SAGA Challenge

So, this week I managed to complete the Anglo-Saxon army to a quality I can live with. Table top, basic paint job which passes at 3′ viewing! Pictures follow below.

In addition though, I did some experimenting with the Contrast paints to see the effect of different colored base coats. GM say they work best with a white undercoat, which given the nature of the product seems a reasonable proposal, but what if some other colors are used?

I didn’t stray too far from the “white” undercoat, and instead used some light pastel colors to see what difference (if any) was noticeable.  And there are some  minor changes to be seen – at least when using a Red Contrast paint.

The first picture shows the figures with the four different undercoats. I used Vallejo paints for this: Pale Flesh 72.003; Natural Flesh 74.006; Highlight Skin 74.008 and Iraqi Sand 70.819. The Contrast paint Blood Angels Red was painted over these once they had fully dried. The images should be in this order.

I’m note sure how well the slight colouration shows in the pictures, and it IS only a modest change in color, but it is there. More experimentation necessary.

The other “experiment” came with the shield designs.  I had in mind a simple geometric scheme which would be “easy” (ho ho ho!) if I used masking tape (I had some Tamiya tape handy) to block off a base color and then painted over the top, removing the tape to reveal a perfect paint job. Well that was the theory.  To come extent it worked, but there was touching up to do and in the end most of the shields were hand painted.

I also tried to paint some animals/birds. My eagle looked more like a distressed pigeon, and the dragon looked like a badger (according to “mini Apple”). So, back to art school for me.

I used primary colors from Vallejo as I wanted the shield designs to be simple and bright. Not sure if this is historically correct, but en mass I think they pass muster.

Some pictures of the process follow.

Sticking to the use of base cats and Contrast paints, the final playing around was a common base coat (Vallejo Lemon Yellow) under three Contrast paints, Blood Angels Red, Ork Flesh, and Leviadon Blue.

As you’d imagine the color combinations produces their expected new color based on simple color relationships.

In closing, I think there is a lot to discover about using Contrast paints, and I’m reasonably happy with what they can do, but the different colors do behave differently! I found little “contrast” with the Leviadon Blue as it simply went on in a solid block of color – but that could be me.  A similar issue with the Magmadroth Flame.

Anyway, final pictures of the completed Anglo-Saxon force. Leader/Hero, 2 x Hearthguard, 2 x Warriors, and 2 x Levies.

Happy gaming