Warlord Epic ECW Shotte – Speed Paint
Recently I've been painting my English Civil War figures in 28mm. I've been keeping my Steel Fist 15mm figures in my back pocket, waiting for a good opportunity to get started.
Warlord Epic Pike & Shotte
That opportunity arrived after I picked up a Warlord Games' Epic Pike & Shotte Batallia box at Historicon in Lancaster. Inside were three sprues of true 15mm ECW infantry for a total of 240 figures. They are modeled in strips of 10 figures each standing shoulder-to-shoulder.
Speed Painting
I followed Miniature Realms' playbook and used Contrast Paints over a dark gray prime > light gray zenithal prime > white drybrushed figure. Then I used Contrast Paints for everything. I departed from his method when I painted the metal; he used the hard to find Scalecolor Black Metal. I used GW Contrast Black Legion and then when dry, hit it with Army Painter's Gun Metal. I like having a thin black line around my metallics and this combination gave me that look.
There are no highlights on these figures. Contrast Paints over the drybrushed figure make the recesses dark and the highlights pop. They will look great in my forthcoming games of For King & Parliament.
A Mystery...
Didn't I say that these figures come on strips of ten? Why are there only three figures on this painting cap?
Well done Jeff. Excelllent figures.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Michael! Now it's time to shift to mass production to get enough done for the Battle of Montgomery!
DeleteAnd... as always... thank you for your guidance!
DeleteVery striking work.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Prufrock. The technique yields a vibrant, contrasty result. Some of my earliest miniature painting was on Baccus 6mm Napoleonics. The one thing the owner preached in his tutorials was that small scales need contrast. It's all about the contrast.
DeleteWhen I tried earlier efforts with Peter Pig figures I didn't get as good of a result as I am now. The gray prime and drybrush white method pumps the contrast even higher than just using a white spray. It works well on the Warlord figures. I'm excited to see how this works on the Steel Fist figures.
Wow! Those look amazing - hard to believe their in that scale.
ReplyDeleteThank you Dean!
DeleteThe detail achieved is from the Contrast Paints flowing off of the high areas to shade in the creases. I'm really just dabbing the Contrast Paint on and letting them do the work. I don't think that they would look as good if I went in afterwards and started highlighting areas. If you get the drybrush right and the amount of CP right the highlighting is done for you.
You should try it out. It's easy and quick. The more you do the better you get at it. Thanks for the comment!
– Jeff