Koyote's SAGA Age of Crusades and Age of Chivalry

[Koyote]

I've made some progress on my mounted Hearthguard. 



My original plan was to equip them with the four-stud shields from Footsore's Arab Round Mixed Shield pack.   



At first I painted the entire shield face metal, but it looked blah.  Then I experimented with painting only the studs metal and the remainder of the shield face another solid color.  I tried a few colors but nothing looked quite right.  If I had painted patterns on the models' garments , then the solid colored shields might have worked, but since their garments are mostly solid colors, the shields need to be a bit more intricate.  I've ordered some LBM shield transfers designed to fit the Footsore small round shields.  My hope is that the transfers' Arab script and non-uniform designs will balance the solid colors and (mostly) uniform colors of the riders' garments.

[Koyote]

And here they are with their shields...



Truth be told, after painting 50+ Umayaad/Moors, I'm a bit burned out on painting blue and tan, so I'm going to take a break before painting the crossbow levy and the last point of mounted hearthguard.  It's time to give my post-apoc and fantasy painting projects some attention.

[syrinx0]

The figures look great.  The more detailed shields definitely add some interest but a more plain shield or two might not be a bad thing.

[Atheling]

Lovely work 

[Ajax]

Always a pleasure to see your work. Fantastic paintjob !

[mikedemana]

They look amazing - quite the inspiration!

Mike Demana

[von Lucky]

Really nice additions Koyote.

[Koyote]

I've spent the last couple weeks taking stock of the models I've already painted for this warband and fixing some of its aspects that aren't working for me. 

I started by slightly darkening the shade of blue on their robes and headscarves and adding a bit more shading to the recesses.  I also changed the color of their skin tone.  I really wanted the models to have a very dark skin tone, more Sub-Saharan (like the Sub-Saharan troops of the Almoravid armies than reinforced the Taifa states in the 11th century) than Saharan, but my painting skills just aren't up the task.  My very dark skin tones look okay under good light, but under regular lighting conditions (or the gloom of the Adepticon tournament hall) the facial details get lost quite easily.  Instead, I repainted the flesh of almost all my models using Mournfang Brown (instead of Rhinox Brown) as the base, so my Moors skin tones now look like my Tribal Hunters mercenaries (pictured below).



I finally got around to adding greenstuff scarves to my kitbashed crossbowmen.  The scarves cover the defects in the Gripping Beast plastic Arab heads and gives them that desert nomad feel.  Remember, my warband is an contingent of tough, desert dwelling Berbers/Tuaregs, not effete city-dwellers in their silks and Persian slippers. 

I've added rocks and bones to their bases, so all that's left to do now is to glue texture to their bases and they are ready for paint.

[Codsticker]

Wonderful work Koyote; I look forwards to seeing your crossbowmen painted.

[Koyote]

A little more greenstuff work on my last four hearthguard.

[Breazer]

The little extra you add to these miniatures always makes them so much better. Excellent stuff as always!

[Atheling]

Nice conversion work Koyote 

[Paul Richardson]

I've just come across this thread, and I'm enjoying it hugely. I found your Briton thread really inspiring - just about the most enjoyable I've ever read - and this one is as good. Many thanks for taking the time to share it (and PM me if you ever decide to take commissions ).

[Ogrob]

Man, the greenstuff belts on that cavalry. You pay such attention to the small details, it's really incredible.

[Koyote]

Thank you everyone for all the kind words.

@Paul Richardson: I'm glad you enjoyed my work.  Have you looked through my Age of Magic thread?  Even if 'fantasy' isn't your thing, you can see how I used the Age of Magic rules to expand my Brition, Irish, and Moors collections so they can be played as either "historical" warbands or as fantasy warbands.  In some instances, like the Briton archer unit, the new units can be used for either historical or fantasy.


@Ogrob:  Like the scarves, the decision to add the belts was driven by a defect in the Gripping Beast kit that left a sizeable gap between two of the models' components. 




BUCKLES

Ogrob’s an experienced GS sculptor, so he likely knows how to make buckles, but for those of you with less GS experience, you may find this helpful.

Sculpting a simple belt buckle requires steady hand, the right tool, and some patience, but they are surprisingly easy to make. Below is the tool I use to make buckles.



You start by letting the belt cure overnight, so you can work on it without deforming it.  Next, you take a small blob of greenstuff and attach it to the belt.  Then you use a bladed sculpting tool to flatten and shape the blob into a rectangle or square.  Finally, you use the point of the bladed end of the tool to create the recesses that define the inside borders of the buckle.. You don’t carve the recesses by making a cutting motion with the tool’s blade, but instead you carefully poke the tip of the bladed end straight down into the shaped buckle. Each poke creates a short little line into the GS.



Here’s another tip. When GS is freshly mixed, it’s very pliable. As it cures it slowly hardens and expands slightly. Let the buckle cure for an hour or so and then examine it. You may find the the GS has expanded a bit, leaving the recesses less well defined. Use the tool to redefine the recesses. Since  the GS has cured a bit, it’s less pliable but more forgiving and harder to accidentally deform.