Grey Horses

Hello there! I have been asked by a wargaming friend about how I paint my grey horses. I have experimented with a different system after finding using solely paints has not been satisfactory. After preparing the figure in the normal manner, (Deflash, degrease, prime/undercoast and paint white), I scrape off as small amount from an oil based pastel. This comes off as a powder which I leave on a plate or saucer. I then use a colour shaper from an art shop to place the powder from the oil pastel where it is required.

There are a number of types of 'grey' horses so I would advise the painter to print off some pictures of photographs from the internet to give you a good idea of what you are trying to represent. Here is a  soft dapple. The legs are a result of airbrushing a brown around the legs and not the oil pastel.

The dapple on grey horses can extend to the shoulders and up to the neck. Here is obviously does not but a very faint dapple can be seen on the rump.

A dapple is a series of joined small circles or hollow shapes which can cover some or all of the horses hide. Here the dappling on the rump of the horses is clearer than in other photos.

Here the dappling can become more dense as you move down the horses legs to eventually become black or dark grey. The dappling is still present at the boundary but it can take a little longer to achieve this block colour as using the oil pastel dust is difficult to work with. Just be patient and you will achieve a mottled finish.

As you are working with a powder medium you need to fix it in place. I use an aerosol varnish from an art shop. It is a better quality and non yellowing.