High Elf Spearmen
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"IT'S NOT EASY BEING GREEN..."

Now the fundamentalists would say that to be a true High Elf one must be bright, shiny and blue, and this is how they have always been portrayed. But what of those other kingdoms of Ulthuan, obscure realms and private hosts of influential dignitaries? Would they all look alike? Whilst I imagine armour and weaponry would be similar, doubtless the heraldry of different households, families and regions would dictate a change in colours and garb. I wanted to show this other side of Ulthuan's denizens and this would influence the colour scheme I would use with my High Elves.

However something else was needed, something more than just a change in colour; a bolder theme. Now a world of fantasy is simply drab without a smattering of Dragons. I must have one – two if possible – an immense, ancient, leathery, cantankerous and above all GREEN Dragon. Thus it was that the Host of Cael was born – a great Lord of Caledor mounted on a mighty green drake accompanied by his personal guard themed around the colour green and Dragons.

Shadow Warriors
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A HISTORY IN BRIEF

I wished to project the feel of this army being a conglomerate of different contingencies raised in an hour of need under the one banner. Hence Cael's household guard would be comprised of Spearmen, Archers, a company of Dragon Princes, and some light war machines in the form of Bolt Throwers. Of course in larger battles Cael would ride into the fray atop Atanath the Emerald, his allied green Dragon. Supporting Lord Cael would be the Saphery Delegation – two mages, Orrin and Etain, and a company of Swordmasters. From the magical backbone of Ulthuan, the Mountains of the Annuli, would descend Skol, a Great Eagle, and also a band of Shadow Warriors collectively pursuing a common prey – the Dark Elf raiding party that slew Skol's life mate and whom the Shadow Warriors hate intensely.

The problem would be – how would I unify the entire force? Well, since Cael's household would all be in green to match the Dragon, I decided to paint all armour plates and helmets a lacquered dark green. To contrast the green I wanted to use a deep, warm red for tassels, plumes and pendants. Rather than having incredibly bright white robes they would have a greenish tinge of off white. To avoid the blindingly shiny scale mail used by so many High Elf players I decided to try my hand at something those horribly talented French painters seem to have perfected – the Non-metallic Metal (NMM).

Thus it was, armed with my palette and brushes, I set about the task of painting an army. It was only after having painted three models that I realised I'd made a rod for my back – the techniques and colour schemes would take an eternity to paint! However the perverse streak of my nature showed through and even though my efforts are amateurish at best I am relatively happy with the finished result.

HOBBY TIP: PAINTING GREEN Over a black undercoat paint a layer of Dark Angels Green. Then, mixing Dark Angels Green + Snot Green (1:1), highlight about one third of the armour plate nearest its outer edge. Next, layer pure Snot Green even closer to the edge, then a mix of Snot Green + Golden Yellow toward the very edge and, finally a fine rim of Golden Yellow which you can apply by dragging the length of your bristles on the hard edges. A trick when blending is to wet another brush and gently drag across the edge of the fresh paint causing it to become transparent.

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