Happy New Year High Elf Progress

Happy New Year All.

Sadly with Christmas and the resultant in-law stopping got in the way of extensive progress on my 4th edition High Elves but here's where we stand:

The Spearmen have been finished to an acceptable level for small games (although I do need to take the plunge and paint the banner).

I've cheated on my plan to only use 4th edition Elves by opting to use the lion shields that are currently available from GW but these were a tester for my proposed speed painting method and I didn't want  to waste the precious 4th edition shields on them. The close ups show the failings for the method and is a bit rough but from a distance and squinting makes them look fantastic!

I've decided to name them the "Lion Guard" and they're Captain/Champion reinforces the lion image. He's supposed to be White Lion Character but he's equipped with a spear so doesn't really fit in with the White Lions themselves. I also knew that as soon as I saw the shields I wanted to pair them up with this Champion model. I'm sure a lot of people out there will say the shields should be blue and the lion white but I plan on having white shields with a blue icon on it as a reoccurring theme throughout the army.
 

For small games this unit will be big enough but eventually I'll increase the number to 20 and include a Musician. In small games of 4th edition a Musician isn't really cost effective as they only allow a reform. They are nice and characterful though and finish of a unit so eventually they'll be added.

 My first unit of Archers is small and again, a bit of a tester. They'll get replaced by they're lead equivalents when I've stripped them of their black undercoat I gave them a few years back.

I think close ups may of been a mistake as now they don't look as good as when I proudly surveyed them a before snapping them!

Oh well, they're plenty good enough for a war gaming standard - happy days!