Pax Britannia 1

The legends that surround events in Britain after the Legions left are many and varied. 

Whilst not the first figures completed for this army, they are the first to be photographed as such. They are also the only two stands of light cavalry in the army.

The figures are from the War and Empire range from Forged in Battle. 

Also shown is the first command stand including a Christian priest and suitably imposing equites as the main figure.

There will be light infantry coming soon once the flocking is done. 

Cheers for now.

Back to the Brushes 402

Turning the other cheek, with these Spartans from Foundry. 

After a long lull in painting Ancient Greeks and some inspiration from Saxon Dog Wargame Projects on Facebook starting to expand on the existing Spartans and their rebasing back in April 2019. 

Going for more variety in the skin tones for the newer figures, however planing on keeping the same shield imagery for each mora of Spartans.

There are a few gaps in the existing bases so will be painting a few additional figures to complete the bases off. 

The thoughts are to double the number of units to give 16 bases at 60 x 40mm. This will allow a reasonable number of Spartiates for a full DBA army and then moving towards Hail Caesar and ADLG. Depending on how the painting goes may add in a new mora as well. 

Cheers for now.

How Far Jerusalem 7

The latest addition to the Late Crusader army for ADLG include three stands of the Knights of Jerusalem as shown below. 

Have used a bit of artistic licence when painting these, however, think that it's relevant enough to give a reasonable historical feel to the figures. 

As with the rest of the army, these are from the sadly no longer available Gladiator Miniatures range.

These are the first figures in 2025 and hopefully there will be more to follow. They have been included in the AHPC XV.

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

Back to the Brushes 390

 Sometimes you paint something because you want to

Frostgrave Cultist Barbarian

And some times because you've too bloody many half painted figures lying about

Xyston Thracians

Cheers for now

Back to the Brushes 389

 A bit more painting done the other day, this time some Dark Ages skirmishers from Forged in Battle. 

Part of a larger project these Romano Brits will also be of use in several different DBA forces. 

Cheers for now

Back to the Brushes 388

A few more stands from Minifigs Ancient Greek and Macedonian ranges.

The front stand are for use as Hypaspists and the rear stand will be Argyraspides and the first of five pike blocks.

Will be adding to these in the near future. 

Cheers for now

Dance of Bronze 30

Recently finished these for a friend's growing collection of Minifigs Ancient Greeks. 

Generic Psiloi and light cavalry bases that will fit in to most armies of the period easily. 

Contrary to the normal rules of engagement they performed well in their first game and destroyed the Spartan general's unit caught in bad terrain.

There are more figures from this period on the painting table at present. 

Cheers for now. 

Back to the Brushes 387

First post in a while; 15mm War and Empire Romano-Brits for ADLG and DBA.

Slingers and stick chuckers to follow them spears, hedges of them...

Cheers for now

Back to the Brushes 385

Continuing to paint these tin cans for the Wars of the Roses retinue that may be for ADLG or may be for Never Mind the Billhooks in 28mm. 

At this point the latter is more likely as a game system however the basing will be on 60mm fronts so not to rule out other games such as DBA, Hail Caesar and ADLG.

In terms of painting, these have been primed with Army Painter Platemail, washed in Nuln Oil and then worked back up with Army Painter Platemail and Shining Silver. 

Planning another session in these shortly with a view to getting some,if not all completed for basing. 

The figures are all from Perry Miniatures and the pair on the rectangular base are plastic the rest are from the metal range. 

Cheers for now.

Back to the Brushes 383

Made some progress last night on the first Men at Arms for the Lancastrian's in 28mm.

The figure at the back sporting the red and black colours of the Percy retinue has been added to previously painted figure in the colours of Roos. 

 Another man at arms was added to the motley crew below, the new figure again in retinue colours, although memory fails me at present in who's colours they are. 

Have another three figures nearing completion in the sidelines for these two stands; which leaves seven still to do. 

All the figures shown are metals from Perry Miniatures. 

Cheers for now

Hannibal antes Portas 4

This is an entirely new scale for me;  2mm something that at one stage I wouldn't have even entertained painting. Well painting isn't entirely the correct phrase, its more like dabbing with colour.

The miniatures are from Irregular Miniatures and were an idea my friend and fellow gamer. His idea was that I paint a Carthaginian and Republican Roman army and pick one, he would supply the figures. 

There are six stands of figures here, four skirmishers and two cavalry, with the furthest away cavalry being started the week before the Challenge so they are not included. All are based on 60mm front and the depths will vary as below: 

Skirmishers: 60 x 15mm

Medium and Heavy Infantry: 60 x 30mm

Cavalry: 60 x 30mm

Elephants: 60 x 40mm

Above the cavalry from the rear and then below from the front. 

These were entered into the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge as a Front Desk and New Acquisitions entry (902.2)

Looking forward to posting more work in progress pics and finished entries soon. 

Cheers for now

Sunne in Splendour 6

The first completed figures of 2024 and recent entry into the AHPC XIV. 

Two bases of Scurrours for my growing ADLG Lancastrian force. The figures are from Museum Miniatures and fit in well enough with the bulk of the army that are from Gladiator Miniatures. 

The red in the pictures isn't that far away from the red on the miniatures and now realising that it is a step too far and into the realms of garishly bright. It will help me remember that they are on the gaming table in ADLG and other games. 

The red and dark grey (Black) are to represent the colours of the Percy's; although in the Wars of the Roses fiction that I am currently reading, the Percy's are described as wearing blue and yellow, not red and black. I am not a scholar of this period so any thoughts or info on this would be appreciated. 

These were entered into the AHPC XIV as a Historical entry (941.2)  

 

Looking forward to posting more from this period sooner rather than later. 

Cheers for now

Back to the Brushes 377

No plan survives first contact and prepping for the AHPC IV is no different. 

The foot knights below were painted in a previous challenge and are being repurposed in this year's AHPC. This time the focus will be on creating a Lancastrian force for ADLG in 28mm.

The pile of shame, that way lies.

The next two pics shows a slow start on more foot knights and the first retinue bowmen; all from Perry Miniatures plastic sets. 

Don't tell them but the next lot include the Yorkist Lords

The foot knights and Lords below were prepped previously and have in a drawer, waiting...

We've been waiting for this for a while

The AHPC IV starts on the 21st, so there will be more posts sooner rather than later. 

Cheers for now

Back to the Brushes 374

A couple of test figures for the Christian Spanish re-conquistadors to give the Moors a worthy opponent. 

The figures are from Gripping Beast's El Cid range that will also morph into early Crusaders if the opportunity raises. 

Will be using a range of muted reds, yellows, warm greys and beiges across these figures. Not wanting complete uniformity in the units but will use colour to show better units from their peers.

Back to the Moorish cavalry soon. 

Cheers for now.

Imperium Sine Fine 34

Recently completed as a part of the AHPC XIII these Equite Cataphractii from War and Empire will soon be clumping  their way across tabletops  in ADLG, DBA and Hail Caesar. 

Each stand has a fair wee heft to them with the fourth horse fitting to each stand, even if this did involve a less than linear final appearance to the base.

The figures are good sculpts and slightly smaller than the other cavalry figures in the growing force for Early Imperial Rome in 15mm. One day there may even be a start made on the 28mm figures for the same army. 

Next up there will be other cavalry units for this army. 

Cheers for now.