Dane Posted January 13, 2004 Share Posted January 13, 2004 I'm working on Helena now, and was looking for a pattern to put on her plain round shield. She looks just like a Greek Hoplite, so I wanted a pattern to match. I found this website. Enjoy. Greek Shields Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lars Porsenna Posted January 13, 2004 Share Posted January 13, 2004 A few companies actually make decals for historical minis. Makes painting those shield designs a lot easier (especially if you have 24 of them to do, like I do). Check out: http://www.darkagedesign.com/ http://www.3vwargames.co.uk/ Damon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Durak Posted January 13, 2004 Share Posted January 13, 2004 Great links Lars. One question though have you done business with them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enchantra Posted January 13, 2004 Share Posted January 13, 2004 Why do business? Access the pictures on the screen, and get a good look at them and then freehand paint the designs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lars Porsenna Posted January 13, 2004 Share Posted January 13, 2004 Echantra, not everyone wants to goof around freehanding shield designs! I've never ordered directly from either, but I do have some VVV shield designs for my Normans. Good product, good decals. I bought them from http://www.warweb.com/ which has always given me good service. Damon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enchantra Posted January 14, 2004 Share Posted January 14, 2004 Echantra, not everyone wants to goof around freehanding shield designs! I've never ordered directly from either, but I do have some VVV shield designs for my Normans. Good product, good decals. I bought them from http://www.warweb.com/ which has always given me good service. Damon. Um..It's cheaper! True not everyone wants to do freehand. But I learned a long time ago that one is better off trying to do things themselves rather than buying things. Often I practice the design on paper first, and then pencil it lightly onto the mini or use a template. Templates are your friends. Another thing to do is find a Greek History book and thumb through for pictures of weaponry. Or look through books on Archaeology of the Classical World. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spartan6 Posted January 14, 2004 Share Posted January 14, 2004 Very cool resource. And no, I'm not going to try and freehand any of those on my CAV's Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill_Adcock Posted January 14, 2004 Share Posted January 14, 2004 Thanks for the links folks. I've got Helena waiting in the wings, just need to clean a teense more flash off her greaves. Anybody else having trouble cleaning up her sword? I may swap it out for a different one at some future point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dane Posted January 15, 2004 Author Share Posted January 15, 2004 Yeah, had the same exact problem with Helena. Her greaves, under her vambraces, the back side of her shield and her sword. The sword is molded sort of twisted. I'm thinking about filing it flat on each broad side, then sharpening the cutting edges some to smooth the whole deal some. Amazing how much you miss untl you prime a mini. I thought I had some spots cleaned up real well, then I primed her. Found some hidden seams I hadn't seen before. Have to give her a two day soak in the Simple Green. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Durak Posted January 15, 2004 Share Posted January 15, 2004 Amazing how much you miss untl you prime a mini. I thought I had some spots cleaned up real well, then I primed her. Found some hidden seams I hadn't seen before. Have to give her a two day soak in the Simple Green. Another option to consider Dane is acquiring some paint on primer. After finding a seam like that all you would have to do is get the paint on primer and presto no messing with the smelly bath. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dane Posted January 15, 2004 Author Share Posted January 15, 2004 Thats actually what I used :) It was my first time using the stuff, and I think I layered it on a little thick in a couple spots, like her horsehair crest and the trim under her breastplate. So, she's soaking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paintrix Posted January 16, 2004 Share Posted January 16, 2004 Great links Lars. One question though have you done business with them? I've ordered from the Veni Vedi Vici guys before (second link). Very nice guys, good customer service, and the decals are truly high quality. True, there are many circumstances where you just have to go with freehand work, but the transfers are wonderful when time, quantity, and/or precise duplication is a concern, or even as a base for further detailing. (A bit of matte sealer over the transfer helps when overpainting.) Not everyone will agree, but personally I see skillful and creative use of transfers as a helpful technique for a mini artisan to possess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lars Porsenna Posted January 16, 2004 Share Posted January 16, 2004 To add to this (and to the defence of transfers), if you decide to take on heraldry similar to latter 14th C- 15th C, using small transfers is a Godsend since it allows you to reproduce some of the insanely complicated blazons out there. Besides, who wants to paint dozens of tiny fleur-di-lys' on a figure of King Jean II (which uses France Ancient, Azure with a field of fleur-d-lys Or). Damon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ixminis Posted January 18, 2004 Share Posted January 18, 2004 Great links Lars. One question though have you done business with them? I've ordered decals from both companies. IIRC, Both owners are regular posters on the yahoogroups WABlist and Ancmed. VVV Does it as his primary business, each shield design is it's own seperate decal on the sheet. Also sold via many online / brick & mortar historical sites. Dark Age Designs: Does it on the side, each decal needs to be cut from the main decal sheet. To my knowledge, only sold via the website. A few of my decals were not consistently printed on the paper, but it was easily resolvable by freehand, so I didn't see resolution through D.A.D. Hope that helps! MichaelG / IXMINIS p.s. decals are great starting points for freehand OR when you've got 300+ figures to paint for an army, eh? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.