The Saxon Invasion and the End of Camelot as we know it...

Further Adventures In Camelot...

The Shadows Over Camelot project has come to an end with the Saxons being finished.

As many of you know, I was unable to paint in the last two years, and this project has been

my return journey back into miniature painting.

I had many opportunities to experiment with techniques I used to use all the time.

Because the quality of the miniatures was poor, I didn't have to worry

about the possibility of screwing things up as I painted. I know that's a worry

of many miniature painters, and prevents some hobbyists from even painting at all.

Read the words!

There is information in 

the written word.

Anima Tactics had some really amazing miniatures...

The Golden Age of Anima Tactics:

Back when Anima Tactics had recently come out, I was commissioned to do several figures for someone in Spain.

I've found out that the game is discontinued, and that there are places selling the miniatures for dirt cheap. Great news for me because I loved those miniatures. Easy to clean the mold lines and assemble. Great details.

Here are the ones I painted. They were to look like the box art.

Below: Fallen Angel Dinah

Below: Janus Faith
(sky-earth non-metallic metals)

Below: Kujaku Hime

(sword arm attached with blue tack)

Below: I shipped this one with the sword arm separate from the body because it had to make 

it to Spain without the sword being bent or broken. This is my 

diagram for the customer.

Below: Romeo Exxet

Below: Sophia Ilmora

Below: Yuri Olson

Ogre Kingdoms, back when there was a place called Middenheim...

My only Warhammer Fantasy army-

I miss the Old World, and the great, huge, ravenous 

Ogres were the best part of it.

This post features my highly converted Ogre Butcher.

I had an idea for a Games Day project, but

as I saw the sort of thing other people were bringing

to the table, I decided it would be for my own

army instead. A wise decision, as my sculpting skills

still left a lot to be desired.

Below: Here is a multi-view of my work in progress.  Lots of Green Stuff, some Brown Stuff, and plasticard. I was new to the game, and didn't know anything about Ironguts, or this whole thing would have been much easier. I wouldn't have had to remodel the arms to be holding a weapon overhead, for instance; Ironguts come that way. *sigh*

My friend, Steve Gurke gave me some helpful ideas as I was sculpting all the extra fat.

Below: Here he is all painted and pretty.

The Picts. Do They Even Plaid?

Shadows Over Camelot

The Four Picts

Not much of an invasion force.

Below: Here they are, first with just the primer, and then with a 

brown wash to show the details, what few there are

with this quality material.

Notice the faces. They look very expressive if

you're never planning to paint them. 

When you start painting the details though, 

you  realize how odd the details are.

Below: I tried something new. Usually I'm painting NMM, but I've been 

using metallic paints for most of this project.

In this case, I wanted to paint bronze metal. I mixed

green paint into my metallic bronze paint.

Below: These are the colors I'm using for my flesh tone.

I hadn't painted skin in a long time, so remembering how I need to

approach it took some experimentation.

Here we have one and most of one done. Two others have a base coat applied.

Below: Plaid britches. What do you want? They're Picts, not Scottish Highlanders.

Below: I used the same green process on their kilts as I used on Merlin's cape. 

Then I used some purple wash in a few areas to deepen the shading.
And I'm sure you noticed that the bronze is done. I used the same gold process on them 

as I did on Merlin's gold staff tip, except I added some Liquitex Silver Ink to 

the mix for a bit of sparkle.

Below: Here they are, all finished. Front view and then back view.

Interesting to note how the faces look so different when each

figure was the same.

Coming Soon...

The Saxon Invasion!

More thrilling adventures in Camelot!

A return to Camelot, and the finish of Merlin...

Shadows Over Camelot

A fun board game with lots of

fun miniatures to go with it.

Below: Work in progress photos of Merlin, starting out with no paint at all.
You can see the low quality of the material I'm working with.

Below: Adding the teal robe, and the brown cloak.

 Below: Here's the palette of colors I used for my browns. I like to move from one 

color to the next quickly, dipping my brush in first one and then another

and then back again. This quickness creates opportunity

for wet blending in some areas.

Below: The green cape, and the palette of colors I used. I started with a red, a green,

and a yellow. You can see that I mixed the green with the red to get a rich

brownish color which I used in the shading. The yellow was mixed with

the green for the highlights.

You can see how I move my colors around on the palette, not being

afraid to mix them up as I go.

Below: The flesh tones are done.

Sadly, I didn't get a play by play or a picture of the palette as I went.

Below: Trying my first Non-metallic gold since I started painting again.

And the hair, staff and pouches are done.

Below: Here's my palette for the Non-Metallic Gold.

A red-purple, a bright yellow, dark umber brown, white.

Again, you can see how I move my brush around the palette, 

taking from first one color, and then another, back and forth. 

Mixing as I go.

The soda cap is usually filled with water, so I can dip my brush to add a 

little extra to the paint as needed, or to do a down and dirty brush rinse 

without having to return to my main rinse cup every time.

And Finished! 

Tomorrow, we invade the Pictish lands...