25 mm Thracian King and Standard Bearer, by Relic Miniatures

After a long hiatus, having had all my time taken up on a nightmare of a film project, it has been a great joy to be able to get back to painting. These figures are from Relic Miniatures, their Thracian King Command set. The figures themselves are excellently sculpted with lots of very crisp detail, and, social elite that they are, beg for lavish ornamentation. I tried a number of different decorative touches and patterns before I found designs that I liked, but I think it was worth the time spent experimenting.

The banner and shield are my own freehand, I didn't have any transfers to work with. I've given the standard a two-headed eagle design, a genuine Thracian emblem, but tweaked it to my own tastes. The example I was working off of had in its middle a swastika inside of a sun, but since these figures were painted for the company I thought I might aim for something safer.

25 mm Illyrian spearmen by Relic Miniatures

Below are four Illyrian spearmen, painted for Relic Miniatures, representing the rank and file infantrymen of that culture. Illyrians were famed for being fierce warriors, and they served frequently in the armies of foreign powers in the region. Their homeland eventually became a Roman province, but they fought at least one significant war of revolt against Rome.

The figures were a joy to paint, as the castings are extremely crisp and the poses are pleasantly dynamic. I've painted the shield designs freehand rather than turning to transfers, a time consuming but very rewarding process!

25 mm Libyan Infantry Command

Large portions of the Carthaginian army were drawn from among the Libyans, and the three figures below represent the command of a Libyan infantry unit. The commander himself wears armor made of bronze scales over leather, the others wear linen armor.

Figures from Gripping Beast, shield transfers from LBM.

25 mm Carthaginian Citizen Infantry

Though Carthage was famous for its employment of large numbers of mercenaries in its armed forces, citizens of the state also served. From the look of their armor these four figures would represent relatively well-to-do citizens. They would be responsible for equipping themselves, and a solid bronze cuirass was no small investment.

The manufacturer is Crusader, but since the poses were all extremely similar and not very dynamic looking I have altered the two on the left to look more aggressive in their stance. Shield transfers are LBM, with the exception of the figure on the right. The design on his shield, an emblem of the goddess Tanit, is my own freehand.

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.

25mm Roman Hastati

Here are some figures I've painted as part of a long term project that will not be done any time soon. After reading Livy's and Polybius' histories of the second Punic war I was taken with a desire to create a scene from one of the battles in Italy, and I have turned to 25mm miniatures as the medium. They are crudely based for the moment while I decide how to handle that issue.

These four figures are Roman Hastati made by Gripping Beast. They were excellent castings and a lot of fun to paint. Shields are Crusader, transfers are LBM.