Testing, Testing, 1,2,3 with Weave of War

The process is fairly simple.  The cowls and hooded cloaks need to be assembled first.  With the cowls the hood is formed, the tabs at the front are stuck together and the miniature’s head fits inside.  The hooded cloaks aren’t released yet as final development work is on-going.  I was given two slightly different designs.  With one the hood is formed and the cloak fits over it.  The other one is the reverse with the hood being formed and then glued on top of the cloak.  Once together the cloak is put onto the miniature and the tabs glued at the front.

Here we see some of my mid-process shots.  First hooded cloaks and then hooded cowls:

The image on the left shows the cloth assembled, glued together and fitted into place over the miniature’s head.

The image on the right shows the final finish.  The manufacturer recommends a clear floor polish (I use Finish) to soak the textile and make it more maneuverable when shaping into the final finished position.  The polish also helps keep the textile in place and hold the folds and shape it has been put in.  It also protects it like varnish and dries matt.

As an alternative to polish you can use brush on matt varnish.

Here are some finished shots of the two with cloaks:

And the finished shots of the three with cowls:

And everyone together:

Overall I was going for the look of a Sci-Fi dog soldier scout unit who use their hoods and cloaks to help them blend into their environment.  I wanted them to look a bit like Zeltbahn, not in camo fabric but with the same sort of practical purpose.  The plaid fabric helps to make them both resemble the historical inspiration and also look ‘other’ enough to fit a Sci-Fi setting.

When I showed the finished images to Weave of War they were very pleased and we discussed a few other ideas and miniatures I wanted to try with some of the new products they are working on.  Some of these product ideas are brilliant and I’m very keen to give them a go.

Once I get clearance from Weave of War I’ll be able to post progress here.  Keep an eye on their SM accounts and their website for new announcements.  The cowls are out now.

The hooded cloaks will be out soon once final testing is complete.

They previewed them using a reel on Insta featuring my miniatures (account needed):

As the project description says I have started doing some testing for Weave of War who make a range of textile accessories for 28mm miniatures.  In the interest of full disclosure they have provided me with free samples to work with, I’m not getting paid.

The range started off with cloaks in a variety of tartan/plaid designs.  They are perfect for Dark Ages miniatures and the larger “Campaign Cloaks” work particularly well with Victrix plastics beloved of SAGA and Pillage players, for example.  They now also produce a slightly smaller “Battle Cloaks” size for the regular 28mm miniatures as well as rolled cloaks and single colour versions.

They are looking to expand their range and started with medieval style hooded cowls and a new design of cloak that has an integrated hood.  I offered to try them on some different miniatures to the usual Dark Age historics – some Stargrave Dog Soldier Scouts I use with my Xenos Rampant forces.

These are North Star plastic Gnolls with arms added from the North Star Stargrave Crew and Mercenaries kits with extra Frostgrave bits from the bits box.  These kits are great for kit bashing.  I had a blast making them.  They are painted in AP Speedpaints with some extra acrylic highlights.