Six various figures

 I finished off six more figures, you'll have to scroll down to see them all.

 First, these were from the Victrix British chariots set that someone game me. I decided to paint them as a Druid and a Gallic or British Warrior Queen. 

Next, two more officer types using the last two bodies from the Victrix Roman auxilia set. They are an Optio and a Centurio;

Not sure what I'll use them for, but the Optio could fit in with the dismounted Decurion I posted previously.

Finally a pair of figures designed to represent the same character with and without his armour.

 This pair are for our long-running D&D campaign. They represent a character who the party has just rescued from a band of Goblins. The figure on the right is him at that point. All his war gear is missing and he just has a borrowed sword and the clothes he was wearing them we liberated him.

The figure on the left is him once he has acquired a new helmet, mail shirt and shield. The armoured figure is a Gripping Beast plastic Saxon Thegn and the unarmoured one is from the Gripping Beast plastic Dark Age Warriors box. Clearly, in his captivity his beard has grown bushy and later on he will have found time to give it a nice trim.

The shield transfers in all the photos are from LBMS.

I recently found this figure half finished.....

.... and left in the bottom of a box. So, I thought I'd finish him off.

I started him off ages ago, when I was working on my Roman auxiliary cohort for Infamy, Infamy. I intended to use him as a character who could feature in certain scenarios, maybe as the cohort's Prefect being escorted by his troops or in some other context. You can just see the dark red vertical stripes on his tunic under his armour. Known as a tunica angusticlavia, this signifies his equestrian rank. The stripes on a senatorial tunic would have been wider. The roles of praefectus cohors was the first step on the tres militae, which was the career progression available to members of the equestrian class in imperial Roman society. To be honest here, I think that I have painted his red stripes a little too wide, but it is too late to change them now.

My Romans are the only figures that I have based on coins. The original reason for that was because during the 2020 lockdown I ran out of 2cm round MDF bases and used pennies instead. For some reason, this guy ended up on a 2.5cm MDF base, so I've glued him to a 2p coin under the MDF base, which makes him stand out if nothing else! I don't really like basing on coins, but I might as well be consistent for these Romans.

He needed basing properly and having various details picked out. His cloak also needed highlights. So, now he's finished and I can put him away with the rest of my Romans, who haven't been used for anything since 2021. One day, I'll get them out again, I hope.

 

Hopefully, the end of wargaming painter's block

 Well, I finally finished off the last of my Roman auxiliary cavalry. There are seven figures in total.

Two groups of equites.

And to lead them, a second decurio.

To distinguish these riders from the other two groups, who have red or blue neckerchiefs, I have given these green ones. I have also used one of the heads on the sprue which is supposed to be for praetorian cavalry for the decurio, and why shouldn't I? I am sure that there was plenty of variation amongst the different cohorts and we know that there wasn't really as much standardisation as Hollywood, and many wargamers too, would have us believe.

Once again, these are all Victrix plastics, on Warbases oval bases and movement trays and the excellent tufts are from Gamer's Grass, which is stocked by Bad Squiddo Games.

I still have a few auxilia bodies left, and I'll probably use some to make up another deployment/ambush point, but I really need a break from Romans for the moment. I might do some recreational 15mm figures for a change. I have some 18th century impact cavalry to do for Syldavia and Borduria, or I might finally start doing something about my essentially pointless Volkssturm project for Germany in  late 1944 and 1945. At best, they will be a minor irritation to any British, American or, more likely Soviet opponents.

Infamy, Infamy

Some people, mainly those of us who are Followers of the Lard, have eagerly been awaiting the arrival of ToofatLardies new rules for large skirmish games set in the Julian and Earlier Imperial Roman periods. Well, the wait is over. Advanced orders are now being taken over on the TooFatLardies website.

The image shown above is the actual artwork for the official rulebook, painted by famous military artist, Chris Collingwood. It is an image called "Breaking the Line AD 73" and represents a battle from the period when Petillius Cerialis campaigned in northern Britain against the Brigantes, Parisi or Carveti in that year. 

All advanced order entries will be entered into a draw to win a signed copy of a highly limited edition print, one of only 10 produced.

You can read all about the rules on the Lard Island blog;

Infamy, Infamy! is a game that will, ultimately, be divided into three parts.  This is the first rule book which covers Rome’s conflicts with the western barbarian between 60 BC and AD 100.  Covered in the rules are lists for Late Republican forces that can be used for Caesar and his campaigns in Gaul and Britannia and against the German tribes raiding across the Rhine.  The Early Imperial Roman lists are perfect for the conquest of Britannia under Claudius and the continuing campaigns through to Agricola’s conquest of the North and beyond.  The British lists cover the period from Caesar’s invasions through to Mons Graupius, including lists for Boudicca’s revolt.  Gallic lists cover the classic period of conquest of the Gallic Wars with the Belgea and Aquitani represented and make every effort to reflect the more advanced culture of the Gauls. The Germans, on the other hand, are the ultimate Barbarians, with lists for the tribes of the Rhineland and those of the dark forests of Germania Magna and for the Batavian Revolt.

I now need to actually make a start on my Victrix Early Imperial Roman Auxiliary Infantry and Cavalry for my planned force, which will represent troops of a Cohors Equitata Quinquagenaria, a mixed auxiliary force of both foot and mounted troops, of the kind that was widely used in the Principate across the Empire, and which was stationed along or near the limes, the borders of the Empire.

Recruited from the peregrini, that is non-citizens living inside the empire, the Auxilia became increasingly important during the 1st and 2nd centuries, with auxiliary cohorts forming at least half of the empire's fighting power in the 2nd century.