Introduction

The prospect of painting Landsknechts (or Swiss for that matter) can be daunting; with so much colour, flamboyance and variety of dress they are unlike any other infantry of their age, if you’re painting these for the first time it can be difficult to know where to start.

However, I am confident that with a little research and some adaptation to your approach you will soon embrace these differences and really get into them in a big way. I have painted Landsknechts for many years now and find myself returning to them time and again. Whether you are venturing out on your first fahnlein or in need of some inspiration to return to an unfinished unit I think you’ll find this painting guide of use.

Painting Landsknechts will be a real test of your ability but with a few of the hints and tips that I shall describe here I truly feel that you will be able to paint these figures with relative ease and enjoyment plus develop and improve your skills as a result.

The miniatures I have used in this guide are from Wargames Foundry’s Renaissance range. I also use their brushes and, in particular, their paint system; this is specifically designed to work in up to three stages from dark to light and suits my painting style exactly. This is not an intentional advertisement for Foundry, merely the use of figures and materials which I find work well for me.

I have constructed this blog to be used as a painting guide; each topic has been broken down into 'pages' which you can select from the labels menu on the right.

In effect, this is not so much a blog but more of a painting guide or tool to use as you need it for whatever stage of your Landsknecht painting projects.

The narrative and idea for this blog was put together with much help and encouragement from the late Richard Knapton of the Renaissance Wargaming Society to whom I also dedicate my ongoing efforts.

I hope this guide is useful to you.

Stuart Mulligan