Second Group of 28mm Elven Archers

    My 2nd batch of 28mm Warhost Elves is now complete & ready to defend their woodlands

This will be my third batch of miniatures painted for my 28mm Dragon Rampant Elven army. That means I have 24 figures done, which tells me these are taking quite a bit more time than the Bonefish Band of my orcs did. I am still enjoying painting the Warhost metal miniatures. The figures have a small amount of flash that needs the attention of a hobby knife, but no assembly for these guys. Yay -- always a cause for rejoicing!

    The guy on the far left is probably my favorite from this batch -- he looks like he is a Sylvan lord

I made a point to look over the miniatures carefully before beginning painting, noting who had scale armor on their shoulders, which figures were wearing metal greaves on their legs, and so on. I also made a list on a sheet of with a spot to write down what color I would paint their inner tunic, vest, trousers, etc. In the end, I used the note for only the inner tunic. Once the lighter base color of the inner tunics was painted and dry brushed, I gave up writing things down. I went back to my method of standing the figures next to the bottle of paint which would be their next color. This method works, too, but I won't be able to go back and make sure I haven't used particular color combinations. I'll have to just eyeball it from this point on in the project.

    Same recipe for this batch -- lighter green for the inner tunic & darker green for the outer vest

One difference with this batch and the first group of archers is I am attempting to be more subtle in the decoration on the hems of their vests. I'm trying to tone down the contrast a bit on the dots and hem stripe so that the decoration looks more subdued. And yes, I plan on decorating the hems on every figure in the army -- or at least something to jazz them up. I would love to give an understated design on the bottoms of their vests, but the sharp pleating on the miniatures is scaring me off. It is really hard to get a micron pen into the deeper folds, and I am not sure I trust my fine brushwork to something like that. In the end, I know that I am not a "Golden Demon" level painter. I want my figures to look nice on the tabletop, but I think I am just a step or two above average in ability.

    I am trying for the decoration on the hems of the vests to be more subtle with less contrast

This batch of miniatures was done exactly as the other two Warhost Elven batches. Same Liquitex White Gesso (which one commenter on the Hobday & Hicks FB page said was "too thick"), same base coat and dry brush combo on a lighter shade of green for the inner tunic and darker for the long vest. I put more decoration on this batch's quivers, going with a couple different two-tone looks. I also did some elven runes and dots here and there on them. Same with the sword sheaths. I tried to stay with the brown equipment theme, so my wood elves continue to have a very green and brown look. 

    I really like the poses & sculpting of these Warhost Elves - very 'Tolkien-like' in my opinion

I am making progress on the army. After this group, I have five batches of rank and file type troops left to do. I still need to purchase figures for an army general, maybe a couple wizards, and then source out my unit of flying raptors (hawks, owls, eagles), which I was going to add to the army. Still, even though it seems to me like slow progress, it is still progress. Hopefully, you like how these guys turned out. I certainly do!

    Elven archers ready to defend the borders of their woodland - nice mix of armor, helms, etc.

So, what else is on the desk, at the moment? Well, I have to admit something. I screwed up! Remember the plan to alternate current, this year purchases/projects with stuff I bought last year or before? Well, for some reason, I got it into my head that the big alien monster figures that I bought at Cincycon were last year purchases. So, that group was supposed to be my alternating "chip away at the lead pile" batch, when I actually picked all of them up this year. As Homer Simpson would say, "D'oh!" Giant face palm! Of those big alien monsters, three of them are completed actually and just need flocking and two are still in progress. I am also finished with the interiors of the Catrine House, the 3-D printed building that I picked up from my friend Rich Brown at RRB Minis & More. I am actually half-tempted to rectify my mistake and substitute in a batch of plastic Frostgrave Gnolls that I picked up from Firelands Games last year. I am certain that I bought them last year...ha, ha! It would make sense, and fit with the Four Delvers solo games I'm running, lately. Hmm...put the big alien monsters on the slow burner and shift the gnolls onto the hot?? Maybe. After all, Samwise Gamgee said it best: "I made a promise, Mr. Frodo...and I mean to keep it!"

    Final look at this batch, bringing my total painted on this project to 24 figures - about 1/3 done

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Miniatures acquired in 2026: 159
  
• Miniatures painted in 2026: 73

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Terrain acquired in 2026: 3
  
• Terrain painted in 2026: 21

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Scatter acquired in 2026: 16
  
• Scatter painted in 2026: 48