Hairy, Scary Barbarians!

I got myself a box of Strelets Ancient Germans recently and decided to take a break from painting Romans.

They are probably historically too early for the late Roman period as their shields include ones with Celtic-style spined bosses, but what the hey, I think they'll do.

I love the poses on these fellas; they're all in aggressive fighting stances, none of the wishy-washy Italeri poses, although there is a preponderance of swords, when spears would be more common. All of those not wearing helmets (the majority) wear their hair in either top-knots or Suebian knots, which is a nice touch, too.

Not sure what the last chap is wearing on his head, whether it's supposed to be a Sioux-style feather headdress, or if they should be oak-leaves. I've gone for feathers.

 

 

I've also done a swap with Conrad Kinch over at Joy and Forgetfulness and will be getting a swag more of these chaps as well as a few more sprues of the Miniart Germanic figures (in exchange for some tanks), so my Romans will be set for enemies!

Experiments with Archers

Rather than have archers using bows with no bowstrings (maybe they just shout "twang!" and chuck their arrows?), I've experimented using a technique I've seen on various other blogs and fora, namely using a length of plastic bristle from a kitchen floor brush and pan set.

The bristle was cut in half and one length was glued from the archer's fist to both ends of the bow, then trimmed once the glue had set. I think I'll need to be a little more skillful with the glue, as there seems to be rather a large blob around his chin and shoulder.

"Twang!"

1st bristle added

Once he 1st bristle had dried, I added the 2nd.

Bristles trimmed and then painted.

Newline Romans

I've started on the second line of Newline Designs Roman infantry, painting them up in red tunics as the unarmoured second row of the second unit of Roman infantry.

I've also bought a set of Italeri Late Roman infantry to bolster the ranks. I find that despite the lovely production values, the sculpting of Italeri figures leave me a little cold; out of at least a dozen poses, I find only a handful are any good. The rest are awkward, or down-right silly! I'm planning to distribute a few Italeri figures amongst the Miniart ones and have even experimented in swapping the heads from some of the more stupid Italeri poses with the bodies of the Miniart figures with the apocryphal Attic style helmets.

Newline unarmoured infantry

l to r, Miniart, Newline, Italeri

Stupid Italeri pose

New use for stupid Italeri pose figure's heads!

First Newline figure

This is the first of the metal Newline Designs figures assembled and painted. I've painted up 2 more, but this is the only one with shield and spear attached.

Compared to the Miniart plastics, this was a dream to paint; the details are crisp and precise, not like the plastic figures where detail disappears and you're left to fill in the blanks, especially around the faces. 

Miniart Skirmisher

Here's the first skirmisher for my Roman command.

He was fairly flashy, and I didn't do a great job of de-flashing him, but he'll be alright for the table-top. Just don't look too closely at the shield rim when you are examining the detail of his tunic!

My Newline order arrived yesterday. They are beautiful figures and are perfectly cast with a lot more detail than the Miniart figures, though not as animated in their poses. I was thinking of combining the two types in one command, but I think I'll keep them separate. Not only are they finer looking, they are also slightly smaller.

Pictures to come, including size comparisons.

Mniart Roman Spearmen

Here's the next three infantry figures from the Miniart Roman infantry.

These three are the least historically accurate of the set; the first 2  in 'Attic' helmets,of which no archaeological evidence exists, and the last, a late imperial Gallic type which was long past the fashion that this set is supposed represent.

Shields to come, then basing and varnishing the first stand!

Primum miles

This is the first cab off the rank of the Miniart Roman infantry. 

They paint up quite easily. However, I've just realised why they don't look quite right to me : their fists should actually be inside the shield boss. As they are, it looks like the shield is being held by an external handle. Maybe next figure I'll cut off the hand and glue the shield directly to the wrist.

My shield design was not as successful as I'd hoped, as I had trouble cutting out the hole for the central boss and made a bit of a pig's ear of it. Gluing it on also made a bit of a mess that necessitated painting over the design to patch it up. Then there's the noticeable line of the edge of the paper, especially around the bottom of the shield. Maybe next time I'll cut out the blue star only, rather than the whole shield shape. As a first experiment, it's not too bad, but not exactly what I was hoping for.

He'll get the wash treatment, and then be the first on a base of 8. 

Stay tuned for more!