At last with my new found 'dipping' technique I am tackling my Horse Archer problem. These guys have been sitting around on my table for what seems like years. Generally getting in the way and gathering dust, I thought I would at last take care of them once and for all.
I thought It would also be a good opportunity to try out various colours, both on man and horse to see which ones looked the best once dipped in stain. I was pleased with most of the horse colours as the stain works well on shading flesh. I found It wise to always paint the figure slightly lighter than you wanted it and so used the mid-tone and the highlight ranges in the 'Foundry' paint range.
After reading an article in War games Illustrated about the 'Army Painter' staining process, I thought it was time I gave 'dipping' another try. So I gathered up some figures and set about them with a large brush covered in Flesh coloured paint. The results were good and the secret was in the matte varnishing afterwards. Before I had used Games Workshop matte varnish which has a kind of satin finish, but the varnish from 'Army painter' really is very matte indeed and makes all the difference.
After they had been varnished I was very happy with them and thought they wouldn't look out of place within my existing units. There is a slight drop in quality maybe but I can live with this due to the quick time It took to complete them. The time was very impressive and rather than five figures being finished in a weekend, the number could rise to twenty four at least. So with the idea of having hundreds of fighting figures finished in a month I have decided to use 'Quick dip' for my remaining unfinished Barbarian units.
Hello, Here are some of my British Tommies in close up. I spent a long time researching these guys and their webbing in particular caused me quite a head ache. Being as I'm recreating Normandy units I went for the later Blanco green webbing.
It looks a little bare in the background, I'm sure a few vehicles will cure that. The funny thing about painting WWII infantry is that because of the camouflage they all blend into one and don't stand out. I have taken the longest time per figure with these lot and they are the most drab figures in the cabinet, I guess I must have got it right for once.
The final touch was to paint the trees with Birch stripes. These should provide a bit more cover than those giant Oaks. 
I used a lot of grass tufts and leaves on these tree bases I had ear marked for figure bases. The trees are worth it though, for they will always be on the Battle board unlike many of the figures.
Detail was added with a wealth of products from Silflor, these included tiny leaves and grass tufts.
Luckily I had kept off cuts from my Battle board and these I now cut and pasted onto the bases. Having the same colour as the board itself is vital.
I had never used this paste before but found It a joy to work with. You can get some good detail with It And had I more time, I would have gone to town on the exposed tree roots.
