Zenithal Highlight (part 2)

I've made some progress with the zenithal painting of my next three wee Scots.

I thought I'd start with the flesh. One of the videos I'd watched on painting over zenithal highlights (from Vince Venturelli's excellent "Hobby Cheating" video series) mentioned that it doesn't work well for skin, so you're better off putting down two light coats of flesh tone over the highlight:

I also worked up some of the "volumes" of the tunics with a white glaze over the zenithal highlight. This seems a bit fiddly to me (isn't this what the zenithal highlight should be accomplishing?), but the same YouTuber pointed out that all the time you put into "value sketching" at this stage will pay off at the end.

Getting the consistency of the glazes correct was a bit of a challenge and will take some practice. I'm sure it was only made worse by the fact that my paints have been sitting unused for years. So I followed the advice of another YouTuber and added a 5/16" ball bearing to each dropper bottle:

A messy proposition, but I feel like the paints are much easier to mix now.

After watching another one of the "Hobby Cheating" video series, I decided I might want to give dry brushing the hair a go. This means putting the flesh on hold for now (since dry brushing can be a bit of a messy proposition as well!). Here are the figs after an initial glaze or two of various Army Painter paints diluted with Vallejo Thinner Medium on their heads:

As usual - very slow progress as I muck about, but for me - that's mostly what this hobby is all about!

Inspiration (part 2)

Continuing the theme of books that inspire, here is a work of non-fiction that's been a great reference as I (ever so slowly) paint my Scots forces:

What I found particularly useful for my Dark Ages forces was the information about which warlords and their clans clashed with which, as well as what mercenary forces aided them. It made my want to paint up some 'Swords for Hire' to partner with my Scots. Perhaps some Norse-Gaels from Orkney or the Isle of Man.

If you are interested in the Irish, Scots, or Britons I recommend the book. It's got excellent Angus McBride color plates as well. Being from 1988, I have to imagine the information is a little dated though. I've got some recent books on my wish list, but this one was a steal I purchased 'used' from Amazon.

A Beer for SAGA?

Haven't made much forward progress with the minis over the past week. Its been raining cats and dogs here in central Florida so I haven't wanted to spray paint or varnish due to the humidity.

I did strip my minis by soaking them in a mild degreaser. It was pretty wild how they shed their skin afterwards under hot, hot running water! I made another pass at primering them with the AP Barbarian Flesh, but I think I must have held the can too far away. The minis were all dusty looking. Almost like they were flocked. Back into the degreaser. At this rate I should buy the stuff by the drum!

I also had issues with the spray nozzle. It sometimes wouldn't spray. It sometimes wouldn't STOP spraying. It sometimes spat out big droplets of paint. I think it must have been the humidity. Even though the rains had stopped it was still about 86 percent. I've broken down and ordered some white auto primer from the Amazon. I haven't given up on the AP primer yet, but I'm close!

While I wait for the auto primer, I'm enjoying a few of these:

"The goddess Sága and the god Odin merrily drink as the cool water flows."

Cheers!

The Beginning

I've been fascinated with the Dark Ages since watching an episode of NOVA about a famous viking sword a few months ago. This led to me finding the most excellent Saxon Stories by Bernard Cornwell. It's been down the wormhole ever since...

By chance I stumbled across a picture of a viking miniature while googling around one day. I've always been a gamer. Well not always, but I started in the 70's with first edition D&D. My love of mini's goes back to 1975 when my brother got an amazing book called The Wargame for Christmas (Thank you, Mrs. Schwartz!). I had a small collection of miniatures in the 80's. I would play around with them, but I never gamed with them. I never bothered painting them either. I think goes a long way toward explaining my eccentric nature! Well, that and genetics...

Back to today: my interest in the Dark Ages and miniatures led me to SAGA. SAGA is a miniatures-based, Dark Age, skirmish game by a UK outfit called Gripping Beast. There's a good intro to it on this much better blog. I've spent a number of weeks researching and acquiring rule books, miniatures, and all the stuff needed to assemble, paint, and base them. A lot of it was mail-ordered and some of it took way too long to get here (I'm looking at you Michigan Toy Soldier!). But finally, I'm all set up with my Scots starter band and a complement of levy.

I'm new to this whole painting of miniatures thing, so I've decided to experiment with some of the different techniques I've read about online. I've been so inspired and educated by the blogs of other hobbyists, that I've decided to document my stumblings publicly. Either that or I'm so intimidated by the quality of the work I've seen out there, I'll do anything to put off painting!