"My first Perry Miniatures Mercenaries" Topic

These are my first historical miniatures that I have ever attempted. I am meh about them. I should have gone for a red and blue WotR scheme in hindsight. Any suggestions on how to pull off realistic medieval armor? Normally I airbrush metallics but I am at a loss at what kind of look I should be going for: dull or shiny?

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They look ok. When I paint armour from that period, I paint black then dry brush lighter metals over the black. Depending on who it is, I either leave at a darkish metallic grey colour, or highlight with a brighter silver for the more better off.

They look pretty darn good to me! Try adding an armor wash over a figure to see if you like it better. Lots of paint companies make an armor wash, but black works fine on steel armor. Some like a bit of blue added. Experiment and see what you like.

Those look pretty darn good to me as well! I would be happy to command them on the toy battlefield.

Most of the mail and plate armor was oiled to keep it from rusting so it would have some sheen to it.

Jim

I agree! Nicely painted figures!

Only you can judge if they are ok or not though, but I would be happy to use them as they are.

👍

They look great!

Nicely done!

Better painted than most armies I have seen. It would take me more than three months to get to that point, you have done a lot in three weeks. I recently finished 12 Perry foot knights that may have been sitting on the painting table for 3 years …

Part of my interest in the hobby is finding ways to close the gap between what I imagine and what I actually get. It's an ongoing process and I would never be happy with just a single recipe

Some ideas

Color schemes
The concept of "uniform" didn't really come in until the 18th Century, despite what some box art would lead you to believe – you should allow yourself much more artistic license. There would be retinues from multiple knights so different liveries in a unit or between units would be ok. The reason for the markings such as crosses was to identify the army as the clothing would not

White
Try using a much darker base color, such as beige. There will then be more contrast. As you can see, the contrast in your white doesn't match the contrast in your blue

Armour
The wash has worked out great, but I think the problem you are seeing is that it looks "flat", there is no directionality of the light. This can be more noticeable in a figure that has a single color (steel) and with metallics where the eye expects more reflection (specular). So thinking of light coming from above the figure and using darker metallic tones on the underneath of the arms, legs, etc should improve matters. I use Secret Weapon armor wash – it's a magic combination of black and slightly oily. With covid, it's hard to get hold of at the moment though. As you have a lot of knights in a single unit, you could consider altering the steel color, perhaps with a highly diluted wash or glaze. A little blue, a little rust color on some figures would add some variation The knights did I was experimenting with airbrushing. I layed down a dark metallic color, then did zenithal coats of middle and then light colors. I'm not very skilled with the airbrush and ended up doing highlights on top of that

Good luck

John

I think they look fantastic. Not sure if there is a right or wrong answer when it comes to shiny or dull. I like grimy and campaign-worn looking armies and tend to paint my armor with a blackened steel color and highlight with a lighter plate armor color on raised edges them hit with matte varnish. That being said, I really like the look you've pulled off for your plate armor. Very impressive.

Thanks for the kind words gents. I appreciate it.

John, thank you for feedback. That is what I need, especially since I have no experience with this time period.

darebear, I think that these look great. They will do you proud on the table.

John, I think that your painting tips are great. I especially like the idea on how to vary armor in a knight unit. It is not a period that I paint often, but I will keep this in mind.

I also think that these look very nice.

Like.

I'm just cruising and find this one.

The OP is being unduly harsh on himself and I've seen some laughable paint jobs in recent years 'at conventions' that aren't a quarter of the skills shown here.

I'm guessing the solid colouring is what you don't like. I agree with John, some more subtle wash would help; I'm no pro but after 40 yrs doing Napoleonics @etc. I use minimal coverage, not more, and my knights are more black shade than shiny slver, if you get my meaning.

Ditto on the solid coats- a darker colour then highlights in the shade you want to appear- over tans and browns a pale white wash makes things just so different!

Apart from the good advice above, I'd stick with your obvious talents. Cheers d