From Greg: 28mm Foundry Austrian 5th Dragoon Regiment

Straight off of Greg's painting table here we have a beefy regiment (24 models) of Austrian Dragoons - the 5th Regiment - Prince Eugene of Savoy's Moravians.

I asked Greg to give me a run-down of how we painted these lads and here is what he passed along:

"The colours are my usual pile - a mix of GW and craft paint ("Americana" from Michael's) acrylics. The white on the uniforms starts with a base of GW Fortress Grey. For straps, to give them some more "pop", I go straight to a Americana white. For the cloth parts, the base is the same (GW Fortress Grey), but then I put a highlight of GW Bleached Bone, before a final highlight of Americana white. The facings were GW Dark Angel Green as a base, then GW's Snot Green (hate their names). The shabraque and other red horse furniture started with a base of GW Red Gore, then GW Blood Red, and a final highlight of Americana Cadmium Red. On the shabraque, there is an eloquent “F II”, with a crown on the back corner of each side.  I can’t do detail like that 48 times, so I just did a metallic gold squiggle. The gloves for the troopers were base colour of GW Codex Grey, with a highlight of GW Fortress Grey, and then a final touch of GW Bleached Bone. The gloves on the officer started with GW Snakebite Leather, then GW Kommando Khaki, and a final highlight of GW Bleached Bone."

"Skin tones start with a base of GW Bleached Bone, then a main highlight of GW Vomit Brown, and a final touch of GW Elf Flesh. Generally, I have found a personal preference for the "yellow"er side of skin stones (as opposed to using Dwarf Flesh, for example) but I am going to experiment a bit to get into a colour progression that maybe provides a bit more warmth. I am so stubborn..."

"Any yellow parts (the lining of the shabraque, the comb) started with a base coat of GW Snakebite Leather, and then got GW Golden Yellow. On the shabraque, I painted in a thin line of GW Regal Blue between the two yellow stripes...I didn't quite capture the detail I have seen in some of those blankets, but it added enough. For the comb, I like to create some contrast/context with the colours, so I would only dab the yellow over the base colour, and would let the yellow "fade" before refreshing the brush and dabbing more, to create a contrast. I would also dry-brush GW Shadow Grey over the black part of the comb, to give it definition too."

"The horses were just various combinations of browns with highlights. The musician's horse was GW Shadow Grey, the GW Kommando Khaki and finally GW Bleached Bone."

There you have it. This regiment will give Greg a hefty 48 points to the 'Spring-Thaw Painting Challenge'. Greg has now completely closed the gap with JohnM and myself. Excellent stuff, Greg!