In my ongoing series of experiments with Contrast paints, I've just about finished these two units of Abbasid Black Guard spearment using Black Templar as the main colour for their cloaks. They are yet to be matt varnished (as its been too chilly outside to spray) so they are a smidge shiny, but are pretty much done.
4 Nov 2020
The Black (Templar) Abbasid Guard
25 Oct 2020
Kitbashed Arabs... the project at half way through
During the rolling, seemingly endless series of lockdowns and partial lockdowns in 2020 followers of my blog and website will know that I've been gradually building up an "all options" set of Arab troops to make up armies for L'Art de la Guerre in 28mm. The aim is kinda to mirror the 15mm Arab armies that I've enjoyed using in various competitions over the last few years, but also to try a couple of new things along the way - kitbashing and using GW Contrast paints.
Having - of course - bought far too many figures for the army I decided to start by mainly concentrating on the cavalry first, with a few excursions into infantry for variety. This set of 50-odd photos you can now access on my site is the first tranche of all of those figures, made up from 5 boxes of plastic figures all mushed together.
What you can now see here is a set each of Gripping Beast's Arab Light Cavalry and Heavy Cavalry, a Fireforge Mongol Cavalry set and two boxes of Gripping Beast's latst Gothic Heavy Cavalry - which are basically armoured lancers on cataphract-style fully barded horses.
Over the next few weeks you will see more of the cavalry on display - and perhaps more of the infantry as well if I get cracking on finishing them too.
26 Sept 2020
More adventures in Contrast Paints
Now the Arabs are starting to come together I've test-done a few infantry figures to see what difference undercoat makes to the GW Contrast Paints that I'm looking to use for this army.
These are WiP figures - undercoated either in matt white (Halfords car undercoat) or Army Painter Skeleton Bone, and then painted with the same GW Contrast colour.
20 Sept 2020
28mm Plastic Arab Kitbashing - continued
Just before I rush outside to spray undercoat I thought I'd take a few snaps of the kitbashed Arab riders and infantry to highlight where the various arms, legs, hands and weapons had ended up.
These have been glued together and then you'll see some white and yellow patches where I've used polyfiller and wood filler in an effort to make the joins between glued components disappear. After it dries I sand it off with a small round hobby file.
There are loads of bowcases in the GB Arab cavalry and Fireforge Mongol sets so I've also been able to do a load of the Lance/Bow cavalry holding lances and with bows stowed, as well as leaving some just as lancers.
13 Sept 2020
Back into (figure painting) gear...
After a month of sporadic holiday (and interior decorating-type painting) I'm finally now starting to think about getting back into gear for some proper painting with the start of my long-promised 28mm 'genric' Arab army for ADLG.
Its a real mix of metals and plastics, with a bit of half-assed conversion going on as well. Here are some of the figures in WiP:
25 Feb 2020
This is not the Pasty you were looking for.. Gepids in ADLG action at PAW 2020
Will this complex and clever army of maniacally charging one-dimensional horse warriors manage to discover the meaty taste of success, or will they find that they have they bitten off more stewed vegetables of indeterminate provenance than they are able to chew?
One game against Trimverate Roman, two battles against the Seleucids and a final round playing the Sassanian Empire will show the answer in these 4 full-scale West Country reports.
May the Pasty be With You!