The Baron's Hunt - Spring Clean 2026

I decided that my Baron would join the two accompanying Mounted Knights I had already built last year in wielding a Battle Axe, a nice addition to the Knight profile in a recent update to their wargear.

I had to take further inspiration from Herne the Hunter and use one of the Antler adorned helms from Victrix Medieval & Fantasy Heads, Cloaks & Shields. He would look out of place without them, since the other two knights had horns of their own.

I also added some damage to the barding on the horse using a triangular file and a pin vise. Though with my plan for painting (which I will come to soon), I should have been more destructive as it is not too clear.

In a final effort to help my leader stand out, I took some offcut pieces of puddle base and cut them into small slab shapes. I knew I was hording them for good reason, I just didn’t know what it was. I also used a small rectangle piece of coffee stirrer for one slab to represent a hasty wooden repair, though the texture might not be too clear once primed. I’ll have to see when it’s time to paint the base.

I placed these slabs at the front of the base to suggest the rider was approaching a road, since stories involving such hosts often centred around a lone traveller being met on the road by a rider offering them a challenge.

I placed a thinned piece of coffee stirrer at the edge of the road, not sure how accurate it is but I wanted something to represent the mud and verge being restrained and kept separate from the stone bridleway.

I added a mix of Black & Yellow craft paint (comes out a nice dark green-brown), Wall Filler, Play Sand, PVA Glue and Water as my home-made mud mix, washing it into the cracks between the slabs with a wet brush.

I forgot to take a Built and Primed picture of the Baron, so I’ll add a sneak preview with a bit of paint on at the end.

Speaking of paint, it was time to decide on how to approach this varied retinue. I needed a theme to tie them together.

From my reading, a few different themes presented themselves. White Hounds with red ears, large black-clad huntsmen, eyes like saucers or perhaps flaming. Either way, one theme stood out, Night.

I haven’t played around with the idea of moonlight, or any sort of OSL or similar before. I don’t want to go the route of light from above and orange flame from below, I know my current limits however, I would like to try a more directional highlight and a bit of mixing to add bluish tones. Reds will be muted as they can appear more black in dim light and I’ll be mixing in blue and blue-greys to aim for a moonlit retinue.

I will probably go unit by unit, but to start, it’s anyone wearing mail.

I blocked in Leadbelcher for the silver, Rhinox hide for leather and Mournfang Brown for wood detail (image 1), before washing with Drakenhof Nightshade (image 2), just to see how it came out at first.

I’ll need to darken the shadows some more, but for now, it gave me an idea of where to go.

As promised, here is the Baron. I have done a bit more painting, blocking in some colours on the cloth areas and fixing some brighter colours on a couple of painted models but that will be for the next update.