Battle Masters Project - 1991 Warhammer. (new Bretonnia pics! - December, 2024)

[Mellal]

Those orcs are super nice ! I love the swords.

[Easy E]

Excellent work on this project!  I wish I still had my copy banging around.  Long ago scavenged for parts..... for projects that no longer exist. 


I keep hoping Hasbro/Avalon Hill re-release it as a Heroquest tie-in using sculpts from the "new" Heroquest range.

[Neldoreth]

Thanks Pattus and Mellal! The swords aren't super consistent across the unit, except that they are all scratched... but perhaps that is the charm itself? Not sure how I'll do the swords on the next unit of orcs or the units of goblins...

Those orcs are super nice ! I love the swords.

They turned out great! I know what you mean about the rust - there are arguments both ways where orcs are concerned. I tend towards using some rust/ discoloration on things like blades, but with cleaner metal along places where it counts for combat performance, like cutting edges. My rationale is that orcs are sloppy but quite interested in maintaining the business end of their equipment.

[Neldoreth]

Thanks all for the kind words on the paint jobs!

Actually, a lot of the joy I get out of this is really taking the time to paint old figures... I mean, I have so many old ones, and many were old when I bought them a decade ago haha! I really appreciate the clean lines and the reasonable detail of these old models.

I kinda see it as art to be honest. It's not that they are old, it's more that they are different, with a different style and aesthetic, and the fact that GW can bring back some of them and still sell them supports that! I get that they aren't for everyone, and I know the new models are not only sharper and better detailed, but also better proportioned.

In any case, thanks again for the kind words.

[Neldoreth]

The first unit of 'Bretonnian' Empire knights are complete!

I was reluctant to start these because I recall the fifth-edition Bretonnians that I had to be a lot of work to blend and look good... but for some reason with these that wasn't an issue and I really enjoyed them and they came together pretty quickly. Maybe the barding isn't blended as well?!? I'm happy with it in any case, enjoyed doing these and I think they'll mix well with my Old World Bretonnians and the Empire Battle Masters army

This is the third-last unit I have left for the Empire Battle Masters army! After this it's just two more Empire knight units and then I'm done the Empire! Unfortunately I'm quite a ways away from the Chaos army being done since there are more figures on that side... still, it's progress!

[Pattus Magnus]

The transitions look well blended to me! It may be that your skills have advanced since the last time you worked on the older Bretonnian horses and now it feels easier (as in it doesn’t take as much conscious thought, as you’ve got the approaches nailed down and just do them). Or maybe you were just in the mood for painting large areas of cloth…

Either way, they look grand!

[Frugalmax]

Wow, you made those knights look great! Very impressive.

[syrinx0]

Great looking knights.

[SgtSlag]

I own a number of these very knights.  The long, flowing horse cover fabrics really threw me for a loop -- no idea how to paint them to look any sort of "good," or "acceptable." or "believable."  Now, I have an idea how to approach them!  Thank you!  Cheers!

[Mellal]

The blending on the horse is good. If I dare a small criticism, that's the highlight on the lance that I find a bit less blended.
Great paintjob anyway !

[mikedemana]

It may be that your skills have advanced since the last time

Neldoreth has always been an amazing painter. I remember the time he entered the Lead Painters League and voting for him week after week. He's been an inspiration to me, especially when it comes to shields...that's his specialty, in my opinion.

Mike Demana

[Pattus Magnus]

That’s very true, Mike, that Neldoreth has been an excellent painter for a long time. My comment wasn’t meant as any kind of slight, more like musing that over time skills keep building, then we have a different perspective when revisiting figures we worked on before.

[Neldoreth]

Thanks Mr. Magnus,

Yeah, you might be right, it's just less challenging so if feels like it's simpler and faster!

I kinda love and hate painting large, flattish areas. So much room for smooth blending and when it looks good, it looks good! When it looks bad, it's really bad. Also all that room for freehand symbols as well, although I was too worried to do the device on the front of the barding as well as the back haha!

Thanks

The transitions look well blended to me! It may be that your skills have advanced since the last time you worked on the older Bretonnian horses and now it feels easier (as in it doesn’t take as much conscious thought, as you’ve got the approaches nailed down and just do them). Or maybe you were just in the mood for painting large areas of cloth…

Either way, they look grand!

[Neldoreth]

Thanks for the kinds words, appreciated!

Good catch on the lances. I don't actually blend lances, usually I just use two layers with crisp lines given that they are such a small surface area, and it generally works pretty well for me. In this case tho, it's clear that the lightest layer is sloppy on a couple of them at least, which looks like it's due partly to drying paint and partly to me just trying to wrap these figs up. When those lines are crisp and straight they look pretty good without blending. Also, the camera angle kinda caught the wrong part of the lances too, like the dark part... it's interesting how important the picture taking is when displaying miniatures!

The blending on the horse is good. If I dare a small criticism, that's the highlight on the lance that I find a bit less blended.
Great paintjob anyway !

[Neldoreth]

Thanks Mike!

That's very kind of you to say, appreciated! I do love painting shields, it's half the fun for me really. I think for the most part, the LPL rounds I won were because the shields distracted everyone from the rest of the figure haha!

thanks again,
Joe

Neldoreth has always been an amazing painter. I remember the time he entered the Lead Painters League and voting for him week after week. He's been an inspiration to me, especially when it comes to shields...that's his specialty, in my opinion.

Mike Demana