Army on the March!

It is amazing to realize that the third Army Painting series is completed, and Series 4 is well under way!  As I have mentioned several times, this one in particular was very gratifying, as I am replacing my beloved Easterling Army, which I had to sell off years ago.

Since then, I have been trying to recover as many figures as possible, and rebuild it.

I thought it would be a very good set of tutorial episodes, since it would tackle a number of things people might run into as well... like replacing an army, matching old color schemes and so on.

Another potential benefit would be watching me negotiate several different types of figures at once.  That is, very old metal figures and newer plastics.  Also, working with archers, pikemen, sword wielding champions and special characters.

This was one of several conversions I made for the project, taking one of my very old plastic figures and putting a more recent banner on it.

I even tried to cover painting cavalry figures, so a few of them are shown in the basing and painting process.  Most armies involve figures of radically different types and sizes, unlike single figures.  The vast majority of painting tutorials only show one figure being painted... or sometimes just a portion of 1 figure.

It seemed this left a lot of people out in the cold when it came to approaching an army.  How do you decide on a color scheme, a basing scheme, freehand and other details?  How do you figure out if these desired elements will make the project take 100 years before you get stuck in?

In each series, I make a lot of alterations and course corrections that involve the "currency of time".  It is always in short supply, and I have very little time to work on my own armies.  So, I also need to figure out what is possible in that small amount of time, but maximize the results!

I try to present as many options as possible... and in future series I will be showing how to do the same unit with metallics, in case you are not comfortable doing the Non Metallic technique.

There's a series that was done entirely with oil paints!  Again, the idea is to present you with as many options as I can.

The standard Army Painter pledge is $15.  There is also a $50 version which will get you high resolution copies of all the videos on a USB drive.  You can find that on my Patreon Page here:

www.patreon.com/JamesWappel

Color Testing

The latest series of Army Painting tutorials for the Patreon Page is near and dear to my heart, as I replace my old Easterling army which had been sold off over the last few years!

It feels great to be working on them again, but now armed with knowledge that I did not have at the time.  Here are a few snapshots of the second episode of the series, where I paint a color test figure.

I had a few new things to try out as well, including the new Reaper Miniatures Clear Orange prototype!  Anne knows how much I love the clear paints, and she is trying to create some more additions to that line.  In conjunction with the Sepia Liner that she made last year, I was well equipped for painting my Easterlings!

As always, I try to go much deeper into the concepts than the painting alone.  I discuss the use and expenditure of time, which is a valuable currency for all of us!  The point of a color test figure is to see if all the special things you had visualized in your head are actually possible to execute on the figures in a reasonable time.

Each little "extra" costs you more time currency, which includes things like freehand and NMM.  However, doing a color test figure (or two!) can prepare you for the mass painting of the unit.  You can start to figure out a few shortcuts and ways to save some of that time...

I attempted to show simple methods to making your army look more unique and special, but keeping that time expenditure as low as possible!

Each of these Army Painting series is typically 11-13 hours of tutorials which span 4-6 episodes.  These videos are available on the $15 Army Painter pledge level.  By the way, that also lets you view "stand alone" episodes which are filmed each month on other topics, genres and materials.

So far, I have done some Age of Sigmar Daughters of Khaine, a unit of Bolt Action Winter Soviets, and now the Easterlings.  I am adding the Song of Ice and Fire units to this as well!

The second episode of Series 3 is now up for viewing to the patrons!  You can join in on the Army Painting series on the Patreon Page here:

www.patreon.com/JamesWappel

Basing the East: Lord of the Rings

The first step in rebuilding my old Easterling army is to create the bases!  Of course, I love basing, so that was going to be very fun.  Since I did the original army, new techniques have been added... especially the "Bark and Branch" method.

As I make the bases, I make sure to point out how the bases must be constructed to match the 'footprint' of the figure, and also be a playable piece based on the rules system as well.

I was really looking forward to seeing what they would look like on the dramatic tree bark bases.

I also wanted to keep the look of the original broken marble/stone bases, so we break out the Sculpey sheets and the carving tools to create them.

A very unique aspect of the Lord of the Rings system is that you need both mounted and unmounted versions of your characters and cavalry.  They can be unhorsed in a few different ways, but they usually survive!

This means mimicking whatever was done with the primary cavalry figure.  I made sure to have a few examples of this, including the Dragon Knight/Captain.

I wanted to do the same for the banner bearer, but in sculpey!  The original pairing was done on broken marble bases, so it seemed quite appropriate to reprise that once more.

Here's a post on those minis from the old army:

http://wappellious.blogspot.com/2015/01/foot-and-hoof_10.html

Whenever possible, I try to do a few marble painting demonstrations.  This was a perfect opportunity to do so!  It does not take a complicated process to create something amazing, and easy to replicate across an army or unit.

Once the filming of Part 1 was complete, I had a number of figures ready for the subsequent painting episodes.  Just like the first two series, I try to have a conversation about the "currency" of time, and how each choice that you make in basing and painting the army makes it more costly in those terms.

Hopefully these methods give you some ideas, and also allow you to add some extra zest to your units and armies, but leaving you more of that currency to spend on other projects. :-)

With each Army Painter set of videos (about 12 hours of tutorials each), I try to delve into things like Object Source Lighting, Non Metallic Metals, Freehand and other techniques not usually associated with army painting.

Here's a complete view of what was created during the 2+ hours of filming!  The next several episodes will cover all aspects of painting the unit, focusing on matching the color scheme of the original army!

Subscribing to the Patreon Page at the $15 Army Painter level will provide access to all of the new videos, as well as previous series.  That is here on the Patreon Page:

www.patreon.com/JamesWappel

Storm From the East: A new Tutorial Series

Whenever you begin a new army, there is always that first "color test" figure.  Not only does this give you a better idea of how your color scheme vision plays out, but it can give you a hint of how long it might take to execute that plan.

In this case, the color scheme was established long ago for my beloved Lord of the Rings Easterling army, which is about to be reborn!  Unfortunately, I had to sell off my original army, and with the relaunch of the Lord of the Rings system, it seemed to be just the right time to bring them back to life!

That first army was painted over 6 years ago, and I have learned many things since.  Even the materials I use have changed dramatically.

Now I have plastic minis for the most part, and I use the Reaper Clear and Liner paints, along with the Secret Weapon Miniatures weathering paints.  Even my basing has changed, as the "bark and branch" method came about 3-4 years ago.

Since I am creating the Army Painting video series for the Patreon Page, I thought it might be very useful for people to see the process of re-creating an army first hand.  I have already gathered up images of the old army, and I have prepped a brand new batch of figures!  

As with the first two army painting series, this will start off with basing, and then move to the Shaded Basecoat and Glazing phases.  I will even sneak in some freehand designs as well.

I also try to include conversations about making the figures as 'playable' as possible, and the realities of time constraints.  The "currency" of time is quite valuable, and there's usually only so much of it available for a given army.  My goal is to help you maximize that currency, and make your armies look as good as possible.

Unlike the first two series that focused on infantry, this will be a mix of cavalry and infantry.  Part of this has to do with the nature of the LOTR game system, which is part of that conversation I mentioned earlier.

You can get caught up on those first two series, and be ready for the third installment... with even more interesting goodies yet to come!  I will be recreating my Army of the Dead and Galadhrim elf armies in future series.

The Army Painter pledge is $15, and that is on the Patreon Page here:

www.patreon.com/JamesWappel

A New Standard

Everybody loves banners for their units, but sometimes you have to convert them from existing infantry figures.  In this case, I needed the "on foot" version of my Easterling Kataphract standard bearer... since you can be knocked off your horse in LOTR.

The process was very simple, taking a piece of heavy paper, soaking it in a glue/water mix, then shaping it, and gluing it to a plastic rod.

I never really liked the solid metal banner figures, and this was a great opportunity to make something unique and useful!

War Priest

As most of you already know, I really loved that Easterling army!  Part of it had to do with the very different look of the figures, but also fact that it was the opposite of Gondor in many ways.  They all had heavy armor, cavalry, archers, etc.

Unlike their Gondor counterparts, they had very nifty elements such as this War Priest.  He was particularly effective when added to a cavalry unit, because it increased their speed.  That doesn't sound like much, but when it makes your armored cavalry faster than a lightly armored version, you can do some real damage!

I tried to keep this in my own alternate color scheme as well.  I had seen plenty of red Easterlings up to that point, so I wanted to create something different.  That is usually my favorite challenge of starting up a new army.

This was probably my favorite of all the Easterling cavalry... I really liked this pose of both horse and rider.

Assassin of Gold

Reapercon is the one convention that we do each year which focuses almost entirely on miniature painting.  This makes it very different from the other shows that we do, which have more of a mix.  

Obviously there is a lot of conversation about painting, and techniques of all kinds.

I was able to introduce a new class about using oil paints, and do another vehicle painting class.

I emphasized in each class that you can combine techniques and even tools, while trying to simplify your approach at the same time!

In the vehicle painting class, the use of rubbing alcohol and weathering powders was featured instead of oils and acrylics in order to show everyone something new.  Lots of folks paint with oils on tanks, and everyone has used acrylics. :-)

This time around I was able to spend a little more time at my table, which meant that I could talk about miniature painting with a lot more people!  That was really fun, since I had tons of figures set up at the table as examples.

Black Heart was also there with George's fantastic busts, and now I have a few of those for trying out more new techniques.  Stay tuned...

He's also here:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/322844472665?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649

Eastern Blades

My old Easterling army was a cavalry based force, and this character was one of the key elements.  As the blades suggest, he was very proficient in close combat.  In the Lord of the Rings game system, cavalry not only had speed, but some serious hitting power when matched up against infantry.

Knocking down an opponent was a very key tactic in the game, and this was something that a mounted figure could do to a standard infantry man.  Also, the soldier on top of the horse could survive a hit, as it was possible for the horse to be killed instead.

By comparison, most cavalry in other systems were nothing more than fast moving infantry.

It was this depth that made LOTR my favorite system at the time, and prompted the use of chariots for my Khandish allies.  The chariots had a further level of charging impact, and additional layers of survivability.    Once again, chariots were usually treated like fast moving infantry that might get some generic impact hits.

These cavalry units could be spurred on even further by war drums and priests, increasing their speed and ferocity.

He's also here:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/222664580970?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649

Striking Gold

While all non metallic metals are very fun to create, I especially like golds.  They allow for many interesting contrasts between lights and darks, muted and saturated colors, as well as warmer vs cooler tones.  

The key to all NMM is in that reflected light, and reflected colors.  This is interesting on regular metal, but with gold,  using warmer tans and sienna against the purples and blues reflected in it.

You can see the differences in the sword blade, where the same colors were reflected.  However, it is less of a temperature contrast.  I normally use a lot of purples and greens in my gold NMM, and this was an ideal candidate!

He's also here:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/322526938993?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1558.l2649