Ragged Staff Miniatures Veteran

 

Martin Brook of Ragged Staff Minis, kindly sent me a couple of models of his latest figure, the Veteran, from his Wars of the Roses range and it is a thing of beauty. RSM use the same sculptor as Reconquer as is apparent with this latest mounted addition to the series. No one else sculpts horses so well.

The figure itself depicts a clean-shaven man in a brigandine, a sallet hangs from his belt as does a scabbarded sword and a buckler. Slung over his shoulder is a wrapped long bow. The horse is grazing and the man gazes into the middle distance. The pose, right hand on hip, left on the cantle of the saddle, reins dropped for the moment allowing the horse to graze is a peaceful one. This rider may have just arrived atop a hill and is admiring the view or is he possibly scouting for enemies? He could be in conversation with a similarly mounted comrade. I think of him as a Harbinger, one of those seasoned captains that rides ahead of the army looking for a suitable building to use as a Headquarters for the Generals

I thought I would use this figure to describe my painting method. The big decision for me whenever I have a new figure is what colour scheme to use, particularly for this period where there is so much choice.  Often, I look at a figure and a paint scheme comes immediately to mind however with this one the one thing I knew for sure was that I wanted to paint a very pale Palamino type of horse.  I began at the beginning with an undercoat of pale grey

I decided to try Wargames Foundry Buff for the horse and so began with a good coat of the Darkest of the three in the triad. I spent a lot of my childhood around horses and I know that they can be just about any colour of brown you can think of! 

This I washed with Citadel Seraphin Sepia. I think Citadel inks are as good as any on the market, if maybe a little on the dark side, they are quite opaque can be diluted hugely without losing their essential colour. I then highlighted with the middle Buff colour, keeping the paint thin and picking out the muscle mass.

Then I used the lightest of the three Buffs on the most raised areas.  A wet pallet is an essential part of my kit as, among it’s many other virtues, it allows the paint to become very thin yet retain its colour

The last highlight has Vallejo Dark Sand mixed with the lightest Buff colour. I will return to this basic flesh coat several times as I paint the rest of the figure just generally improving the coverage or adding a slightly lighter highlight here and there. When I am happy with it, I will give the whole thing a very light Glaze of the Sepia ink.

The mane, tail and lower legs are then painted with Citadel Screaming Skull followed by a very dilute wash of Sepia before being highlighted with a mix of screaming Skull and Vallejo Ivory. To this mix I add a very small amount of white for the occasional highlight of a strand of hair

 I use this formula for “warm” whites such as cloth, hair, fur. For “neutral” whites-painted wood, leather, stone I use a pale grey, Citadel Administratum Grey highlighted with Army Painter Stone Golem, I very rarely use a small amount of white added to the stone golem as a final highlight. For “cold” whites, snow, and ice, I use Stone Golem highlighted with White glazed with Tyrol Blue

I used Citadel Kantor Blue for the saddle, I wanted to represent a dark blue velvet covered saddle. This I washed with Citadel Drakenhof Nightshade

My usual practice is to paint each part of a figure to completion before moving on but when I am unsure of what colours I want to use I tend to paint several areas with a base coat and have a think about it. Here I used Black to all the metal bits, Sallet, and mail. Vallejo Chocolate to the saddle bags, reins, bridle, and boots. Citadel Rhinox Hide to the Brigandine and a cheeky glimpse of Citadel Khorne Red to the sliver of hose that is apparent above his boot.

The brigandine has been highlighted with Citadel Doombull Brown. The saddle with Citadel Altoic and Hoeth Blue and then glazed with Drakenhof Nightshade. All the leather areas have received a coat of Vallejo Flat Earth, highlighted with a mix of Flat Earth and Dark Sand. The metal has had a coat of Gun metal.

The leather areas have all received a thinned wash of Vallejo Smoke. The metal has been washed with a mix of black and brown inks, that I knock up in a separate bottle and call my Armour Wash.  I have recently started using a new method for leather. I bought Valejo’s Wood and Leather paint set a few months ago and it has recipes for three different leathers by Angel Giraldez as well as several different wood effects. This is the recipe for “Dark Leather” which I have been using for a while and am now quite pleased with the effect. There are instructions for creating “Red” and “Light” leather too, I decide I shall try all three when I paint the second Veteran!

The rolled blanket on the front of the saddle and the bow cover have been painted with Citadel Steel Legion Drab, Tallarn Sand and Karak Stone and glazed with Sepia ink, a recipe I tend to use a lot for canvas.

  The livery jacket I have depicted as White and Blue, this chap must be one of the Beaufort’s men! For the white I have used Citadel Screaming Skull lightly washed with sepia and highlighted with Ivory, I rarely use pure white.

For the Blue I am using Citadel Fang, washed with Tyran Blue and highlighted with Russ Grey and Fenrisian Grey. This will receive a glaze of Tyran Blue.

The horse harness has been prepped with pale grey and every other “flap?” has had a coat of Army Painter Stone Golem

The sallet has received a thin wash of Tyran Blue but only in the recessed and “shady” areas

The sack of arrows on the back of the horse has been painted with Citadel Zandri Dust, Ushbati Bone and highlighted with Screaming Skull. 

Here I have added the Fang/Tyran blue mix to the buckler and every other “lappet”? on the horse harness

and so to the manflesh, I usually paint this first, I don’t know why I didn’t this time. For this figure I chose to use the Wargames Foundry Expert Flesh set. This consists of six grades from A to F dark to light.

I base coat his hair with Citadel Mournfang Brown

I wash the hair with Agrax, hmmm, that sounds like a shampoo ad! And the flesh with Citadel Fleshshade

I wash the hair with Agrax, hmmm, that sounds like a shampoo ad! And the flesh with Citadel Fleshshade

I added a small thin highlight of Shining Steel to the Sallet. Some flesh, B, to the lips and eyelids of the horse

 Ignore the red flare at the top of the bow case, its a power light on an amp in the background! 

a subtle highlight of dark sand added to the hair mix to pick out the hair in more detail

A blob of dark brown mixed with black for the horse’s eye and a tiny dot of white washed with a very thin wash of black ink to tone it down. A faint highlight of flesh D to muzzle lips and eye lids

   I used Ushbati Bone to pick out the teeth

A very fine glaze of fleshtone completes the face.

  My painting method is a time-consuming process! For this reason, I love the wet pallet as it keeps my paints wet and useable for days so I can keep returning to a colour for touch ups or to hide any accidental blobs Such as the small patch of blue on the saddle bag, visible in this picture and the blob of flesh on his belt purse. 

The figure is now ready for varnishing and basing.

For the second figure I wanted to do a brown horse and use a lot of different browns on the figure, a study in brown or maybe a brown study.

I basecoated the horse with Citadel Rhinox Hide and used the Warganes Foundry Dusky Flesh range for consecutive highlights

 I decided to make this horse a bay with black mane tail and lower legs I highlighted the black with Citadel Skavenblight which I then lightened for the final highlights.

The saddle is Citadel Rhinox Hide/ Doombull/Tuskgor

Brigandine a mix of Citadel Rhinox Hide and Khorne Red, highlighted with the lighter variants of these in a 50/50 mix

Bow cover Citadel Mournfang/ Skrag/ Deathclaw

Blanket -not brown! Citadel Castellan Green/ Loren Forest/Straken Green

For the Reins and horse harness I used the Giraldez Red Leather recipe of Vallejo Orange Brown mixed with Woodsmoke, highlighted with Orange Brown, a second highlight of Dark Sand and then a light wash of Woodgrain

The cowl and sleeves were painted using the Giraldez Vallejo Light Leather recipe which is a base coat of 50/50 mix Japanese Uniform and Dark Sand, highlight Dark Sand, washed with Flat Earth, then washed with Smoke

Flesh was Wargames Foundry again

Hair Citadel Zandri Dust washed with Sepia ink highlighted with Ushabti Bone that Screaming Skull then a few strands of Vallejo Dark Sand

The rope was Steel Legion Drab/Tallarn Sand/Karak Stone

Boots and saddlebags the same Dark Leather recipe as previously used

The detail in these sculpts really is superb

The shield is speckled Foundry Dusky Flesh triad

Varnished , based and ready for war!

Ragged Staff Minis are as good as it gets, who else sculpts triple rivets on the brigandine? I wonder what they will come out with next? Whatever it is I can't wait to paint it!

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