I was one of 16,000 backers who supported the Conan Kickstarter by Monolith, drawn in by the quality of the sculpts, artwork and the sheer volume of loot that was getting unlocked.
Now I have received my pledge, which is effectively a completely new miniatures hobby game with several factions, all in all well over 100 figures. Not painting these is not an option, since the miniatures are one of the main draws of the game, but painting them in my usual way would take at least a year – assuming I was not painting anything else.
Therefore I have opted to paint everything in base colours only and then give it the Army Painter Soft Tone Quickshade treatment. I’ve never used this before and I wouldn’t use it for my wargaming projects, but for a board game it is a reasonable/necessary compromise.
In the first scenario, Conan is going up against the Picts, so I started painting those. I finished the 15 Pict Hunters (all identical sculpts) with 5 Warriors and 5 Archers in the works.
Picts returning from the hunt
The sculpts are very nice, with few mould lines, plenty of detail and character. They easily stand up to any wargaming standard. This makes it hard to resist the urge to apply highlights after the shading, add war paint or other flourishes. Those will have to be reserved for the main heroes and villains of the game.
The Quickshade is leaving a layer of gloss varnish so it requires a matte coat afterwards. That results in quite a thick layer, but at least the figures will be protected in play and storage.
Hunters carrying their grisly trophies
As an additional step I am replacing the round bases that are moulded onto the miniatures with clear perspex. On a 2D game board this blends the figures in nicely. So far, hand injuries have been minor.
Raven eye view of the Pictish settlement
