Time to get back to Bretonnia again! Last thing I painted were some men-at-arms, and I thought some archers would be in place now. I had enough minis to build two 10-man units, so I got to work!
There's not much to say, these are the classic Perry miniatures, which are of course delightful to paint. I used dark red as main colour for the first unit, kind of a no brainer, it simply looked good:
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| Steady hands and serious faces (mostly) |
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| Kelpie-looking motif for the banner. Just because |
The banner is hand-painted on simple paper – nothing fancy, but it does the job. Maybe that Kelpie is running or maybe it’s dancing. Hard to tell, but I like him. I thought of a more complex design, with heraldic waves or stuff. Maybe if I ever pait their lord I'll make an according heraldry, but for now this will do.
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| Red lads lining up nicely |
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| Arrowhead formation! Just by the book |
I tried to stay true to the 5th edition army book, so they’re ranked in the classic wedge formation, which I think suits the visual identity of the Bretonnians. Not sure how will those ranks shoot their arrows behind that banner, but I'm sure they'll manage.
Let's see the other unit. My first instinct was painting them blue (as opposite to the other fellas), but didn't really envision it. Green looked like an obvious option but... nope. Then I took some risks and went for a dark brown:
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| Darker tones, but no less heroic. Probably |
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| They look like reverse Swedish or something |
The earthy palette somehow works, though I can only think in archer monks or something. However I kind of like the result, treating brown as a heraldic colour (this is fantasy; if there are Orcs and Undead, brown can be a heraldic colour!)
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| They look gritty and certainly have seen some stuff |
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| Again, the arrowhead formation. I bet you hadn't seen that in a while |
As I said before, there's no much else to say, this felt like true, proper Oldhammer, which is quite satisfying, I have to say!
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| I may have to bend those banners a little bit more |
Well, two little units done! Now this is becoming to look like an army. Not sure of what will come next, but you know I can think of that while I go back to any other of my ongoing projects (scenery, I hear?...)
More stuff soon!
UAaa! Bretonnia! Fantastic work mate!
ReplyDeleteThank you! Really glad the Bretonnia vibes came through. Cheers, mate!
DeleteCool beans and strings on bows too!!
ReplyDeleteHowever, will you go that extra mile and add the arrows?
:D
Haha, thanks! I have to say I added arrows to the LoTR Elven archers back in the day, I used pins for them, but it was kind of a messy work! For these I simply assumed they are just releasing the arrows, hence the loose string! Lazy me!
DeleteBloody peasants have probably sold them for cheese and wine!!
DeleteThe brown works, and it would have been an easy colour to dye cloth in a pseudo-Medieval world.
ReplyDeleteIt's always good to see classic sculpts like these and yours look great.
Thanks! Glad the brown came across as plausible—fantasy heraldry is wonderfully flexible, after all. Those classic Perry figs were a joy to paint. Appreciate your kind words!
DeleteI think life then was more colorful than we realize but for the battlefield, brown is always a good choice. Dead or alive, you'll all be covered in mud by the end anyway.
DeleteYou know, I believe you are right. Those medieval paintings always show colourful clothings and environments, it's curious how we turned that into more desaturated, earthy palettes when interpreting those times!
DeleteMagnificent medieval making and painting!
ReplyDeleteAlan Tradgardland
Thank you so much! Really appreciate the compliment, always a thrill to breathe life into these medieval minis :)
DeleteThey look very good. I remember the arrowhead formation from the first Bretonnian book with much fondness. I think the brown works fine. Bonus credit for stringing the bows, too!
ReplyDeleteThanks a lot! Great to know that arrowhead formations bring back fond memories. I’m glad the brown unit came across well, and about the strings, well, my OCD simply didn't allow me to left those bows without them!! :D
DeleteI love these Perry sculpts – the Squires with bows are some of the best stuff they ever did for GW in my opinion. Do you have Betrand le Brigand and his merry men as well? They would fit right in there as well!
ReplyDeleteThank you! Totally agree, those Perry minis are top tier. I don’t have Bertrand le Brigand (yet!), but now you’ve planted the seed… might have to track him down. Dammit, you're such a bad influence!! XD
DeleteFlippin love these units and that you added strings to their bows!
ReplyDeleteThat red is so rich and the simple kelpie is a great idea - them being peasants, and very squishy, I don’t really feel their lord would invest in a super nice banner?
The brown clad unit looks very historic I think, so a great choice. Their banner (that is very nicely painted) maybe could have been kelpie themed too, just to match up with the red unit? Just a thought.
Thanks so much, Dai! Really pleased you like the re, it felt rich but grounded. The kelpie idea was deliberately humble, yeah. Peasants need practicality, not pomp, after all :D
DeleteHadn't thought on a theme for unified heraldry, but the kelpie looks appealing, I may have to give that a thought...
It's a gorgeous banner! Really well done, I thought. Something distinctive and colorful to rally around and show your lord where your unit is on the field, with an inspiring mascot on it.
DeleteThank you! I find the Kelpie an interesting motif, glad you like it!
DeleteBoth units look fantastic, I love how that second color palette works so well!
ReplyDeleteThank you! In the end I'm glad I didn't use the blue pattern idea, I think these colours work. Not sure of what will I paint next, but I'll try it to be colourful!
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