The Dogs – Spring Clean Challenge 2026

I’m not a fan of the studio paint job for this unit.  They went with plain black and white beneath the leopard skins.  Having used red and blue as the main focus colours throughout the project, and with the other pike unit having had a red focus, this unit would have blue.  Highlord Blue was used on hose and the pike tassels.  I like the orangey shade of leather with blue so Hardened Leather was used on shoes, belts and scabbards.  Aged Hide for the skin.  Broadsword Silver for the armour and weapon basecoat.  The Leopard skins aren’t present on all of the miniatures so I decided to do the plain metal helmets bronze so there wasn’t such a sharp contrast between those with and those without the leopard skins.  Hoard Bronze was painted onto the helmets and the gorgets.  Finally the leopard skins were base coated in a mix of 80% Howling Sand, 10% Sand Golem, 10% Pallid Bone.  Bases were rimmed in Goblin Green.

After a coat of matt varnish spray (Mr Hobby Super Clear matt) they are ready for highlights and metallics.

The shine was restored to the armour and weapons with Darkstar Baroque.  The bronze elements were highlighted with AP Emperor Gold.  Teeth on helmets and skins were painted white.

Painting Leopard pattern

Before starting the skin colour had to be improved.  Leopard skins have a darker brown colour along the spine and a a bit paler around the stomach.  I used AP Strong Tone Wash with a drop of Dark Oak Speedpaint  in for the darker section and a light drybrush of Vallejo Bonewhit around the edge that would have been the underside.

The leopard pattern was Vallejo German Camouflage  Brown thinned with a dot of Dark Oak Speedpaint and a bit of water.  I have to keep this mix at a good  consistency, thin enough to flow well from a very thin brush (000) but not as thin as Speedpaint as I needed to control where it went on models with fur texture sculpted on.  The pattern is made by putting four dots in a very tight square or diamond and then joining three or all four dots together with a rounded line.  This leaves a very small amount of the plain fur colour in the centre of the spot/arc.  I had to remember to not always join the same three dots so the gap ended up pointing in the same direction, they need to be randomised.  On the real animal there are slightly larger spots along the upper flanks, where the darker brown of the spine blends back into the lighter fur colour.  I did some slightly bigger ones there.  My pattern is oversized.  If I did it true to scale they would just be very small brown dots.  I want it to look like a leopard pattern so the dots have to be upscaled so they are visible.  Once all of the spots were on I checked for any gaps and added some smaller brown dots to fill in empty areas where there wasn’t enough room for a new spot.  I added tiny dots of Vallejo Air Sand into spots where I’d covered up the central gap.

The eyes and noses were painted black.  Done!

The final detail was adding a banner.  I didn’t have the original printed flag for this unit so drew a 30mm x 60mm rectangle on a piece of white paper and painted it very loosely with Highlord Blue.  I wanted this to look streaky, with darker and lighter areas to mimic the light across a fluttering flag.  I have some Veni Vidi Vici waterslide shield transfer sets that have a white leopard head.  These were applied to the centre of the flags and then matt varnish was applied.  The transfers are very old and didn’t like the varnish and crinkled a bit, but did settle down again once dry.  A piece of tomato paste tube was cut to size, flattened and stuck onto one side and the flag was stuck in place around the flagpole with PVA.  When everything was fully dry the flag was edged with Vallejo Flat Blue and then bent around a paintbrush to get the folds nice and round.  Highlights were painted onto the blue with Flat Blue and white acrylic was used to highlight the leopard head design.

That’s it for the painting 🙂

This is what we have now

Setup

We are using Scenario 1: Battle from page 90 of the Midgard book.  In this scenario the two armies meet across a clear battlefield with two pieces of impassable terrain, one at either end.  The Imperialist are the Defending player and have 45 Reputation plus another 10 from their Riding allies, 14 tokens.  The Dogs of War are the Attacking player and have 62 Reputation, 16 tokens.

Win conditions: The first side that finishes a turn with zero tokens is forced to retreat.  Should a turn end with both sides holding no tokens the engagement is a draw.

As I’m fighting this solo there are some basic standing orders in place:

The Dogs will be using a hammer and anvil strategy, hammering with their chariots and dragon in the first wave and cavalry in the second.  Their anvil will be the spear and pike units and they hope to exploit the Replacements rule for the spears and the Pike rule for the others to hold off the charge of the knights for long enough for their hammer to smash to opposite wing.

The Imperials will be dispensing with the usual arrow barrage and then charge and just using an all out assault approach, with all cavalry units charging headlong at the first opportunity.  Other units will support where possible.  As arrogant types they will refuse to redeploy any units at the end of Attacker deployment as the scenario permits, and they will accept any and all single combat challenges issued although not issue any themselves as their opponent aren’t worthy enough.

Initial Dispositions

The first image is of both sides, the Dogs of War are on the left.  The review of both armies starts on their right flank and then across.  The Dogs have the dragon on their right, the Imperials have the great eagle on their right.

The Opening Challenge

After the allocation of Mighty Deeds in Turn 1 Phase 1 but before the main battle starts there is a roll off for a Single Combat.  This takes place before both armies and if there is a winner they receive an extra 2 Reputation tokens.

You can see the progress of the challenge here.  Both Champions approach with their allocated Mighty Deed tokens (left).

The opening combat round saw a hit scored by the Imperial knight on The Green Knight who scored none, is reduced to L1 after the loss of 1 stamina, but then passed his risk to heroes raven roll (the die with 6 showing). (centre image)

The second round of combat with The Green Knight scoring enough hits (2) to overwealm the other champion’s stamina (1).  The Green Knight wins and gets 3 Reputation Tokens, the defeated knight still gets one for his hit in the first round but one is also removed from the cup after he dies (right)

The following accounts of the Battle of Barrowvale have been taken from:

“The Recollections of Moche Müller’s son.  Member of the Herbstwald Brigands who served in the mercenary wars with the fabled La Lionne Rousse”,

and

“A Faithful Account of the Fall of the Empire” by Rodger d’Arnoth, sometime squire to his worshipful lordship Sir Arnold of Blaine’s Keep.

Moche: We had been engaged by the Freeport Council to defend them from a threatened invasion by their Imperialist neighbours.  La Lionne, as was her usual way, took the fight to the enemy and we advanced boldly into Imperialist territory, hoping to prevent the Satrap from mustering his full forces.  Our informants had told us they intended to muster in a wide but narrow valley of ancient barrows.  When we arrived it was clear we were too late, the Imperial allies were already there.  La Lionne wasted no time and ordered a general advance. 

Rodger:  The unworthy rebels of the so called “Freeport” had hired a ragged band of mercenaries.  Seeing them assemble across the valley there didn’t seem to be anything to be concerned about.  A bigger mish-mash of ne’er do wells  and chancers had never before been seen.  Our stout allies of the Riding had arrived the previous evening so we were able to meet them with our full force.  Our most noble lord deployed in the time honoured way with our main strength of knights in the centre and right and our noble allies on the left.

Moche:  The Green Knight made his way before the host and rode back and forth leveling his sword at each leader or champion in their host as he went past.  One knight rode forward to meet the challenge.  The combatants met between the hosts.  The enemy champion delivered a great blow at the first pass.  The cheer died in the throats of the enemy host as they could see our champion mystically unharmed and their hero’s blade withdrawn clean from the wound.  With that, The Green Knight dispatched his opponent with a flurry of blows of a skill and control that was beautiful to behold.  We cheered as he trotted back to his position to the total silence of our foes.

Rodger:  Typically of these dishonourable reprobates, they cheated in the champion’s challenge, sending a magically protected knight to meet our finest champion, Sir Percy.  Despite delivering a blow that would have cleft any opponent in twain their green clad devil rode past as if nothing had happened.  There wasn’t even any blood evident on Sir Percy’s blade.  In the very next pass a blur of blows of inhuman speed sadly dispatched Sir Percy.  A terrible end for a great and noble knight.  Barely had the green devil returned to their lines than their chariots charged.  Caught off guard our noble allies barely had to time to respond before the huge chariots crashed into their lines.  The green devil was amongst them and once again met one of our heroes in single combat and again the ensorcelled devil triumphed, beating the Master of The Tower in single combat.  Units on our left disintegrated including the famed Riding horsemen who fell before the charge of a giant green dragon, their king held his own despite being wounded and was rescued by a charge of militiamen.  Our stout yeomen spearmen counter charged the chariots on the left with our lord at their head.  His unit obliterated the chariot to their fore with our lord’s blessed blade striking the fatal blow. In our centre the flower of Imperial chivalry charged down upon the enemy to their front.  Alas they did not sweep all before them as they had so many times before.  For some reason the ragtag line of spear and pike held, although they seemed sorely pressed.  Surely their centre was moments from collapse and our inevitable victory would be complete.

First three images show Attacker movement (charge of chariots and dragon) and combat, the final 3 show Defender movement (charge of knights), combat and the remaining shooting phase results.

End of Round 1 scoring (final image):

Dogs of War: 19

Imperials: 5

Turn 2

Moche:  As is often the case once the two forces engage there is a confusing period where the battle descends into a series of individual fights between opposing regiments.  From our position on the extreme left we had a good view of the proceedings and the give and take of battle.  The charge of their knights was an impressive sight but it was held by our doughty foot and as they paused briefly to regroup they seemed astonished to watch the perfect precision of the replacing of the front line of spears with those from the rear ranks.  Perhaps as dedicated amateurs they underestimated the practiced dedication of us professionals.

Rodger:  The general melee became confused as both armies engaged along their fronts.  I was fortunate to see our Lord vanquish the unit to his fore and meet their general with a spirited charge that pushed her and her soldiers back.  Surely the pressure of our force would break these foreigners.

First three images show Attacker movement and combat, the final 3 show Defender movement, combat and the remaining shooting phase results.

End of Round 2 scoring (final image):

Dogs of War: 15

Imperials: 3

Turn 3

Moche:  Their line was clearly becoming badly disjointed as some units pushed into our line and others were vanquished and their soldiers started to run for their homes.   From on top of a barrow mound I had a clear sight of the terror of our army – a dragon giving full vent to its blood lust.  I clearly saw Fearfang jump into the middle of the Riding Royal Guards, ripping them limb from limb and finishing off by biting the head off their prince and tearing their king and his horse in half.  He died by what I later found out is the entrance to the tomb of his ancestors. Shortly thereafter they began to retreat and then a headlong flight commenced.  As our cavalry speeded them on their way we contented ourselves with plundering their camp which was richly appointed.  Glory to La Lionne Rousse!

Roger:  How the rout started is not known.  Somehow the line must had become disrupted and their regiments were able, in several places, to converge on our leading squadrons.  The momentum of the Imperial knights across the centre failed and they were pushed back.  Seeing the flower of Imperial chivalry retire took the heart from our army and what started as an orderly withdrawal became a headlong flight with every man fleeing as best they could.  A black day that will sit long in the memory and very much the beginning of our present woes.

The game finished after Attacker movement and combat with the Defender unable to recover their position to a positive value or overcome the opposition number of tokens, regardless of actions or combat outcomes.

End of the game (final image, dice number to show negative tokens)

Dogs of War: 15

Imperials: -7

Evaluation

I’m very pleased with how that went.  Surprisingly the Dogs of War won.  I don’t think that has happened to one of my newly painted armies before 😀  In terms of the overall plans I think both were sound and had the Imperial knights been a little more fortunate with their rolling they might have breached the line opposite them.  However, the chariots did very well and melted through a unit of heavy infantry spearmen in the first combat which is incredibly hard to do.  Having charged several heroes the Dogs did well maintaining their token numbers whilst early unit and hero losses were very hard for the Imperials to recover from.

Knight of the Fight

The Green Knight.  He certainly delivered based on the lore I wrote for him getting injured in his very first action but then taking out two heroes in single combat and the unit he was attached to also beat two enemy units during the game.

To support my army I wanted a booklet that contained all of the lore and rules for the regiments in the army.  The old Dogs of War Warhammer supplement was a brilliant book that I have taken so much inspiration from over the years.  In tribute to that I now present my own version for my Dogs of War using Midgard: Heroic Battles.

Every project benefits from an evaluation.  It is good to reflect on what was done and what the best bits were.  The Spring Clean Challenge was to revisit and complete a project in the 92 days of spring 2026 (from the vernal equinox to summer solstice)

Things I have done on this project:

• Completed 170 miniatures that’s close to 3 per day.
• Finished 1 army with 14 units and 6 command bases.
• Finished basing a second army with 18 units and 7 command bases.
• Have enough units done to have spares to get another project seeded – Sea Elves for example as there are 2 or 3 units here that could transfer across to a new army if desired.
• Learned a brand new technique – nail stamping. I’ve had enough of a go to get confident in doing it and now know what to look for when buying a new stamp plate.  I’ll definitely be using this technique on other projects going forward.
• Found a new method for doing glass lenses. I’ve always struggled to get something that I like and the technique with the Pastel Indigo Speedpaint has produced an effect I’m happy with.  I’ll be doing them this way from now on.
• Going back to the Vinted trade that pushed this project to the fore this year. I bought 11 original boxed Regiments of Renown.  I used four boxes in this army (the Elwing’s and Lothern City Guards).  That meant I had 7 boxes left over and I sold those on eBay.  I’ve been able to recoup my investment, passing on the unwanted items to other collectors who had a fair chance in a timed auction and didn’t have to pay the excessive prices that some resellers try to charge.  It is a silly market though as proved by my ability to sell the empty boxes from the units I kept.
• Completed a bespoke supplement book for the army with stats and lore for each character and regiment.
• Completed a game of Midgard using both armies and wrote up a battle report. The Dogs of War won.  Huzzah!
• Created a Project with 28 posts, one per 3 1/3 days.
• Resources used include 3 ½ pots of Krautcover Meadows of Purity plus 1 1/2 pots of grass flock. I killed 3 Vallejo Promodeller brushes which isn’t unusual for Speedpaint as they work down into the ferrule when fresh and runny and then turn into a sticky mess which is hard to clean out.  I’m very happy with how well these brushes lasted under this abuse and treated myself to a brand new set in celebration of finishing.  I used up 4 pots of Speedpaint and one of Speedpaint Medium.

Overall then the categories this year were:

Best Skill – The most skilled work, be it painting or overall finish

All I can say is I did my best given the quantity of miniatures and the time available.  I’m certainly happy with the results. There were some new skills learned and developed and I’ve got more tools in the painting toolbox after this project.

Best Tutorial – The person who shows us, in detail, the steps from start to finish.

I’ve tried to give full explanations of all of the steps in the processes used and the early project entries went through each different process in full with photos of each stage on the first occasion.  I’ve not repeated this for every subsequent iteration of similar techniques.  I have provided tutorials for some really practical techniques like the paper and metal foil sandwich flags and the nail art stamping.

Best Idea – You don’t have to have finished your work to be able to produce something which showed great skill in planning.

I’m happy with the concept which I think anyone else can use – just look through your collection and decide what to do with your favourite miniatures.  I’m pleased with the planning that went in to delivering the final outcomes, particularly because I’ve had the time needed to finish this year.  I’m pleased that there was enough room in the process for some innovation and creativity.

Best Army Refresh – An old army refresh of 25+ miniatures – brought back to the tabletop for another battle!

This is the main one for me.  At 170 miniatures I’m certainly over the 25 minimum.  Some of these miniatures have been in the collection for more than 30 years so it definitely counts as old.  I’ve had them on the tabletop already and they even won 😊

A Breath Of Fresh Air – Take a beautiful picture of your finished work in an awesome outdoor location!

We even went outside! Twice!!  The Green Knight and the Herbstwald Brigands made it into the woods for some adventures and colour scheme test photoshoots.

Overall I had an absolute blast doing this project.  Thanks OTT.  The SCC is my favourite competition here.  It is great to be a member of a community engaging with this joint enterprise and I’m always amazed and inspired by the variety and quality of projects here.  This is a really positive community and it is fun interacting with everyone as we work on different things but all under the same banner.  The challenge is interesting and causes me to interact with my collection in unexpected and creative ways.  I’m so pleased with the outcomes this year.  I have been able to appreciate the quality of design and casting of my favourite miniatures in a way that you only get when you paint them.    Looking forward to next year’s SCC already 🙂

And now the armies go in the display cabinet for “a good coat of looking at”.