First Go With Pikeman's Lament

[vodkafan]

Various slow progress on the figures over the last few days; I was away camping for our Canada Day long weekend but did a bit of painting last night after we returned.

No new photo, but the mounted commander is nearly done and looks awesome. Black horse with black harness and a black coat and hat on the guy (oh, and black hair), and it all looks pretty damn good and differentiated, ie not just one massive blob of black. It'll probably be hard as heck to take good photos of, but I'll do my best once he's finished.

Two units of pike, one of shot, and the mustard-yellow unit of firelocks all meandering toward completion; they're all in that assembly-line phase where I go through and do a bunch of leather equipment, then a bunch of hair, then the pike shafts, and so on and so forth. Doesn't make for exciting painting (or interesting photos to share), but they are progressing!

I've also started assembly of the first unit of six cuirassiers (Elite Gallopers, in PmL terms), for some different options in force building. Onward!

I have the same assembly line technique.  It does seem like sometimes there is hardly any progress for days or weeks, but the advantage is that when you do start to finish you have a nice block of figures all at once.

[Eric the Shed]

Looking great sir - having gone down the route of using Warlord Plastics for my ECW Army I would strongly recommend you replace the plastic pikes with brass ones - they will snap very quickly otherwise

[Codsticker]

Looking great sir - having gone down the route of using Warlord Plastics for my ECW Army I would strongly recommend you replace the plastic pikes with brass ones - they will snap very quickly otherwise

My experience as well. I am replacing them as they break with brass ones.

[DintheDin]

While you are preparing your army, I invite you to have a look at a PL scenario we played today

http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=102157.0

Hope you enjoy!
Cheers!

[Wirelizard]

Resurrecting this thread for my 17th C force building, as Army Painter 2017 is over, it not being 2017 anymore.

My AP2017 thread is over here, just for reference: http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=101621.msg1326826#msg1326826

In finally starting a unit of fully armoured cuirassier, I got curious about armour in colours other than shiny polished bare metal, and that research has turned into an entire blog post with heaps of links and references!

Colourful Cavalry: Armour as well as Horses is over on my blog.

tl;dr version: a bunch of the armour we see in museums that's all shiny probably shouldn't be, as it would originally have been blacked or otherwise treated. Blame the Victorians for polishing the stuff up.

If you've ever done russeted, blacked, or other non-shiny armour, please share photos or painting tips. I'm going to have to experiment with technique to keep the metal armour looking like it's metal, not just black/red/etc cloth...

[vodkafan]

I also have a half- dozen cuirassiers to do , Wirelizard, so I will watch this thread and your blog with interest.

[Wirelizard]

I have the same assembly line technique.  It does seem like sometimes there is hardly any progress for days or weeks, but the advantage is that when you do start to finish you have a nice block of figures all at once.

This is pretty much what's happened. All of a sudden I have completed units all over the place and new stuff on the painting bench for the first time in... at least six months or more. The second half of 2017 was not a good time for miniature painting here at Chez Wirelizard.

I also have a half- dozen cuirassiers to do , Wirelizard, so I will watch this thread and your blog with interest.

I put my coloured armour query in it's own thread over on Workshop and so far nobody has confessed to ever painting armour anything other than shiny silver, it seems. http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=106571.0

[vodkafan]

I am thinking of doing my cuirassiers in GW Warplock Bronze, to represent some sort of darkened or treated armour. It's a dark metallic brown. Experimenting on some old figures, will let you know how it turns out..