Quick march

As these guys will join the War bands I have given them big shields instead of skirmishing bucklers.
I think another great thing about this way of working is that a lot of second rate figures get to see the light of day. Normally I would only paint up figures I liked the look of, but this way many different poses are quickly covered and dipped and used. The lead in my cupboards goes down and the War bands get bigger in exchange for a couple of minutes painting time. A lot of these second rate figures can really surprise you when a little colour is added, some of the under dogs in this latest batch have actually become my favourite characters.

I gave the metal work a wash of black before dipping and this helped some of the helmets and chain mail. I think with dipping, part of the secret is the detail you put in before you take the plunge. Stripes on trousers and borders on tunics really pay off.
When I first started dipping last year I was put off by the glossy look of the figures after they had been dipped and for me the most important process of dipping, is the matte varnishing afterwards. It really changes the look of the figures and they become instantly battlefield ready. I also used this exercise to test out different colours and see just how the brown dipping stain effects them. I tried to use Napoleonic colours here and there and take note of what worked and what didn't. This will be the way I tackle my Ancient German army as the sheer number of men that can be produced is shocking. The slight drop in quality doesn't bother me as I'm always spending hours painting figures only to hide them in a six figure base. I will take the option of producing thirty figures over that of painting ten in a night any day. I will spend a little more time on the shields though, as these will be the focal point to the figures.