This unit is six 28mm Romano-British levy from Gripping Beast. I bought the starter army for Dux Brit from Too Fat Lardies and it includes 18 of these guys. I had planned to paint the first six as my last entry in last year's challenge but ran out of time. I finished them up after it was over, and haven't painted a thing since then other than some of my son's 15mm Sci/Fi.
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| Six levy from Gripping Beast. |
The models themselves are very nice to paint. They have great detail but not too much clutter. They were fun and easy (which is why I was able to get six done in a few hours). I finished them off yesterday but needed to wait until today to take the pictures.
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| The unit champion. Not all rules need these, but I paint one for every unit. |
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| Spearman #1, also known as Blondie. |
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| Spearman #2. |
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| Spearman #3. Gramps. |
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| Spearman #6 with #5 photo-bombing him. |
One of things I like about dark ages models is the large shields. I'm not very good at free hand but I do enjoy painting these shields. I have decals for the better troops but I figured levy would be painting theirs around the hearth at home rather than having Artsy McArty paint them up for the whole unit.
I'm happy with my start to the Challenge. These will be the last Romano-Brits you see, unless I get distracted. I'm planning on hitting a bunch of different projects to keep things fresh since this is a marathon, not a sprint.
From Curt:
Great work Aaron! Sometimes the sculpting detail from Gripping Beast can be a bit soft in the features but they always paint up very well - as we see here with yours. Nice work on the freehand shields as well!
These Britons will give Aaron 36 points, which includes a little extra effort on the shields.
Very nice indeed. Lovely start and some very nice foliage on the bases to boot.
ReplyDeleteI do like the GB sculpts, lots of fun to paint. And the hand-painted shields are great!
ReplyDeleteNicely done and a great start. Those shields are very well done!
ReplyDeleteVery nice indeed Aaron and a cracking effort on the shields.
ReplyDeleteGreat staff! I like the extra work you've put in the personalise them/
ReplyDeleteNice to see same handicraft on the shields , very nice.
ReplyDeleteNicely done! I always love to see hand painted shields.
ReplyDeleteLove them shields!
ReplyDeletevery nicely done Aaron :)
ReplyDeleteThank you all. I love the look of decals for some things but the Dark Ages just scream out for free hand I think.
ReplyDeleteNot a very good photo (maybe should not have to turn the bulb). but all the same it is clear that the work is excellent
ReplyDeleteThanks for the honesty. I'm still working on my lighting to try to get it right. I also thought it was not quite right so I'll keep working on that.
DeleteThese are really nice
ReplyDeleteIan
I do like the freehand and your reasoning as to why they wouldn't have been perfectly painted on the shields. Makes me slightly embarrassed that I go for decals for mine now!
ReplyDeleteDecals are great and give a fantastic finish. The paint I experience with applying them leads me to believe that you should never be embarrassed by using them.
DeleteVery nice. Not a period for me but I can admire good workmanship.
ReplyDeleteNice work. The shields look grand and I can picture these fellows wanting to be back at home and hearth than on a patrol! ;)
ReplyDeleteVery fine work
ReplyDeleteTop stuff, it's always a pleasure to see some Dark Age Britons. Nice work on the shields!
ReplyDeleteGreat work. I like the shields. cheers
ReplyDeleteIn addition to the shields, I like the warm palette of the colors as well. Nice start to the challenge!
ReplyDeleteLovely figures and great free hand painted shields!
ReplyDeleteGreetings
Peter