Trying Something Different

I have decided to try my hand at painting 28mm figures. It's something I have done before but many years ago.

So I have invested in some Copplestone Castings figures. I have a pack of 'Armed Archaeologists' and two packs of 'Cavemen' from the high adventure range.

The first thing to say is that the service was good. The figures arrived in a couple of days.

I knew from the pictures on the web site that they would be nice but I was very impressed when I looked at them in detail - particularly the faces. I have a small quibble - I don't think the hands are always as well sculpted as the rest of the figure but I don't think this shows too much.

One thing I was unprepared for was the amount of 'thinking' time I was going to need.

It's to do with colour choice. The bare flesh was no trouble - I used the vallejo paints I now use for my 15's but with a couple more layers. No it was the clothing - animal skins for the cavemen and civilian or proto-military gear for the archaeologists. It is not straightforward and often each garment(!) needs careful consideration. I am still pondering on the jacket and waistcoat for the middle eastern character and that's been a couple of days so far with no progress.

However, I had fun today painting a pith helmet, but even this took a bit of research on Google to see what colour it should be. Fortunately the end result looks ok.

One consequence of this process is that I mix colours to get a shade I like. This is ok as a one off but should anyone ask me to match them in the future that would be rather difficult.

When I do commissions I have taken to writing out a paint mixing sheet for the main colours so at least I have a chance of getting close without too much trial and error. I just wish I had thought to do this several years ago!

While I ponder these important painting questions, I switch over and paint a few more 15's. I have a Alexandrian Imperial DBA army nearing completition and I expect it will be ready to sell on eBay in a week or so.