Hasslefree Maika von Ostwald

She's the resin version - right after I ordered the figure the HF newsletter told the metal figure will be available. Too late for regrets.

The short version of the cause of this purchase is that I'd like to paint Landsknecht stuff, but as my budget is low, they will be a Mordheim warband instead and she will be their leader.

It was clear that bright colors would be the focus on this figure and this called for unusual methods. I'm more accustomed to smaller scale figures now so despite being tiny and full of detail, the working surfaces have proven to be spacious for my brush. 

I started with a thin white undercoat after cleaning the figure (there were no mold lines so just some soapy water, not sure if it was necessary for resin). 

The base colors are VGC Magic Blue and Scrofulous Brown. Yes, that's a brown. Believe me. The hat is a simple purple, the first layer more of a glaze over the white. VGC Bloody Red for the belt and Gunmetal for the armor and sword in the first round. The hair had a Scrofulous Brown glaze too before I started to brighten it up. The brown parts on the sword were given a glaze with a cheap brown acrylic paint (something I use for bases).

As each area was gradually blocked in I used wet blending on the clothes and armor, adding white and Electric Blue to the blue and yellow to the "brown". The sash had a highlight with Gory Red, and the hair was drybrushed with VMC Buff.

For the feathers it was the usual VGC Wolf Grey and a white drybrush over it.

Then I used a thin shade made from VMA Burnt Umber and VMC Black Glaze to darken the recesses and when it dried I started highlighting again. I think the results are OK.

This angle is to demonstrate how well the drybrush+wash worked on the hair and nothing else.

Few words on the base: it's sculpted from GS and there are a few balsa pieces added. It should represent a ruined/overgrown town street.

Reinforcements for Maika's warband (Marienburg mercenaries) will soon start to arrive and will be made from Pro Gloria and Ratnik/Lead Adventure figures. The rest of the warband will be named after famous German philosophers.