The Norman Project, Part 2: Painting cavalry

Quick photo journal of the painting of a group of Norman knights/Crusaders. The work you see in these pics took about 3.5 hours from start to finish and about 45 minutes to an hour of that was waiting for the washes to dry. I've simplified and organized my painting a great degree over the last two decades.

Primered. Primer covers a lot of my modelling mistakes. I like to paint assembly line fashion, so rarely do one model at a time. When doing cavalry, I'll usually do all the horses in the group the same color/style to make it easier. If I do several different groups the same and then mix them... viola; no one knows they were all painted the same. For this group, though, I'll do the horses different.

The base coat. Sloppy and splashed on, when I wash them, many sins will be forgiven. I chose several colors for the horses as you can see. The two in the center are the same base color but will be washed different shades, and even though it's not real apparent in the pictures, they will look different in person.

Another shot of the base coat. Note I don't do any of the details such as the stirrups or swords pommels n@t. I am exceedingly lazy (hence the use of washes in the first place.) I used to apply at least three colors on every surface and that was 99% 15mm's! I even painted the Virgin and Child on a 15mm King Arthur shield. That was then, this is now though. Now it's base coat, wash, highlight with base coat colors. Done.

Just in case you thought I was lying or exaggerating. In Malory, Arthur had a depiction of Madonna and Child on the inside of his shield so that every time he blocked an enemy's attack he was strengthened by seeing the Virgin Mother and baby Jesus. Well, this is as close as I was going to get to that. At one time I considered it a challenge to make every mini into a work of art. Now, while I still enjoy the painting aspect of the hobby, I am happy with decent looking guys for my forces.

The wash applied. I prefer Army Painter inks that you can see in the back ground.

The light brown horse on the right got a Red wash to try to get that chestnut color, while the two in the center got Dark and Soft washes, right to left. The left bay got Soft as well. All the riders were washed in Soft as that is my usual go-to wash.

Highlighted with base colors and details filled in. You can see the two on the right do indeed show different shades of brown and I'm happy with the chestnut. That was the first time I tried that undercoat and will use it often now. Typically, they really do look better in person, honest.

Note their shields are not done. For starters, the transfers are still on order from England, but also, I am going to do an entry dedicated to just their shields, along with their accompanying infantry. And yes, I hand painted all my 15mm Norman shields.

I'm also going to do a separate blog report on their bases. That'll be up next. It's a time consuming process, but you'll see and judge for yourself if you think it's worth it. I do, usually. Sometimes, I just glue and flock. As always, I'm ever ready for hints, tips or suggestions to make my guys look better or save me a lot of effort.