When I first started to write this article I realized that a common theme is obviously lacking between painting horses and terraining bases. Each does, however, have something in common. They are both seldom discussed and yet add to any wargaming army. HORSES Let's look at horses first. The horse is a noble beast and in most armies tends to be the forgotten element on the table. For most of us the perfect medium point is having variety without committing a great deal of time to the cause. As with most things in life there is an easy way and a hard way to paint horses. Both have certain common characteristics that every painter should keep in mind. A healthy horse has a sheen to its coat which means that totally flat paints will not give the effect that you want. I use tube oil paints on all of my horses to give them a sheen. Grumbacher and Winsor Newton are the best on the market. Both have a number of browns that are perfect for horses especially the burnt and raw umber colors. Most horses are various shades of brown with various markings of white on the legs and head. The colors needed to paint most horses are white, brown and black. Save your grey and white horses for commanders and musicians. With these points in mind let's look at the easy way to paint horses. After applying the white undercoat paint each horse dark brown. Neatness does not count since the entire horse is basically one color. If variety is desired group your horses by the half dozen and use a different shade of brown on each. To save time, all manes, tails and hooves should be black -- the effect is good. After the horses have been set aside for 48 hours to dry they can be marked with white paint. There are two places were horses have markings: the legs and the head. Although most horses have few markings on their legs head markings are quite common. They range from a small "star" marking on the forehead slightly above the eyes to a total covering of the face known as ''bald face". In between you may find a stripe from forehead to nose and any length in between. All markings, however, start at the forehead no matter what their length. Leg markings may appear on one, two, three or four legs, one or two being the most common. Again as with the head markings there is a great deal of variety. All markings begin at the hooves and can be extended up the leg to the knee. The length of the markings can also vary from leg to leg on the same horse. What about other markings? Historically, other markings on horses were very rare except on the plains of the North American continent. In fact, throughout history, there has been a trend to match the colors of the horses within a given unit or company so the horses would tend to be uniform in their appearance -- at least until the unit had done some heavy campaigning. Advanced Method The more advanced method for painting horses incorporates several of the techniques mentioned above. After the base coat of brown is applied, mix some black with brown and shade the horse. The shaded areas of the horse are under the neck, the bottom of the buttocks, and any areas where the muscle lines are indented (on the lower legs, under the shoulder muscles and along the sides of the neck). Next the horse has to be highlighted. The best method for achieving this is by adding white or yellow to the brown and dry brushing that color onto the back, upper shoulder muscles, and head of the horse. The next step is to add the markings. This methid is certainly more time consuming, but will give you greater variety in each unit. The intensity of the highlighting and shading should be the choice 1 of the individual gamer. Experiment and see what happens. Harnesses on horses should always be darker than the horse except in the case of black horses where the harness should be dark brown. The exception may be found in the ancient period where harnesses were often dyed bright colors. Painting eyes on a horse is a simple process. Color the eye area with white. After it dries place a dot of black paint in the center. Horses' eyes tend to be rather large so the process should be rather simple. BASES Terraining bases is a process that adds life to any table top army. It is that extra step that will make your gaming much more enjoyable. Bases can be made of a variety of materials including balsa wood, bass wood, masonite, cardboard or polystyrene plastic. The plastic is the best and can be purchased in sheet form at various thicknesses from most good hobby shops, and it is inexpensive. Any number of materials will work as terrain. One of the best ways to learn about these materials is from a hobby shop that specializes in plastic models, especially tanks and other ground vehicles. They may be able to direct you to a real expert who can give you invaluable information. If you are looking for the simple approach it can be done with white glue, sand, and artificial grass. The first step includes obtaining two cardboard boxes approximately 4" x 4" with sides between 1 and 2 inches high. The sand goes into one box and the grass in the other. After the figures have been mounted carefully cover the figure stands and the bases with a thin layer of glue making sure that none of the glue adheres to the figures. Next take the stand of figures and swish the base around in the sand. Immediately repeat the process in the box with the grass. The effect of the process will be one of grass on an earthen base One Step Further For those of us who want to go one step further mix plaster of parts and spread it around the base. This method has the advantage that you can control the thickness of the terrain. Immediately swish the base in the grass making sure that the plaster does not come off. The plaster/grass mix also has another advantage -- because of the thickness of the base you can place various battle debris into the plaster, and when it dries it becomes permanent. Swords, bits of armor or helmets add that special touch of realism. (Also small rocks and twigs.) What kind of grass is available? A hobby shop that specializes in model railroading can offer a good selection of terrain supplies. Artificial grass comes made of foam rubber, saw dust, and a number of other synthetics. The best grass that I have found is Kibri grass manufactured by a company in Germany. It is sometimes hard to find, but can be ordered from most hobby stores. It comes in three different colors of green plus gold and black. If you wish to terrain larger bases I would strongly suggest the plaster/grass method since you can build up certain areas and give the base a rough look. Hills and ridges can be formed by first setting styrofoam on the base and building up the roughage with plaster then adding the grass. Of course, battle debris on larger bases is almost a must. Where does all of this battle debris originate? Save all of those odds and ends that you were going to throw away. Keep broken figures, spare weapons or that odd piece that never seems to fit. All those odds and ends become the spare parts for your terrain. Whenever the plaster/grass method is used be sure the plaster is given several days to dry before you paint it. While it may sound difficult to paint ground work that is under grass, it is easier than it looks. Using a dark green or dark brown paint make a thin wash and apply it over the base. Plaster is very absorbant and the pigment of the paint will quickly color the ground. Remember that in this situation it is always easier to apply several thin coats than one thick one. Do not panic if some of the grass comes off of the base and sticks to your brush. You can remove it from your brush by using thinner between each application. Back to Table of Contents -- Courier Vol. 1 #4 To Courier List of Issues To MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1979 by The Courier Publishing Company. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com