Immortal Miniatures Casualty Figures

The above have arrived with this mornings post and true to various comments seen on various fora the shields are much bigger than those on a Foundry figure. The Immortal shields measure just over 18mm whilst the Foundry shields are closer to 15mm. This would make a big difference if the figures where being used as rank and file, however as they are casualty markers it shouldn't be that much of a problem.

Overall the Immortal minis are good sculpts with clear detail and good character. On the down side there is a bit of flash here and there. Nothing major, but enough to notice on a first purchase from this line. Hopefully there'll be some pics of painted markers as soon as the minis are ready. Work on the rest of the army is moving on at a snail pace at present, but will hopefully pick up over the next week or so.

That all for now.

Cheers

Delays and Changes

The fourth phalanx of Spartans has been completed - save basing since last week, it has however been held up by indecision and changes to the initial layout for the finished figures on the base. This might sound strange but when painting the figures they are based on 20mm squares and give a very different visual appeal than when taken off these bases for the final basing.

There is normally a basic idea for each base which with a minimal amount of tweaking with the figures can be sorted out. This takes into consideration the ground space the figures take up and how they actually look when placed together on the base. Blu-tac is wonderful stuff for this, its so much easier to move than super glue...

The long and short of this is that the fourth Phalanx is finally glued down, but there are a few additions to the base including a casualty figure and a musician at the rear. These additional figures are about to be painted for the base prior to scenics being added.

The musician is from Gorgon Studio's Spartans "Gates of Fire" range and fits in perfectly. The comparison shot below shows the size and compatibility of the figures. To be honest there should be no problem as they both Steve Saleh sculpts but its always best to check. The centre figure is a Foundry Spartan whilst the other two are from Gorgon Studios, sorry about the quality of the image here.

The sword bearing figure is from the Gorgon Ekdromoi packs which are going to be used as Hoplites for the Brasideians. This decision has been based on creating a difference between the units visually, particularly in the styles of helmets depicted on the figures selected. There are no pilos helms in this unit but a mixture of more classical styles of helms. The full pack can be viewed at the link below:

Spartan Ekdromoi

A similar decision has been made with the Sciritae for this army, by using Peltasts figures from the Foundry range below instead of the more lightly clad Spartans from the Spartans:

Greek Peltasts

This may not be exactly historically correct, but however it does bring a degree of artistic licence into the creation of the army and its visual appeal on the table when complete.

Sorry for rambling on a bit, but thats all for now.

Cheers

WIP 2

The next picture is of the first unit of skirmishers which will be a part of the both the Impetus Armies at 300 and 400 points. The figures are Foundry again and are from their World of Greeks range. As you can see the figures are in the early stages of being painted.

More to follow shortly...

'With this, or upon this"

"Thucydides reports that when Spartan men went to war, their wives (or another women of some significance) would customarily present them with their shield and say: "With this, or upon this" (Ἢ τὰν ἢ ἐπὶ τᾶς, Èi tàn èi èpì tàs), meaning that true Spartans could only return to Sparta either victorious (with their shield in hand) or dead (carried upon it)."

This sparked an idea to create disorder markers for the Spartan army based on the aspis or shield of the unit being used. Similar markers have already been used for other armies, but they are not as specific to the individual army nor do they have such significance historically either. Here are the first four markers, but ultimately one will be required for each phalanx of the army and the other supporting units as well.

The bases are created in the same way as the unit stands are done, allowing for the marker to be placed at the rear of the unit without losing the visual appeal of the large bases in Impetus by using other counters.

Thats all for now...

Spartan Shields

The website below has given some inspiration for the last three mora of the Spartans being painted.

http://www.300spartanwarriors.com/300spartansmarketplace/spartanmilitaryart.html

A few emails later and Little Big Men Studios are sending three sheets of transfers, each with a common image rather than the normal selection of images per sheet. It goes to show if you don't ask, you won't get.
Stephen at Little Big Men couldn't have been more helpful and the transfers look great.

Hopefully the finished shields will do as well :)

Not the best picture in the world, but it gives the general impression. The 4th Phalanx will be finished later this week as there are only the weapons and shields to paint.

Cheers for now.

Skirmishers, Casualty Markers and Camp base.

Have completed undercoating the following skirmisher bases:

2 x Javelins - 1 base with 2 figures and 1 with 3 figures.
1 x Slingers - 2 figures.

Along with the archers that are already painted this will provide the skirmisher screen for the Spartans. The archers and slingers are interchangeable as they both have the same points value.

Immortal Miniatures have just announced a few additions to their expanding range including some hoplite casualty markers. The original plan was to pick up some of the Foundry range to match the existing figures of the army, however, the cost is prohibitive when compared to the deal the Immortal Miniatures are offering:

http://www.immortalminiatures.com/page81.html

Whilst not in the same style as the Spartans these miniatures will suit and maybe adaptable with a few head swaps to show the pilos style helmet favoured by the Spartans.

Plans for the base camp are coming along with the final element being a Dokana from Baueda.

http://www.baueda.com/15dokana.html

This along with the various figures from the Spartan Camp set from Foundry will complete the camp element.

Thats all for now.

3rd Phalanx

Here are a few pictures of the third Phalanx prior to varnishing and flocking.

Not quite sure about the second figure on the front rank. It has been painted with a bronze helm, however thinking of changing this to appear as a felt pilos instead. It just doesn't look right in the finished base.

Overall the unit looks good and fits well with the previous painted units. The bronze is not uniform throughout the army, which gives a feeling of individuality to each mora as well as the differences in armour and shields.

More to follow as soon as possible, the fourth phalanx is fully fleshed now, waiting on touching up the under coat before moving on the the armour and equipment.

Cheers for now.

Brushes and Bases

The Spartans are now drying after having their base textured. This is a simple case of applying a liberal coating of PVA and then dusting with dried builders sand. I find this gives a more uneven texture than some gaming sands and to be honest tends to be more economical in the long run. Its then a case of a light wash of FW Red Earth ink and once fully dry, dry-brushing the base colour up to a light sand colour using a variety of different shades as the mood takes.

The base is drying whilst tacked to a block of 4" x 4" to prevent warping. This hasn't happened often with infantry bases but can do so with light cavalry bases, as they have less lead on them.  This is going to happen when you apply liquid to 1 side of an MDF board over a certain size. So as  preventive I have started using the block to help keep the base flat whilst drying.

I get my bases from Warbases and can't complain at all regarding the quality and service provided. As they are local to me postage is seldom an issue to me as I collect. Have a look at their website in the links section.

With regards to brushes I mostly use Pro Arte Connoisseur and Renaissance Sable brushes in sizes from 4 down to 0000. These hold their shape well and I find are well suited miniature painting. I have a few older brushes from the Evil empire, but these are generally only used for large washes and under-coating as they are past their best. Oh, they are also good for applying liberal coats of PVA to bases.

Well thats all for now, hopefully get those pics up at the weekend once the base is finished.

Phalanx 3 Finished

Well I have just finished the miniatures for the above Phalanx of the Basic Impetus Spartan army which I am I painting. The figures are glued in place to the base and I'll texture the base tomorrow so I'll get some pics organised at the weekend - World Cup permitting.

I have gone down a slightly different route with this base after finding the following website and the image it has for Spartan shields:

http://www.300spartanwarriors.com/battleofthermopylae/armorweaponry.html

There are some interesting images in this site, some of which will make their way on to the next Phalanx's shield designs. More of that later.

Cheers for now...