Warlord Games 28mm Praetorians

Here is a unit of 28mm Praetorian Guardsmen that I've just completed for a commission. These are some of Warlord Games' plastic offerings, and I think they are very attractive figures. Each one is comprised of 5 parts: body, weapon arm, shield, head and crest. Detail is pretty crisp, and there are some nice touches, like the 5 different faces included for the regulars. There is also a new arm pose not included in the regular legionary box set - an upright javelin held close to the body.

My only complaint about this set is the shield decals. The graphics themselves are perfectly fine, but in every other way they are extremely frustrating. They have too much "flash" of clear film around the edges, they had to be soaked too long to remove them from the backing paper (I tore several even after soaking more than 45 seconds) and - probably because of that - adhesion to the shield is extremely weak. They started curling off immediately, and I had to develop a routine where right after applying the two halves to one shield I would immediately coat it in matt varnish to get it to stick. It made for a slow, excruciating process, which is not how decals have to be. I've only had good experiences with other brands.

Still, they do make for a nice looking unit, and are an economical option.

Imperial Roman Legionaries

This unit was a long time in the making as my painting time has been very limited in recent months, but I finally finished them and sent them off to their owner.

Here are 24 Imperial Roman legionaries from Warlord games, based, formed up and ready to go. These are plastic figures. Sorry the pictures are not quite as well focused as they should be, I didn't inspect picture quality closely enough before mailing these out, so this is the best I've got!

28mm Roman Tribune - Relic Miniatures

Here are a few views of a figure I just finished painting, a Roman tribune from Relic Miniatures, whose line of 2nd Punic War era Romans is starting to grow.

The figure wears a bronze breastplate and leather shoulder piece, with layers of linen armor strips below the waist and at the shoulders. He carries a hoplon shield (with a boar device I cut out of a transfer from LBM) and distinctive spear.

Lots of detail, and all of it crisp and well defined.

10mm Painting article for Wargames, Soldiers and Strategy

I recently published my first ever magazine article, a look at my pretty straightforward approach to painting 10mm ancient/ dark ages models, in the latest issue (#67) of Wargames, Soldiers and Strategy. I've been slowly finishing off bases of late Romans and Goths, which I hope to use with the ruleset 'Impetus', and having received nice feedback and some questions from viewers I wanted to lay out the process I use for these. Check out the magazine if this interests you, and I can attest to the fact that there is much more of interest besides in this issue.

I'll also be writing another 10mm painting article for the next issue, detailing my approach to some more modern painting subjects, specifically camouflage uniforms and armored vehicles.

All of the models below are from Pendraken. The Roman infantry and cavalry are, of course, from their late Roman range, as is the command figure on the Gothic base. He comes from the 'Arthurian Personalities' set. Yes, I may have drafted King Arthur for the barbarians! The rest of the Goths are from their Anglo Saxon and Norse offerings.

More 28mm Warlord Romans

I'm slowly adding to the order of Warlord Games' 28mm Imperial Roman Legionaries that I'm doing for a collector, and wanted to post an update picture on the unit. This is approximately 2/3 of the unit, and then it will be followed by some praetorians. So, more to follow!

28mm Imperial Romans - Warlord Games

So I'm moving to a new apartment this month, and it turns out that, besides the demands of a day job, few things can eat in to one's painting time more effectively than having to pack up all one's possessions and relocate them. I've not got much else done this month, but I wanted to get at least some pictures up, so here are some 28mm Imperial Romans from Warlord Games, which I painted for a private collector.

The shields are done with the transfers supplied with the set, which proved a little trickier than anticipated. The fit was good and they were easy to remove from their backings after soaking in water, but they did not want to adhere well to the shields themselves, the edges curling up as they dried. I tackled this problem by brushing on clear matt varnish, which both seeped under the transfer and held it in place, and took care of the glossy sheen.

Just 8 of them for now, but there will be more in the near future.

Late Romans - Pendraken 10mm

Recently I made my first foray in to 10mm figures. I made two bases of Late Roman infantry, Pendraken figures. Shields and banners are hand-painted.

These are diminutive little fellows, and the detail and proportions of course are not going to be as nice as with 28mm figures, but I really like the effect the unit makes as a whole - and of course they paint up rather faster.

My goal is to make a Late Roman army and a Gothic force to go up against it.

Here is a shot for size comparison. On the left is a group of 6mm figures (Baccus Seven Years War French) and on the right is a 28mm figure (Relic Miniatures)

25mm Roman Leves

These figures represent Roman leves, poor men whom the state could only require to provide a few javelins as equipment, though I have added small shields to several of them to represent those with marginally greater means. They were employed as skirmishers in front of the light infantry units, and would retreat behind their better armored countrymen after throwing their weapons.

The manufacturer is Crusader, with small shields from 1st Corps.

25 mm Roman Commanders

Here are two Roman figures in closeup, infantry commanders manufactured by Old Glory. I have substituted shields with Gripping Beast and added a plume to the mail-clad figure's head. Shield designs are LBM.

25 mm Roman Standard Bearers

More figures from the same project, Roman standard bearers. The manufacturer is Old Glory, though I have substituted other shields and hand painted the designs on them. I have also mounted the eagle and other animal totems on separate steel pins.

25mm Roman Principes

Here are some additional figures from the same project, this time two different sets of Roman principes, who represented wealthier, better equipped citizens. Manufacturers are Gripping Beast and Crusader. There is a very slight difference in size between them, which I have tried to compensate for by using GB shields with the same LBM transfers for the decorations on all of them. The Crusader figures are holding pila from 1st Corps, because I didn't have enough from GB and the Crusader ones were too stumpy.