Grenadier now EM-4 plastic fantasy Orcs

This project has been picked up and put down on a few occasions and with time, I've found that some of my painting techniques have changed.  When I started cleaning up and undercoating these very cheap Grenadier figures now sold by EM-4, I went with a dark grey gesso undercoat and a 2 tier "Dallimore/Foundry" base and highlight, followed by a wash.  If I were starting from scratch, I would undercoat with brown spray, base coat only and then hit the model with a dip.  The end result would be the same or thereabouts regardless of the method, but I've found my current technique to be the faster of the two.  

  Who's to say that I won't be painting in a completely different fashion in a year or two (house paint and pliers?)?  This is one of the challenges of painting an army over a long period of time.  Another would be remembering a painting recipe and even the availability of paint itself.  I'm sure most of us have had a colour discontinued or a range dropped (ask GW customers about this..) usually sparking a run on "Tentacle Pink" or "Fistula Green"...

  These chaps mostly have been painted with a grey gesso undercoat, single base colour followed by the dip and a dullcote.  They frosted up after the dullcote but I fixed it by rubbing a little olive oil over the figures with a bit of old blister pack foam.  I've yet to find the shields for the swordsmen (choppas?) but will post a little update when I've got that sorted out. 

  These figures have quite a history, being Grenadier's failed answer to Games Workshop's Warhammer starter box set plastics.

  Fantasy Warriors by Grenadier was a game designed by the sculptor Nick Lund and released in 1990. According to Boardgamegeek, the box set contained the following:

• 102 Plastic Miniatures (Orcs and Dwarves)
• 51 Plastic Shields
• 5 Dice
• 150 Order Counters
• 56-page Rulebook
• Quick Reference Sheet
• A very flimsy box

    It's similar to Warhammer in many respects but utilises a unique-to-the-game time system, with certain forces performing better at different stages of the day.  FW also allows for pre battle scouting and a few other rules that let the battle feel like it's taking place in a wider world or war.  The points system is apparently (see Frothers forum) flawed and there are other issues that would likely require house-ruling to overcome.

  On the whole, I'm keen to give the game a go as it is has a fairly exhaustive set of army lists for the genre (a barbarian list that isn't GW "Chaos" too!) and interesting rules that aren't too unfamiliar.  It's a bit of a novelty and I've got a stack of the plastic Orcs and Dwarves from EM-4 and a box set from ebay.

  A word of warning regarding the miniatures:  There are mold lines galore and a big fat injection nub on the back that needs to be ignored, or clipped and filed down (I chose latter).  A real prick to deal with as the plastic is particularly tough.  They're super cheap though and easy enough to paint up.