Throne of Skulls draws ever closer, and people start to look more and more nervous as they realise just how much they have left to do [Me included!]. In my case, that's building the display board and finishing my army!
Fortunately, however, progress is going well. I shared in The Road to Throne of Skulls Part 1 that painting was underway for the additional models in my Atop the Walls army list, and I'm happy to say that they are finished!
The first models I finished were the siege crew for my two trebuchets (more on them later) – these were painted in the same way as the regular Warriors of Minas Tirith – the difference being that with these being metal models, the details are a bit more pronounced – fortunately, this helps them stand out on the tabletop, rather than being lost in a sea of black and silver. I painted them over the course of a few hours, and they turned out great!
Next up were small contingent of Citadel Guard – these pose a different challenge as they feature much more black cloth than silver metal – I would need to differentiate the cloth, cloaks and gloves, otherwise the models look a bit bland. The cloth was painted with blue-grey tones in the same way as the warriors, whereas for the cloaks I started with a black basecoat and worked my way up to a dark grey – enough to give a noticeable highlight, but not so extreme that it was too stark.
The bows and spears painted in pretty much the same way as the warriors but, as with the siege crews, the models being metal helped the details stand out that little bit more. Last but not least was the yellow detailing on the cloth and edges of the cloaks – I started with a yellow-brown, before applying a sepia wash and working my way up to a dull yellow. The last bit of detailing was the decoration on the trim, which I applied using very thin paint and a steady hand – I don’t have much in the way of freehanding skills, but applying thin lines in this instance just takes a steady hand, patience, and not being afraid of doing touch-ups when things go wrong. After a bit of effort, they were ready to defend the Citadel!
Next up were the trio of Hurin, Iorlas and Beregond. Fortunately, Iorlas and Beregond painted up in the same way as the Citadel Guard, just with some extra details such as their hair and faces, which aren't covered up by helmets. Hurin actually painted up in pretty much the same way, except that he has some gold detailing on his armour that the other models don't – helpful for making him stand out on the battlefield. As they used the same colours and painting method, these models were painted alongside the Citadel Guard, and were finished at the same time – a trio of heroes ready to defend the White City!
With the horde of black and silver painted, it was a refreshing change to get to Gandalf the White and Pippin and use some different colours, albeit that Pippin's armour was painted in pretty much the same way. However, he has different colours such as his elven cloak and surcoat. Pippin was painted over a couple of evenings, and I was really pleased with how he came out – Guard of the Citadel indeed!
As for Gandalf the White, he was a little bit more challenging – his robes are various different shades of white, from a cool white on his inner robes, to a more warm white for his outer robes.
For the inner robes, I started with Grey Seer, before gradually mixing in Pallid Wych Flesh to build up the highlights. I then followed the same process for his outer robes and cloak, swapping out Grey Seer for a Rakharth Flesh and Wraithbone respectively. Again, I mixed in more and more Pallid Wych Flesh for each layer, until I was happy with how the robes looked, applying pure Pallid Wych Flesh as a final highlight. I then picked out his face, hands, sword and staff, and Gandalf the White was ready to lead the defence of the White City!
For Shadowfax, I started with a basecoat of Grey Seer, before applying a coat of Apothecary White Contrast. I then gradually added in Ulthuan Grey for each layer of highlight, before picking out his muzzle and leg socks [Apparently that is the correct term for a horse's leg markings] by applying layers of Apothecary White. I then picked out his mane with Wraithbone and highlighted it with Pallid Wych Flesh, before then applying some thinned down Zandri Dust in the recesses to give his mane and tail some depth. I then painted Gandalf in the same way as the foot version, and he was ready to ride!
Last but not least were my two trebuchets. I decided fairly early on I wanted to convert one in order to tell them apart [And because it would look better on the display board if they were different!]. I had two metal trebuchets, plus a Finecast one that I was planning to throw away because it was badly warped [And therefore completely impossible to assemble correctly!]. The majority of the conversion was based around the metal version, but I was able to scrounge enough parts from the Finecast model to pose the trebuchet in the act of firing – I was really please with how it turned out [Even if I have no idea how I'm going to transport the damn thing without something breaking off…].
As to painting the models, that was fairly straightforward. I used a light brown basecoat, before applying a lighter brown and then a khaki drybrush. I then picked out details like the metal trim, the ropes and sling holding the ammunition and the ammunition itself. After a couple of evenings work, the trebuchets were finished and my Throne of Skulls army was complete!
So, in terms of backlog progress, these additional models of mean my models painted count for the year now stands at 165 models. As to Throne of Skulls, at the time of writing, it is the 13 November, so I have just over two weeks to finish the display board, and there's still a lot to do…
Stay tuned for Part 3 to see whether or not I actually make it!
I love your converted trebuchet! I think that is really cool and really makes it stand out!
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