+ inload: Issuing new uniforms +

+ Rebasing and repainting my Steel Legion +

 

+ The Great Refresh continues for the Steel Legion, with the aim to take them from the image on the left to that on the right. +

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+ Basing +

+ I found a rather neat shortcut for getting the initial colour on the bases – submerging the base (and the model's feet) in a pot of clean water, gently tapping off the excess, then touching a brush loaded with Skrag Brown to the damp surface. As with wet-in-wet watercolour, the fluid paint rushes off the brush and spreads organically into the texture – and if you get the consistency right, it stays clear of the base edges and boots. This hugely sped things up for me, and I was able to get a platoon of thirty Guardsmen and all their command staff done in half an hour. +

+ A couple of notes on this, if you're tempted to try. This technique relies on having a surface that's quite textural – if you try it on a smoother base, you'll end up with a blotchy finish. Secondly, this technique relies on a paint with good coverage. Earth colours (like Skrag Brown, used here) tend to have good coverage even when very dilute, but some paints will likely recede from the surface, leaving it looking a bit patchy. As you'll see below, the finish is quite even, and because you don't need to reach in to recesses – the paint flows everywhere that is wet – it's easy to avoid accidentally getting paint on the model. + 

+ From here, I'll give the bases a light layer of a desert colour (something like Zamesi Desert), leaving some of the brown showing in recesses. Once dry, I'll drybrush it with a slightly lighter tint. +

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+ New kit +

+ As well as basing, I'll be updating the greatcoats to a tan leather. Doing this to more than seventy models is – perhaps understandably – a bit daunting, particularly when you're broadly happy with the original paint job. +

+ I confess that part of me wants to keep the ice-world feel. I know that if I worked them all up to the standard I'd done on the few finished pieces, they'd be a striking force. Against this is the sense that they'll still look how I want with the desert scheme, and they'll also become a lot more likely to be used rather than left in a box! +

+ In the manner of all good officers, the good General Ynginel Howl strode forth first to show his men how things would work. As hoped, the white coat  (left) acted as a grisaille underpainting, and a layer of the Contrast paint Aggaros Dunes simply tinted the existing work there. +

+ While the original paintjob is a little rough-and-ready, this strikes me as a much better place to proceed from than starting from scratch with the coats. I'm planning to add highlights and perhaps an oil glaze to even things out and strengthen the shading. +

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+ With the General showing the way, his soldiers followed on. Here's the first five to get their new coats. +

+ Again, this was a mercifully swift process – the Contrast paint is very forgiving, able to be applied quite liberally and still achieving success –and these took roughly a minute or so each. +

+ It's early days, but being able to take relatively large steps with a whole platoon at each stage is a great psychological boost. +

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