Kings of War Kingdoms of Men - Speedpainting Oathmark Humans 4 - Hero

With two units done, it's time to add the Hero who leads the force (actually I painted him alongside the Mounted Scouts, but he deserves his own post)

While looking at the cavalry sprue I noticed the fancy crested helm for the commander and decided it would look great for a Hero. I used the cloaked body from the infantry sprue with the aforementioned helm and a right arm with raised spear from the cavalry sprue.  There was a little bit of plastic surgery required around the shoulder to get the arm to fit better, but it was a simple operation.

When I painted the first Spear Phalanx I thought that two of the bodies might be wearing metal armour (plates riveted to a jerkin), though I painted them all as leather with metal studs.  For this Hero I explored the metal plates idea, and I think it's worked out really well.

He was given a zenithal prime then the metals were painted using Vallejo Game Color Chainmail Silver.  I also painted the metal studs on his armour and on the helm with VGC Shining Gold.  

I used Speedpaints for the rest of the Hero.  The scheme was pretty much the same as the Spear Phalanx.  He got a nice cloak of Army Painter Speedpaint Hive Dweller Purple, which came out less successfully than I hoped. 

The Hero after Speedpainting

Given the rather disappointing result of the cloak I decided to drybrush some extra highlights, he is a character mini after all.  This was simply lighter purple and lilac on the cloak, blue and yellow on the relevant fabrics, including the plume on the helm.

I'm really pleased with how he looks.  The extra stage of drybrushing some highlights has helped make him look a bit special.  I don't think its a necessary step for ordinary troops, but it definitely helps with any characters.  Also simple choices such as the gold shield boss make him stand out.  I'm tempted to do a bonus Army Standard Bearer with another one of the infantry bodies.

So that's 280 points done (I've given the Hero the Inspiring Talisman).  Now on to the rest of the infantry.

Kings of War: Kingdoms of Men - Speedpainting Oathmark Humans 3 - Mounted Scouts

With a regiment of Spear Phalanx done it's time to move on to something a little different. Bodvoc gave me a box of the Oathmark Human Cavalry for my birthday recently (we don't usually do this, but it was a landmark anniversary), so I decided to get the troop of Mounted Scouts done. 

I chose the least well armoured cavalry bodies since Mounted Scouts only have a Defence of 3+.  As with the infantry, the cavalry go together well, though I always seem to struggle a bit with minis that require both arms to be holding something, like the chap about to fire an arrow (Enforcers are a classic example, as are Space Marines).  One oddity that others have mentioned is the dynamic pose of the horses and the relatively static pose of the riders.  As the unit is just a scout unit I only used three models to a troop and I avoided any obvious command minis, though the middle archer has a sword raised, presumably issuing orders.

The minis were all given a zenithal prime, then the metals were painted using Vallejo Game Color Chainmail Silver.   

I knew I'd need a greater range of paints for this unit, mostly for the horses, so I ordered some extra colours now they are available in single bottles.

The bulk of the riders have the same paint scheme as the Spearmen.  Two of the heads have hoods, and I wanted these to look faded, so I mixed equal parts Army Painter Speedpaint Highlord Blue and Runic Grey.  I think I'll use this for all the hoods in future, there will be quite a few when I do the Bowmen regiment.

For the horses I first painted in socks and blazes in VGC Off White.  I didn't want any 'bleed' from Speedpaint reactivation when I painted the coats.  The leather straps were APS Hardened Leather and the saddles were APS Dark Wood.  This gave the metals a nice brass look.  The bay horse was equal parts APS Dark Wood and Grim Black with Grim Black mane and tail. The black horse was equal parts APS Gravelord Grey and Grim Black (it looks darker in real life), again with Grim Black mane and tail. The dun horse was APS Sand Golem with Pallid Bone mane and tail.

Bay, black and dun horses

Whilst I'm happy with the end results there are a few bits I'll change next time I do similar minis.  I'm not sure how effective my zenithal priming is.  I went for a darker shade than the Spear Phalanx, starting with Vallejo Surface Primer Black over everything, then VSP Gray from the side and finally white from above.  This gave much darker shadows, and there are places where this has affected the final colour considerably.  The yellow leggings of the minis are a good example of this, and the flesh tones are a bit dark, especially on the hooded heads.  Mind you, I do like the effect on the belly of the dun horse.  

I may try just white in future, which means only one coat, or go back to the grey rather than black as the first coat.  I was having issues with the white primer splattering as well.  Some spots of white can be seen, especially on the dun; it's actually a really interesting result and bears further investigation for some sort of piebald effect.  I wish I'd painted the quivers a pale linen colour rather than APS Gravelord Grey and they aren't positioned well; roughly horizontally across the lower back is, apparently, a more accurate way to carry arrows when mounted.

Interestingly, the APS Sand Golem on the dun horse is so close to the leather jerkin colour I mixed that I think I'll stick with it for future units.  I'll need to find something different for horses though, I don't like to have the horse skin colour the same as the armour (yuk).

So that's 220 points done, so in theory close to half way there.  All that remains is the regiment of Bowmen, a Hero and another Spear Phalanx.  In fact I've been painting the Hero while I painted these scouts and I'm already prepping the Bowmen.  I may well try just a white priming coat for the next regiment to see what difference it makes.

3ITC - Bultha's Farm - Walls and Texturing

Once I'd drawn the plans I cut the walls out of pink XPS using my Proxxon. I cut the edges to 45°, easy to do by setting the wire at the required angle.

Then I textured the outside of each piece first using a Green Stuff World textured roller. I find it benefits from deepening the mortar lines, to see where I'd gone (and so it shows up better on photos) I used a black biro. Once this was done I used a ball of kitchen foil to add a rough stone texture. Finally I used a pen top to push some of the stones in a bit. This more uneven surface gives a more natural look.

For the insides of the walls I wanted a rendered finish, but with some of the render missing, exposing the stonework beneath. I cut a thin irregular strip from the inside, the exposed surface was then textured with a pen to show the stonework.  I didn't even try to match the placement of stones on the outside; the walls are two stones wide with a gap in between.

I added a strip of XPS to the interior walls to support the upper floor.  I also added strips of cable tie to the inside of the door frames to give a more Sci Fi look.  I considered doing the same to the windows, but the ties I had looked too bulky.  If I find some thinner ones I may still do this.  I imagine the ridged texture represents some sort of field emitter, perhaps to keep out dust?  And yes, I am totally using this in my Tatooine builds.

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The doors themselves will be long gone of course.  For basing I used the thick plastic sheeting used for signs.  It's my first time with this stuff; so far it seems strong and is easy to cut and sand smooth.  I'll use it for the damaged upper floor as well, probably carving in some sort of texture.

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I wasn't sure about the floor and tried both card and balsa (floorboards) but neither looked quite right; too 'fantasy'.  Finally I cut a thin piece of XPS for the floor, cut out some damage and textured it with the foil ball.  This seems more what I was thinking of.  I'll add some rubble, but the model has to work as a gaming piece, so the floor has to be clear and level enough for minis to stand up in it.

Next I will give everything a coat of mod podge and black paint (I may add some greebles first) then it's on to painting.  I'm not adding the roof or the upper floor until the bulk of the painting is done, but I'll get them cut out and textured soon.

Fantastic Battles in Middle Earth - Two 500 pt Games

I got a couple of games of Fantastic Battles in against Bodvoc and one of his Sad gaming chums recently.  We used our Middle Earth army lists and played a couple of 500 point games to familiarise ourselves with the rules.

As host, Bodvoc had devised a couple of scenarios, both of which featured wandering hobbits.  In the first game the hosts of Rohan clashed with a band of orcs.  The two hobbits were hiding somewhere on the battlefield (indicated by the MDF tokens - each one had a 1 in 6 chance of hiding the hobbits, automatically if it were the last one searched).

My orcs suffered badly from the Mishaps, three units taking damage due to sickness before the battle commenced.  The Rohan host merely had one unit arrive late.

The battle was great fun.  From my point of view things didn't go well.  Loosing my general in his first fight was a blow that cost me dear; combined with the earlier Resolve loss due to disease, the Trolls didn't survive long in melee, and their Heavy weapons would have been useful cracking the tough armour of the horse-boys.

It was sheer luck that the Wargs found the hobbits, and, presumably, dragged them back to Isenguard.

With nearly all the Orc force wiped out but with them capturing the hobbits, we called it a draw.

After Mishaps

The host of Rohan.  Not a lot for 500 points

Initial moves.  The Wargs suffer some missile casualties. 

The two forces approach

Just before the clash in the centre

The orc general falls, but the rest of the horde holds - just

The big clash

The trolls are killed and the orcs continue to take casualties

While on the flank, the Wargs find the cowering hobbits

All that remains of the host of Rohan (nearly all of it) and all that remains of the orcs (none, apart from the wargs above)

The second game had a similar storyline.  Frodo and Sam (and presumably Gollum, though we had no mini for him) were unlucky enough to be 'sneaking' around the area where a Gondorian force clashed with a Mordor force.  As before, the tokens represented possible hiding places.

I controlled the Gondor force this time, and it was my first experience with them.  After having faced an all 5+ defence last time, it was good to turn the tables on Bodvoc and Ian.

I used the Rangers' Ambush tactics to try and reach a token at the start, but the Mordor force, being much faster, was able to reach more tokens sooner.  The trolls recovered from turning up late and eventually found the hapless hobbits hiding out in the large ruin on the flank.

I took far too long readjusting my line in response to some well placed flank moves by Ian's Wargs and Warg Riders, but eventually, weathering a hail of arrows, I managed to make contact with the orc units. 

In a repeat of the first game, Bodvoc managed to kill my general, frustrating.  However, the higher Gondorian defence paid off, and, though battered, the Gondor force broke the Mordor force.

The start of play, the trolls are late

The rangers explore the ruined tower on the hill, finding nothing of interest.  The Gondorian lines advance, while their archers investigate more ruins

Slow advance, apart from those fast Wargs in the woods

The trolls search the ruins, and find Frodo and Sam

The Gondorians are unsure where they priorities lie.  The orc battle line, or the Wargs and Warg Riders now menacing their rear

As the Orcs approach, the Gondor Archers take aim at the Warg Riders and wipe them out

 

Then smartly turn to face the main fight.  The Spearmen clash with the Orcs

The loss of the General causes his unit to break, but the other regiment wipes out their opponents.  The Orc army is broken

Once again the forces of Darkness captured the hobbits, but were themselves broken, so we called it another draw.

We all had fun, the scenarios were simple enough that we could easily focus on our objectives, but added a lot to our enjoyment.  The lists seemed about right.  Bodvoc designed the Rohan list, and they were as scary in melee as they should be, especially with the 'Master of Horse' tactic.  Defence 5+ is a tough nut to crack for most troops, which meant the Gondorians held out nicely against superior numbers.  Formed infantry does seem to move slowly though.  

3ITC - Bultha's Farm - Mock-Up

Once I'd decided how the ruin would look, I decided I'd build a mock-up to play around with size and shape.  If you've seen some of my previous builds (the Tavern and the Dwarf huts) you'll know I like to do this to help with any tricky or experimental pieces.  Since the ruined farm is pretty much me making it up as I go, the mock-up was a must.
I cut the drinking chocolate container into half, so I have two pieces, one for a future project.  I used corrugated cardboard for the walls.  This is simply to allow me to experiment with shape and the height of the ruined walls, and to see how practical an area of upper floor would be, there was no attempt to make a practical model (the walls on the final model will be much thicker, for example).

I first tried walls of 100mm height.  I thought this might look a bit too tall for a farmhouse (as I imagine it), and I was right.

100mm high walls - too tall

So I cut them down to 50mm high; much better.  The proportions now seem about right to me.  This pretty much matches the radius of the container, so that works nicely for the upper floor.

50mm high walls - much better

Next I sketched in the shape of the ruined walls and cut them out once I was happy with them. Despite the description stating that the walls were all about 1.5m high I kept one corner at full height.  This gives a more interesting ruin and allows me to have a small section of upper floor to give a firing platform.

Six marines fit easily inside the ruin, the sixteen given for the battle should just about do it.

A better idea of how much space is in the building.

Note the pencilled in door

Using the upper floor for better lines of sight.  

I'm pleased with the look of the mock up.  I like the shape and proportions of the building, and the placement and size of windows and doors (one at each end, just shaded in on the mock up).  That gives me a pattern to cut the walls.  

I drew a plan to help me when I come to cutting the XPS.

Very faint plan

I'll make the walls out of 10 mm thick XPS.  I'll cut the roof to shape once the rest of the ruin is built.  I'm including a 5mm 'hip' on each side of the roof, though this will only be evident on one corner of the front, the rest is missing.  This gives a base for the edge of the roof, and I imagine there was some sort of guttering to collect water.

Next, cutting and texturing the XPS, and making the basic building.

Reaper Bones Sqog 77268 - Speedpaint Trials

I have more than a few unpainted minis, and several of them are Reaper Bones*. I really enjoyed the Palette Cleansers I started last year, but realistically that's not going to clear the unpainted Bones pile.

Recent trials of Army Painter's Speedpaints had me wondering how well they'd work on Bonsium; specifically, would they take Speedpaints without primer? Bonsium is supposed to take acrylic paint without a primer, and the surface is smooth, which should suit the Speedpaints, and indeed, Contrast paints if I decide to extend the trial that far.

However, the surface is hydrophobic, so there may be some issues there.

I chose a Squog, one of a group I got in a previous Kickstarter.  These 'frog folk' (or "I can't believe it's not Bullywug" as my son calls them) will make a nice encounter, perhaps even a FfoL warband, especially if I add the Reaper Bones Swamp Troll.  They aren't minis I care too much about though, I have plenty of pre-painted Bullywugs from the WotC ranges; this is simply a case of clearing the pile - ideal for this experiment.

After removing mould lines, removing the base and adding pins and giving the squog a good wash I'll try Speedpaints without any primer.

If that doesn't work I'll prime the mini, then try the Speedpaints again.

Cleaned up Squog

After painting with Speedpaints the minis look like this;

Speedpainted Squog

The Speedpaints cover well.  The paint adheres to the raw Bonsium very nicely.  I'm a little disappointed with the lack of depth.  It's actually less obvious than on these photos.   The result will do, especially if the aim is to get minis painted quickly, but I expected better detailing. 

The colours were all from my Speedpaint Starter Set.  I mixed them a bit to give a greater variety, for instance both the shield and the loincloth use Pallid Bone to dull down Blood Red or Highlord Blue.

I've seen painters give Speedpaints a wash of Army Painter Soft Tone to enhance the shadows, so I'll try that next.

This is the same squog after a coat of Army Painter Soft Tone. This certainly adds to the detailing and in my opinion generally improves the look of the mini.

However, there are several areas where the Speedpaints have reactivated. The back of the loin cloth in particular, though I gave it another coat of Speedpaint before photographing it.

The shell breastplate has also reactivated.

Much better detail on the shield

Note area of reactivated paint on the top right corner of the shell

The loincloth has another coat of Highlord Blue to cover up the patch that washed out

In conclusion, the Speedpaints do provide a reasonable result, and very fast, certainly they are good enough simply to get some monsters painted for role playing sessions, such creatures don't tend to last long in any case. The result is not as good as the Palette Cleansers I have been doing. A coat of Soft Tone helps bring out the details, still quite not what I can do with more traditional methods, but far far quicker.

The reactivation might be an issue, but careful application, plus perhaps extra drying time before the wash, may mitigate this.

I will be using Speedpaints to reduce the Bones pile, but selectively. I'll probably use them on the 'mook' models, ones I'm not too bothered about. Since these are the models I'd probably not get around to painting otherwise, that's certainly a win.

* O.K. Lots and lots (and lots, and lots and lots and lots... )