It was in editing one of these episodes, in which we were talking about some painting goals for 2018, that I started to get the painting bug again. For various reasons it has been over 12 months since I last put brush to model, but finally, that streak of inactivity has ended...
I wanted to paint, but what? I have an army for Kings of War, Sharp Practice, Infinity, Sword and Spear, Chronicles of Anyaral, and more, all of which sit naked, all of which I hope to get back to the table. In the end I went with an old favourite, a scale that has always appealed to me: 15mm, and that meant Sword and Spear.
I can't remember when we last played this game, but I do know I enjoyed it a lot, and that my friend and I swore in blood to paint our armies before playing again. At the rate I was going, this was never going to happen, and oaths in blood are all good and well if you plan on following them up.
After we trialed Sword and Spear I bought a 15mm Gallic force from Forged In Battle, and very nice the miniatures are too. I love small scales, and 15mm is probably my favourite. I have been looking forward to having a painted 15mm army for some time, just not perhaps putting in the work required to create it.
Interestingly, these miniatures do require some assembly. This is not something I have experienced with the 15mm models I have used in the past. Some of the spears need to be clipped from their bases and glued into place, but the models are good quality with a nice level of detail. In the picture above I have sorted out the miniatures that will form the bases of warriors in my Sword and Spear force. It will be 8 figures to a base for these, and ultimately I want around 10 bases to give me some flexibility in force creation. So far I have painted 4 bases worth...
Undercoated and ready to paint. I decided to try multibasing the models on icy-pole sticks for the painting process. I don't think I like it very much, and may revert back to single models on stands to paint in the future, I find I have more control that way as I like resting my painting hand on the hand I use to hold the model for steadiness.
The first two lots done, 1 base of warriors. As per usual, I couldn't leave it at a base coat and wash, I had to go back and highlight. It took a few hours more, but overall I am happy with the results.
The other sets finished, ready to be sprayed with a matt varnish. I will be getting some shield transfers to finish them off I think, so they are not quite ready.
These add up to 3 bases of warriors. They aren't the best, but I am happy with the end results. I base coated over a white undercoat. Washed with a dark brown (Army Painter Strong Wash) wash, and then highlighted in the same colours used in the base coat, I then added a second highlight in some lighter tones. I am pretty happy with how they came out, and am looking forward to getting both the shields finished with transfers, and the basing done. I'll post more pictures when that finally happens.
I also undercoated (with the intention of painting), the figures I have for Twilight: Chronicles of Anyaral. I used a Dunkelgelb brown for the undercoat, which should suit the intended paint scheme nicely. The models are great, full of life and character, and I'm looking forward to painting them with my son.
