Timeline Gifts - Henry VIII
This summer I had the opportunity to visit Battle Abbey, the site of the Battle of Hastings. As with most English Heritage sites, there was a gift shop. Whilst Henry VIII certainly had nothing to do with the Battle of Hasting his model was the best from what was available.
I’m not sure if this model is made by Timeline Gifts or Ancestors Group, or if one is a subsidiary of the other. The casting on the model isn’t great but it should more than fit my purposes.
In any case, the model itself is based on Hans Holbein the Younger’s Portrait of Henry VIII. The original painting was destroyed in a fire in 1698 but a multitude of copies had been made, most of which have survived to the present day. Additionally, as all the copies have variations in the clothing, it gave me a lot of freedom in what colours I could choose.
Nevertheless, I knew I was going to use my tried and tested speed painting method on Mr Eighth-of-his-name so I started by priming the model with Colour Forge Standard Grey. From there I painted his hands and face with Cadian Fleshtone. Next I gave the model a zenithal highlight by spraying Liquitex Titanium White acrylic ink through my airbrush at a forty-five degree angle to bring out the texture of the model. To further bring out the texture I then drybrushed the model with Army Painter Matt White.
Moving onto the actual colours, I started by giving the skin a wash of Reikland Fleshshade and his facial hair a coat of Gryph-Hound Orange. At this point in Henry’s life I’m not sure that his hair would have been quite as vibrant as Gryph-Hound Orange but Hans Holbein’s portrait was arguably a work of propaganda to begin with. And with that in mind, I painted his jacket (doublet?) with Blood Angels Red, a bright rich scarlet red that shows off Henry’s opulence. For his tunic I simply had to use Army Painter Speedpaint Royal Robes for the name alone, whilst for his sleeves and shoes I used Snakebite Leather. To further hammer home Henry’s wealth I picked out the nodules on the sleeves and tunic, and the creases on the jacket, with Scale75 Dwarven Gold. Royalty back then (and even still today) would show off their wealth by having their clothing inlaid with gold and jewels. The furs I painted with Army Painter Speedpaint Burnished Red, to match with the jacket.
From there I painted his tights with Army Painter Speedpaint Runic Grey, as I didn’t have a convincing white to use. I then painted his hat with Black Templar and fur trim on said hat with Drakenhof Nightshade. For the chain around his neck, I basecoated it with Army Painter Speedpaint Broadsword Silver before picking out the links with Scale75 Dwarven Gold. Then for the cobbles on the base I kept it simple with a coat of Basilicanum Grey. Lastly, I picked out the lettering on the base with Scale75 Dwarven Gold tidying up with Two Thin Coats Dungeon Stone where necessary.
Pretty happy with how Henry turned out, and my only regret is not painting his codpiece a different colour to his tunic. A gold perhaps so that it really sticks out. If I’m ever near an English Heritage gift shop again I’ll have to keep an eye out for what other historical figures I can get.
