Well a lot has happened since my last photo post in mid June, as Openreach arrived in town to improve broadband service and promptly cut us off from landline and broadband for 26 days with no warning! My old and small screen mobile was a very limited standby. Although I don't do Facebook anyway so I would have missed most of the photos (in FB links) above since then, given that FB page is members only.
But my paint brush has been busy! I made use of the Lancashire Games sale to buy some figures for ‘missing’ elements or tokens: by 20th June I was ready to post my additional Lancashire Games (LG) early German LC / LH element. The LG rider figures were just right to go with my Foundry Early Germans but the LG horses far too big, so I found some old 25mm horses in my spares box. This gives me 8 LC / 4 LH bases so enough for rules other than DBx where there are no early German LH.
Next up I needed to fill in two riders / horses for my early Byzantine lancers. I never quite took to the Hinchliffe lancers I painted recently so I chose two slightly different figures from same range (again sold by LG in their Hinchliffe catalogue) to complete another unit (or 2 elements) of lancers!
Next up a Hinchliffe dismounted Byzantine officer (to provide a general or hero type figure). And another hero using a left over Irregular Miniatures 28mm early Byzantine lancer in mail with an old 25mm Minifigs partially armoured horse.
Whilst making these purchases I couldn’t resist adding a few more so bought the Hinchliffe 25mm Belisarius character riding figure & horse (in truth a little disappointing but he gives me another general for my early Byzantines) and with other odds and ends (2 x 28mm plus 1 x 25mm Irregular riders and 2 x 25mm Hinchliffe riders, plus 3 Irregular half armoured 28mm horses and 2 Hinchliffe unarmoured 25mm horses) I put him in a bodyguard unit. This time I didn’t try to paint the Madonna & child but used an edited print from some images I had of Orthodox Ethiopian Madonna and child, which has a classical feel.
I also bought two LG Roman Imperial generals just to ‘look see’ and found them BIG 28mm plus chunky figures but they may work when I need Generals not part of an element / escort base.
Lastly I bought some Hinchliffe Late Roman Auxilia Palatina to give myself more options with DBx rules and my 25mm Late Roman army (part of which is DBx based and part based for other unit based rules)! Here are the additions using some long forgotten LR transfers on shields (from my unused box of bits!) and an Irregular Miniatures Draco standard added too. The shields are light blue painted background with red transfers.
Since the 20th June, I have bought ten second-hand painted old style PB 25mm Minifigs Arab camelry for my Seleucids, got an eleventh figure, unpainted thrown in for free, so I went to Caliver to buy a 12th Arab Camelry figure from the later style PB 25mm Minifigs range that they now own. They all got (re-)painted and here they are nearly complete. Basing needs finishing around my 12th man!!
I also had some unused unpainted Palmyran 28mm and other ‘odds and ends’ for a 3 figure Palmyran General / Cataphract element (four 28mm wont fit a DBx base)!! And I gave them an Irregular Mins Sassanian banner painted to represent the god Mithras on a horse (not very clear in my photo).
And I created a fictional ‘Zenobia in chariot’ for her fictional Roman style Triumph, (make a good CinC or Camp command maybe) and I used an older 25mm Fantasy figure with other odds and ends to give me a Zenobia on foot with camp ‘follower’ / defenders for DBA.
I also used some Palmyran 28mm figures to create 2 elements of ‘Arab / Palmyran’ HI in scale armour.
From way back I had 3 very early figures, which were samples I bought of 28mm Late Romans (and IMHO poor anatomy / poor figure so I never bought anymore). I have painted them up as a Late Roman DBA camp guard (giving it a Draco to replace the eagle, the standard bearer came with). But I should have used a bigger base for DBA camp followers!
Then I went back to my old 25mm ‘lead pile’ of Byzantine figures and pulled out a large selection to complete prep and priming where it had not been done previously, or re-do it in case of some figures I got second-hand years ago. So far I have painted 9 close order horse archer bases (elements) – pictured below - but I have not had a chance to finish bases, and nearly finished ten Light Horse archer figures for scouts etc.. (not pictured).
These are the Hinchliffe 25mm figures:
These are the two part rider SKT 25mm Byzantine armoured horse archers. (SKT bought the old Garrison range and then considerably added to them. Not sure if they are still on sale / in production anywhere.)
So it’s been a busy internet free 26 days on the painting table!!
CarlL