Tarentine

Just a couple of quick shots of one Aventine Tarentine calvary. (hey I'm a poet!!) Still needs a shield.

As the 2  new pike units have just arrived I'll be looking are trying to complete all 3 units ASAP as Ive had the cav unit for nearly a year now.

I didnt really know how to tackle the saddle cloth but on Dean,s blog http://wabcorner.blogspot.com/ he gives a very good demo. Thanks mate.
Sorry about the yellow tinge but I photoed it under floros inside, when the suns out and I've completed it I'll give it another crack.

Roman Commanders

Dont look now, but..................two posts in one month!!!!
Some new minis finished. Mind you, these figures have been sitting on the painting desk for a while now.

The mounted commanders  I received from Keith, at Aventine Miniatures some time ago, and the foot slogger is a spare Renegade mini I had laying around. Banner is a LBM design.

The CinC is mounted on a round base as I intend to use the new 'Clash of Empires' and its a good excuse to do mini dioramas. I probably would have used smaller round bases for the sub-generals but I didnt have any at hand and I had completed and based one of them a few months ago.
And yes, I think the banner belongs to a cav unit from a later period but hey!, it suits me!

Dark Age Plastics

Only 4 months since last post so I should be able to produce a truck load of painted miniatures...............no such luck.  I had a grand fishing trip up north with a few mates back in July and since then wargaming and painting has dropped off the agenda. I did get a bit bogged down with the WoTR figures and I think I needed a change.

In order to get back into the painting mood I decieded to have a crack at the Wargames Factory  viking bondi set which I had purchased a while back.

As these were dark ages figures I used Army painter on them to quicken the process and give an overall dirty feel to the unit. Just had to manage the assembly step first.

Block paint the figures, cover with Army painter, a few highlights, a couple of LBM  shield designs and hey presto a new bondi unit.

For plastics I was happy with the overall results but I still prefer metals myself. Although this dosent stop the purchase of any new plastic box sets just so I can have a gander at them.

Anyway, they did the trick as since completing them Ive finished some Aventine Roman commanders and started a few Greek peltasts. Oh yeah, Ive also managed to purchase a truck load of new unpainted figures.............you know how it goes, paint one and buy three to replace it on the pile!!!!.

Power of the longbow

Just finished a few longbow figures off for the WotR project. The Perry plastics are beautiful figures and the detail is superb, maybe to good, as I find the faces very difficult to paint. I guess once they're on the board I wont notice them that much.

I haven't used army painter on this lot which has slowed the painting time quite dramatically. I keep eyeballing the box of plastic Gripping Beast Saxons that arrived last week in the post.............mmmmmm army painter should knock them off in no time at all.

Anyway I digress, I've given the archers livery coats in the colours of  William Neville, 1st Earl of Kent, also known as Lord Fauconberg.

Lord Fauconberg's reputation has been summed up in the following words:
"No other veteran of the Anglo-French Wars won such distinction in the Wars of the Roses"

Don't know if that will help me once the dice start rolling!!!.

 

Sneek Peek "War of the Roses"

And now for something completely different. I've had a crack at some of the Perry plastics, which are superb figures by the way, just to see how I manage with the paint side of things. I played around with the armour and used a dry brush technique. It looks OK to the naked eye but a bit hit a miss once photographed. A couple of shots with and without the flash.  

 I'm not to sure how to base them as yet, maybe paint a few more up. I tend to paint enough figures for a unit then base them in one hit. The worst thing is gluing the buggers together, good for variety bad for my temperament. Guess I might be ordering the metals soon!!!!

 As for which side to take.............leaning towards Yorkists.

 Oh yeah,......... I've got to purchase some new decent brushes as the faces are quite detailed, ............any suggestions?

Finished warband

I managed to finish the bases on the rear ranks and spray them over the weekend. 

So now, combined with the lads in front they fit in nicely.  These figures will portray a unit from one of the 'Kingdoms of Caledonia'.................Pictish, Strathclyde, Scotland etc. One of the benefits of this type of figure is that they are fairly generic and be used from ancient periods to late medieval.

The question is now..................what to do next???

Back to the Warbands

June already, I cant believe the year has gone so fast.


Anyway, on to more interesting matters. I purchased a couple of packs of crusader miniatures a while ago to complete a warband I started last year. As they were to make up the rear ranks, it was a quick (and I mean quick) paint job followed by the magic "army painter". I've also used a few other figures (foundry & GB) to make up the numbers.

Progress so far................

 Quick slap of paint..........a couple of pieces of detail on clothing here and there.

 Army painter.......then glued to the bases.

I'll complete the bases hopefully over the weekend and finish with matt varnish. Then for something new!!