Squires of Ice and Fire has passed the planning stages and leapt over the first hurdle into painting the first units. I will be showing off the first few Units for the Stark and Lannister forces, with details on the paint scheme and basing. Alongside this we will take a look at the progress from the four players from Yecats Miniatures!
ASOIAF-Stats Update
Hits and Crits have announced that ASOIAF-Stats is not going away at the end of March, and they will be helping to manage the website going forward. You will still be able to do everything you can do on Stats at the moment from April onwards, with new updates to the website planned in the future. For now though Hits and Crits need your help to keep the website going. Please check their video here for more details on ASOIAF-Stats going forward and how you can help them.
Lannisters
The concept for the Lannister paint scheme is nothing groundbreaking. Like most, it is the scheme in the artwork that we read from the books or see in the show. There are a few details I wanted to point out as subtle decisions that I hope will standout in a full force.
Red. I wanted the red of the banner and shields to be different from the red on the body, either the cloth covering or the metallic red on the Guard Captain. This is to give more prominence to the lion symbols for the Lannisters, allowing their iconography to stand out in an otherwise sea of red.
I also had to add the Guard Captain model into the Attachment slot of the Unit as one of my Lannister Guardsmen models was missing an arm from packing. I plan to convert this model into a named character rather than finding some sort of suitable replacement for the arm. At the moment a Guard Captain is perfect to warm the position in the Unit.
For the basing, I wanted to achieve a look of the streets of King’s Landing, setting my Lannister forces during the riots in the second book. I want to at some point be able to make a display board where I can add models anywhere I would like in a packed cityscape to recreate the riot. I want Kingsguard, Joffrey, and loads of poor fellows but in a tight space. The trays would prevent this from looking right, hence the pinning of the models into the bases.
Lannister Guardsmen: Out of all of the Units painted up for this article, I am quite proud of the Lannister Guardsmen, however there are still a bunch of highlights left to do on them. The one part of the Unit I am particularly proud of is the faces and eyes for the models, which has come out superbly which speaks volumes towards the sculpting which does a lot of the work.
Jaime Lannister: Every single sculpt for Jaime (except for the Maimed Jaime models) I hate. The first model from the Two-Player Set is the best in my opinion but I did such a poor paint job on them that it puts them down. The Kingsguard version is just one out of seven similar models and doesn’t look anything like a Lannister specific model. This one from the Lannister Set had a weirdly long arm, and I just can’t get the white right. Even the Tactics model is dorky! I have gotten him out of the way which brings me some comfort at least. I hope I change my mind in time.
Tyrion Lannister: The Tyrion models are so great, and I enjoyed painting this one due to how quick it was to complete. I didn’t get round to doing the freehand on his clothes but I will be approaching this in the future. The base looked slightly barren so I added a stool with a book onto it to fill the space and add some more characterisation. I did some early freehand on the book of some greenfire to depict Tyrion learning about his ace for the Battle of the Blackwater.
Gameplay: I took the Lannisters out for a spin in a 30pts Starter Set only game against the Free Folk. I brought the Brigands, 2x Guardsmen, and Halberdiers with Jaime Commander, followed by Cersei and Tyrion as NCU support. My opponent brought 2x Giants, Raiders with a Raid Leader, and Trappers with Mance Commander, followed by Lady Val and Craster as NCU support.
I learned a lot about my force and also Free Folk in this game. One thing is for sure: Giants getting to take advantage of Gang-Up due to their recent change is awesome, and it makes me want to play at least one Giant in my Free Folk list to achieve this. Previously, there wasn’t too much reason to mix Free Folk infantry with monsters and you would see a pure list of one or the other except for some animals here and there. Now it doesn’t seem like a bad idea to bring a Giant or two.
For Lannisters, our tough armour was not much of a problem when facing down two giants, but the Set For Charge did deter them from going all in on me. I tried a tempting move of throwing my Brigands end of Round 1 straight up the board and past the line of sight of all other Units to get into the rear of the enemy. Beginning of Round 2 I wasn’t the first player but didn’t think much of it, until Lady Val turned a giant around and threw it close enough to attempt a charge. I totally forgot Val could do this for some reason and it ended with me more or less throwing the Brigands away.
From there I didn’t have much to do damage to the Giants outside of Panic Tests chipping away, we came close in the end edging out on points but was wiped out as the Lannister Guardsmen could not handle the strength of monsters of the north. Will need to remember to think through all possible ways the opponent can respond when deciding to go ahead with a risky play.
It was a lot of fun to play with Guardsmen again though, a lot of people have abandoned the Unit in favour of others in the roster, but I enjoy the defensive capabilities of the Unit and wish to play with Lannister Supremacy some more.
Starks
The Stark scheme follows Duncan Rhodes’ tutorial on his Painting Academy. The tutorial is for the Stark Outriders but can be used for the other Stark Units. I am not entirely happy with the outcome as they are quite rough, I wish I had more time to spend on them as taking my time might have allowed them to come out better. But at the same time, I am forever saying this about models and they end up never finished.
The models are at a point where I am happy with them. Some basing needs to be finished off and the free hand on the banners since they are could so with a big wolf symbol on them. Robb’s face has come out looking melted, so I may try and recover it a little bit so it doesn’t look so ridiculous. Catelyn is okay, but with a really beautiful model coming with Tactics, I am more inclined to put a lot of effort into that one than this one. But as a placeholder until then, I am happy.
For the basing, I also followed Duncan’s Swamp Basing video on the academy. I wanted to capture a moment that does happen in the books but was planned if the Red Wedding never happened. In the show Robb wants to attack Casterly Rock since Tywin went to King’s Landing, but in the books Robb wishes to take back the North first. He needs the forces from the Freys to take Moat Cailin, and has asked Howland Reed to send some Crannogmen trackers to help the army find a quick and safe passage to sneak up on the fort. Thus the swamp style fits best with this moment.
I want to add some more layers to the water effect and then some splash effects to give the water a more realistic feel. Some more work to be done but we will approach this later down the line.
Stark Sworn Swords: White is difficult to accomplish. The tutorial advised washing the cloth with a brown wash, but I saw this as being too harsh on the white and opted for a light grey wash of the contrast white paint. This has not come out nicely and I think it might be better to take a grey and water it down into a wash, almost making a glaze on the models. Since most of it is white, this needs to be nailed to get a good effect. I will experiment a little more but for the most part then don’t look that bad.
Robb Stark: This model is a great update to the older version from the Two-Player set. He has a great combat pose that is also commanding the forces instead of the sword being rested at the tip on the ground in a reserved manner. I also like the new shield Robb wields which is similar to the Stark troops. The fur around the shoulders of Robb is my favourite part, the colours blend well together and it has produced a good effect.
Catelyn Stark: Catelyn’s base was made with some greenstuff and a rolling pin that has cobblestone etched into it. I wanted to give her a basing that would match where she may be at this time, which would be in Riverrun most likely due to the complications with Jaime Lannister and the Karstarks. I debated changing her colours to be more Tully due to this, but at this point I wanted the model to be more Stark in aesthetic.
Gameplay: The Starks were taken out for a spin against the Brotherhood Without Banners in a 30pts Starter Only game. I brought 2x Stark Sworn Swords with Greatjon in one Unit and a Umber Champion in the other. Robb Commander was then in the Umber Berserkers, with Grey Wind backing him up. Catelyn and Sansa were taken as NCU support. For the Brotherhood, Beric led the charge in Brotherhood Archers, with Thoros of Myr in Men-at-Arms, and Tom Sevenstrings accompanied one of the two Peasant Levy Units. The Ghost of High Heart and Ravella Smallwood were the NCU support.
Stark Sworns can pack one hell of a punch when they are powered up, especially when there is a bonus from Catelyn’s influence or from the Umber Champion’s Incite Order. Getting all the benefits at full ranks can be a devastating play, and there were a lot of moments when Critical Blow came into effect across the game. I didn’t think much of Greatjon Attachment in the Sworn Swords, mainly because his Unit didn’t get targeted as much in combat to take advantage of the To The Last ability, but he did get a powerful flank charge on the Men-at-Arms that took them out really quickly. It was a very fortunate move that swung things in my favour early on.
Brotherhood are tough to face. Gang-Up is such a useful ability to improve your other Units to an incredible point. There was a moment where the Archers made a Sentinel charge, and due to the Gang-Up really messed up my Robb Stark Unit. Sending a few Units into a Peasant Levy to get it out of the way can be good, but this was perfect for Ghost to go and deal out a stupid number of tokens, really good play on the opponent’s side. Whilst I took an early lead just like in the Lannister game, the opponent edged out ahead even when they were on the backfoot.
Choosing some different places for each Attachment, or swapping out Grey Wind and Greatjon for the Karstark Spearmen might have changed the outcome of the game a lot. Other lessons from this was to learn when best to play some Tactics Cards, and some different strategies with how I use Units like the Umber Berserkers and Grey Wind. Was a fun game and I guess I should count myself lucky it wasn’t worse with the current performance of the Brotherhood.
Boltons
Surprise! I decided to also do the Bolton Starter alongside my Starks and Lannisters to help clear my backlog of models. These ones were already far along and just needed layering and highlighting to finish them off. There are some touch ups on the base to do that I will do a big batch of towards the end of the set.
I wanted to go with the classic pink design that is spoken off in the books, but this wasn’t coming out quite right. I investigated the Bolton colour scheme from Duncan Rhodes’ tutorial and really liked the burgundy that he chose for his Boltons. From this, it was decided to go with a darker tone to the Unit with slight sparks of bright colour from the pinkish-burgundy on some parts.
Bolton Cutthroats: I love almost all of the models in the Unit, apart from the banner bearer which has an odd sculpting on the head. I am very close to cutting this off and converting up a spike helmet to replace this. My favourite pose is the wide-spread model wielding two clubs. I may add some blood effect to the maces to increase the savagery of the Unit. The black armour was achieved by basing the areas in metal and putting a black contrast paint over it, then dry brushing and highlighting with some other silvers. For sure one of my favourite looking Units in the Bolton roster.
Roose Bolton (Red Wedding Exclusive:- One of my top five favourite models from the whole game is the Game Night Kit 1 Roose Bolton from the Red Wedding. This model captures the scheming of Roose where he offers an open hand but harbours a knife behind his back. I added a goblet to his hand which is filled with lemon water since Roose didn’t drink so that he was alert for the coming betrayal. This model will be used as my NCU Roose, as the other version has him with his sword unsheathed. I do hope we might get an updated version of this model in the future but unsure if this would be worthwhile.
Squires of Ice and Fire
Karl’s Targaryens – Khal Drogo, Danaerys Targaryen, and Dothraki Veteran: Karl dived into the world of airbrushing which has allowed him to make some stunning horses with smoothly blended shades across them. But the highlight for me are the bases on the Dothraki. Karl has gone with a red sand design based on the Red Wastes that Danaerys’ Dothraki had to travel through, and it is beautifully done! Danaerys looks incredible also, a really well executed paint job on that model, the dry brushing on her skirt to match the red sands is a great choice.
James’ Brotherhood – Thoros of Myr, Ghost of High Heart, and Peasant Levy: James has done a stellar job on making a Unit that would otherwise be forgotten standout. The basing is key here, with bushes, trees, and even a dog to help bring some character to the Unit as a whole. The choice to go with a vibrant green to balance out the muted tones of the browns on the peasants was a wise choice. Focusing on the bases has paid off well with the characters as the squirrel on Ghost’s base looks adorable, and the added mushroom to Thoros’ base comes off really well with his paint job. The fires also look excellent on his sword. Some great paintings here by James!
Steve’s Martells – Oberyn Martell, Doran Martell, and Sunspear Dervishes: Steve has out done himself here and has made it quite hard to surpass the incredible job he has achieved. The words that come to mind are clean and sharp. This is a paint job well executed and it stands out with how crisp it is. The scheme follows that of the artwork and with Steve’s talents you can see just how stunning Martells can be. This continues into the Doran and Oberyn models who look gorgeous, and definitely the best versions of the models I have ever seen.
Grant’s Greyjoys – Victarion, Rodrik, and Harlaw Reapers: Grant has acquired some custom made trays and bases for the Greyjoys to achieve an incredible water effect on the bases. I am going to have to pick up some tips from Grant on how he achieved this cause they are very well done. The bases and tray are reversed to allow you to build up the water effect as if it was in a bowl rather than a plate. It is a subtle change but gives Grant the room to get creative without making a mess. Rofrik looks excellent here with the basing being my particular favourite part.
I look forward to seeing everyone’s next pieces soon, but if you want to hear more about what these four were able to achieve, check out Episode 2 for Squires of Ice and Fire here.
Next Steps
Starks – Tully Sworn Shields and Karstark Spearmen: For the expansion box I have decided to go with the Tully Sworn Shields to help hold the line far better than the Units I used in the Brotherhood game. I also feel like they don’t offer to hit the table so this would be a lot of fun to play with. I will be attempting a metallic blue on the models for the force, whilst featuring a lighter burgundy than Boltons. It could make for some stunning models.
For the second Unit from the Starter Box I have chosen the Karstark Spearmen since they will be quite different from the mostly white models of the Sworn Swords, and again, something you don’t see on the table that often. Plus there is a lot of fur on those models which is the part I felt I did the best on for the Starks this month, so I will be trying to utilise that to make a stunning Unit.
Lannisters – Lannister Crossbowmen and 2nd Guardsmen: For the expansion box I want to grab something that can help bring down tougher opponents. Lannister Crossbowman can shoot at the enemy that is trying to break through my strong defensive line, so it feels perfect for continuing the paint scheme whilst providing a useful tool for the games.
When painting the first Unit of Lannister Guardsmen I batch painted the other Unit at the same time. So to give me some more time on my hands, I will complete the second Unit, but also go back to the first and finish some details. Bringing them both up to a completed level. Very excited to have these two at the front with Crossbowmen in the back.
Neutrals – Bolton Flayed Men and Blackguard: Boltons are still on my painting table, and for an expansion box it has to be the Flayed Men. They have never performed well for me, in fact they have never rolled average on their attacks so perhaps a lick of paint will change their fortunes in the battles.
For the Unit in the Starter set, I have settled on the Bolton Blackguard since they are gorgeous models. Whilst the Blackguard are not a perfect Unit (being slow to act and pack no punch) they can be a real problem for the opponent to deal with when they get past their slow movement. Just like the Flayed Men, they may perform better when they are fully painted.
This has been a brilliant way of pushing myself into getting my backlog of models painted. Some of these models have been waiting around for a while so it is nice to get them ready for the tabletop.
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