Speed Painting Warlord Games Prussian Landwehr - Part IV - Basing and Finishing

Finished Warlord Games 28mm Prussian Landwehr

With only a day to spare, my Warlord Games Prussian Landwehr are complete.  As I have said before, these are excellent figures.  Any flaws found in the pictures are strictly the fault of the painter.

To finish the figures, the bases were covered in watered down white glue and then dipped in Woodland Scenics Brown Medium Railroad Ballast and allowed to dry for a day.

The Ballast was then given a heavy coat of Craftsmart Brown Acrylic paint.  This is really a very poor paint for anything except terrain.  This Michaels discount house brand of acrylic paint, Craftsmart, is notorious for very low pigment content.  It can be purchased in large 8 oz. bottles for as little as $1.99 on sale, making it entirely appropriate for Terrain where quantity is more important than quality.

The figures after the application of Craftsmart Acrylic
Brown.  Yellow Ochre waits in the wings.

After the brown has dried, a quick drybrush of FolkArt yellow ochre and the bases are ready for flocking.  Any yellow ochre or similar deep yellow will do to bring out the edges of the rocky ballast.


In the past, I would have followed up the yellow ochre with a dry brush of antique white.  However, the white was inconsistent in application and gave a more stoney look to the basing that just did not work.  Perhaps my application was too heavy handed, but ultimately, eliminating the drybrush coat of antique white not only saves time, it just looks better.  I prefer the earthy look of the brown and yellow ochre.  It tends to set off the uniforms better.

Warload Games Prussian Landwehr marching to
battle at Tacticon 2013.

The flags are from those included in the box.  Warlord Games' painting guide and flags really showed that they, and most other manufactures of plastic 28mm figures, are willing to give a little extra.  Although, in this case, due to the simple lack of historical information, most of the flags provided were "conjectural."  Even so, it was a relief that I did not have to spend a lot of time downloading flags from the internet and then, through trial and error, resizing them in photoshop.

I am now the proud owner of a small Prussian Brigade in 28mm consisting of 2 line infantry units, 3 Landwehr, a Cuirassier and a Dragoon unit.  No artillery, but the Russians more than make up for the lack of guns in the Prussian contingent.

What is next for this intrepid painter?  How about 36 metal SYW British infantry from Foundry and Elite.  Yes, it is time to finish my SYW British brigade.