Up now is a unit of Ironclad for the Free Dwarfs! The models are all mantic, supplemented with some round shields from my bits box. (Note: I thought they were Wargames Atlantic Dark Age Shields, but doing some additions now, they lack the metal edge. Not sure where these came from exactly... but I think these are Dark Age Irish shields from Wargames Atlantic.) These were prepped just before 4E was rumored, around the same time as the Northern Alliance Dwarfs, as I just wanted a basic unit around to test the Free Dwarf colors. Now with 4E and its slots system going on, I probably want some more to help pay the core tax, or be Auxiliary troops and chaff, but that is a project for the future. I need to get all the existing stuff done before circling back with too many new units.
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| The regiment. With a go-getter in the front lines! |
These were my main test unit for the Free Dwarfs. They were leftover models from some second-hand purchases, and predominately having the non-cloak leg option, were relatively easy to use and explore snipping off the stands. I did a decent job there, and was able to wiggle off the triangle shields from all of these to accommodate the round shield-swap on everyone.
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| The regiment braces for a fight. |
Most of my armies have been a base color, wash, and maybe touch-ups, but here, I really wanted to push myself, and I aimed to put some highlights on everything.
- Leathers like boots and gloves got a Citadel Rhinox Hide base color, Citadel Mournfang Brown layer, and Citadel XV-88 as a final highlight.
- Greens were a little more fast-and-loose, and got a base layer of either Citadel Caliban Green or Citadel Death Guard Green, a layer of either Army Painter Greenskin or Citadel Warboss Green, with a final highlight of Moot Green.
- Skin got a variety of tones, then a layer of Army Painter Crusader Flesh to serve like a wash, then a sparse few highlights with the same skin tone for noses and cheekbones and brows and such.
- Beards got a darker base coat of whatever base color I wanted, then a lighter color as a pseudo-highlight. I have a number of extra paints, and there was no uniform coloring approach here, just grabbing whatever looked right and seemed close.
One could really go crazy with blending/glazing, especially on the fabrics and clothing, but all this heavy layering is new to me, and the Ironclad are just basic units. We're exploring things, and we’re just winging it, and not worrying too much. I was happy enough with my amateurish efforts here, and then duplicated them as my skills allowed, across the other units. These need more flowers and such too, but about the only painting thing I want to revisit is something for the shields to draw a little more interest to them. I was thinking a few thin slashes to mimic old blows, but am not sure yet on colors or how to make that work exactly, so we're calling these done for now!