Hey all,

welcome to the fifth page of my project diary. If you're wondering what this is, please check the announcement post, in which I explain the motivation and general goals of the diary. At the bottom of that post, you will find a link to all parts of this series (constantly updated as soon as new articles are published).

Today's post is a quick one! But, as promised, it features actual paint!!! So, let's get right to it!

The pic above is just a quick reminder what the mini looked like before any paint hit the model. First step was, of course, priming. Before applying the 2K priming technique, I quickly thought about the light situation I envisioned for the scene. Because I wanted a quick and easy project and because it fit the story I had in mind for the mini, I decided on a zenithal lighting scheme. So, the burning Mediterranean sun is shining above our valiant Sea Raider and there are no secondary light sources. Accordingly, I first spray-primed the mini black all around, and then did a second primer layer from the top of the mini to already sketch in the zenithal light situation.

The two pics above show the situation after priming. However, as is often the case, priming highlighted some of the flaws I missed while preparing the mini (remember me praising the mini for being so easy to prepare...): there was a big ugly moldline running over the thigh area. However, that was easily dealt with thanks to my trusty scalpel - and, now, the mini was ready for some paint!!

Look at that moldline...

... gone.

Before I started to slap paint on the mini, I did some research on how the Sea Peoples were described. I really like this part of painting historical miniatures - delving into what we know of past civilizations, what they wore and how they must have looked like. Of course, often there is a lot of (educated) guess-work involved and - especially for a subject matter as far away in the past as the Sea Peoples - there is very little solid evidence on (perishable) materials and colors. However, I always find artists' interpretations of what we know inspiring, and this time was no different. I found a very nice illustration of a Sea Peoples' leader in an OSPREY book on the topic (p.41). This I used as inspiration and reference to guide the four main "areas" of my miniature:

• Skin: the skin will be a dark tan, indicating a life under the hot Mediterranean sun
• Cloth: the kilt will be colorful, with blue and red panels, that are divided by white stripes
• Headgear: the headgear consists of a bronze headband and some colored feathers, which I will also paint blue, maybe a bit turquoise
• Metal: the metal parts will, of course, be a warm, yellowish bronze. I will see whether I will give the large shield and the sword a slightly different hue, just to make it more interesting

The pic above shows the wet palette with the basic colors; the pics below show how the basic colors look like on the mini. I also gave the beach a warm, sandy tone to tie everything together.

The blue and turquoise colors are a bit glossy (haven't used them in a long while)...

... but this is no problem and will be dealt with when I get to these parts.

Alright. That's it for today, folks. Thanks for reading. In the next project diary, painting will continue with some work on the skintone! Let's give that guy a nice tan!

As always, let me know in the comments if you have questions. See you in a bit!

Best, D.