Just Add Water Mini Painting Blog.

Website Now Live

2008-04-29T04:33:00.000-07:00

Hi,

Just a quickie to say that my website, Darrell Hindley Figure Painter, is now live. There are still a few teething problems mainly down to my almost total lack of experience (!!) but the site has gone live and here's the URL:

http://darrellhindley.co.uk/

Hope that you enjoy viewing it's pages. The good news is that my Blog will be kept going and can be viewed through the website too. My blog will be much more of a day by day thing and will contain details of what my brushes are up :o)

Cheers,

Darrell.

Announcing.......

2008-04-15T13:39:00.000-07:00

Hi,

OK, here's the deal.......

My blog is now moving over to my new rather spiffing website courtesy of Andy of WABForum and Tradestands fame.

My new site is currently under developement as I have decided to re-take many of my pics and to be honest this task is not being helped by the weather here in Edinburgh! However I will persevere. For the moment, the gallery will have samples of many of the pics that I have taken of my armies over the past year or so and these will gradually be replaced by newer pics as I find the time and weather conditions to suit :o)

Darrell.

More Longbow Chaps

2008-04-02T08:55:00.000-07:00

Well, since my last entry, I missed Havok! as my other half was ill and we had to cancel our little sojourn around the midlands. I really enjoyed Cold Steel so I was a bit miffed but it couldn't be helped and as they say, there's always a next time. However, not to be put off, I'm certainly not putting this army on hold as thus far it's been a bit of a labour of love .

Okey-dokey, here's the next Longbow unit. Another one to come and then it's on to the knights/men-at-arms, which, provided the composition goes well should include a rather spiffing unit with none other than Henry V himself in a pre-battle pep-talk :o)

As you can see below, they're not doing too well.......

Darrell.

2008-03-21T06:39:00.000-07:00

A bit of an interlude at this juncture is called for methinks. These, kindly taken by David Imrie last eveing, are of a game that I was playing with my Italo-Normans against Jules of Figures in Comfort with his Almoravids. Alas the game went a awry for the over cautious Normans and their oft previously seen beligerence was replaced by the spread of cowardice and eventual desertion of the field!

Incidentally, David told me that his site was now down and that his work would instead now be appearing in his own gallery section entitled, David Imrie Wargames Projects, on The League of Augsberg site.

Darrell :o)

And here's some more......

2008-03-18T12:18:00.001-07:00

Here's Archer unit number two. What I was trying to capture was the feel of a group of French knights and men-at-arms attempting to break into the Archers and cause as much havok as possible. Initially this included quite a bit of planning as I had to determine which mini's go where and also aim to keep the 'pictoral' composition together. I don't think i've done such a bad job and overall i'm very happy with the unit.

More to come so keep tuned in :o)

A quick sneek peek

2008-03-12T16:43:00.000-07:00

Here's a few quick photo's of the forthcoming Late HYW English. They're not the best quality photo's but they will give you the right idea:

More info concerning the basing and painting of this unit and others to follow :o)

Cheers,

Darrell.

Inspiring.......

2008-01-30T13:29:00.000-08:00

Below are some of Bill's most excellent French. They look fantastic, although I've never seen them on the table as such. hopefully Bill and I can arrange a game the next time he's up in Scotland.

Anyways..... as I said, very inspiring.

Opening shots of my English coming very soon :o)

Darrell.

Rest of Mini's Arrive, Filing Overload!!

2008-01-29T02:53:00.000-08:00

Title says all. The rest of the (beautifully scuplted) mini's have arrived and i've got more filing to do. Gonna take a break and paint the first six (Yep, you heard me!! The first six!!) before continuing the filing of doom routine :o)

Darrell.

It's a Dirty Job But Someones Gotta Do It!!

2008-01-28T15:03:00.000-08:00

Here's one......

And here's another.......

Just to get me in the mood you understand. Anyway, neither of the above images are really that relevent as I'm going to be doing the Army of Clarence at Bauge where he overconfidently (undertsatement given the way in which English armies generally operated!!) charged the French and was killed along with many of his compatriots. Bit of a mistake really.......... although it did allow the less Impetuous John of Bedford to pick up the reigns who did a damn sight better a job than his younger brother.

OK, side tracked as I may be.......

OK, sorry to dissapoint folks but the title refers to the wonderfull passtime all wargames folk have to deal with; filing! Nearly done god knows how many and I've got another batch to do as and when they arrive. So, as they are predomintly done, I should be able to settle down to a sopt of painting over the next few days and have some pics ready for your perusal :o)

OK, sorry to dissapoint folks but talking about filing! I'm not a big fan of filing!! It gets under my skin. A neccessary evil perhaps but a pain in the ass too. Nearly done god knows how many and I've got another batch to do as and when they arrive. So, as they are predomintly done, I should be able to settle down to a spot of painting over the next few days and have some pics ready for your perusal :o) Let it be so.

Cheers,

Darrell.

Havok!

2008-01-24T14:40:00.000-08:00

Yep Havok! A Medieval WAB event to be run at the End of March by Martin Gibbins at GBHQ in Evesham. Looks to be a fantastic event if it was anything like the last one I attended run by Martin, which was in fact Cold Steel.

You may have a funny feeling that you have heard something like this before, but it is just the excuse I need to pull all those Perry Agincourt to Orleans mini's out of their box and apply some slap. And of course, a good enough excuse to buy a 'few' more.

So, I look forward to gracing the pages of this blog with my army as it grows and also including a full report of Havok!

Darrell.

This should shake things up a little........ for the good

2007-12-05T14:46:00.000-08:00

For those who are not in the know already, and I expect the word to have travelled throughout the wargaming circles like wild fire, check this out........ it concerns the Perry's and their next project:

http://theminiaturespage.com/news/146941/

Cheers,

Darrell.

As promised........ Italo-Norman Army Pics

2007-11-19T14:47:00.000-08:00

Hi,

Well, it's been a few weeks so I thought that I ought to pull out the old camera and take a few snaps of at least one of the armies that I promised before the WHW Weekend. So, for now it's the turn of my Italo-Normans. There are still a few bits and bobs that I want to include in the army such as more variation in the Coloni, the addition of a few more Italian/Spanish looking Milites and commands, a unit of Elite Militia and a couple of big units of Levied Militia. There are even a few camp (not that sort of camp!) vignettes that are planned that are actually sitting on my painting table right now. But then again so are my British Kingdoms, my HYW English and my Hamdanid Arabs!!! Hmmm..... I guess it's a case of what grabs my attention first.........

Pics of a few of the British Kingdoms units to follow soon........

Army General
Army Standard Bearer
Mounted Milites One

Close ups

Mounted Milites Two

Close ups
Mounted Milites Three
Close ups

Coloni with Javelins

Close ups

Coloni with Slings

Crossbows close ups

Serjeants with Crossbows One

Serjeants with Crossbows Two

Aghlibad Arab Heavy Cavalry

Close ups

Aghlibad Arab Light Cavalry

Close ups

2007-10-31T04:34:00.001-07:00

On Sunday I got back from a great weekend at HWHQ and the WHW campaign weekend. It was Age of Arthur all the way for me. special thanks to Jim Sweeney for lending me an army [as mine wasn't finished- yep I know, the shame ;o)] , also to James morris and Steve Jones for running a seemless campaign that was packed with laughs and last but not least all my oponents (Dave, Jack, Ivre, James, and all the skirmishers!) who playey within the true spirit of the game and provided a lot of entertainment.

I'm not going to prattle on so I'm here's a few pics that I have selected for your perusal:

There are many more pics and if you have a mind to you can see them all here on the SADWAB Forum:

http://www.wabforum.sadwargamers.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=1967

And here:

http://www.wabforum.sadwargamers.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=1965

Here too:

http://www.wabforum.sadwargamers.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=1964

Hope you enjoyed them......

Cheers,

Darrell.

OK, no-one laugh!!

2007-10-22T14:53:00.000-07:00

OK, I've got to admit that on the completion of the British Kingdoms army I am now a defeated man. Sad but true. I just couldn't bring myself round to hurrying them as it wouldn't have done the models justice and I really want to have this army looking prim and proper.

Watch out on a website near you for the net result of the wager I had with Soapy. Boy, I can feel the humiliation building now ;o) Sad but true.........

For those not in the know I'm off to Notts this weekend for some fun and frollics of the WAB variety. Should be a great weekend, they always are. It's like X-mas coming twice a year for me! Sad but true........

Pics of Italo-Normans and the latest British kingdoms stuff to folllow on from when I get back to sunny Edinburgh.

Cheers,

Darrell.

Wot no pics......

2007-10-17T09:14:00.000-07:00

Just a quick update......

The pics of the army will be posted post 29th of this month due to the major painting panic happenning right now! I may even pop in a few pics of my Italo-Normans too.

Cheers,

Darrell.

Lack of Pics.......

2007-10-11T02:04:00.000-07:00

Just a very quick update to apologise for the lack of pics. Basically I'm under duress trying to keep the 10 mini's a day routine going. I'm already behind, though I did leave a little extra time at the end of the 'period' for this very reason. Wish me luck or Soapy's going to break my heart, or something.

Darrell.

Here's Some I Banged Out Today

2007-10-04T13:08:00.000-07:00

Here's a few mini's that I banged out today. Apologies for the photo quality but I couldn't find my tripod so I had to pile up a few old boxes! Basically everything has three highlights except the tunics (which commanded four) and the slings which have a base colour and a wash (with bonus stone added in two highlights). These little critters will be varnished with a coat of GW Gloss and then given the customary coat pf Testors Dullcote.

Watch this space for 10 more tomorrow......... that one is for the doubters ;o)

Darrell.

Still Not Fopping Out :o)

2007-09-27T00:50:00.000-07:00

Hi,

I haven't managed to get the pics of Pegenses up on the blog as of yet as they are not painted!! However, all is not as bad as it seems as I've decided to clean up, prime and glue all the spears etc. on the whole army before I slap the old paint on. That way it should speed things up as it gets all the drab jobs out of the way and allows me to wallow in the ecstacy of painting for four weeks. BTW, I never usually glue the shields on to the models until after I have finished the paint jobs, this usually allows for a bit more freedom with the brush but does often need some pinning to hold the darn things in place. Just thought it was worth a mention.

Todays agenda? Two units of 28 Tuelu to clean up and then get the first unit of Pagenses on the site.

Ta-ta

Darrell.

BTW, In case you were wondering what the hell that image is; it's the molecular structure of my least favourite glue........ superglue...... I'm an epoxy man myself :o)

Not a total fopp after all.....

2007-09-22T04:26:00.000-07:00

Forgot to mention in my last post that I did also actually manage to glue shields and spears to 30 more models and apply undercoat yesterday. Strange post? You bet! But I had to write this to reclaim some of my sanity.

Saturday....... shopping for a nice Dremmel today :o)))))

Cheers,

Darrell.

Arrrgh!! My Head!!

2007-09-22T04:20:00.000-07:00

Let me explain. A while back I bought a unit of West wind Arthurian Cavalry. I got them home, took one look at the size of the hosses, laughed out loud and thought nay (sorry!) these do not match up to my idea of the sort of nags my fellas would be a riding. I put the pack to one side and forgot about them.

Yesterday I decided to have a rummage and founf the said pack of WW cavalry and cunningly realising that they came with loose heads (riders not the hosses) I decided to proceed with a few head swaps.......

I need a Dremmel!!!

In other words I spent about six hours buggering around with a crap mini saw and pin vice trying to attatch six heads onto six bodies. OK, there are a few missing and green stuff to add but you get the picture.
Here's a quick pic of six hours work :o( None to fresh.......

Whilst I'm at it........

2007-09-20T08:01:00.001-07:00

Here's a nice little mini I found lying around in Alnwick castle. It's a certain Sir Harry Hotspur and he's a bit of a hero in my neck of the woods (well, used to be a few hundred years ago). Poor bloke got it in the eye at The Battle of Shrewsbury. Those bloody longbowmen again don't you know :o)

OK, back to the Welsh next time........

See, told ya, I'm really back!!

2007-09-20T07:53:00.000-07:00

Hi,

Yep I'm actually back in action!! I would have had more than these few little test pics of the start (Yep start!!) of my Welshies but I had a little acident over the weekend that invloved an invisible step and my spine that rendered me unable to sit up straight and paint for a few days :o( Bloody hurt too!! Still does.......

Here's the pics, expect a lot more, probably quite quickly as i've only got five weeks to paint up an army of 112 mini's....... I suppose that it's place your bets time again :o)))))

Just Add Water Welshmen

2007-09-12T10:26:00.000-07:00

Hi, Sorry for the distinct lack of posts over the past couple of months but I've had a lot of real life stuff to keep me buisy and as a result have not been able to deliver the entertainment you all deserve ;o)

However!! I'm pleased to announce the beginning of the Just Add Water British and Welsh Kingdoms blog! Over the next six weeks you will be able to follow the progress of my British Kingdoms army as it prepares itself for the inevitable drubbing that I expect in the esteemed Morris and Jones Age of Arthur Campaign weekend to be held on the weekend of October 28th.

Hopefully I'll remember to bring my whole army this time around :o))) Just thought I'd get that one in before anyone else. You can expect to see the first units within the next few days.......... but for now, check out these little beauties painted by my mate Jim. Loverly...........

Hot Lead......

2007-07-18T04:19:00.000-07:00

Avoiding the seeming trend of assigning sexual gravity to a name that is, after all, a bunch of chaps playing toy soldiers I have fixed the title of this little ditty as "Hot Lead". It's not that I don't approve of juvenile inuendo, in fact like most of you, I thrive on it. Just wanted to appear the mature adult that I most definately am not.

Anyway, I've been looking forward to this gig for a long time. After much humming and harring/changing of mind/torment over what army to take (see past two entries) I've decided on Age of El Cid Christian Spanish. They're not the steam-rolling Normans that have often graced the clubs (SESWC) tables, but a much more friendlier army that may or may not win a game or two without damaging the smile that sits fittingly upon my opponents face. Of course, those of you that have seen me play in various campaign days will know that this all may just be an excuse for hitting the bottom of the table come Sunday evening :o))))) Come what may, I'm sure I'll have a great time.

One last thing, I've been following with a keen eye Mr Imrie's Blog and the rrogress he is making with his Thematic Byzantines. Well worth a check out. Also, for those that haven't seen my good friend and fellow painting crazy Brian's Sassanids, then check out the following pages from his website or we'll send the boys around. We will too you know :o)

Darrell.

Pics of El Cid army post event. And that's a promise as I'm re-basing as I speak :o)

Wassup? Or... Hi folks I've been poorly (aahh...)

2007-07-11T03:32:00.000-07:00

Alrighty, I'm just about over the worst bout of flu I've had since I was a little kiddie. My theory? I have to say there were moments when I thought that feeding the swans at Arthurs Seat may have been a big mistake :o)

I'm more of less on the mend so I figured it's time to add some words to the blog before someone started writing up an obituary for me.

At the mo' I'm trying to belt my way through (re: speedpaint) two units of Grippers Late Romans that will masquerading as Justinian or Heraclian Byzantines (army list troubles.... if you know what I mean?). I've also got the banners to do for my Cavalry units which, thanks to Fuljason on the WAB forum for pointing me away from the norm, will be some nice early Byzantine mosaic inconography. Should look great assuming I can scale it all down. I'm used to painting on large canvases so this should be fun :o)

Other stuff? Well, I started a WAB campaign at our club SESWC which is running nicely given the fact that I wasn't there for week two and had to employ my mate Jeeves to take the reigns. Jeeves is a dependable chap who gives me a lift to the club yeah? Te- he?? Week three of the campaign starts with me a little behind (I think I'm the only one that hasn't won a game as of yet) but hey, lots of time to kick ass as of yet.

Das ist alles.

Darrell.

All quiet on the painting front........

2007-06-22T07:54:00.000-07:00

Well, not quite. I've been very buisy with stuff for other folks, the most exciting of which was the new Turkopolen I've just completed for the Beasties. These mini's are to complement their new(ish) Teutonics range and they're da business as far as I'm concerned. The range just keeps getting bigger and better.

Unfortunately, in my rush to get the mini's done by the set deadline and to get to the PO I hadn't any time to take any pics (doh!!). However you may well get a gleg at them sometime in the future.

Darrell.

Bet lost: one bottle of vodka owed!!

2007-06-08T01:12:00.000-07:00

Having put together this months painting schedule it has become all too painfully obvious that I'm not going to have time to paint up my Welsh, British Kingdoms armyin time for Hot Lead. I'm actually a bit distressed by this, not so much the forking out for a bottle of Poland's finest, more the fact that I had been really looking forward to making a good start on the 2K+ Welsh army and getting some paint on Soapy's delightfull sculpts.

So, what now for Hot Lead? Well, I've decided to hybridise (word? I think not!) my Justinians and go for the African Vandals from BtGG as this will allow me to 'speed paint' up more figures that could be used to expand my Justinians as well as provide me with a brand new spiffing army for Hot Lead :o)

So, watch this space.............

Darrell.

Beastly goings on.......

2007-06-01T02:35:00.000-07:00

First up, apologies for the cheese-tastic title. Secndly, here's a few pice of the vignette from GB that is to compliment the Siege and conquest WAB supplement. I really enjoyed painting up this lot especially the Rus Druzhnic. Hope you enjoy :o) All these models really compliment the already growing Teutonics range perfectly.

Avenging Knigget

Not the best of Bodyguards

Angry Druzhnic!

Bashed bishop!

I've only gone and........

2007-05-30T09:07:00.000-07:00

Oops! I've just put a bet on with Darren that I can get my Welsh painted up in time for Hot Lead! One bottle of the finest Vodka at stake! I suppose it's place your bets time again :o) Should keep Saby happy though as she bought them for my Birthday back in January and I know she's anxious for them to meet some paint ;o) She should understand if I vanish into "that little room" for hours on end now :o)))))

Darrell.

Rus Kievan Prince.

2007-05-29T10:03:00.000-07:00

Just thought I'd add a few pics of this chap before he goes his merry way to join the rest of his Rus pals. Hope you enjoy the pics :o)

Arab and 9th C Norwegian pics.

2007-05-23T05:56:00.000-07:00

Well, I hope you enjoyed them, even though the pics were taken in a bit of a hurry. Don't forget, you can click on the pics to enlarge.

Darrell.

Erm,,,,, apologies......

2007-05-23T04:34:00.000-07:00

Hi,

Apologies to everyone for the delay in getting the pics of the finished army up. What can I say? I've been extremely buisy trying to catch up with a backlog of painting in order that, one day soon, I actually get around to slapping some paint on those Musketeer arabs and GB Vikings that have been sitting around in their undercoats for months. I'm very proud of both the Arabs and the Vikings that have come off the old painting table thus far so maybe I'll post up some pics as a little teaser.........

Some of the Viking units have some very old unreleased GB models that Darren was kind enough to spin for me so I do feel some pics coming on........

Cheers,

Darrell.

Did he or didn't he??

2007-05-11T05:51:00.000-07:00

For all you chaps and chappesses out there that are wondering if I managed to finish the army in time for the WHW WAB Campaign weekend, here's the lowdown..........

So, painted all throough the night on Thursaday evening and into Friday morning! Got everything to the point where I had only the Kontos and Shields to do on the last unit. Packed clothing, soap, brushes, paint etc. Jumped into Andrews car and headed over to the East of bonny Scotland and pressed on south to Notts. Hit the hotel early due to the chaps at Foundry having the audacity to take the Bank holls off. Opened mini case to find that I had leaft the riders sitting in my studio........

Tears welled up in my eyes, well almost, I'm a tough little critter you see ;o) Erm.... not!

Later on that evening as the beer started flowing tears welled up in my Scottish compadres eyes as the full hilarious realisation of what it meant to have a unit of just horses grace the battlefield would look like :o))))))) I have to admit that it was quite funny. Just not that funny :o)

The GB chaps came to my rescue the next day and furnished me with a unit of suitably tough looking bu#$ers. Nice of them to be so quick about it, but not before they had raised a smile at my predicament.....

Anyway, I am pleased to announce that the army is finished and that I intend to expand upon it a little here and there so I can use it to cover a few morte bases, Fall of the West, Heraclian Byzantine that sort of thing. Pics will be making an appearence soon, but I'm snowed under with painting at the moment so it may be a day or two. Oh, and there's Cannonade in Falkirk tomorrow (a most excellent show for anyone who hasn't been).

The pics above are of the excellent GB display at WHW. A sight to behold........

Good news........

2007-05-02T02:01:00.000-07:00

The good news is that I put the finishing touches to another unit of Huns recently. The bad news is that I won't be using most of them :o(. After the performance of a unit of Gassanid Bedouin Cavalry I was experimenting with in last nights game, I've decided to drop 7 Huns and add a further 2 to the existing unit. That leaves me with enough points to field the Bedouin Cav. and a small unit of Gassanid Lights.

All seems good. The army would appear to be on it's way to completion and in time too!! Hope I ain't counting my chickens as I have three banners to paint up on top of 34 mini's, though I reckon the banners will be my last minute Friday night project.

For obvious reasons I've decided to leave all the details of how I have gone about putting the army together until after the WH weekend. This will include a rundown of all the painting methods, colour choice and army composition as it evolved.

Darrell.

I can't get no sleep.

2007-05-01T04:20:00.000-07:00

Now the frenzy has really begun in earnest! I tried to paint up 30 hosses yesterday and only managed to got half way through which leaves me with 15 more, plus 30 chaps to sit upon the beasts to do in two and a half days. I blame taking photo's and blog updates, not to mention my steam powered version of photoshop. Oh, and it's club night tonight and an 'in period' game that I can't afford to miss, as so far my Justinians have been made to look a bit silly on the wargames table. Actually 'tis I who has looked silly, but after my late arrival to WHW last October (hic) on the Saturday I can handle any amount of humiliation now :o))))) Updating Blogs take time. Something I had not considered.......... hmmmmmm.........

Fingers crossed.

Darrell.

Painting Blind!

2007-04-30T06:11:00.000-07:00

Hey, here I am again. I've been ordered by Bill and others to update this Blog thing of mine so not wanting to dissapoint my audience (if indeed there is one) I will let you know what's been going on thus far. So, fully finished except for a bit of static grass i have two units of Huns and the Bucellari done. So that's roughly half the army which isn't bad considering I have less than four days in which to get this show finished. Am I panicking? Yep, but I will get this project finished or die trying! Don't hold me on the death thing though, could be most unpleasent ;o)

I'd like to take a moment to say that the 'Darren Harding Hoss Painting Method' Tm has worked a treat. I really did not expect this so mucho kudos to Mr Harding for introducing me to this very time saving mode of painting. It's not a method I'd use inevery army I intend to paint but it is certainly the way to go if you're in a hurry or just want to put an army on the table, sans infantry, in a decent amount of time.

Painting Blind; a new theory in the speedy production of colourfull toy soldiers. OK, for anyone that tells you that leaving out the eyes on a mini is a good idea, well, don't listen. I made a decision early on in the project to avoid minor details and stick to the major stuff you see from about two or three feet away from the table. Bad idea. It has actually taken me longer to leave out the eyes than it would have to paint them in. Don't ask!! I can't explain. Must mahe had a knock in the womb or something......

Anyway, more handy hints etc when I've got a bit more time. For now enjoy the latest of the pics. Oh, and you are also invited to feel a little on the sorry side for me what with all the painting I have to left to do.

Will he do it? Place your bets now :o)))))

Hmmmm.... where is that b**gger?

2007-04-27T01:12:00.000-07:00

OK, "hoops" as Saby likes to say...... general lack of posts. It's my paintbrush to blame, damn thing won't go fast enough. There will be pics of the Bucellari and Huns within the bounds of this space later today.

So, to sumerise, I've been painting like a demon or demonically painting! Those that know me will know which. Those that don't will have to guess........ oh, and you're probably getting warmer.....

Darrell.

What's going on?

2007-04-19T01:54:00.000-07:00

Hi,

Apologies for the lack of posting over the past week. I'm still painting the army up, with the renewed vigour and enthusiasm that only panic can instigate :o) Also, Saby has been a bit under the weather so i've been lavishing much of my attention on her. I'm one of the lucky sods who has a partner who not only doesn't mind her partner painting and playing with toy soldiers but who is happy to see passion this litle hobby of ours can bring out in a man :o)

So, after that little bragging session I'm off to finish the Huns and the Bucellari. There will be pics up of units and details within the next day. Yahoo! In the meantime please be contented with a snap of the latest Gripping Beast Wargames Illustrated add add featuring mini's painted up my my good self. Just click on the image for a full sized pic.

Just a quickie......

2007-04-13T05:59:00.000-07:00

Just a quick update to say that half the cavalry's mounts are done and I've included some pics of the Barded Biscuit Eaters hosses. I'll probably go ahead and start on some of the hoss riders today so I've finally got some nice pics of some completed mini's on the blog! I've also been mulling over including some Gassanid Arab Cavalry in the list in place of a unit of Huns. Full list to be posted very soon too.

All the barded horses were done using the methods I've outlined in my previous posts and I have to say that after a bit of tidying up they have come out rather well. Talking of tidying up I have discovered (some may call it cheating; I certainly would have a while back) a very neat and quick way of adding a bit of blacklining. For those not in the know, when I usually paint a mini I leave areas of black around the colours that I block in before adding highlights as this greatly improves the visual impact of the paint job and looks very tidy to boot. Some painters prefer to add these areas by blacklining after most of the paint has been applied. Anyway, I digress.....

I bought myself a Staedtler Pigment Liner pen from the local graphics shop and did all the blacklining with this pen. The ink in the pen has to be permanent enough to take a layer of gloss varnish and a layer of matt over the top so if you should decide to follow me and my cheaty ways then make sure you get a pen with very permanent ink or it may react with your varnish and make you cry :o) Oh, and obviosly you want an artificial tip and not a ballpoint; you never know, some folk are a bit daft ;o)

Horseflesh Part Three

2007-04-10T16:04:00.000-07:00

Now mix up a wash (not an ink wash) more akin to the original ground/base colour. Then apply liberally, you may even enjoy this bit :o) Leave to dry and check the results. Maybe the hoss needs another coat of the wash? If so, apply liberally once more. The following pics are examples of the horses thus far. I'll be applying another wash.

Basically, keep repeating the drybrush then wash process until you have something that you are satisfied with. The important thing at this stage is to avoid being too fiddley. Keep it simple.

Horseflesh Part Two.

2007-04-10T14:31:00.000-07:00

The next step is to give each of the hosses a good heavy dry brush. It's important that you avoid being too shy about the amount of paint on the brush and the first layer can actually be applied whilst the paint is still slightly wet on the brush.

The Horseflesh.......

2007-04-10T10:07:00.000-07:00

What we have here are four examples of the undercoat with the ground added. Both the undercoat and ground have been varied in terms of hue as I hopefully want to achieve some variation in the end. The paint is layed upon quite thinly so's not to obscure any detail. That's all there is to it for now....... nice and easy does it as a certain Mr Hugh Cornwell used to say.

2007-04-05T07:47:00.000-07:00

OK. I recieved the mini's for the army from GB a week or so ago and after battling my way through the tedious task of removing flash, filing etc (I hates it I tell you, I hates it) I have been trying out different methods of painting horses as quick as greece lightening. I have finally settled on the 'Darren Harding Method' which so far seems to have done the job. In the unlikely event you are wondering what this magical formula could be then I will outline it briefly. First take undercoated mini and roughly apply a brown as a ground. I generally went for various dark browns as they are more akin to what hosses look like in the real world (not that this has stopped me before, I usually just make it up as I go along!!). The next step is to drybrush a couple of lighter shades over the ground and then apply a darker wash. This can be repeated until you are satisfied with the results. From this point all there is left to do is clean things up a little by adding socks, markings and harness. I was actually quite (re: very) skeptical about the kind of results that I'd get but I was more than a little surprised at how well they have turned out. Pics to follow shortly. In the meantime I have published a couple of pics of the new Egil model I painted up for The Beast. Interestingly, (if you're into this sort of thing, and I really am!) the choice of a background when creating a photo makes a huge difference to the final image. With this in mind I thought I'd publish both images to give folk an idea of what is possible with a half decent camera and some card. The first image had a blue backround and the second a white one. The easthete men of dark age culture at GB Mansions have kindly agreed to put up the pics along side the work of Steven Patten, Dave Woodward and Mystic Spirals. Very good of them really. I can't wait to see the work of the other chaps (I'm a bit like that you know).

Just add water Justinian Byzantines

2007-03-21T16:37:00.000-07:00

Ok, greetings to all that are reading this. This blog has been set up for two reasons. Firstly, I am used to painting at a reasonably slow rate (just ask my club mates!) and I wanted to put together an army in roughly the five weeks that I have left before attending the Beyond the Golden Gate campaign weekend at Warhammer World. The second reason was to show that it is possible to put together an army in such a short space of time and to hopefully inspire others to give it a go. (I'm setting myself up to look a tad silly if my goal is left not achieved, so it's probably worth watching this space anyway!). The quality of the paint jobs you will see will not be of my highest standard, but that is kind of the point, to put together a good looking army without my usual self imposed anal painting habits.

See above for an example of my self imposed anal painting habits: