Back to the Brushes 265

In the previous Back to the Brushes post, Hun cavalry were mention being found underneath the Late Roman cavalry. 

To say that there were surprised expletives used when the figures were counted would be an understatement.

The basis of a 1500 point WAB army was there, horses glued to stands, prepped and primed. Forty one cavalry in all plus sixteen skirmishers; there were tears in the corner of both eyes. 

So what to do with them? Store, paint or sell are the main options. Storing takes no effort but achieves nothing. Painting takes the most effort and is the most rewarding once completed. Selling, is easy enough and can be financially rewarding if not tinged with regret. 

So, painting it is and as it is well known that horses are my bete noire; then how to do it? 

As one very large protect split into 8 colour sections. The Trello cards are drawn up and each colour has a variety of steps until based and completed sans rider. Why? Because painting horses is a bugbear here so deciding to take the stallion by the main and go for it. End date? Have notionally set the end of September for the horses and basing; the riders will be a separate project in their own right later in the year. 

Will post updates on this as the project progresses. 

Cheers for now. 

Reconquista 8

The recently completed Analogue Hobbies Quarantine Challenge 2020 saw some progress being made with the Almohads and Moors in general.

First is a unit of heavy infantry that will form the basis of the centre line of the painted army with this being the first of either four or six stands for this. 

The figures are from Gripping Beast and are still some of my favourites for this period. 

A common theme throughout the project is the use of a dark gray headdress to tie the units together. There is no other reason for this than artistic licence and it adds to the unity of all the units as well as the individuals on each stand. 

Next for this period is another command stand, the second of three needed for the army if used at 200 points. The figures again are from Gripping Beast and the standard from Little Big Men transfers. 

The drummer behind the left shoulder of the Iman was painted for this challenge, whilst the other two figures have been painted previously.

Here are both stands side by side.

There will be some more from the last Challenge shortly before starting the first Thirty Days, Thirty Miniatures Challenges for the summer months. 

Hope that you like these. 

Cheers for now

Hannibal antes portas 2

These have been lurking at the edges of the painting table for some time now so decided to finish them off during this challenge.

Yes, all the pictures were taken at the same time in the same light and yet the one above would appear to be on a grey base sheet rather than white, who knew. 

All of the light cavalry figures here are from Gripping Beast's Punic Wars range and are very versatile as they can be used in both sides and several others of the period including the Caesarian Romans. 

Might get a few more of these in the future although annoyingly they come in packs of three, meaning will need two packs for three stands. 

Think it is about time to go back to using the camera rather than the phone as these pics are washed out and fuzzy at time. 

The skirmishers are also from Gripping Beast and could do with some support from javelin armed troops in ADLG. 

Both the cavalry and infantry are based on 60mm fronts although the cavalry are on 80mm deep bases. Prefer the deeper bases as this allows more staggering of the horses giving more movement. Also allows more figures to be on a base to differentiate between light, medium and heavy cavalry more easily. 

The 60mm fronts will also enable these to be used in other systems such as Hail Caesar and DBA.

More to follow shortly.

Hope that you found this interesting. 

Stay safe and cheers for now.

Hannibal antes portas

Another new theme here and this time it is the start of a range of figures that are multi-purpose in Ancient Mediterranean warfare, Ancient Spanish and Iberians. 

The first stands for these versatile troops are two bases of Caetrati which will be used in both Carthaginian and Caesarean Roman armies for both ADLG and DBA. The figures are from Gripping Beast's Punic Wars range and have gathered dust for far too long in the lead mountain. 

Ultimately these will be a part of the Carthaginian army that will be started later on this summer. however do like to do a test stand or two before starting the bigger units. 

Painted using block, shade wash and then highlighting with the base tone which is quicker than layering with three tones although not as effective. When using the Rule of Three Feet they look very good and mean that two armies will be useable for gaming much sooner than thought. 

To follow these will be more infantry and then on to both light and medium cavalry.

Probably should swap the shields on the front base over so the colours are in a different order than that of the second base, however that is a task for another day. 

Hope you found this interesting.

Stay safe and cheers for now. 

Dance of Bronze 20

Recently completed and based these Greek slingers are from Foundry's original range of Ancient Greeks. 

As a result they are slightly shorter and thinner build than the World of the Greeks range however this does not stop them being used in the same armies. 

As these were the last two left to paint there was no option to vary the poses on this stand; it was advancing with sling as shown or nothing.  

As they are broadly generic figures they can be used for most armies in this period so will likely be a part of the Spartans and future Caesarian and Carthaginian armies for DBA and ADLG

Hope that you found this interesting. 

Stay safe and cheers for now.

The Sunne in Splendour 2

Where are the weeks going? Is this the start of week seven or eight; not sure anymore and they are all becoming one in lockdown. 

A small post this time round consisting of 4 15mm War of the Roses figures from Gladiator Miniatures. 

These are part of the additional elements required to take the DBA army up to the level of an ADLG army. The first of quite a few additional bases especially of foot. 

These will be retinue billmen in game terms and part of Oxford's command in the overall scheme of things.

Hope that you found this interesting. 

Stay safe and cheers for now. 

Imperium Sine Fine 23

Second post for the Caesarian Romans and this time it is the command stands. 

Unlike the first post for this army, these figures are from Warlord Games and are truly huge in comparison to the Gripping Beast figures. Would say that these are heroic scale 28mm figures and whilst well sculpted they are too big to mix in with the others.

The image on the shield is hand painted and would only do this for a single figure. Whilst not impossible to do for a few wouldn't want to do this for a unit or group of units.

Things aren't going to well for this command stand with one down and the other nearly out. The vexillum is an addition to the figure to show the command status.

The shield and the "casualty" figures were painted in the AHPC X the other two earlier in 2019.

There will be more from this army in the coming weeks of lockdown; hope you found this interesting.

Cheers for now

Imperium Sine Fine 22

For the last nine months there has been a slow and steady progress on an army of Caesarian Romans from Gripping Beast.

These figures are currently out of production which is a shame as they are in my opinion great sculpts.

The first unit shown here is actually the last to be completed and it recently appeared in the AHPC X.

This cohort depicts that of a recently raised legion or a penal legion. Transfers are from the excellent range from Little Big Men.

The figures have been painted using the "speed painting" method of block, wash and highlight.

The highlight in this case is the same colour as the base tone: Foundry Scarlet A.

Hope that you find this of interest. 

Stay safe

Cheers for now.

Back to the Brushes 255

Starting another part of this year's

Challenge by blocking in the flesh tone on the first batch of Xyston 15mm Spartans for DBA and ADLG. 

Very nice sculpts with great detail; will update you on the progress with the separate shield and spears in the future. 

Next to these is another stand worth of knights and one of cavalry for the Lancasterians in War of the Roses. These again are for DBA and ADLG.

Quite a few odds and sods to get based and photographed as well, so there will be some finished work in the near future too.

Cheers for now

Imperium Sine Fine 19

Catching up with the ongoing repurposing of the Late Roman army in 28mm. 

These figures were originally painted for a WAB army, then rebased for Impetus and now are being re-purposed for ADLG or absolutely anything as they are now based on 60mm fronts.

There are two stands of light infantry here with another two of medium foot to follow shortly.

For these figures this will be the last time that they will be rebased regardless of rules or changes. Same for anything else for that matter.

Cheers for now

Back to the Brushes 231

Been a struggle over the last week and a half to get some good time to paint; however that changed in a positive way last night and a good start was made on the mercenary crossbowmen for all things Dark Ages.

Below is the bedlam on the tray just now with a lot of Greeks in progress held up by a delayed, well not delivered, paint from a reputable figure supplier. The crossbowmen are on the pallette - ceramic tile - and and will be used as Mercenaries, Normans, Christian Spanish and even First Crusaders.

There are another dozen of these to be painted that will be used for ADLG and Hail Caesar in the future. Those shown below will see use in SAGA and WAB. Yes, that's WAB.

The figures are from Gripping Beast and will be the first figures for the 30 Days 30 Figures challenge started yesterday. Full details on the next post.

As mercenaries in WAB the crossbowmen will see action with a Norwegian based Viking army at 1,000 points. More of that in the future.

Cheers for now

Imperium Sine Fine 18

The blog has been neglected a bit over the last few weeks with the start of an instagram page: @brushesnbases. Not looking to stop blogging just moving forwards with tech a bit. The real challenge with the two feeds is not to duplicate.

So it's, time to show some completed work from this year's Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge. The stand below is a command stand for Late Romans in ADLG. 

The colours picked for this figure tie in with two infantry units that are being re-purposed presently for show here. Matching in to a figure painted almost fifteen years ago was entertaining as elements of my painting style have changed over the years.

Base from Warbases as were the tufts and scenic decor.

Hope that this is something of interest to anyone who is looking.

Cheers for now

Back to the Brushes 230

Moving onwards and upwards wirh the Caesarian Romans from Gripping Beast.

The next stand to follow shortly along with something old

Cheers for now

Back to the Brushes 229

Yet another work in progress picture of the Caesarian Romans.

Artifical light really is no good for photographing miniatures.

That's more like it.

Cheers for now.