then bright yellow next.  Looked OK, but the golden yellow came out looking dirty.  Maybe a few more coats of golden?  Or a drybrush of white over the vermin to help smooth out the golden.  Think I'll try that.

Looking back at the cover of the 6th edition box, I see a cool Nordland-like scheme.  Yellow with blue slashes.  Some of the pants are a khaki-color as well.  Very different than the quartered look most Empire armies use - hmmmm.  I could do a unit like the swordsmen on the left too - blue with yellow slashes.  One of the Duelist models is painted this way too.

Behold the Swan-of-War!

Inspired by the new Demigryph Knight barding and the plastic Gryphon kit, I've decided to recreate my nom de guerre, the Swan-of-War.  He makes for a great centerpiece of my army and, as a Captain on a Pegasus, he's an effective unit to boot.

Starting with the Schleich swan, I then checked out Demigryph sprue to select the best breastplate.  I like the "nose face' one the best, but the leg was sculpted so that it would make for a rough cut with the clippers.  The "sun face" had nice clean edges and so, with some quick clipper and Xacto work later, I had myself a suitable peytrel, or breastplate.  I also separated the chanfron for the head.

Now, my greenstuff aspirations for outweigh my skill, so I apologize for my amatuerish work.  Good enough for government work as they say.  I rolled out a few thin strips and starting carving the crinet (neck pieces) piece by piece.  I started at the base and layered then up the head, topping it off with the chanfron.  Sticking in the plume from the Karl Franz sprue and the Swan is looking good!  I also placed a ring of greenstuff around the neck to hold the breastplate in place.

Next part is the Captain.  I did some research on the GW site on the Gryphon kit and really liked the ornate seat they used for him.  The Rocket Launcher sprue has some gryphons of it's own that are angled like they might work, but I decided to just spring for the Gryphon body bits on Ebay and do it right.

Carving out the seat proved easy and with some more greenstuff, I had it mounted in place.  I experimented with the arms on the Captain and decided the lance was the most dramatic and grandiose choice.  The arms are also sufficiently puffy-enough opportunities to add more color.  After fiddling with the legs so the sat in the seat proper, I positioned the seat in the greenstuff so that the lance was somewhat upright and it's ribbons looked natural.

The neck was looking a little bare and so I added a couple of straps to the crinet.  If I had the knack, I'd add chainmail and some caprison to the back like the Bretonnians, but I don't want to risk ruining it.

Coming along nicely, now all I need is a suitable shield!