We’ve been keeping it quiet, but Warhammer: The Old World is available to pre-order this weekend! Alongside books, boxes, and classic miniatures, there are plenty of debutants to look forward to – including the stunning Knights of the Realm on Foot for the Kingdom of Bretonnia. They’ll be following shortly after the initial release, as they struggle to keep up with their horse-riding compatriots.
But here at Warhammer Community, we were in love from the moment we saw them – so we took the Questing Vow and pledged to paint our very own regiment. A whole band of staff members would each paint their own knight, complete with personal heraldry. These are the results!
Ed: I went for the heraldry of Couronne, with its vivid reds and blues, as I love the way it evokes the colours of royalty. It’s a triadic scheme of red, blue, and yellow, so to balance these I went with bright colours like Mephiston Red for the red cloths, Caledor Sky for my blues, and glazes of Flash Gitz Yellow to bring more saturation into the metallic and non-metallic golds.
With a lot of different metallic textures on the model, I spent time using a lot of the paint range to break up each area, like all the different locks, to try and prevent everything from getting lost in repeated colour placement on the model.
Emma: I wanted a different feel for my knight, so I chose Naggaroth Night, Corvus Black and Averland Sunset for the surcoat and shield, keeping to the quartering style found on most knights – perhaps he was in exile, or on crusade, hence a bit different? I didn’t want to use gold on the ornate trim and details, so I used Screaming Bell to give the metals a coppery feel.
I blended and highlighted all these colours up, but tried to keep it simple, so I could easily copy it if I were painting a whole unit. For the heraldry, skulls fit the colour selection, marking this knight as one not to be messed with!2
Lydia: Bretonnians were my first army when I joined Games Workshop… some years ago. I remember the pain of painting bright colours with old paints, so I was very excited to have a go at painting them with newer Contrast colours. Yellow has always been my favourite colour, so Imperial Fist was an easy pick. All I needed next was a good contrasting colour – plenty to choose from, but I went with Dark Angels Green thinned with a little Contrast Medium.
I go for a halfway house between speed and style when painting. I use Contrast for the base, then paint a couple of highlights on top to really make the colours pop. I love freehanding, and Contrast paints are great for this thanks to how easily they flow off the brush. As my knight had a big ol’ fleur-de-lys on their tabard, it made it an easy pick for the heraldic design.
Michael: I've been looking for little ways to push myself while painting, and the shield was a great opportunity. After a zenithal highlight* I airbrushed Talassar Blue, then used masking tape to preserve a blue stripe while applying Dawnstone. Freehanding the padlock was daunting, but I carefully sketched the outline with a light pencil before using Black Legion. I carried the stripe over to the crest on the helmet with Teclis Blue and a thinned layer of Caledor Sky on the lower half.
To make the armour and leather distinct next to the Dawnstone robes, I used Iron Warriors and Rhinox Hide for a dark finish, washing with thinned Basilicanum Grey before highlighting. Now I’m considering the same scheme for an Imperial Knight…
Six more dashing knights complete our regiment – Jon has painted his in the colour of his very first Bretonnian army from the time of legend (the year 2000), while Joel has opted for the pink and yellow of Battenberg – a little-known fiefdom he claims is somewhere in Bretonnia. Luke used a bright, clean scheme of blue and white, while Tom preferred red and yellow complemented by a bold star. Darcy and Rik rounded things out with sombre black and white colouring, and complementary yellow and green, respectively.
The Knights of the Realm on Foot will be available to pre-order in the very near future – each box contains 20 multi-part Knights with plenty of options to create a regiment of individualised chivalric warriors. You can paint them in the more uniform heraldry of their Duke or Baron’s household, or each in their own livery on an Errant Crusade.
* Applying a thin coat of a pale colour over a darker one, usually with a spray can or an airbrush, to create a gradient to glaze or thinly layer over.