Painting progress (and rambling)

I have completed 10 of the Spanish scutarii so far. I applied the last brush strokes when I came home from work tonight--after I feed the ravenous cats, of course. Now I need to give them a coat of clear acrylic sealer (the figures, not the cats) and then a coat or two of dullcote. Then I mount them on the bases. 

I use the excellent Litko bases. I was once a skeptic. I had my own system of using heavy sheet styrene for basing figures until one day I saw the light. I forget exactly how or when or why, but I tried the bases and was so impressed that I've never gone back. What I love most about Litko, apart from the high quality of their product, is that they can make bases of any size for you. For example, my last 28mm ancients project was a WRG 6th edition army using A and A Miniatures' outstanding 3rd century Romans. My friend Kevin Smyth (who blogs Northwest Historical Miniature Gamer) and I decided to use a base size for 28mm that is twice the size for 15mm figures. Because it was WRG 6th, I needed "spare change" and I also opted to base the figures on two-figure bases to get the full flexibility of the rules. This meant and 80mm base width for four close order, three loose order, or two open order figures. For the twos, I needed base widths like 26.666mm or 53.333mm. Litko did them. I could never go back.

Once the figures are mounted on the base, I terrain it using Golden coarse pumice gel medium that I get from a local craft/art store. It has a nice rough finish when dry that makes it ideal for drybrushing. I expect that my first two bases will be complete by week's end. Much of my painting and basing goes so slowly because the process just takes time. The processes that follow the last brush strokes on the figures take as much time as painting.

In the meantime, I purchased a two packs of Crusader Spanish slingers, which I have already cleaned, washed, primed, and started painting. I'm doing the skin and faces now. I hate painitng faces; I rarely get them right. This came out OK:

It's an Old Glory figure, which I find easier to paint because they lack the fine detail in the face that you have to paint around. The Crusader figures have finely detailed eyes, which just drive me nuts. I've seen so many recommendations for painting faces like a pro. They drive me nuts, too. I've learned much about painting from fellow gamers, but I really can't ever follow a specific procedure. Whatever I do has to be my own way, adapted maybe, but eventually evolved into my own style.

I still need to clean the remaining 14 figures for the scutarii. I expect that by the time I finish the slingers, I'll have them cleaned, washed, primed, and ready to go.