Warhost Elves Armed With Long Sword

    My latest batch of 28mm metal Warhost Elves, 2-handed swordsmen, for my Dragon Rampant army

Before I posted the Four (Five) Delvers and Surviving 'Nam battle reports the other day, it had been nearly two weeks since I updated the blog. Blame it on my amazing trip to North Macedonia (formerly part of Yugoslavia with a new name). It was gorgeous -- lots of incredible scenery and awesome historical sights. To read more about the trip and see photos, check out my Worldwidemike blog on Travellerspoint here: https://world-wide-mike.travellerspoint.com/

    I really like these 2-handed sword poses - they look ready to slice and dice some bad guys!

This batch of elves armed with two-handed swords was about half done when I left for North Macedonia, and I've finally got them all finished up. I purchased these 28mm Warhost metal miniatures because I plan to field them for Dragon Rampant, 2nd Edition. They have a unit type called "Light Foot" that can purchase an option called "Mixed Weapons." This allows them to shoot, so I plan on putting them on the tabletop in units that have roughly half the figures armed with bows and the rest spears or these swordsmen. These will definitely provide some variety in the look of each unit.

    I like the effect of a variety of shades of green for the tunics & vests -- definite wood elf vibe

As you can see, all of them carry very long, two-handed swords and no shields. Otherwise, they have similar equipment and clothes as the Warhost archers and spearmen that I've painted up already. With theses done, I have 26 figures left in the purchase I made earlier this year -- 8 more archers, 12 more spearmen, and 6 cavalry. I still need to find some 28mm Elven mages in case I want to add them into my units, as well. Dragon Rampant lets you add a spellcaster to a unit for one army point per "level" of the wizard. I want to have that option open when making my army list. Unfortunately, I wasn't crazy about Warhost's Elven Wizard figures, so I am hoping to find some generic fantasy Elven mages to buy at some convention I attend in the upcoming months. 

    What do you think? Is the blue-green guy on the left fancy enough to be my army commander?

I painted these up pretty much as I have been doing for the archers and spearmen. Their long-sleeved undertunics are done in lighter shades of green while their longer out vests are in darker shades. The one with the dark blue-green vest I painted up ostensibly as the army commander. I decorated his outer vest a bit more than the others, and also used a color that was more blue than green to have him stand out more. If I find a figure later that I like better as an Elven lord, I may demote him to just a slightly better-dressed swordsman. I like how the lighter colored designs look on his vest. The swordsmen seem to have fewer deep pleats on their vests than either the Warhost archers or spear, so that made the designs a bit easier to do. The flowery designs do make him look a bit like a hippy, but then again, aren't Tolkien's Elves essentially that? Ha, ha!

    I like the more understated and less contrast-heavy hem decorations -- I'm shooting for subtle

I'm getting excited about finishing up this army. Essentially, I have 3-4 more batches of miniatures to do. It depends on whether I paint the 12 spearmen as two batches of six or one big one of a dozen. I prefer to work in smaller batches as it seems to me that I am making progress quicker. I guess every miniature painter has their sweet spot on how big of batches to paint in. Mine is between six and eight 28mm figures. I do have a plan to add a unit of flying "Lesser Beasts" to my Elven army. I would model them with hawks, eagles, owls, and such. Currently, I don't own the required six miniatures the unit would require. I think I have one...ha, ha! I may see if Hobby Lobby has some appropriately sized pre-painted plastic figures I could use. Or perhaps I'll pick up the birds of prey as I see them in stores or at conventions.

    Final look at my latest Warhost Elves -- only 26 more to go from the batch I bought awhile back!

So, what else is on my painting desk? I have another of the medieval, 3-D printed buildings I picked up from Rich Brown at RRB Minis & More underway. It is a smaller, one story building rather than the 3-4 story monstrosities I've painted up already. After that, I need a batch of "old" miniatures. I have an idea what I might dig out of my unpainted lead pile. I'm going to be running a medieval town skirmish at Drums at the Rapids gaming convention in May 15-16. It will be a two-sided civil disorder going on, with one faction supporting the local priest and the other side supporting the powerful nobles on the town council. So, I may paint up some 28mm peasants or unarmored soldiers up so that I can give each of the six player factions a coherent "look" on the tabletop. After that, I'll probably try to get another building done big medieval building before the convention. I guess I enjoy deadline pressure...accelerating a project I was envisioning for later in 2026!

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Miniatures acquired in 2026: 159
  
• Miniatures painted in 2026: 91

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Terrain acquired in 2026: 3
  
• Terrain painted in 2026: 22

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Scatter acquired in 2026: 16
  
• Scatter painted in 2026: 56