Another Two Units of Splintered Light mice

    Two more units for my Mice army to be used in my fantasy miniatures battle project

With the Lead Painter League done, I was free to work on any project that I wanted. I have a huge batch of Acheson Creations buildings coming in, but they have not arrived, yet. So, I foresee a lot of French & Indian War terrain, like forts, blockhouses, log cabins, and such in my near future. For the time being, though, I needed something else to paint up. I decided to do another two bases' worth of Splintered Light Miniatures mice for my fantasy miniatures battle project. I'd completed the first two stands for Round 1 of the League, so decided to add a couple more units.

    On the left, the Muenster regiment (motto on flag: "Here be Muensters!"....thanks, Nicole!)

Under these rules, each stand will be a self-contained unit. Awhile back, I'd purchased a huge bag of hexagons bases (about 1 3/4" across) from Litko for an -- as yet -- unrealized gladiator project. When I decided to slip this particular project in front of the gladiator one, I'd decided to use some of the hexagons as bases for my troops. The reason for that is the movement system will utilize a "gridless" hexagon board. If you have ever played the clicky aerial game "Crimson Skies" then you know what I am talking about. A unit lays down a number of hexagons in front of their position to indicate their path of movement. The unit base is then placed atop the final hex and that is its location.

    On the right, the Camembert regiment (motto on flag: "Oh Camembert, we stand on guard for thee!")

The result of all that is "units" are composed of 3-5 figures based on a single hexagon base. I sorted through my mice and decided to paint up a unit of spear and one of axes. I tossed one spear in with the axes to be its standard bearer, and added a hero mouse to the spear, as well. If you remember, the theme for the units in my mouse army is cheese. Each unit, or regiment, will take its name from a type of cheese. My first two units were Gouda and Brie. Each also has a battle slogan that uses the cheese brand as a pun. For these two units, I decided to go with Camembert ("Oh Camembert, we stand on guard for thee!") and Muenster ("Here be Muensters!"). I have my friend Nicole to thank for the Muenster slogan, by the way.

    Back view of the two regiments. I really like how the purple came out with its color wash!

The 18mm Splintered Light Miniatures I am using have very medieval-looking uniforms. So, I'd earlier decided to use the "rules of Heraldry" for my color patterns, as well. That meant no "color" (Black, Red, Green, Blue, Purple) on color, and no "Metal" (White, Yellow) on metal. The Muenster regiment has hooded cloaks, so I decided to go with a split Purple and Yellow color scheme. I decided to be lazy and not quarter the Camembert regiment, and also go with a split, half and half scheme. They would be blue and white.

I also decided to continue using the skills I'd picked up in this last round of the Lead Painters League. I did color washes on the four colors used for the mice's uniforms. I particularly liked how the purple came out. I painted it a base coat of lavender followed by a watered down wash of Iron Wind Metals "Tongue Purple." The same format was used for the other colors -- a pale base coat followed by a richer color wash. This is finished off by a dry brush of a very light shade in that tone. The three colors and the shaded tones of the wash gives it a more vibrant color, I feel.

The banners I once again produced in photoshop. The Muenster one had to be very narrow to fit in the small space between the mouse's head and the tip of the spear. So, I made it a long, flowing pennon type. For the Camembert regiment, I used a 28mm metal spear trimmed to size. I then used a pin vice to drill a hole in the base to secure it into. It was then pressed up against the outstretched paw of the hero mouse to make it look like he is grasping the standard.

Although I am painting very small miniatures when doing the mice, they still seem to go easier than the 28mm skirmish figures I paint with their riot of equipment -- especially the Conquest Miniatures Indians who will often have several bags, powder horns, etc., festooned all over them. Measuring about 14mm in height from feet to tips of their ears, these are small figures. The detail is well-cast, though, and I never really feel that anything is a stretch to do. I do their belts, for example, in two tones, just as I do for larger figures. I have always loved Splintered Light's line of miniatures. Every time I finish up a batch of them, I love them that much more...!