Archers (II)

After painting the Sisters of the Thorn I decided to tackle the only big block of Infantry that I have, that is, the Glade Guard!

It is interesting to mention that the very first model that I painted as a test was a Glade Guard. And after doing that I only painted cavalry models for quite a while so this was a very welcomed change.

I have two units of 11 including a full command group. Here I show the first block. I have to admit that these took quite a shameful amount of paint despite the mediocre results. I blame it to my inability to paint bright shiny things. Still, getting better elf after elf!

Updated painting recipe

Since I painted the first test model I have improved a little bit my painting recipe to make it faster. At the beginning it took me easily almost 4h for every model because (1) I am a slow painter and (2) not used to paint bright colours so I needed to redo many of them with multiple layers. I like to think I got a bit better at it so now it takes me on average 2h per model, slightly longer for champions, always below 3h even for cavalry - which is good for me!

The colours and steps are almost the same as the ones show in the test model, but slightly updated.

skin

greens

leather, wood and golds

I almost forgot about these two

used for metals

I usually paint it in the same order, base colors, clean it up, shadows, highlights, details and lastly glazes.

Base colors

1. skin goes first: thin layer of Beige red
2. paint base color of hair: dark brown, dark yellow, orange, grey
3. cover all areas of darker green with flat green (!! this is a change, it looks much better with flat green than with goblin green as I used before)
4. cover all areas of lighter green with fall green from Scalecolor (SC-48)
5. paint boots and wood with charred brown
6. paint leather with flat brown
7. if lots of leather / wood and so on in the same miniature, change a bit using chocolate brown as well 
8. paint all golden areas with Bloodstone from P3
9. paint all metals with either German Grey or Night Blue (depending on the shade I want, black/grey or blue)
10. if there are rocks use german grey as base
11. if there are animals on the base use enchanted blue as base

Clean all of this up - make sure all base colors are clean as some areas will remain "as is" at the end

Shadows

1. glaze Charred Brown on top of the skin focusing on face and chest, these are elves, not dwarves, so no need to have very strong deep shadows
2. glaze prussian blue on every light green area, focusing on deepest areas
3. glaze hexed lichen on every dark green area, focusing on deepest areas
4. if the miniature has a lot of foliage (like the Scouts) use a thinned down version of Coelia Greenshade to cover all foliage and make sure the areas in between leaves are dark green
5. add a thin line of pure charred brown for darkest shadows on the golden areas

Highlights

1. for the skin
1. paint most of it with beige red
2. paint the eyes with ivory and a dot of black
3. highlights go with pale flesh (the skin is now done!)
2. highlight the hair with a lighter version of the base colour (avoid drybrush if possible)
3. for the leather
1. highlight the leather with charred brown + beige red and then for final light a bit of ivory or bone white to the mix
2. in general, highlight all leather by mixing a bit of beige brown then bone white to the base colour
4. for the wood
1. highlight wood with charred brown + beige brown and bone white for final light.
2. wash all wood with a thinned down version of flat green to give it a green tint
5. for the goldens
1. mix Bloodstone with Parasite brown and cover most of it leaving the shadow and another layer of the previous colour
2. then use pure Parasite brown and do the same
3. then add ice yellow to the mix and do the same
4. lastly, use pure ivory for a few dots of light
6. for the dark greens
1. use flat green for most of it leaving the deepest areas with the lila tint
2. use lime green for highlights
3. use ice yellow for drawing patterns and some extreme lights (this last light is only for characters)
7. for the light greens
1. use fall green SC-48 and cover most of it
2. mix SC-48 with bone white for some highlights
8. for the metals
1. use neutral grey for first light
2. then cover everything except a thin layer with wolf grey
3. repeat with ivory (optional, depending on side of blade)
4. last lights with pure arctic white
5. if the metal is blue, do the same but with night blue and adding more and more ivory
9. for the rocks, if any
1. use neutral grey for highlights
2. use wolf grey for final highlights
3. wash the lower part of it with flat green to give a green tint
10. if animals or decoration (e.g. standard) done with enchanted blue
1. mix a bit of ivory for a couple of highlights
2. the eyes can go with ice yellow or ivory

Glazes

1. Glaze metals with flat green if needed

And now, finally, the painted models of today!

Sisters of the Thorn

Here I am showing five Sisters of the Thorn that were painted a couple of months ago!

Sadly, the are quite brittle and fragile and have broken already multiple times - I have lost count of how many times I have fixed them. I fear using them in battle and I believe I will need to replace them at some point with the "real" ones in plastic or some other figures that are more sturdy in resin.

Still, the miniatures are lovely and I fear my paint scheme did not work so well on them.

Project Wood Elves: Best painted award!

I am really glad to report that in the last Tournament that I participated the Army got the "Best painted" award!

It is a great feeling to see all the effort being rewarded, especially after the last sprint in which I painted so much in the last few weeks! There were a few other armies that were very nice looking, in particular I liked a Dwarf Army and a Cathay one - which was incredible well painted but not finished so it could not compete, otherwise it would have won for sure! There was an even better painted army, from the organizer, but he excluded himself from the competition.

In any case, here is the trophy! I also got a case of AK Interactive paints to add to my collection on top of it.

As for the results... well, I lost ALL my matches and it clearly shows that a) have not played a lot this year b) first time playing a list that looks cool is risky in competitive environments and c) don't really know how to play with frenzy and coordinate those with a Dragon. Still, the weekend was super fun and I came back home with something and wishing I would have more time for more tournaments. If you are curious, you can see all results here.

To make it even more special, and this was not planned, this Trophy is a render of the old logo of the "Atalaya Vigía" club that I designed many moons ago. The sculptor and organizer of the tournament didn't know that and he was happy to learn about it! Here is the original image, drawn with pen and paper, then inked by hand and then digitalized and colored in photoshop back in 2018:

Project Wood Elves: Painting Spree Update (III)

Here it is the final update before the Tournament. I literally just finished painting them. Some of the bases were still drying while I was taking the pictures... I knew it was going to be tight, but I am super happy to say that I managed to make it!

Here is the final check

• 1 Glade Lord on Forest Dragon ✅ 
• 1 Glade Lord on Great Stag ✅
• 1 Spellsinger on Elven Steed ✅
• 7 Wild Riders ✅
• 7 Wild Riders with Standard Bearer ✅
• 8 Glade Riders ✅
• 8 Glade Riders ✅
• 1 Wood Elf Beast Pack with 1 Deepwood Hound ✅
• 1 Wood Elf Beast Pack with 1 Deepwood Hound ✅
• 8 Deepwood Scouts ✅
• 8 Deepwood Scouts ✅

On top of that:

• 1 Baggage Train ✅
• 4 Objective Markers ✅

The Army list I will be using in the Tournament is this one:

500 - Glade Lord, Aspect of the Cat, Forest Dragon, Dragon Slaying Sword, Talisman Of Protection

330 - Glade Lord, Moonfire Shot, Shield, A Befuddlement of Mischiefs, Wild Rider Kindred, General, Great Stag, Spear of Twilight, Orion's Favour

134 - Spellsinger, Elven Steed, Wizard Level 1, Battle Magic, Oaken Stave

158 - 8 Glade Riders, Trueflight Arrows, Reserve Move, Glade Knight

158 - 8 Glade Riders, Trueflight Arrows, Reserve Move, Glade Knight

189 - 7 Wild Riders, Shield

253 - 7 Wild Riders, Shield, Wild Hunter, Standard Bearer, Totem Of Wrath

19 - 2 Wood Elf Beast Packs 

  • 1x Beast Keeper 

  • 1x Deepwood Hound

19 - 2 Wood Elf Beast Packs 

  • 1x Beast Keeper 

  • 1x Deepwood Hound

120 - 8 Deepwood Scouts, Arcane Bodkins

120 - 8 Deepwood Scouts, Arcane Bodkins

You can find all info about the Tournament in New Recruit

And of course, this time, some pictures of all the painted units!

Now, taking advantage of this, if I look at the 2026 objectives, one of that was to paint all Wood Elves save for the monsters... well, consider that done!

The only thing left to paint in the Wood Elf Army is:

• Treeman
• 3 Treekin
• 2 Eagles
• 2 Deepwood Hounds
• 1 Wizard on foot
• 1 Battle Standard Bearer

My idea is to take a break now, and come back to finish painting the 6 vehicles left from Legions Imperialis so I can cross out all 2026 objectives, and then tackle the remaining Wood Elves. But of course, nothing is so easy, while painting these I decided to get a unit of Hawks, Wardancers and Wildwood Rangers.... but they were not included in the original goal so...

Project Wood Elves: Painting Spree Update (II)

Hopefully this is the last update before the family picture next week.

I have now painted everything I already owned that I need for the Tournament. Just waiting for 7 Wild Riders to arrive home so I can build and paint them. I just had one day delay from my original plan as the Dragon took one extra day to paint, other than that, it is on track...

• 1 Glade Lord on Forest Dragon ✅ 
• 1 Glade Lord on Great Stag ✅
• 1 Spellsinger on Elven Steed ✅
• 7 Wild Riders ❌
• 7 Wild Riders with Standard Bearer ✅
• 8 Glade Riders ✅
• 8 Glade Riders ✅
• 1 Wood Elf Beast Pack with 1 Deepwood Hound ✅
• 1 Wood Elf Beast Pack with 1 Deepwood Hound ✅
• 8 Deepwood Scouts ✅
• 8 Deepwood Scouts ✅

On top of that:

• 1 Baggage Train ✅
• 4 Objective Markers ✅

Project Wood Elves: Painting Spree Update (I)

What's this? A second post in the same week? And without pictures? Yes, just to keep track of what have I painted so far and what is still missing...

Compared to last update you will see that I have been painting like crazy!

I have cheated a little bit because I have not painted Beast Keepers, I will just use Glade Guard on foot.
What's pending? The Dragon, Great Stag, markers and one unit! The main problem are the additional Wild Riders. Unfortunately, I do not even own them at the moment! I have tried to buy/acquire them somehow but as I want to have the old Kurnous models I could not find them at reasonable prices, so I am a bit stuck at the moment.

I have reached out to a couple of colleagues and they might be able to help! Let's see...

• 1 Glade Lord on Forest Dragon ❌
• 1 Glade Lord on Great Stag ❌
• 1 Spellsinger on Elven Steed ✅
• 7 Wild Riders ❌
• 7 Wild Riders with Standard Bearer ✅
• 8 Glade Riders ✅
• 8 Glade Riders ✅
• 1 Wood Elf Beast Pack with 1 Deepwood Hound ✅
• 1 Wood Elf Beast Pack with 1 Deepwood Hound ✅
• 8 Deepwood Scouts ✅
• 8 Deepwood Scouts ✅

On top of that:

• 1 Baggage Train ❌
• 4 Objective Markers ❌

The plan that I have until May 22nd when I leave for the Tournament is...

• 8-9: Great Stag
• 10-13: Dragon
• 14: Baggage Train + Objectives
• 15-16: I am off town so I can't paint
• 17-21: remaining 7 Wild Riders if I can get my pawns on them

Very very tight, let's see if I make it!

Project Wood Elves: Tournament preparation!

The blog seems to be abandoned, but it is not! It has just been badly neglected...

I started the year with a very strong resolution of finding the time to paint and I have painted pretty much every other day of the week for the last 2-3 months with the goal of painting the whole Wood Elves Army. So, despite the fact that I did not post I was chipping away at the pile of opportunity. I have just been lazy in taking pictures but I will try to show everything in the upcoming weeks.

I realized I was painting at a painfully slow pace so I decided to sign up for a (fully painted) Tournament as a means to motivate myself. I had several opportunities but could not really make it work until a few days ago when I finally signed up for the GT Atalaya Vigía Mayo 2026 (see here in New Recruit).

It is a Team Tournament and we will play five games across two days. As of today I have no clue who my teammates would be but I have decided on the following list!