Thursday, December 28, 2017

Freeguild (formerly Empire) Greatswords - A Farewell to 2017 Post

Although my previous post had me saying it would be likely my last for the year, I ended up finding a great deal on ebay for these GW Greatswords. As I plan to attend a Dragon Rampant game day next month, I figured these could be used for a unit of foot as an option. Plus, I always wanted to paint up this set - basically Landsknechts, but with that GW "heroic" style of sculpting.
The helmeted heads are left over bits from a Knights kit I painted several years ago - glad I kept them.
The colors could be from Empire states, but with Landsknechts, the sky's the limit with color combinations.
I painted these without the use of Minwax stain as the last can had dried up and I wanted to experiment using Pledge (Future) floor wax mixed with some ink stain. It worked out okay, and had the benefit of not leaving a high gloss finish, as well as a much quicker drying time.
The floor wax dries to an almost flat finish - which I ended up giving a very light coat of Testors Dullcote.
Along with a couple of  previously painted figures, these will be used in a Heavy Foot unit at next month's game day.
Landsknects are a great way to use a lot of color combinations without fear of going over the top.
Not only the colors, but the huge two-handed swords, particularly the wavy "flame" bladed ones, make Lanksnects very cool.
Thanks for stopping by and hope you all had a great Christmas, and wishing you all a great 2018!

29 comments:

  1. Beautifully done Dean! Have a great 2018!!!

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    1. Appreciate the comment and well wishes! Best to you too, Ray

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  2. Beautiful minis and lovely colors Dean!

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  3. Spectacular! Your style of painting and eye for detail works perfectly with these miniatures. I‘d love to see some more Landsknechte coming from you.

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    1. Ah, one more thing: I‘ve never heard of that floorwax method. How does it work? Domyou maybe have a link to where it is explained in detail?

      Have a good start into 2018!

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    2. Thanks for the kind words and interest int he floorwax method. I'm still working on the right combination of floorwax + ink/stain, but it's very forgiving. That is, if it's too light you can add more ink to the formula. If too dark, you can brush it off with water before it dries. Here's a discussion on it from TMP http://www.theminiaturespage.com/boards/msg.mv?id=300444 Cheers! Dean

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  4. These look great Dean, really flamboyant

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    1. Thanks, Oli! Their fighting ability backed up every bit of their outrageous dress and off-duty conduct :)! Warmest regards, Dean

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  5. Great work! As Oli says, “really flamboyant.” Colorful too!

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    1. Thank you kindly, Jonathan! Best regards, Dean

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  6. Love the old school stuff. Happy new year!

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    1. Thank you very much, FMB! Best to you too. Dean

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    1. Thank you, Scott! Best to you in 2018! Regards, Dean

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  8. I've never really liked this edition sculpts, preferring the earlier Oldhammer style BUT you've done such a wonderful job on them you have cured my dislike mate. Absolutely beautiful!

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    1. Lol! Thank you very much for the compliment, Millsy! Wishing you a great new year. Regards, Dean

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  9. Great work Dean. Happy New Year to you and yours.

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    1. Thank you kindly, Scrivs. Best to you and yours too!

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  10. Excellent work Dean. It was the earlier Empire Sculpts that motivated me to create my entire Landsknecht collection.

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    1. I do like the earlier metal sculpts, but couldn't pass these up when I saw what they were going for on ebay. Warm regards, Dean

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  11. Lovely clean colours - they look stunning. Hope you have a happy New Year!

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    1. Thank you, Steven! Best to you and yours for 2018! Dean

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  12. They look great Dean and Happy New Year!

    Christopher

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    1. Thanks, Christopher! Best wishes for 2018 to you too!

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  13. Great looking landsknechts! Happy new year!
    Best Iain

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    1. Thank you kindly, Iain. Best to you in 2018!

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