Long time readers may remember I painted some hoplites. I’ve improved as a painter since then but the miniatures were still good enough for gaming. However, in the four years since I painted them, the Humbrol matt spray varnish had dulled considerably and spoiled them. Here they are, freshly varnished:
And four years later:
I turned a blind eye to the tarnishing until I fielded the hoplites in a game against Abwehrschlacht and Billy Bob Thornton’s withered twin, where they looked pretty ropey next to my recently painted stuff.
The Humbrol varnish is now consigned to a box in the shed and I’ve now switched to Vallejo brush-on varnish.
I was also unhappy with the depth of colour. I was used to painting 15mm historical miniatures with a flat palette. I discovered it doesn’t work as well with fantasy-type miniatures, especially when it comes to hoplites. I decided to re-paint them with Vallejo paints and add more depth with Citadel washes. This was a big deal for me because in thirty years I have never bought any Citadel paints!
The only problem was how to refresh the shield decals:
The solution turned out to be easy – Vallejo’s gloss varnish revives the colour:
So here they are, the Athenians redux (and with some details on the bases at last):
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