Monolith! What's it called? Monolith!

Alongside the couple of druid-types I painted recently, I decided to produce some themed terrain for the Old Faith army. And what could be more appropriate than some menhirs or standing stones?

These are 3D prints that I found from a company called HeadBunny Games, and were offered in 15mm, 20mm, and 28mm. As my preference is for a slightly lower fantasy tone, I picked up both the 15mm and 20mm options - and I'm glad I did! Even at these smaller scales, the stones are really quite large - I think the 28mm ones would have been huge!

Painting was simple - a range of greys, and a few different brown and green washes. I did consider adding some lichen, similar to what I'd done on the tree-man, but opted for the green ink instead to keep the effect more subtle. I actually wish I'd gone harder on the green, as I think the effect is somewhat lost.

I've got another three based up and ready to get painted, so I should have a nice little stone circle by the time I've finished.

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Repurposed Sarumans... Sarumen?

So, work on the Old Faith army stalled a little after the initial burst of Christmas productivity - not because I've lost enthusiasm for the project (quite the opposite!), but because I wasn't particularly inspired by the models I'd planned on painting next. After a pause to take stock, I opted to work on some character models to keep things going while I figured out where I wanted to take the army.

Druid-types were a must for this force, and my aim is to eventually have a dedicated spellcasting unit of six. I found a couple of cheap Lord of the Rings Saruman models on eBay that were perfect for the look I wanted. A different paint-job would do most of the work in terms of moving away from the classic Christopher Lee vibes, but I also decided to replace the distinctive staffs with simple metal rods.

This first one is Saruman in his incarnation as Sharkey from the Scouring of the Shire. It's one of my favourite models from the entire range, but I'd never painted it before. The original staff was bent double, so replacing it was a necessity - drilling into the crook of the arm took a while, but the folds of the cloak and some green-stuff work tidied things up nicely.

Another Saruman - I think the original sculpt for the character. For both models, I opted for off-white robes beneath green cloaks, which I thought would be enough to step away from the original character depictions. Here, however, I kept the white beard and, in hindsight, I wish I'd made him a redhead or something to differentiate it further. I'm leaving it for now - I'll see if it annoys me enough to repaint!

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Disclaimer: All links to third-party sites are solely for the purposes of sourcing the products I have discussed, if anyone is so inclined. I have simply linked to the original manufacturer or the source I used (but feel free to shop around!) and make no money from people clicking through.

More Pict Pike

Following on from the last batch of pike-wielding Picts, I finished off the rear-rankers for an eventual 12-man schiltron in full-size games of Dragon Rampant. More likely, I'll pair three of these and three of the front-rankers in each of two of the half-size units we typically field.

As with the previous lot, these are all from Footsore, with the drill-out hands that I love. That said, a lesson learned - drill out the hands before gluing to bases. The helmeted guy, who will nominally be a unit commander in the full block of 12, was intended to have an upright spear, but I just couldn't get an angle that would accommodate it. The more casual pose was permitted by repurposing what should have been a shield hand, and while it suits the character, it does make ranking him up a bit of a chore!

So, the forces of the Old Faith are coming along nicely.

I'm not sure what's next up. As noted in the previous blog, I don't fancy painting another dozen Picts right away, even though I have the models - so I think it's time for a bit of shopping...

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Disclaimer: All links to third-party sites are solely for the purposes of sourcing the products I have discussed, if anyone is so inclined. I have simply linked to the original manufacturer or the source I used (but feel free to shop around!) and make no money from people clicking through.

Pike Pict Pics

Hot (for me, at least) on the heels of the tree-man I painted over the holidays, I got the first six of the spear-armed Picts finished to provide it with some infantry reinforcement.

They're from Footsore, who I think will probably contribute the majority of human figures to this new army, both in the form of additional Picts and also the more heavily armed and armoured baronial forces that will eventually support them.

While I have been drilling out the hands of plastic figures to accommodate wire spears for years now, I think these were the first metals for which I did this - mainly because they have been designed for this approach, rather than sculpted with the traditional 'cup' hands that I've never really liked either aesthetically or practically.

Painting seemed easier than normal - perhaps a testament to the simplicity of the sculpts, or maybe to my enthusiasm for the project. That said, the light khaki colours seem to have come out much more patchy than usual (and it seems even worse in the photos). I think there's probably not enough texture on the robes to really work with my wash-heavy painting style. I left them as is for these, but I might rethink for future models.

The basing, as with the tree-man, is just my usual approach with the addition of a couple of flavours of tuft. I'm absolutely smitten with the effect, and can't believe I went so long not using tufts!

Speaking of which, I have another six Picts under way - those being the rear ranks with raised spears to accompany these front-rankers. There's also another dozen to form a second full unit for Dragon Rampant (though we tend to play with half-size units for the most part), but I think I'll pivot onto a different unit type for a bit before getting onto them.

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Disclaimer: All links to third-party sites are solely for the purposes of sourcing the products I have discussed, if anyone is so inclined. I have simply linked to the original manufacturer or the source I used (but feel free to shop around!) and make no money from people clicking through.