Saturday 2 January 2016

From ChristopherS - 28mm Almoravid Black Guard (144 Points)


My first submission to the challenge in the form of 28mm Almoravid Black Guard based for Impetus. I decided having a Black Guard unit in my Almoravid army was a must as they are both elite and look quite intimidating and if you have seen El Cid they give the quintessential Almoravid look. If anyone has followed my blog then they will know I've had a long running El Cid project where most of Christian Spanish army is finished and I've now began the Almoravids. I've finished a regular Berber unit and now decided to add the Black Guard.


I decided to equip the whole regiment with Hippo shields which is made from hippopotamus hides which looks either dark brownish or greyish depending on how it is cured. I prefer the brown and went with that. I feel the darker shields combined with the black clothes gives the unit an even more sinister and intimidating look. In addition to the black clothes the uniformed shields will further help differentiate them from the wooden ones carried by the rest of the Almoravids and mark them out as an elite unit within the army.


The figures themselves are a mix of Artizan and Gripping beast. I made a few modifications by adding veils to some of the figures that didn't have them to keep uniformity. One would think all black would paint up fast, but actually it didn't as I had to use several layers of grey adding gradually to get the effect I wanted thus taking longer then anticipated. The banners were downloaded then hand painted by myself.


With 24 figures at 28mm this should give me 120 points towards my challenge with Nick and the 'Bronze to Steel' challenge in addition to the Analogue Challenge itself.

Simply stunning work Christopher! I love how you've done their black clothing and the hippo hides are brilliant. 

This unit will give you a base of 120 points but I'm adding a few more for the work on the shields and banner. It's great to have you on the roster Christopher!

28 comments:

  1. Very nice first entry Christopher :)

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  2. You did a spectacular job on the black. I know that sounds redundant but you got the highlighting just right. This is a very nice unit and a great first entry.

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  3. What a great unit. I have El Cid era armies and am very jealous of your work. Cheers, PD

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  4. What a fantastic looking unit!

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  5. Brilliant looking unit. They ooze power and threat

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  6. Stunning. All black clothing could easily look very dull, but these really pop.

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  8. fabulous painwork ! Congratulations Christopher!
    the almoravid black guard is a must have when you play this army!
    and thanks for the nostalgia you gave to me, I played them with Field of Glory ruleset and I had great moments of bravery with them fighting to the last element,never breaking on moral tests.

    well done now I would like to have the same unit;-)

    Best regards

    thefrenchjester

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  9. This is f***ing outstanding stuff. Entries like these make me want to try this period, remind my why I wish I could try this period. And simultaneously underline why I could never make a go of this period, as I haven't a bloody idea where to start.

    This unit is really, really nice - great work.

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  10. Oh crap... I've been trying for months now to resist buying these for myself and now I've only gone and seen them painted so well its set me off again. Nurse! Bring the tranquillisers, stat!

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  11. the black color is the most difficult color for the artist. the color turned out great.

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  12. Fantastic looking unit of Moors!

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  13. Superb! The clothes, shields, banners, basing, green detailing- just divine.

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  14. Well done mate. I think these are the best thing I have so far seen in the 6th challenge.

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  15. Oooh.. Now they are goood. Just moved to my favourite entry so far.

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  16. I do like the black with the brown and well done for all that highlighting of the black - always a tricky colour to get right but you've nailed it. A very intimidating bunch indeed!

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  17. Excellent work on the bkack, always a tricky colour to paint

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  18. Excellent job on an iconic group.

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  19. Thank you everyone for the kind comments!!:-)

    Christopher

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  20. Very nicely done. The palette is brilliant!

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  21. They do look intimidating. Amazing painting and basing. I will check out the other units on your blog.

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  22. Great work, that black really comes off well and your in the lead for the Bronze onwards side challenge, I had better get on with it

    Ian

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  23. Oh wow! Chris, these are brilliant! Can't wait to see them in action. Now this points bomb puts me a bit under pressure somehow... need to get the kitchen fixed asap in order to get back to the painting table...

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  24. These are simply stunning. Really, really nice work. The hippo shields! Great piece of detail, there. Fantastic work on the black fabric.

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  25. Thank you everyone I really appreciate the support!

    Christopher

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  26. Really wonderfull unit, Chris! That black is very well done and the green spot color looks superb with the black clothing and brown hippo shields. Makes me want to watch El Cid again too, almost forgot how great that movie was!

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