Lead Painters League -- entering the fray once more!

My decision on whether to enter this year's Lead Painters League or not came down to the wire. I barely finished the minimum 3 teams by the deadline date. That should have been a warning to me, but I enjoy entering the league every year. It forces me to get backlogs of unpainted miniatures completed, plus it also pushes me to try improve my painting skills. I tend to do an extra level of detail on entries for this league, so it makes my output -- my painted miniatures -- look nicer on the tabletop.
So, here's a turn by turn account of my run in Lead Painters League 11.

Round 1: Raid on Deerfield

These were figures I'd painted (but not posted pictures of yet) prior to the announcement of the start of the league. They are from Knuckle Duster Miniatures, from their War of 1812 line: Grand River Nations in Winter Dress. I had previously painted up some winter dress Indians from Conquest Miniatures, and needed some more to run a winter scenario. In fact, the scenario was the convention event my friends and I would be running this year using my Song of Drums and Tomahawks rules: The Raid on Deerfield. This photo uses my log cabin with LED votive candles and cotton to give it a burning effect. I honestly wasn't as happy with this set of miniatures -- they don't have the detail that Conquest Miniatures do. Still, they were good enough for me to squeak out a 4-vote lead (which counts as a Draw in the league rules).
Score: Draw, 164-160.

Round 2: Are We Mice or Men?

Of my initial batch of 3 "teams" or entries in the league, I liked this photograph the best. I thought the colors and the look of the Splintered Light Miniatures mice really popped in the photograph. These are part of an ongoing painting project for my own set of fantasy miniatures rules. I am getting a few armies painted up for them before I playtest because the rules call for multifigure, whole unit bases. These mice slingers are done in a variety of fur colors, but with matching medieval style uniforms. I give each army a theme, and this army's is a Medieval European style. Despite how much I liked these figures, they fell to a much-better painted entry. As soon as I looked at my opponent's figs, I knew it would be my first loss in this season.

Score: Loss, 93-269

 Round 3: "We Who are About to Die" 

This project came about when I saw somebody posting online trying to get rid of some 28mm gladiators. I contacted the seller and worked out a trade between some French & Indian War figures I had, and that he wanted, and these. I was VERY happy with how these figures looked. They were clean castings, great poses, and not ridiculously detailed. Since they had so much flesh on them, I decided to try a new technique for my Caucasian flesh tone. I mixed up a bottle of acrylic matte medium with a dull orange color to use as a wash. It worked like a charm. Speaking of flesh, I also decided to mix up the nationalities and painted some African and some Arabic flesh tones. I also had made a concession to advancing age and purchased an giant, illuminated mirror that attached to my painting desk. With its additional magnification, I was able to great fine details on the shields. The voters must have been impressed, as this was my first clear victory, evening my record at 1-1-1.

Score: Win, 244-140

Round 4: Africa Uprising, 20mm

My next rules set that I will release with First Command Wargames is my Modern Africa rules. So, I took the League as an opportunity to paint up some more 20mm figures. I knew I would need some more militia, so dug through my unpainted Liberation Miniatures and grabbed a big batch to paint up. One of the things I like about 20mm for this period is that you can paint up lots of them relatively quickly, but they have a lot more detail and heft than 15mm. Since these were for the league, I put a lot more highlighting on these, touching up a highlight color for straps and other gear. Ironically, I was matched up against an entry that was several stands of 15mm WW II Flames of War figures. Honestly, this was the only round of the 10 were I thought I should have won that I did not. I ended up keeping the vote close enough for it to count as a draw, but I'm still pretty mystified why these guys did so poorly. 

Score: Draw, 186-192

Round 5: Wrong Turn to Meet Dr. Jones

One thing that spices up the Lead Painters League is that there are three "theme" rounds. I usually can field figures from my collection of unpainted minis to cover them, but every once in awhile I have to get creative or purchase something. Luckily, Round 5's theme was "Ship's Crew." I had bought an entire bag of Old Glory 25mm U.S. Sailors when I began playing Pulp years back. So, it was a snap to pick out a handful to paint up. One thing, though. As affordable as they are, Old Glory figures tend to be of marginal quality. True to form, the figures painted up okay, but nothing exceptional. Wanting to eke out another win, I decided to go wild on the diorama I set up. It actually sparked some discussion about if voters are basing their choice on the figures or the picture. Speaking of which, did you notice the pygmy cannibals emerging from the jungle to surround the sailors? I won this round feeling a little guilty that I had bamboozled the voters.

Win,  263-128

Round 6: Trail of Tears -- Iroquois Raiders

I like this photo so much that it actually ended up on the back cover of my Beaver Wars Campaign Rules & Scenario Book. The five warriors in the foreground are from the excellent Flint & Feather line from the producers of Pulp Miniatures. As you can imagine, I've become quite comfortable painting Native Americans, and this was one of my better sets. The lighted magnifying glass allowed me to put in even more detail in the designs on their clothes and the tattoos. I really liked my color choices, too. The voters were kind to my entry, and I won this round fairly handily. Most of my contests were quite close this league, but this one was one of the exceptions. My record improved to 3 wins, 1 loss, 2 draws after this round.

Win, 250-103

Round 7: Satyr-day Night Specials, 15mm

In Round 7, my foray into this year's Lead Painters League began to derail. I'd started another batch of gladiators, but did not get them done in time. Sadly, this lack of progress would continue for the next three rounds. So, rather than have them re-run my previous entry for another week, I found the time to photograph my old 15mm Splintered Light Miniatures Satyr army for Hordes of the Things. the army is definitely one of my favorite 15mm fantasy armies I've painted, but it was unable to when this contest. With the league's Swiss Chess pairing, I had risen high into the standings. I was due for a smack-down by someone of more talent, and this duly happened.

Loss, 150-283

Round 8: "Khmer and look at this!"

Awhile back, I had painted three Pulp figures for a friend's series of games he was going to run. We were using the smaller Pulp Alley leagues with just a Hero, Sidekick, and Ally. League rules dictate that there is a minimum of five figures, so I recycled a couple previously photographed miniatures. Once again, this was a "no new team" entry, and lost me the 10 bonus points I would otherwise receive each round for entering newly-painted miniatures. I decided to take a page from my early "Dr. Jones" entry, and set up an elaborate Southeast Asian temple complex. Unfortunately, I was still floating relatively high in the standings and was matched up against a painter well beyond my skill level. The result was another thumping -- my worst this season -- and my record dropped to exactly .500 percentage -- 3 wins, 3 losses, 2 ties.

Loss, 104-258

Round 9: From the Pits of Gundabad, 15mm

To be honest, I was at my lowest morale point here in this league. For the third week in a row, I was unable to field a newly-painted league. Granted, I had things going on in my life. I had chaperoned our school's 8th grade Washington D.C. trip for a week. I had been working my butt off to get the Beaver Wars book ready for print. And the same group of gladiators remained almost finished on my desk. Honestly, I could possibly have finished them for this round. However, I knew there'd be no way I'd get a new team done for Round 10. With that round being a theme round, the gladiators would actually fit perfectly for it. So, I threw in one final previously painted entry. This one was my 15mm Wolf Riders army. I have always liked the job I did on the wolves, so took it as a chance to showcase them. Would they be good enough to squeeze out a win? If I lost this round, the best I could do would be breaking even. As it turned out, I had sunk low enough in the standings that I was matched up against an entry that my wolves could handle, as it turned out. This took me to 4-3-2 going into the final round.

Win, 198-133

Round 10: "Um, Who's Got the Big Guy?"

The theme was "Big Brother" (larger version of the main figures), and as the picture above shows, this was why I saved the gladiators for this final round. At the local Michaels Craft Store, I found this plastic gladiator who was easily twice as tall as my 28mm ones. He was a prepainted figure, so I primed him black and repainted him to join the 8 gladiators I'd been working on for nearly a month. Once again, I was very happy with how the Crusader gladiators painted up. There are a couple items of equipment that I had to ponder over, but for the most part, they are incredibly clean castings that are a snap to paint and look great when finished. I was really happy with my shield patterns on these, as well (though I do admit to starting over on the one carried by the spearman in the back). Another contest that was not a blowout, but happily a victory for me. This finalized my record at 5 wins, 3 losses, 2 ties.

As the Leaderboard pasted below shows, I finished 18th out of 32 contestants. This was probably my lowest finish in the last couple years. However, if I *did* manage to put in new entries in all three rounds that I did not (read = receive 30 more points), I would have finished up in 13th. In my opinion, that is too high. There are easily more than a dozen painters in this league much better than me. So, perhaps this finish is a more accurate rating of where I fit in the league this time around. Who knows? Even with three rounds of recycled entries, that is seven batches of newly-painted figures I finished up. So, on that note, my foray into this year's league must be counted as a success!

Win, 201-143 

Lead Painters League, rounds 7-11

It was a good finish to the Lead Painters League. I made the difficult decision after finishing up my Round 10 entry to forego the bonus points for a newly-painted entry for Round 11. The decision was part time constraint, part tactical. I knew with my upcoming schedule that I would be pushing it to finish an entry to the best of my ability. I also knew that -- after 10 rounds -- I would be facing an opponent whose painting was at least equal mine (and likely better!). I needed to wow the voters, and I had an idea how to do that.

But, I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's pick up where we left off!

Round 10: Safeguard the Aerie 15mm/25mm

This was a round I was worried about from the beginning of the league. It was a theme round and I had to really dig to find figures that fit it in my unpainted collection. The theme was fantasy monsters, and they were specific about no weapon-using, anthropomorphic creatures. Out went my idea for using some Splintered Light Miniatures figures! Also, it could not be real creatures -- so, out went the idea of painting dogs, wolves, deer, or other Woodland creatures I had! I dug through the drawers where I keep my unpainted lead and found a bag of 15mm hippogriffs, as well as two 25mm ones. I decided to do a mama and papa hippogriffs guarding an aerie full of younglings.

I decided to make them flashy, with realistic and interesting wing patterns. So, I Googled a bunch of paintings of hippogriffs and chose the ones I liked best. The castings are not the  most spectacular (especially the 25mm ones), so I knew this would be a tough round. I thought they figures turned out nice, and I posed them next to one of my cliff sections for some additional eye candy. However, my opponent's miniatures were not only better painted, they were an amazing, cool-looking castings. So, I lost fairly soundly, 364-107. I would enter the final round 5-5. Round 11 would decide if I came out of Lead Painters League 10 with an above or below .500 record.

Round 11: The Words of the Prophet

 

So, what was my idea to wow the voters in Round 11? Well, as you can see above, I would use quantity AND quality to do my best to win this round. I envisioned a scene with a shaman speaking to a crowd of Indian warriors around a campfire. I would use only my favorite and best-painted miniatures in the photograph. I pulled out my boxes and sorted through my 28mm Indians. I wanted only poses that looked natural around a campfire -- no aiming, slashing, running, etc. As I pulled out each figure, I sorted it into 3 categories: "Best of the best," "pretty good," and "not bad."

I ended up using only the first two categories once I began setting up the scene. I dug out my best trees and tried to make the scene look like a night-time one. It took several photographs to adjust where each figure was standing so it wasn't blocking the ones behind it. Even doing this for several shots, I still missed one or two weapons in other's faces. The picture came out great, though (I felt). My thinking, tactically, was that a win was worth 30 points while a newly-painted entry gave only a 10-point bonus. What use getting 10 to lose 30?

I was a bit worried when I saw my opponent's entry on Sunday morning. It featured an amazing Japanese kimono and very characterful miniatures. However, most of the people responding to the post praised my scene and felt it was very cinematic. I started off with a slight lead and widened it to a 296-186 victory by the end of the week.

This victory notched me 15th place out of 34 entrants. I was VERY pleased with my 6-5 record -- especially considering that with the Swiss System, you are matched against entrants with similar skill levels. All in all, Lead Painters League 10 was a success for me. I painted 10 rounds of new entries, and resorted to previously-painted (but newly-staged and photographed) miniatures only in the final round. In the end, I had reduced my unpainted lead pile by 58 new miniatures...yet another definition of success!

Lead Painters League: round 7 through 9

What? A victory in an odd-numbered round?? And even more, an above .500 winning percentage for Lead Painters League 10???

Yes, a fortunate series of events (my apologies to Lemony Snickets) led to me ending Round 9 with a 5-4 record. I had back-to-back victories in rounds 8 and 9. Perhaps this is a sign of the Swiss Chess format settling into matchups with approximate skill level opponents. Perhaps I just got lucky. Either way, I'll take it!

Round 7: Hunters of the Forest

 I honestly thought I had a pretty good chance winning this round. I really like these Flint & Feather miniatures, sculpted by Bob Murch from Pulp Miniatures. The poses are dynamic. I especially like the guy on with the wolf headdress. That is just a cool figure all around. I thought the warpaint turned out well, and the photo was bright, colorful, and atmospheric. The best-laid plans, though, are always subject to contact with the "enemy."

In this case, my opponent had a wonderful entry. His yellows on his Chinese temple dogs were outstanding. I fully admit my weaknesses. My number one weakness as a painter is that my skills at shading and blending are very pedestrian. I am a block painter at heart. I do an occasional watered down acrylic paint wash, I regularly dry brush, and do a finishing black or brown wash to bring out the shadows. One day, maybe, I'll learn to use inks and do a better job of blending. However, for now, when I am matched up against someone whose entry shows off their superior skills in that aspect of miniature painting, I freely admit mine is worse. My hunters lost soundly, 369-94. To see my opponent's excellent entry, check out the matchup page.

Round 8: To the Blockhouse!

 

 I have to admit, I was pleased how this entry came out. I was a bit worried in that miniatures were from Blue Moon (Old Glory), and their castings are not highly regarded in Europe -- where many of the members of the Lead Adventure Forum are from. However, the poses were unusual, and the Acheson Creations blockhouse a nice piece of terrain, and the stream of refugees heading towards it atmospheric. So, I felt fairly confident. I was a little surprised when I saw my opponent's entry and that mine was losing to it. I feel I am honest and admit it when I'm outclassed. I didn't feel this was the case with this pairing. As the round progressed, though, my frontiersmen rallied and took the lead. It was a near thing, though, and I probably kept checking the score in this race more than any other this competition.

I enjoyed painting the Blue Moon figures. It is interesting, as I came very close to choosing Blue Moon Indians over Conquest Miniatures way back when I was getting into this period. Blue Moon is very affordable. However, the fact that Conquest were reasonably priced, and the fact their poses were so darned nice, sold me on them. So, this was an interesting "What if?" batch to paint up. I failed to mention, though, that the center figure with the coonskin cap is actually Reaper Miniatures' Davey Crocket figure. The rest are all Blue Moon, and I have about six more to paint up from the Ohio Frontiersmen box. The castings are better quality than the standard-issue Old Glory bags of 48 (or whatever huge amount they sell them in, now). However, they are a step beneath the Conquest and other manufacturers I tend to paint up, nowadays. The guy at the far left of the line has a serious mar on his face where the two halves of the mold must have not lined up perfectly (which is why he is turned away from the camera).

In the end, these guys were good enough to win a close race, 258-212. To see my opponent, click on the matchup page.

Round 9: Gorilla Slavers

 

 Okay. I will say it. I was tired of painting Indians. There! You happy? I also figured the voters were suffering from warpaint fatigue, so I dug through my figure box and found something that I would be excited to paint. The gorilla infantry are from Sergeant Major Miniatures' Science-Fiction (we can't call it "Planet of the Apes") line. I honestly don't know who makes the mounted gorilla general. It was given to me half-painted by a very generous HMGS Great Lakes member who knew I had a soft spot for the period. I reprimed it, and all the painting is my own, of course.

Honestly, this line of apes is not as finely-cast as Eureka's (we can't call it Planet of the Apes, either) figures. However, a couple years ago, I'd picked up these six figures because...well, Planet of the Apes figs don't grow on trees! They're relatively rare, and I have always been interested in doing some post-Apocalyptic gaming using them. I actually did use my Eureka 28mm apes in my friend Dave Zecchini's campaign he ran using Mutants and Death Ray Guns rules. It was a blast, and I look back on those games fondly.

So, I Googled a lot of images of gorilla infantry and found this purple color being fairly common in the movie still photographs. I did this as one of my acrylic washes, the primary color being the old Ral Partha excellent "Tongue Purple." I think the uniforms turned out great. The leather armor was a nice dry brush of dark brown and medium brown. And the gorilla faces turned out bettrer than I expected. I admit I am not that talented at taking black and giving it definition and shading with gray dry brushing. The mounted general is an awesome figure, but I almost messed it up with too many layers of color on top of a half-painted miniature. Honestly, that is why he is slightly in the background. I think a close-up reveals some mistakes. I love the dappled gray horse, though, and the uniform with its black, steel, and gun metal colors.

The voters must have agreed, as I won this one by a more comfortable margin of 337-115.  Shocker of shockers, I was above .500 at 5-4!!!

Midway Point in the Lead Painters League: 3-3

There have been few pictures on this site of my newly-painted figures, lately. The reason for that is I have decided to once again enter the Lead Painters League. This competition on the Lead Adventure Forum website matches work by painters head-to-head each week. This year, there are 34 participants, and the competition level is very high, in my opinion. After six weeks of the league, I am a solid 3-3.

One new things this year is that matchups are done on a Swiss Chess format. It has had a humorous (for me) result that led me to calling myself the League's Whack-a-Mole. Much like the old arcade game, I am smacked on the noggin, and trounced severely in contests. However, that means I sink towards the bottom of the standings and get matched up against more equal competition. After each loss, I've been fortunate to win my next round. This rises me up in the standings, only to be -- you guessed it -- swatted back down in the next!

One reason I haven't been posting regular updates on what I'm working on is that you receive bonus points in the competition if they are "new" -- with no pictures having appeared of them before on the internet. So, as the Lead Painters League draws near, I tend to draw a veil over what I'm working on and not post updates with pictures of the figs. However, once their round is over, we're free to publicize our figs as normal.

So, without further ado, here are my first six rounds of the Lead Painters League!

Round 1 (Theme round - "Seated/Laying Poses"): Passing the Peace Pipe

These figures are 25mm Old Glory, and are actually from their Plains Indians collection. However, the styles of dress are still similar in many respects to they were in the Eastern Woodlands period. My favorite figures are the two with the wolf headdresses. As always for Lead Painters League entries, I go a bit further in my detail work. The beadwork on the center figure and the detail on the blankets came out pretty nice, I feel. These figs will be good for village raid scenarios, whether as objectives or simply eye candy. I lost this round 275-83.

Round 2: Painted for War

These are probably my favorite miniatures that I have painted for the competition, so far. They are from Bob Murch's "Flint & Feather" line of early Woodland Indians. I picked up 3 packs of them as Christmas presents this year (thank, Mom and Dad!). These are the first batch I painted up. I chose them because they have the wooden slat armor that some early Woodland Indians used. It is an option for players in my current campaign playtest of the Beaver Wars in Ohio. This is a supplement for my French & Indian War rules, Song of Drums and Tomahawks. Check out the warpaint on these guys! I am particularly proud of the three in the middle. It is interesting how my painting of warpaint on Woodland Indians is evolving. Before, I was very conservative on warpaint -- shooting for more of an occasional decoration to give the effect of a painted group. Now, I'm more willing to take risks and cover more and more of the figure with warpaint. Also note the extra detail in the leggings. Much as I love my Conquest Miniatures Indians (the manufacturer of most of my Indians), I have to admit Bob Murch's figs are simply gorgeous! I won this round 435-16.

Round 3: Hunting L'Anglais

 I had the double misfortune in round three of not only facing one of the league's more accomplished painters, but also in that they also chose to paint 28mm Indians. Sometimes I can luck out and win a matchup because my colorful Woodland Indians are a brighter, more eye-catching entry than a perhaps better-painted, but duller colored, opponent. No such chance here! This batch is a mix. The two French Coureurs de Bois (woods runners) are from my staple Conquest Miniatures line. The three Indians are "Skraelings" from Footsore Miniatures. I really like the Skraeling figures and have painted up a number of them already. In fact, having eight of them completed (but not photographed yet) was the tipping point for me entering the competition again this year. I painted up these two French to make 10, which constitutes two entries (minimum five figures). I really like how the French came out. These two are a good example of what I do when painting miniatures that are supposed to have a fairly uniform look. Coureurs de Bois tended to have red caps and white shirts. I used a tan color for the basecoat of one and a light gray for the other. Drybrushing them white makes them look similar but different. I used two different shades of red for the hats, too. Despite all this work, though, I was thoroughly crushed this round, 474-18.

Round 4: Guard the Canoes

So, a pattern was developing that would hold true for at least the first six rounds. I lose on odd numbered rounds, and win on even-numbered ones. The Whack-a-Mole effect. I get thoroughly beaten and then drop down far enough to be matched up against someone more at my skill level in the subsequent round. Were these figures better than the previous, "Hunting L'Anglais" entry? I don't think so. In fact, when you take into the account the Frenchmen, I like that entry better. To be fair, my favorite in this round is the guy in the center with the blue leggings. The color combination of red and blue stands out, and I really like his warpaint and tattoos. These five figures are more from Footsore Miniatures "Skraeling" line. The three with warclubs are my own modification. The figures come with spears, which were kind of out of fashion by the time of the French & Indian War period that I most of my games cover. They are simply a paperclip with a bead on it, covered in blue tack and glue. This was by far my closest match of the competition, so far. I barely squeaked out a win -- 254-231. My opponent was a very good painter -- one that, I generally consider superior. To check out his entry and make your own call, click here.

Round 5 (Theme Round, "High Middle Ages"): Fearsome Friars

This is the first matchup where I thought I should have won when I ended up losing. No criticism of my opponent's entry, but I was thinking my friars would pull this one out. These are Old Glory 25mm Monks. I know that Old Glory figures are not highly thought of among the Europeans that make up the bulk of the members of the Lead Adventure Forum. So, I pulled out all the stops to jazz them up. I painted them a base tan color, then applied a series of medium brown washes to give a better shading effect. I then applied a very light tan dry brush to set off the highlights that had been covered by the wash. It was actually very refreshing to paint these figures. No warpaint, no tattoos, no packs and pouches and sundry festooned all over the figures! It was fun to get out my scratch-built monastery with beehive huts to stage the photo. Alas, even the setting (and chickens and goats) could not help the doomed friars pull out this match. I lost 295-112.

Round 6: Sisters Tending 3 Sisters

 This was my least favorite of my six entries, so far. I almost went back and re-photographed it prior to the deadline for the round. However, I decided that they looked good enough and stayed with my original submission. These are more villagers from Old Glory's 25mm Plains Indians collection. However, I decided I liked the stark, black and red pattern on the central Indian woman. And I also felt the detail on the dresses of the two Indian girls was good. The faces I wasn't overly pleased with, but Old Glory does not always give you the best sculpts to work with! The "Three Sisters" corn pieces are my own scratch-built creation. For more information on how I did them, check out my entry on Three Sisters elsewhere on the blog. As I type this, I am way ahead in this matchup. Once again, are these figures better than the ones I've lost with? No, it is simply a more favorable matchup. I am winning this one 377-37 right now with just a few hours to go in voting.

So, that sums up the first half of the league (there will be 11 instead of the normal 10 rounds). My record sits at a solid 3-3. Considering the level of the competition, I am quite happy with how things are progressing...!

Lead Painters League 8 -- Final Standings and Recap

 Check this out! Not only did I end up with a winning record for the first time in my three years of participation, but I also ended up in the top 10! How did that happen...? Well, if you examine the above standings closely, you will see the answer comes in the form of two words: bonus points. Simply put, I was able to field a "new team" (previously unpublished online) for all 10 rounds, as well as participate in all three theme rounds. I did pass up the "big item" bonus in round 10, as I owned no WW I tanks, trains, aircraft, boats, etc., that I wanted to paint up for the competition. I am not letting this go to my head, though. I can do subtraction and see what would happen if all bonus points were removed and we simply were scored on vote points. Doubtless, a half dozen painters would move ahead of me, and rightly so! I would also say there are quite a few beneath me in the standings who are better-skilled than I am.

I also think I benefit from my photography and composition skills. I tend to put together interesting scenes to show off my miniatures. I also own software which allows me to crop the photos on the computer to show off the miniatures to their best advantage. Sometimes that spectacle is what tips the scales and causes a voter to click for me instead of my opponent. I realize that, and I know I do the same thing myself when voting. If two sets of miniatures look relatively equal, I'm going to vote for the one who bothered to tell a story with their composition. So, yeah. Take out composition, and place all minis against a grayscale background, and then take out bonus points, and I sink probably right where I fit in this incredibly-talented group of painters: the middle of the pack.

To reverse the Mike-bashing, I did think it was interesting that three of my four losses were to those who finished the competition ranked #1, #3, and #5. So, my losses were to no slouches -- and also were often closer vote totals than I would have expected. Even more strangely, it seemed that my opponents weren't always giving me their best shot. What do I mean? Well, when I faced the champion in round 2, his Star Wars chess entry was probably not his strongest of the year. I ended up with about 40% of that vote. Had he submitted one of his usual masterpieces I would have been stomped and received almost no vote points. When I went against #3, I was edged out in my closest loss of the year. It is also the only one where I felt maybe I shouldn't have lost. Either way, his entry was definitely not his strongest of his competition, so once again I accumulated a lot of vote points. And in round 10, my opponent (a very talented painter) submitted a photo that was so dark many voters chose mine simply because they could see my detail. So, yeah, I think I got lucky this time around, too. But it was the fact that I never got stomped in any round, and that I was always getting a healthy percentage, that kept me adding up the vote points over 10 rounds of competition. Early on, I noticed I was always had the most point among those with a similar record (top 3-3, top 3-4, etc.). And that remained true to the end.

So, what skill did I learn this time around? Color washes. I was tempted to try my hand at inks this competition, but settled on using watered down acrylics instead. My first foray was on the Rogers Rangers entry (Round 6). I started with a pale, faded version of the color I wanted as a base coat. Then once it was dry, I mixed about a 50/50 batch of a darker, richer version of that tone. I then followed it up sparingly with a light drybrush highlight. I did this for both the flesh and the green on the Rogers Rangers, and was very happy with the result. It provides a more colorful and richer hued look than simply base coating and dry brushing.

I also took the advice of Joe (Neldoreth), who recommended that I don't simply use a black wash on everything. Some colors look better with a brown wash (fleshes, yellows). So, I created a new final wash coat, or more properly, two of them. I bought some Vallejo clear gloss acrylic resin paint and mixed two batches, a brown and black. On some parts of a figure, I may use the brown wash and on other parts I may use the black to highlight and deepen the shadows.

What was my favorite entry of the round? Interestingly, I would have to say it came early with my Round 2: On the Warpath -- Indians posed on my cliff pieces. The entry actually lost to eventual champion Frank, but I loved the rich colors on that batch of Indians. The biggest surprise? I would have to say winning Round 10 -- I'd had that one penciled in as a loss from the beginning. And maybe how well I did with the 15mm Splintered Light Miniatures mice in round 1.

I painted 57 miniatures over about 16 weeks (the league was announced about six weeks before the start), which is a nice output for most miniatures painters. Most importantly, I learned new techniques, and had a lot of fun. The camaraderie among the participants and voters on the Lead Adventure Forum is amazing. Flame wars simply don't happen. Comments that could be perceived as mildly negative are almost non-existent. There is a huge range of talent in the pool, so anybody can enter. I highly encourage anyone who enjoys miniature painting and has the ability to photograph and resize pics of his or her minis to enter. You will look forward to Sunday mornings for 10 weeks. It is so enjoyable to sit back, click through the matchups, and be amazed at the magic of what some people can do with a paint brush. The artistry, cool figures, and imaginative narratives told by the photographs allow you to shut out the real world for awhile, and enter one of beauty and color.

Lead Painters League 8, Round 10

My round 10 entry, "East Africa Rifles Advance," surprised me with a solid victory. I won 297-170, which gave me a 6-4 and my first winning record ever in the Lead Painters League!

I was more stressed about what to do for this round than any of the others. It was a theme round, and the subject was one I really didn't have any miniatures for. World War I has never been a period I've been drawn to -- the battles are pretty much meat grinders and the tactics completely uninspired, for the most part. Historians often accuse generals of fighting a war with the previous wars' tactics -- ignoring the implications of advances in weaponry. WW I vies for being the grand pubba of this dubious distinction, what with charges of lines of troops against entrenched troops armed with machine guns. Pure slaughter...for a good Hollywood depiction of that, check out the early Mel Gibson film, Gallipoli.
Anyway, I suspected that when I purchased about 100 figures for my Pulp project a few years back that some of them might be able to masquerade as WW I troops from one of the outlying theaters. I dug through my unpainted lead and came up with three possibilities. I showed these to my Sunday night gaming group and they identified one as good candidates for volunteer allied troops in the East Africa campaign of WW I. Keith dug out his Osprey Men-at-Arms source book on the campaign. Leafing through it, we found a painting that was a dead ringer for the troops: East Africa Mounted Rifle civilian volunteers.

I had five of the miniatures in the pack, but figured the voters in the Lead Painters League would slam me for fielding five 28mm miniatures of all the same pose. At Cincycon this March, I'd picked up Blue Moon's "A Mummy Scenario" box for half price. This set is essentially the movie, "The Mummy Returns" in miniature. In addition to Rick, the box contained some of the American fortune hunters. I sorted through them and drafted both Rick and one of the Americans into my dismounted, mounted rifle troops.

I wanted to depict them as having a basic uniform with variations in color to reflect weathering of clothes or civilians providing their own "close enough" match to the regulation equipment. The painting in the Osprey book showed a faded, gray-blue shirt, floppy brimmed hat, and khaki pants. For the pants and hat, I used a range of shades from bleached linen to dark brown. The shirt took a bit more artistry. I began with a very light gray base coat. Once dry, I took a denim blue and watered it down more than 50/50. I did this as a wash for a couple figures. I added some more water, and washed a couple more. Then even more water, and washed the last two. This gave a range of faded blues that seemed natural to me, but also provided some nice variety. This is probably the one skill I picked up during this year's league that I feel best about: color washes.

I also use a color wash on my European flesh tone, now. I start with a basic, normal flesh base coat. Then I take Ceramcoat "Georgia Clay" and water it down more than 50/50. I apply this as a wash over the skin areas. I usually do this first to keep from having to worry about it seeping onto other areas of the figure. Then I finish the flesh off with a very light flesh tone dry brush.

The scene that I set up was a town assault, or advance more properly, as there were no enemy present. I used my resin buildings from my modern Africa games, along with some Acheson Creations sandbag emplacements and crates. I honestly thought I was going to slaughtered in the voting on this round. The same poses for 4 of the 6 figures, and not having a "big item" (tank, aircraft, trains, etc.) would cut down on the "Wow!" factor. I lucked out and was matched against what is normally one of the top painters in the league. His photograph was so dark that voters had a hard time seeing his details. In addition, he did not label it as a smaller scale -- I think his figures are at least 15mm in size, but could even be 10mm. So, I ended up winning fairly handily, which secured my first-ever, above .500 record.

Lead Painters League 8, Round 9

"Wampum or womp them" -- my Round 9 entry featuring more 28mm Conquest Miniatures Indians. I won this round 380-112, bettering my record to 5-4. Incidentally, it guarantees I will end up at least with a .500 record, which was my goal for this third time entering the contest.

So, to me, this round would decided if I met my goal of a .500 record or not. I didn't have a lot of confidence in winning the next and final round, which was a WW I theme. In this round I was submitting more 28mm Conquest Miniatures Indians. I feel they are one of my strong points, and I tend to do fairly well with them.

This batch included a chief holding a belt of wampum, along with four warriors. So, I decided to call it "Wampum or womp them" -- meaning, will you accept our belt of peace or do we go to war? I really liked the look of the figure and wanted to make sure I did a good job on it. So, as always, I leafed through my Robert Griffing book, which contains dozens of painting by the specialist in depicting native Americans. I found a particularly striking blanket worn by a chieftain and adapted its gold on dark blue colors to the figure. I also used more washes to give a range of color rather than simply base coating and dry brushing. I tend to add more highlights to, a technique I've learned from Joe -- the artist behind the website An Hour of Wolves and Shattered Shields (http://www.hourofwolves.org/). He is ahead of me on so many levels in painting, but he tends to add in multiple lighter layers in a single color, and I've tried to replicate his work, even though I don't have his skill or talent. The rest of the warband were bare chested, so I put extra effort in on the tattoos.

I posed the group of five in front of some of my Acheson Creations longhouses. The Indian style palisade behind them is also from Acheson Creations. I highly recommend everything put out by Acheson. Their resin is deeply detailed which makes dry brushing these a snap. The scalp poles are scratch built, while the cookpot and hide stretcher are 1/72 scale plastic pieces from toy sets.

I was highly gratified by this win, as I was matched up against a painter of similar skill level. So far in this season, I had been beaten by all the painters of superior skills and lost to all those of what most would judge a tad below my skill level. I don't say that to sound arrogant, but I would say I am a better painter technique wise than I was, say, five years ago. It is not a judge of potential, but at where somebody is on their level of learning. Anytime someone tells *me* "I could never paint that...!", I respond it is simply practice. You get better with each figure you paint. So, it was nice to win one against a painter I judge to be mid-tier, like myself.

Next round is the finale, and a WW I theme, so we'll see how I finish the league...!

Lead Painters League 8, Round 8

 

"Regardez les bois!" -- 28mm Foundry French infantry -- was my Round 8 entry. I ended up winning fairly solidly, 435-36, raising my record to 4-4.

I went into this round being pessimistic about my chances. I was 3-4, and in my opinion, these 5 French line infantry from the Seven Years War were one of my weakest entries. Most people rave about Foundry 28mm figures, but I felt these weren't the greatest. Their faces, for example, were shapeless blobs that I had to work really hard to bring out some definition. The rather bland pearl-gray uniforms would also work against me, I felt. I did like my idea for the scene I would photograph. Calling the picture, "Regardez les bois!" (Look at the Woods!), I thought the Indians emerging from the trees aiming their weapons at the wagon escorts gave it a nice implied violence and action.

As it turned out, this one was a fairly resounding win. I was matched against some 28mm Uruk-hai that were painted in a very dark color scheme, which made it difficult for voters to see the detail. So, I ended up winning 435-36 and raising my record to 4-4. That put my goal of ending this league with a .500 record (5-5) within reach. I would only have to win one of the next two rounds to attain it.

The figures were painted a very light gray first, then given a thorough dry brush of white on top. The blue cuffs and other trim were given a couple shades of lighter dry brush to give them a dash of color. I continued with my new way of doing European style flesh, too. I give them a base coat of ordinary, somewhat ruddy flesh. I then doing a dark orange wash over the flesh areas. I then pick out the highlights with a very light flesh tone. This method worked well for my earlier Rogers Rangers entry, and I decided to stay with it. I like the contrast it provides against the red brown basecoated Indians.

All in all, I think these figures will look fine on the tabletop. They are no works of art like some of their Indian opponents, but they will make a solid addition to my French & Indian War scenarios.

Lead Painters League 8, Round 7

 

"Raptors? They bred raptors?" -- my round 7 entry, that went down to defeat 350-144. I honestly felt they had a good chance, but they were matched against some incredibly colorful 28mm Conquest Miniatures Indians...hey! That's not fair...!

I actually had these guys done before the league started. I planned them as a change of pace since I was submitting so many French & Indian War themed rounds. Wouldn't you know it? They got matched against some very well-painted 28mm Conquest Miniatures Indians...! I guess it is only fair, considering how many rounds of those types of figs I've submitted in my three Lead Painters Leagues...ha, ha!

I broke new ground on technique in the subtle banding of the raptors. I did several layers of watered down paint for each stripe, and the results really repaid the effort, in my opinion. These are some of the most subtly shaded figures I've ever painted, in my opinion. Maybe TOO subtle, considering my opponent's bright colors. Oh well...*I* was happy with them.

The eggs, if you're curious, are last-minute rolls of blue tac that I was inspired to throw into the scene. I dropped to 3-4 after this round, continuing my tradition of losing anything resembling a close race. The voting was about 70/30 in my opponent's favor. The good thing, though, is I have yet to be "blown out." Everything is no worse then this ratio. This has kept me in the middle of the pack, and I am usually the highest placer for contestants with the same record. I've decided that my goal for this league is to end up at least 5-5. I was 4-6 in both of my previous ones, so I figure it is a good goal...

Lead Painters League 8, Round 6

 

"Once We Were Many" -- my Round 6 entry. Conquest Miniatures 28mm Indians, of course. This was a victory, evening me back up to 3-3, by a score of 407-45

So, my mode for Lead Painters League 8: Win big, or lose the close one. Thankfully, this was a win big round. I was actually surprised how quickly I could paint up this batch, considering it is only 5 figures at a time. I definitely like how it turned out. One tricky little photo thing I did was to put lichen in front of each of the bases. The voters on the the Lead Adventure Forum don't like my "clunky" bases, so I figured if I cut off the front of them, they won't be offended by how thick the bases are....haha!

Lead Painters League 8, Round 5

 

"When You Don't Pay the Foederati..." my Round 5 entry. These 28mm mounted Dark Ages figures are from various sources. I ended up losing this contest by only 16 votes -- 229 vs. 213!

 I had primed these figures up months ago. They are to be used for my Dark Ages skirmish campaign that I intend to run for the guys at the Sunday night gaming group. I'd painted a batch of six mounted 28mm troops earlier, and these were the last of the ones I owned. In addition, they were pretty much the last figs I needed to paint up to be able to start the campaign.

So, when I saw one of the theme rounds for the Lead Painters League was "Ancients," I figured these would be a good fit. They're at the outer edge of the period, as many consider the Dark Ages to be more medieval than Ancient. I felt that would be splitting hairs, and figured I would bill them as mounted Germanic tribesmen used by the Romans as foederati (allies).

One major difference between how I paint up 28mm mounted and 15mm ones is I go for a more realistic look on the horses. In 15's, I had basic colors I painted them -- a couple shades of brown, a gray, black, white, etc. The only real variety was in the white spots I put on their legs or faces. A couple years ago, though, I painted up a large number of mounted Wild West figures as a commission for my friend, Joe. I did a lot of research, and found a page which has more than 70 simple colored drawings of various classes of horses. Since then, I've used that page to paint up my 28m horses, supplementing the small drawings with Google images of that type. I've been really happy with how my dappled grays have come out using real horses as a model. I also liked the way in this batch the chestnut turned out. His subtle coloring and shading makes him (her?) my favorite.

I thought I did a pretty good job on the details for these figs. I even tried to up my game by highlighting the colors on the shields. I learned that technique from Joe of the "An Hour of Wolves and Shattered Shields" website. Of course, he is 10 times better at me than it, but still, any improvement is an improvement. And that being my final goal for participating in the Lead Painters League, I am happy with how these came out. I thought my scene was staged fairly nicely. The title was supposed to be "When You Don't Pay the Foederati" (the guy in charge dropped the "when"). The implication is if you don't give your barbarian allies cash, they're going to take their payment by raiding villages. And that was the scene I depicted.

Prior to that round, I had mentioned to a friend that the previous 4 rounds had all been clear wins or losses. I'd had no close matches. I should have watched out what I wished for! I started out ahead in this matchup with some nicely-painted 28mm gladiators (though I thought mine were nicer...haha!). I was up all sunday in the voting, and by as much as 17 votes. It remained close, though, and was cut to a less than 10 vote lead by Tuesday. Suddenly, on Wednesday, the voting reversed. I was down by less than 10, and finally just under 20. It was a very strange reversal, I thought. Usually, early voting is a great indicator of how a race will go, but this was not the case in this round. When I checked earlier today (the final day of voting), I was down by more than 10 points, which will be a loss. If I somehow squeeze it to within 10 or less, it becomes a draw. No biggie -- just a bit mystifying.

Lead Painters League 8, Round 4: 28mm Conquest Miniatures "Winter" Indians

NOTE: I changed this to my Round 4 entry after photographing it...

 

My Round 4 entry in the Lead Painters League: Winter Hunt. These 28mm Conquest Miniatures Indians came up short against a well-painted entry 380-128, dropping me to 2-2 in the league.

In honor of the cold and snowy winter we've had this year, I thought I should paint up Conquest Miniatures' pack of 28mm Indians in winter dress. Even though round 2 will be right around April, I wouldn't be surprised if winter has yet to release us from its grasp. I realize now that this probably wasn't the most practical purchase I've ever made. Four of the five Indians I painted up are wearing snow shoes -- which means I'll have to flock them on a snowy type base. That means they won't match the rest of my Indians, and will look quite out of place on an ordinary, non-winter battlefield. Oh well...I bought them because they looked cool. And whether I find many uses for them on the tabletop or not, they will still fulfill that purpose...!

Although the pack contained six miniatures, I am trying to be ultra efficient in this Lead Painters League and paint the minimum five figures per round -- at least when I do 28mm figs. I decided to be even more efficient by painting this batch simultaneously with another set of five Indians. Painting 10 28mm figures at a time is probably about as big as I want to go. It was helpful to have them all at the same stage -- base coating, dry brushing, detailing, and so on.

I started with the flesh, like I usually do on 28mm figures. I paint Indians a base coat of Iron Wind Metals Red Brown, then dry brush Howard Hues Middle Eastern flesh, followed by a highlight of Ceramcoat Flesh. One of the figures is in what appears to be a coat made out of animal (bear?) skins. The other four wear thigh length tunics. As I often do when pondering what colors to paint minis, I examined a good source. In this case, "The Narrative Art of Robert Griffing: Vol. II, The Journey Continues." This large book has dozens of reproductions of the artist's paintings. Pretty much all of them are from the French & Indian War period, or right around that time. I picked out my colors, matched them up with the paints I own, and wrote down the details on the temporary cardboard bases I glue figures onto to handle while painting.

Lately, I've been experimenting with using washes instead of simply dry brushing everything. Two of the figures used this technique, while on the other three I employed the more common base coat and dry brush. Since I would be entering these in the contest, I added quite a bit more beadwork and decorative details on the Indians clothing and equipment. When it came time to add their warpaint, I went back to the Griffing book for more inspiration. Though expensive, the book is an incredible resource as Griffing's work is authoritative and highly regarded.

When it came time to wash the figures, a semi-disaster struck. Since I am getting down towards the end of the bottle of ink wash I'd mixed up, I'd noticed it produced a much darker color than I really wanted. So, thinking to thin it down, I added in some distilled water. For some reason, this caused a dirty fog or sorts to appear in different spots on the figures. After all that time and work on them, it was pretty annoying to have this happen. I'd read online that a shot of clear gloss will often "erase" a fog caused by spray clear coats. So, I decided to try something similar here. I purchased a bottle of Vallejo Clear Gloss arcylic resin paint and brushed it on them. Although it did not fix them completely, it did make the surface look beetter.

I was stumped at first on how to produce a snowy base for the miniatures. Then I remember my old method of using Liquitex modeling paste. It produces a white surface that can be made smooth or rough depending on how much water you add after it is applied. First, I glued some rocks or branches down to be poking up through the snow. Then, I carefully applied it -- constantly having to soak up any that had slopped onto the snowshoes of the figures. Once dry, I applied to watered down washes of the lightest blue I own. Snowfields often have bluish shadows, and I wanted to replicate the effect on the miniatures. And finally, wherever the Liquitex cracked as it dried, I covered this up with white glue and applied a thin patch of Woodland Scenics "Burnt Grass." I was very happy with how the snow bases turned out.

In general, I am still disappointed with what the wash did to the figures. This will probably be the last time I use that ink wash on miniatures. Remember, I did a second batch of Indians simultaneously, so there will be one more entry using it. I plan on trying to add some black paint to the Vallejo Clear Flat paint and see how that works. I will come back and add pictures of the painted Indians after this entry has finished its week-long contest.

Lead Painters League, Round 3: Rogers Rangers

 

My Round 3 entry: Rogers Rangers. These 28mm Conquest Miniatures scouted out my second victory in the league, 466-18.

After running my French & Indian War game for 8 players at Advance the Colors 2013, I was overjoyed to see how successful it was and how much the players liked the format. This meant I could plan even larger battles! Note the word "plan," because for that game, I had nearly every miniature I'd painted for that period on the table. Which I naturally interpreted as meaning I needed to buy more figs! I picked up two packs of Conquest Miniatures 28mm Rangers, amongst other things. I sorted through them and snagged the five poses I liked best, and scheduled them to be painted for round 3.

One of the things I like best about participating in the Lead Painters League is that it forces me to improve my skills. For this batch, that meant trying a new washing method to give some depth and shading to their green uniforms. My black washes on green clothes never really seem to come out looking that nice. So, it was time to experiment!

Normally, I start out painting the flesh of a figure first -- you know, the "inside out" method. However, washes can get messy, so I did the Rangers' green jackets first. I took a very pale and sun-bleached green (Ceramcoat Stonewedge Green) as my base coat. Then, came the experimenting. I used Ceramcoat Yew Green for the darker wash color. I put a few drops in the palette and added water. My first consistency was too watered down, and added too little shadows. I added another drop of paint, and it was better. It took a third drop before I was happy with the effect it was giving me.

There are a lot of images online and painting guides to help with Rogers Rangers. They show different varieties. For their Indian-style leggings, I chose to make them leather for better contrast. The really interesting part of the Conquest Miniatures Rogers Rangers is how UN-uniform they are. From what I've read, that rings very true. Many times they personalized their equipment. Their jackets may have been one of the few uniform things about them. These figures hold true to that -- especially when it comes to their headgear.

And finally, these were the first batch of figures that used only the new final black wash method I have started. I am using a mix of Vallejo's Glossy Varnish and Glossy Black. I like how it brings out the shadows better than the previous ink wash I was using.

I will post a picture of them painted once voting on their round is complete.

Lead Painters League 8, Round 2: On the Warpath

 

"On the Warparth," 28mm Conquest Miniatures Indians -- my entry for Round 2

I have always joked that every Sunday morning, when I wake up and check the matchups in the Lead Painters League, I'm secretly dreading seeing myself matched up against "Frank." Well, it finally happened. Frank is a German painter who participated in my first Lead Painters League (#6), but took last year's #7 off. He is without a doubt one of the most skilled painters on the Lead Adventure Forum. And quite possibly, my favorite painter -- at least alongside "Dr. Matthias." So, when I saw that I was matched up against Frank I knew this round would be a loss.

I was disappointed only in that this entry is my favorite of my first four. But that's the way it goes in the LPL! Your best entry ends up matched up against an elite one, while your lesser submission goes up against a more beatable opponent. My disappointment soon disappeared, though, when I saw the score in the match.  No, I wasn't winning. I was holding down close to 40% of the vote, though. To me, against Frank, that is a victory. It is not just a moral victory, but almost an affirmation that, hey, maybe I'm not such a slouch painter! Frank usually slaps down his opponents in the 90%-10% range. And here I was -- an admittedly middle tier painter at best -- giving him a run for his money.

Honestly, I think it is not only because of the miniatures -- which I *did* put all kinds of details I normally wouldn't onto -- but also the staging. My cliff pieces that I created last summer turned out great, and I've talked about them on this blog more than once. They really set off the photo, and may have swayed a number of votes. Couple that with Frank's submission not being one of his usual, drop-dead, stunners, and I gathered quite a few points in this round. Votes equals points, and I came away from my 303-186 loss with a handful more than I would have expected, going in against my opponent. So, in this case, I came away happy with a loss...!

Lead Painters League 8, Round 1: Splintered Light Miniatures Mice

 

My Round 1 entry into Lead Painters League 8: "Fight the Gouda Fight!" Splintered Light Miniatures mice, painted and based for the fantasy miniatures rules set I'm writing. I won 443-17 in that round to start with a 1-0 record.

Since Round 1 of Lead Painters League 8 is a theme ("Classic Fantasy"), I decided to go to the inspiration for Splintered Light Miniatures excellent 15mm-20mm line of anthropomorphic animals. The mice of the Redwall series are the iconic force from Brian Jacques line of young adult fiction novels. I've wanted a mice army ever since I read the first novel in the series. However, whenever I parked myself in front of the Splintered Light booth, something else always seemed to catch my eye. First it was the badgers, then Squirrels, Fauns, Raccoons -- it seemed everything animal in the forest was cutting in front of the mice. However, when I decided to write my own set of fantasy miniatures rules, I knew it was time. I bought the figs needed for the mice from David at Splintered Light.

And there they sat. At least for a year. Until the league was announced, and the Classic Fantasy theme was unveiled. I am assuming that the league won't have a problem with them counting as "classic". After all, a line of 22 books is fairly extensive! Anyway, my new rules feature units on hexagon-shaped bases. Each base contains 3-5 figures. So, I sorted through my lead pile and pulled out two bases worth of mice. One is a unit of spearmen, er, spear mice, and the other is armed with swords.

Like I do anytime I paint an animal or SLM anthropomorphic animal, I did my research first to see what mice really look like. I sorted through Google images until I found and downloaded a range of colors from white, gray, tan, brown, black and yellowish-colored mice images. I always glue my figures down onto cardboard squares to paint them. So, I wrote on each piece of cardboard what that particular figure would look like. Each base would have a standard bearer, leader figure, and three rank and file mice. I decided to go with a "quartered" medieval look. The spear unit would be green and white, while the swords would be red and yellow. I also intended to give them a regimental name. In a rare bit of whimsy (for me), I decided to name each regiment after a type of cheese, and give the a battle cry based off of that. So, channeling the state of New Hampshire, the Brie regiment would have a battle slogan of "Live Brie or die!" The Gouda regiment would be "Fight the Gouda Fight!"

The first step was to paint the fur. Using dry brushing and washes, I did my best to replicate a variety of mouse looks that I'd found in the Google image searches. The figures are crisply detailed and relatively easy to paint. There is not a overabundance of equipment on them, so they went fairly quickly. I did a dry brush for each color of their uniform quartering, too, beginning with a darker tone and dry brushing the lighter over it. I really liked how some of the figures turned out -- the medieval hooded surcoat in particular looks sharp painted up in a quartered pattern.

I wasn't overwhelmed with the job I did on the shields. I was even less pleased with the look my ink wash gave me. I've been using this new method of washing ever since I abandoned the clear Acryl and black mixture. The acryl has a tendency to strip the acrylic paint I use off of the miniature to the bare metal. The ink was a change, and I have been fairly pleased with it. I am starting to become disenchanted with it, though. This league may see me switch if I'm not pleased with it again, soon.

For the banners, I used a combination of Google images and Photoshop. I created a rectangular banner with an image of cheese on it, with the battle slogan for each unit. I printed them off on my color laser printer and glued them around the standard bearer's pole. The mice standard bearers are cast with no flag, but simply a large crescent shape atop their pole. I also decided to change the way I do the flocking for this entry. I painted the base with white glue and poured Woodland Scenics brown medium ballast over it. Once dry, I painted it in Burnt Sienna -- my favorite earth-red ground color. I then dry brushed a light tan over the ballast. I also added a few slightly larger pieces of tallus as rocks. I did my ink wash over the surface, and then Woodland Scenics blended gray turf was added to it for patches of grass, and clump foliage further added for brush.

All in all, I am pleased with how these two bases of mice came out. Will they bring me a victory? Well, smaller scale figures tend to not do as well in the Lead Painters League. So, we'll see, as these little buggers measure about 10mm from feet to eye level. I'll bill them as "15mm" in the contest. Otherwise, voters always assume the figs are 28mm.

Remember, pictures will be added after the first round voting is complete (late March).

"Going dark" for the Lead Painters League

I'm about to enter my third year in the Lead Painters League -- a 10-week contest run by the Lead Adventure Forum website. I'll be painting up ten entries to submit one a week in a head-to-head match against another participant. I've yet to break the .500 winning percentage mark -- nor do I expect to this time. The quality of artistry in this league is superb, and my meager skills put me nowhere the top of the field. That's okay, though. I enter because it forces me to try to improve my techniques and get better at painting miniatures.

One of the stipulations of the league is that the miniatures receive bonus points if they have never been published on the web before, qualifying as "new." Needing all the points I can get, I try to submit a newly-painted entry each week. So, what does this mean for Lead Legionaries? Well, essentially, my posts here may not contain photos for awhile. I may talk about what I'm painting up. I may even link some pics of the unpainted version of the miniatures. However, my painted results will have to wait until the end of the match that entry appeared in.

So, what am I going to paint up for the contest? When the contest was announced around 3 weeks ago, I dug through the unpainted lead pile to plan out my 10 entries. There will be a heavy dose of French & Indian War. Six of the 10 rounds will feature Indians, French, or Rangers. One round will be for my Pulp games and will be a pack of Splintered Light Miniatures Velociraptors. The other three rounds are Theme Rounds. For the Classic Fantasy round, I will be submitting some Splintered Light mice (ala the "Redwall" series). For Ancients, I will paint up 6 mounted Dark Ages warriors. And finally, for the World War I round, I have a few packs of figures that I purchased for Pulp, but can be used for WW I (at least, that is what my friends have told me).

The contest was announced Feb. 5, and I've been busy pretty much ever since. My hope is to have five rounds' worth of entries completed before the contest begins on March 20th. Tall order, I know, but it will certainly help keep deadline pressure away! I'll start detailing my round-by-round entries below. After that entry's match is over, I'll go back and put in photos of it.

So, wish me luck...and I hope you enjoy my entries...!