More Wood Elf Basing

Another company of Silvan Elves get based up ready for war.

Lindir leads his men in a wild charge under a shower of Goblin arrows.

Here is a base of my original Elf colour scheme.

 These were done before the Battle of Five Armies idea and channel more of a High Elf vibe. Lots of grey blues and gold's. This particular base is a mix of both looks, including some Silvan browns into the ranks.

The archers shoot past the front rank of swordsmen, who act as a barrier against any attack.

 

Wood Elf Bases

I couldn't resist doing a few Elven bases and try out an idea I had a while ago. I bought two sets of Autumnal tufts off eBay and placed three of these on each base. It's very easy to get carried away with this, but I found through trial and error, three per base, was a good number.

To help contrast the two armies, the Elves were shaded with inks, while the Orcs were coated in Army Painter Dark tone. The look works from afar with the Orcs looking very dark and dull, compared to the rich, clean palette of the Elves.

I washed the Elven blades with a little blue ink to give them a little 'magic'. 

It felt good to finally finish these Warg riders. 

 

Another Basing Day

Day two and a few more Orcs venture onto the basing table.

 I found a huge cardboard box that when cut open made for a great surface to base on. It catches all the grit and flock and saves it from going everywhere.

Tweezers for tricky Tufts. These are essential for popping green bits into hard to reach places.

Twigs for fallen trees.

Yesterday's mob join the procession on the way to Mordor. I have another nine bases of Orcs to base before I can open the Black gates.

 Attack columns form up.

Basing! Let's turn that frown upside down.

I have to say, I hate basing! I put it off as long as I can, but this time I have even impressed myself. Having literally run out of room to paint due to unfinished bases, it couldn't be put off any longer.

To help with the mental block of facing a lead mountain, I thought it best to just take a small number of bases to the table at a time. These poor Warg riders have been pushed around on the painting table for what must be over a year.

I don't mess around anymore with painting bases, these are based with Luke's APS ready mixed basing materials. Arid earth fits very well with my original painted bases and a base can be completed in a fraction of the time. After the grit comes patches of grass flock, then some mixed herbs. Finally a few Tufts are stuck on to give the impression of long grass.

 I find getting the flock box out a real chore, even though the results are very good. Maybe when all is done I might give everything a quick blitz on the flock box, we'll see...

Some 6mm Tufts really help to add variety to the bases. I always had the idea of these Warg riders stalking through long grass. I always rip the Tufts in two to spread around the base. Somehow it feels like I'm getting more for my buck by doing this and some tufts can be quite large from the packet.

The odd twig from the garden is always good for these woodland type bases. Make sure you coat the dry herbs in a watered down wood glue as they can easily come loose in battle.

Some of these new Tufts are cheap ones from eBay and they can look quite shiny. I may have to dry brush these with paint to take the gloss off them.

 Well, the first batch of bases are done and it wasn't that bad. I even quite enjoyed it once I got into the swing of things.

UPDATE: Yep, the Tufts look a lot better once dry brushed with some bone coloured paint.

Just noticed the Elven host in the background, they definitely look autumnal and golden. I'm so relieved to have figured out a colour palette for them, it makes them a lot easier to paint. A bit of research and a couple of test figures at the beginning of a project can really make the difference.

I was giving some thought to a King figure, but then just thought he would dressed in the same colours as his people. It takes the worry out of painting new units and like the grey clad Gildor, a slight tweak can create a different unit easily.