Back to the Brushes 396

Already two weeks into 2025 and already behind with painting plans. 

Have more partially painted miniatures on the desk than finished miniatures and more primed than partially painted. To be fair though that's not that unusual. 

As it's the start of another year - it's past time for New Year greetings - here is the beginning of something new. 

A base filler for Kings of War Free Dwarves Ambush force with a Troop of Ironclad Warriors at the rear.

Old Citadel figures for the above Ironclad troop and an Iron breaker at the front will give both units a definite retro look. 

More to follow shortly. 

Cheers for now. 

Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge XV

Winter has arrived and the prep for this year's Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge is underway. Having joined the lists again I am needing to find 500 points of 2, 10, 15 and 28mm miniatures to paint between December 21st and March 21st. 

Decisions are not always the easiest of things to make and can often change how the challenge runs. The initial running list includes: 

• 2mm Punic Wars
• 10mm DAK for O Group
• 15mm Romano Brits for ADLG
• 15mm Samurai 
• 28mm Romano Brits for SAGA
• 28mm Dwarves for Kings of War
• 28mm Hundred Years War for SAGA
• 28mm Christian Spanish 

There are more options, however, I'm looking to finalise a set list and point values from the above with a schedule to ensure that there is time to complete sections across the Challenge and to keep things interesting throughout.

Cheers for now

Back to the Brushes 395

A little update on the Romano British javelin men. 

The front two stands of Psiloi are ready for varnishing and basing and the larger stands to the rear aren't that far behind. 

At this point there are no immediate plans for the shields beyond the yellow ochre already used. This colour fits in well with the muted bieges and greens used for the and unifies the figures in the stand. In reality, there would probably be less unification in the Dark Ages however at this scale it suits purposes well. 

Next up in this project will be the start of the ponies. 

Cheers for now

Back to the Brushes 394

A bit more progress on the Thracian cavalry, well the horses to be precise.

The infantry stand will be for the General 4Ax

Cheers for now

Back to the Brushes 393

The dreaded wire spears have been ordered from A&M Miniatures along with a solitary pack of Thracian Nobles for the Knights element in DBA. 

So to fill the time waiting on the order coming through have started a few other stands of Thracian cavalry:

Including Getic horse archers in fully shiny base metal at the rear; who are fronted by the partially painted horses of the General's cavalry stand for the DBA list.

Have never been a fan of painting horses, but it's something that I have managed ways if dealing with. 

For 15mm figures this involves, blocking base colours for the horse flesh and tack then washing with a suitable dark colour - Army Painter Strong tone. Varying the colour of the horses leads to a visually pleasing finish when several stands are side by side. 

Cheers for now

Back to the Brushes 392

Painting restarts and continues on Xyston Thracian peltasts, psiloi and light cavalry.

A versatile range of figures that can be used as an army in their own right or allies for a range of different armies across the Mediterranean. 

Shields and wire spears are taking time to add on and in hindsight wishing had done this prior to priming. Have enough spears to do what's shown here but will need to order more for the next batch which will include the 4Ax bases for DBA. 

Cheers for now

Back to the Brushes 391

Wire spears have pros and cons but Jesus they can be jaggy little sods when gluing in place. 

The third horse is in the sidelines, waiting on it's trapping getting painted before joining in. 

When finished this will be the last stand of Spartan cavalry from Xyston Miniatures. A few more spearmen will see them finally finished leaving time for allied troops including auxiliaries and a few more phalanxes. 

Cheers for now