Painting Hoplite Shields
By Derek de Villiers
Here is my formula for bronze shields. I have found it especially effective for large hoplite shields and helmets.
First, I undercoat the entire figure with black spray paint. I either use Humbrol or Tamiya hobby paints as I find these actually work better than cheaper commercial spray-paints.
The figure then gets several weeks to dry.
If I miss any spots I fill them in by hand with Coat d' Arms acrylic matt black.
Again the figure gets a couple of days to dry.
I then paint the figure. I use a production line method. Line up anywhere from ten to twenty figures and paint all flesh. Then all tunics or trousers, spears, spear heads, belts and so on. The finer the detail the later I paint it.
Mess ups are fixed with a second layer of Coat d'arms acrylic paint. They can be a little thin or a little thick. If the former then you need to use more than one coat. If the latter you need to add up to 10% water. However this tends to be the exception rather than the rule. In general they are fine paints straight out of the bottle and I've found them to be by far the easiest paints to use.
Now for the tricky bit - the bronze shield. I first give it a layer of Coat d'arms Bronze. This is a light metallic paint. I then allow it to dry for several days although the paint itself dries much faster than this.
Then I paint the shield with Humbrol HU055 Fire Bronze which comes in 14ml enamel tins. It is very thick and needs to be stirred well. It gives a very dark bronze effect. One year later there has been no noticeable interaction between the acrylic undercoats and the Humbrol enamel Fire Bronze.
As I was painting 15mm Greek Hoplites, all shields were then given a light coat of Coate d'arms matt varnish when I varnished the figure. This is to make the surface smooth enough for a VVV shield transfer. Black transfers are especially effective on Fire Bronze, but other colours I've tried are also visible (e.g. blue and red).
Finally after the VVV shield transfer has been given a couple of days to dry, I gloss varnish the shield with Coate d'arms Gloss varnish. I make sure that this is a very good coat in order to protect the transfer and to make the shield stand out. On the table the Fire Bronze Shields really catch the eye.
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Last Updated: May 4, 2002
Comments, questions and additions welcome. Send them to Chris Brantley at brant@erols.com.