2nd Batch of Elven Spearmen Finally Finished

    Another batch of 28mm Warhost Elven spear are finished bringing me to 38 in the warband, so far

It seems like forever since I painted my last batch of 28mm metal Warhost Elves. Checking my blog, I see I uploaded my post of my Elven Swordsmen on April 22, which means it has indeed been a month. Why? Well, I was hurrying to get some more medieval buildings done for my game at Drums, which went well. Plus, my alternating batches from my current project (Elves) with something older from the unpainted lead pile means the projects get slowed down a bit, as well. Throw in a couple convention weekends and things are bound to progress less rapidly...right?

    Since I had only a dozen spear left to do, I decided to split them into two batches of six figs each

Anyway, the final 12 Elven spearmen I had are being painted in two batches of six -- this one, and probably the final batch in the army. Now that these are finally complete, I have only five batches left to do until I have a Dragon Rampant army of Elves ready to go. I still have to do 8 archers, 6 mounted, 6 birds of prey (as Lesser Warbeasts), several wizards, and that final batch of 6 spear. Hopefully, that means this army should be completed by midsummer, if not before. I'm itching to get them onto the tabletop and see how they do. Their rivals, the Bonefish Band of orcs and goblins, have racked up a pretty good record on the table, so far. Pressure will be on the Elves, my favorite race from Tolkein, to measure up!

    Closeups of another pair of Elven spear -- I like the variety of green tones, but with a consistent style

I painted these like the previous batches of Warhost Elves, starting with my least favorite part -- assembly. Not only did I have to attach their weapon and shield, I also had to attach the long and elaborate 3-D printed point onto the wire spear. During the painting process on this batch, I dropped two of them, snapping off their points even before the first game! That doesn't bode well!! Still, I was able to superglue them back into place, but I am worried how well these points will hold up in games. We'll see...soon, hopefully! After assembly, I primed them with White Liquitex Gesso, did a pale skin color and its darker wash, and then progressed to the under tunics. They were done in a lighter greens like the rest of the army. Next was their golden armor, which was Iron Wind Steel base with a bright gold atop it. I realized again that originally I had decided to do a lighter base called Gunmetal instead of Steel. Oops -- too late!

    I also like the variety in armor style, helmets & poses in the Warhost line give an irregular look

Once the armor was complete with its yellow gold highlight, I went on to the long, darker green vests. Each color that goes on a 28mm figure I paint tends to get a base coat and dry brush. Their blond hair -- done in four shades from a strawberry blond to a very pale yellow, was next (with dry brush highlight, naturally!). I went to work on all their equipment next, shoes, inside of the shield, outside of the shields, and spears. I have to admit it seemed like the process was dragging -- almost like I had been working on these guys for a month...ha, ha! 

    Close up of the shield patterns with various types & colors of leaves on them -- they're Wood Elves!

Finally, I was on to the decoration stage -- the colorful borders on their vests, the shield designs ("We don't need no stinking decals...!"), and their eyes. For their shields, I pulled up some images of leaves that I had saved when I was painting the first batch of spear. I picked out six varieties that I hadn't used, matched them to the base colors I'd painted the shields. I drew the outlines on the shield with my smallest black mircon pen. Then I filled in the color, and added more black "veins" on the leaves. I finished the figures off with a brown wash on their flesh and other selected lighter areas, and a black wash on some other parts. Next came the flocking, and my Elven warband grew by another half of a unit! 

    The entire host of Wood Elves (so far) gathered to defend the kingdom for an orc or goblin incursion

I'm especially excited about the Elves because the Sunday Evening group is going to play Dragon Rampant again this weekend. Hopefully, this time I will actually get to play. Last time, we had an odd number so I just GM'd. Also, it was a special multiplayer scenario I had created (The Battle of the Gems), so it was probably for the best. This time, it will be one-on-one matchups like the other three times for a 6-8 player fantasy battle royale! I've picked out a scenario (which I will keep secret from the players so folks don't tailor their armies for it). My Bonefish Band will use its same list it did last couple times, so no tailoring on my end either. So, look for a post on that evening of gaming coming soon!

    One final look at the six new Elven spear that were added to my forces...finally! Ha, ha!!

Meanwhile, things are getting pretty crowded on my painting desk. Now that the Elven Spear have cleared out, five monsters for my horror skirmish games using Devilry Afoot take center stage. I have a werewolf, Bison Man skinwalker, two animated scarecrows, and a Kanontsistóntie partially finished. What's a Kanon...Kanontsis-thingie, you ask? It is from Iroquois mythology and is a giant, disembodied head which I will be using as a Spectre in the game. If I remember right, they are the spirits of evil shamans -- or at least that's what they'll be in my games which are set in frontier America. In addition to these five miniatures are more than a dozen Viking rune stones and the next medieval building I will be painting up. So, more to come...!

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Miniatures acquired in 2026: 179
  
• Miniatures painted in 2026: 105

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Terrain acquired in 2026: 12
  
• Terrain painted in 2026: 26

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Scatter acquired in 2026: 21
  
• Scatter painted in 2026: 59