Update

So the slow progress continues. I have another knight on the go (man, I'd forgotten how much I hate painting over a white undercoat!), and I decided to finish the 4 archers I had on the go, before I started on the men at arms.

So I now have 4 painted archers. Not a legal unit, but a start!apologies for the dim 'n' dingy photos, but for some reason the flash on the camera I'm using won't always fire when I tell it to.

Above is the 4 archers, with defensive stake & brazier. Originally I was going to try and paint the coals all orange and glowing - and I may still go back to add that in - but when I was painting them it did occur to me that it's when there's the white ash on the coals that a barbecue is at its hottest...

I've stuck with blue for the small shields, as these archers all form part of the retinue of my battle standard bearer (photo of him below...). I decided not to do a freehand little boar, as I'm already spending more time on these models than their measly points value can justify!

You may notice that they all have red hoods or jerkins; initially I included red as it was the only bright colour I had to hand, but I quite like the consistency. In my mind, it's the equivalent of a high vis jacket so they don't get shot by accident when on a hunting party. 

As I mentioned previously, I really like the detail on the plastic archers. I've stuck with my initial instincts, and kept the men at arms devoid of any extra accoutrements, but I've laden the archers down with accessories. I like the concept of them as foragers for the army, so I have all the food items on their belts, representing them hunting en route to the battle. This chap has a rabbit, a rat, and a turnip all on his belt. I suspect the rabbit goes to the Knights, while rat + turnip = bowl of brown.

I do have some issues with the command of the archers; I'll leave that moan for now, though.

I also took a couple more photos today, first off the aforementioned standard bearer.

I did him last year - at the time I had a slight issue with the transfer, trying to heat dry it too quickly caused it to fog up, but it looks OK. He's got the De Lisque banner, so he could be an army standard bearer, or if I downgrade De Lisque to a paladin or unit champion, this could easily be a unit standard. 

And speaking of De Lisque, here's a clearer picture of him too. 

So that's my total thus far: 4 men at arms, 4 archers, 3 knights, including a hero/champion and standard bearer. So...no legal units, yet, let alone a legal army!

The plan is to carry on plugging away at the knights, and to speed paint up my men at arms. Next update when I have at least 10 of them done. Or when I get this yellow-barded knight done. So probably the men at arms. ;)

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Charge!

As I mentioned recently, I've succumbed, finally, to starting a Bretonnian army, and I am very pleased to present my first painted miniature.

Ta da!

Sir Andre De Lisque

This is simply a Knight of the Realm plastic model, with the champion's sword, a Knight Errant head, and the horse converted slightly to make it rear up a little (not too much, as at too steep an angle the barding looks weird).

The intent is for this to be my general, representing...well, me! Hence the beard, and the Leask coat of arms.

Now, I imagined getting some heraldic symbols like stars and diamonds would be easy, allowing me to make my own coat of arms up, but surprisingly not. Even the usually reliable Veni Vidi Vici didn't have anything quite right.

I was close to despairing, when a bit of Google Fu turned up CitadelSix custom designs. I knew it was possible to print your own custom transfers, but it's a faff, requiring special paper, spray on sealant, and I'd also need to get new ink...hassle.

But CitadelSix essentially do that for you. You can order premade designs or, for no extra cost you can email a design and they'll print that for you. Handy. A few emails exchanged, and lo and behold: transfers!

Side view: no way I could hand paint that so regularly!

Now, they're not the cheapest things ever, but I don't intend on outfitting an entire army with custom designs. I've ordered designs for two knights (the second one will appear here in due course), plus the Leask coat of arms for my Men at Arms (one of which I will be painting next); that all came to £14 plus postage. Very reasonable.

The transfers themselves are a little less malleable than what I'm used to, but for flat areas - shields, etc. - they work a treat. The set even has tiny little ones for all the little shields on the horse's harness, but I found them a bit fiddly, so only put one on the front of the horse's head, painting the others a blank white. I may go back and add more in later, but I wouldn't hold your breath. :)

Rear view - the red scabbard really stands out, huh? I may change that later.

Overall, I'm happy with the model, and very happy with CitadelSix's transfers. If you're after some custom detail, especially if it's fiddly / precise, I'd definitely recommend them.

Until the next time!
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