Day 5

Day 5 and a bit of a slow down on figure output. Only 24 Armoured Ashigaru today, but htey do have considerably more detail on them and I think I went a bit around the houses to get them done. I decided to spray them white to start as I wanted as bright a red on them as possible. I then painted the whole figure red before blacking in the armour and scabbards and the like. By the time I had done it did dawn on me that black would have been a good starting point as there was very little red left .

My Samurai armies are intended to be generic representative of the period as opposed to historically tied to any particular faction. As a result I will have an army with a red theme and an army with a blue theme. A bit simplistic but hey its my ball and I'll play how want ok? My initial aim is to have two 500 point armies as per the Battles in the Age of War Rulebook. Then I will look to build these up to 800 point armies and eventually finishing by having enough figures to play all of the scenarios in the book.

Here is todays effort. Still on the sticks and waiting for the dip.

The unit based but still awaiting dip. That will have to be tomorrow now. I think they look rather nice.

Some shots of the Confederate cavakry now in various stages. Here we see them on their bases with either a light grey or kommando khaki painted straight onto metal.

A bit of detailing follows with some given light blue trousers, various shades of brown for hats belts and the like and some metal for the carbines or swords.

Finally they get some Army Painter Strong tone painted on. This is a dark brown varnish as opposed to my normal dark tone which is very dark brown, nearly black. I think it gives the Rebs more of a subtle look. Nice!


A random picture of my favourite colour paint at the moment. Coat d'Arms can be a bit hit and miss with some of the colours somewhat weak in their coverage. This Barbarian leather however is fantastic, particularly when washed with army painter. Get some...you wont regret it! On another related point I have lost count of the number of different shades of brown I have in my considerable paint collection.

Here are the Bloody Barons markers that I finished the basing on today. I think there is a unit of Household troops in there as well. On the shelf in the background are the AWI troops I posted a couple of days ago and behind them some of the 17 feet of snake fencing I have been building over the last few days. Matchsticks glued on top of one another ad infinitum. Been meaning to do some for ages with a bag of a thousand matchsticks I bought years ago. Sorted out now for CWB and Washingtons Army games.

The above picture shows my Bloody Barons basing which is just a mixture of various shades of green and brown flock with some budgie grit for good measure sprinkled over PVA glue. No messing around with polyfilla or the like. Looks very nice for very little effort. Samurai, Civil War Battles and Washington army are getting my usual brown flock followed by patches of static grass. Simples.

More soon!

Day 4

As stated yesterday, the Confederate cavalry were under the brush today. I took a few 'in progress' photos which will be up tomorrow or the day after.

Ironic that I bought these figures at Salute and then forgot about them until the grand tidy up the other day. 6 months later I paint them up and what do you know? Peter Pig release new sculpts! So the troopers painted today will have some reinforcements coming sonn, possibly from Warfare if I cna get down there.

I have so far painted 225 pts in 4 days which is alot in anyones book. My painting method is quick and dirty, getting alot of figrues onto the table in as short a space of time as possible.

A quick 101 on my method (I've stated this before but sometime ago)

1. Stick your unpaiinted figures to something to hold whilst under the brush. This can be the whatever you will be basing them on such as the plasticard bases I use from Peter Pig or else lollipop sticks or even bits of cardboard, old paint pots or corks from wine bottles. Anything so that you dont have to get your greasy fingers on the paint job before varnishing the figure.

2. Basecoat your figure in the predominant colour. Thats right no black or white undercoat. So Union troops get something similar to Ultramarine blue painted directly onto the bare metal.Get into all the nooks and crannys. Leave to dry or if in a hurry use a hairdryer on cool setting to speed up the drying process.

3. Detail next. The Confederate cavalry I have painted today had various bits picked out in browns and greys. I'm talking about belts ammo pouches and straps. Also because I like my rebs looking 'reb like' I give them different coloured hats and trousers. In fact I base coated half in a light grey and the other half in 'Kommando Khaki'. The trick is to use colours lighter than you might otherwise using more traditional painting methods. Also one of the advantages of my style is that you dont have to be too precise. The odd slip when painting straps or belts will be covered up in the next stage.

4. Dip! I use Army Painter strong or dark tone which I paint on using an old brush. Others advocate various woodstains like Ronseal or else 'Future' or 'Kleer' acrylic floor varnish with ink or paint mixed into it. The GW washes such as Devlan Mud and Ogryn Flesh also have a similar effect. Black Hat Miniatures have a product called 'Super Shader' which I think is acrylic based although I have not had good results using it so far. Which ever suits your eye or your pocket cover the figure and leave to dry.

5. Varnish using a spray sealant such as GW's Purity seal or a polyurethene varnish that you paint on.

Prior to discovering this method of painting I would undercoat black and then build up each colour in a couple of layers highlighting as I went. Yes the figures looked nice when held close up but boy was slow! I might paint one unit of 20 odd figures in a week. And the benefits of those highlights that were evident when held under your nose were somewhat lost when seen from gaming distance of 3 feet or more once on the tabletop.

I am a gamer very much first. If I could afford to have the amount of figures I want painted done by a professional I wouldn't hesitate in getting them done. I often wonder what I would have done first should my numbers ever come up on a Satruday night! Painting and modelling come a distant second in my hobby priority and yet its what I seem to do more than anything else. At least with my quick and dirty painting style I get through hundreds of figures rather than tens. Since starting painting like this last year I have painted more than ever before (despite a couple of long periods of absence for one reason or another.)

So I am a happy bunny. My figures will never win any competitions or plaudits for style but they are a good wargaming standard and beats having them sitting in a dark drawer never ot see the light of day.

Total today: 56 Total for the Week: 225

More soon.............

Day 2

Good day today. 24 Armoured Ashigaru in light blue and black, 24 Household foot for the Bloody Barons and 16 Union Dismounted cavalry for CWB making 64 figures. Not bad for a few hours whilst listening to Radio 5. Fortunately Keith rang giving me a break as my eyes were ready to go!

Organised a game of CWB at the club with Keith for next Friday which I am looking forawrd to. We will use the pre game sequence and have at it! Some new scenary in the shape of a load of snake fencing which I started yesterday. I may have some cavalry on the table if I can paint the Reb cavalry I prepped yesterday. The Union cavalry is now done, just in time for Peter Pigs resculpts.

I need to finish the bits and bobs for Bloody Barons so they will be first under the brush tomorrow. I may try and prep some more Samurai tonight but I seem to be missing command packs. Either I forgot to order them or else I already have them but don't know where they are! I will have a scrounge around tonight but after my clean up a couple of days ago I am not hopefull.

More soon.........


Total for day: 64 Total for the week: 89

Day 1

Day 1 of the big push. I painted my first unit of Levy Ashigaru. 24 figures in browns and creams. They look quite nice for my first effort. For some reason I photographed other bits but not them! They only took an hour to do but I was short of time due to other bits and pieces.

The following pictures were all done over the last couple of days and all have been basecoated and then army painter brushed on. All require a coat of matt varnish hence the shine.

A unit of American troops for Washingtons army. These are all from pack 26 'Militia firing'. Need the command figures which I will order shortly.

Not the greatest photo as still getting used to the camera. Lovely figures though with lots of character and variation of kit within the pack.

They are actually paintd as 6th Maryland with grey coats with green trim. They have blue stockings and trousers in a variety of colours.

A bit shiny that will be sorted with a coat of purity seal.

These are the Essex minis in cloak coats. Again a bit shiny and the base needs static grass applying. Nominally they will represent Irish troops hence the green flag.

A regt of Union cavalry actually painted a few months ago but only based today. Again they will be matt varnished with the other bits sometime tomorrow. Peter Pig are redoing their ACW cavalry so a few additions coming soon.

Hopefully a lot more painting tomorrow.

Total Day 1 - 24pts