El Cid Vignettes from Reconquer Designs

‘That looks like The Last Supper,’ remarked my wife as she passed the painting table, looking at ‘El Cid’s Battle Council’ from Reconquer Designs. Well, I don’t actually think that she’s too far wrong given the level of artistry in the sculpting! 

I regret that I have only painted a few pieces by Reconquer Designs – having collected a substantial El Cid force in metal back in the 2000s, I don’t really need any of these 3D printed wonders – but these are just too good. It’s easy to tout STLs and 3D printed miniatures as the next big thing, though I think it’s fair to say that the technology is still being learned and that great historical sculpts are not yet widely available; however, Reconquer Designs sculptor Marcos is absolutely nailing it for medieval Spain. 

Marcos is a fan of realistically-proportioned models, so Reconquer Designs minis follow this aesthetic. You can buy the STLs to print yourself although I purchased ready-printed models from Iron Gate Scenery in the UK; these were very fine prints with excellent detail and nearly all the supports removed (there were a couple of tiny supports I needed to trim away, but preparation was incredibly quick). 

Care has to be taken with the finer parts – El Cid’s sword (from The Duel vignette), for example, is quite vulnerable to damage. His opponent was provided with a resin spear but I quickly replaced it with a metal one from Northstar – a very easy process, as the hand is printed open and required no drilling out.

Each figure was then superglued onto a small piece of plasticard (the models come without bases) and undercoated with matt white primer.

I shan’t bore you with the details of painting, but everything was done with a mix of GW Contrast Paints, traditional acrylics and inks. The detail on the minis is quite extraordinary and with realistic gaps cut away that would be filled in on a traditional metal model (for example, straps hang away from the body and stirrups have gaps above the foot), they reward some careful painting.

I’m no Kev Dallimore but spent a little bit of extra time adding details where I could, though I still draw the line at painting eyes!

Once all the painting was complete and models varnished, I assembled both vignettes on irregular MDF bases with chamferred edges. 

I decided to arrange all the figures in El Cid’s Battle Council to all face in one direction – slightly contrived but great for photo opportunities!

I can’t recommend these models highly enough and will probably be back for more in the future. The range continues to expand with some very interesting models for the 12th and 13th centuries, as well as plenty of characterful vignettes.