Knights, Elves & Cats – a Spring Clean Miscellany

I decided to use the Spring Clean Challenge to tackle a few models that have been sitting around neglected because they don’t fit into any of my current active projects.

That’s only 19 models that I intend to fit in around ongoing projects; shouldn’t be too hard right?

First to be spring cleaned are the knights.

This was a sample pack of later medieval 15mm figures by Essex Miniatures. It contained a pair of knights, both in full plate, one with a sallet helm and axe, the other with a great helm and lance. Accompanying them are four footsoldiers – two archers, one hand gunner, and one billman. Since the horses provided included one in full plate, and the other unarmoured, I decided to theme these six as a knight with a small retinue. I picked halved red and green as a heraldry, and used it where possible across surcoats. The full plate barding on the warhorse and the knight looked a little plain, so I added a banner and spiralled the heraldry colours down the lance.

The models all have a good definition, but aren’t too detailed, so were fast to turn around. I’ll admit I’m not too enamoured with the proportions of the Essex models though.

Elves next, specifically some of Lucid Eye’s Red Book of the Elf King range. I picked up a deal a while back that included High Captain Vachel and six companions, enough for one warband for the reduced skirmish rule set.

I didn’t really have a particular colour scheme in mind when I started, only that I wanted to avoid metallic iron as such things are an anathema to the Fae. Not my best painting, with some pretty heavy handed work at times, but I’m happy enough with the end result.

Models are single piece castings aside from the spear arm on the companions. There’s a nice bit of variation between the companions despite a sense of uniformity. I might pick up some more at some stage, as the range has some fantastic hero characters.

Last few models for my spring clean challenge were a set of six cat adventurers by Steam Forged Games.

I lost a bit of enthusiasm with these. The models are fairly small, but full of detail, so were a bit frustrating at times. I ended up doing a bit of a rush job in the end to simply clear them off the paint desk, which I guess was partly the point of them being in my spring clean.

Anyway, knights, elves and cats all done, I can feel a bit happier for painting up a few things that would have been otherwise ignored.