From MartinN: Sigurd - Fáfnir's Bane (17 Points)

Continuing on from last years theme I'm back, or better still painting away on my Middle Imperial Roman project for Midgard. My Romans are more or less done, so I've to do the opposition now it seems.

Last year I painted Brynhild, so I thought it only sensible to now paint Sigurd (Siegfried for us Germans). While the whole epic cycle around Sigurd probably refers to a later period than what I'm going for with my 3rd Century Romans, we don't really know and that's excuse enough for me.

The figures used are from Footsore Miniatures, Victrix and Armorum & Aquila Miniatures and go together quite well. Converting the chap mockingly holding up the severed head, was fun and indeed the reason to paint this whole little vignette. Sigurd and his banner bearer were collecting dust in my stash for over a decade already, but I couldn't think of a way to tell an interesting story with any of the figures I found. I love the defiant pose of the sculpt, so it had to be something special. And when I happened upon the Dark Age Archers set from Victrix I instantly knew I was on to something. Good thing I'll need archers anyway for this project, eh?

Points wise this will see me enter the roster with 17 points for 3 standing and a prone figure in addition to whatever points our Maximo Lider sees fit to throw in for the hand painted shields.

Cost of Entry

Since the beginning of the full scale invasion of Ukraine, I'm donating monthly to Ukrainian charity Come Back Alive Foundation who provide both lethal and non-lethal aid to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Also US based Renegade Relief Runners Foundation, who deliver aid to settlements as close and sometimes closer to the frontline as is safe(-ish), gets a monthly donation. Both do sterling work, so go and check them out.

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First, welcome back to the Challenge, Nick!

I love that you've completed the book-end to your Brynhild with this fabulous Siegfried vignette. As usual your brushwork continues to amaze, only to be outdone by your subtle conversions and additions. I find your fleshtones, fabrics and painted shields are simply incredible - a tour de force to be admired. Well done, Nick (and another 5 points I think is warranted for the work)!

Also to be credited is your donations to the two Ukrainian charities you mentioned. Those folks need all the help they can get. Very worthwhile.

- Curt

From MartinN: Middle Imperial Roman Lanciarii & the joys of rebasing [30pts]

The challenge is drawing to a close and neither have I been as productive as I had planned -not that I was expecting much, mind- nor have I been as active on here as I had intended. While I'm sitting here at my desk I can gaze upon all the figures that I set out to paint this year and it's a bit of a sobering sight. But you're not here to see me dwell on my failures, are you?

Over the last three weeks I managed to convert and paint 5 more Middle Imperial Romans for my fledgling Midgard force. This time it wasn't the heavy infantry type Legionary, but my interpretation of the somewhat enigmatic Lanciarii. We're not really certain as to how these troops fought, or indeed how they were equipped. Rather than regurgitate arguments of men far more knowledgeable as I, I simply present you with my representation of these enigmatic troops, as I’m sure you can use google just as well as I if you’re curious. I for one settled on elite light infantry, armed with short throwing spears for harrassing enemy troops, as well as large oval shields and the Spatha, making them capapble of facing an enemy head on if need be. I was undecided if I should give them helmets, but in the end decided against for no other reason than the rule of cool.

The figures are a mix of A&A and converted Victrix and again I'm rather pleased how they work together. I also used parts of the different Victrix sets to convert some of the A&A figures as frankly I find them a little dated by now. To reinforce the elite status they were all painted wearing the same clothes, very much opposed to my usual view on uniformity in the pre-modern era, with purple ornamental stripes. Rather eye catching I think. Shields are again painted by hand.

So, why then do I just claim 5 figures when clearly there are 10 on the photos? Well, I had already painted a brace of 5 figures a while ago and having had to rebase them anyway for use with Midgard, I decided to intermix them with their newer counterparts. Seems like not much has changed in my painting approach over the last couple of years.

Anyway, 5 figures á 5 points each is 25 points in total. Hurrah!

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What a treat these are Martin! I would be looking at the untouched minis as a "pile of potential" if these are anything to go by!

I know all too well the 'fun' of rebasing having done it last year with my Caesarian Romans, but if it brings a new lease of life for them then its worth it. They look wonderfully dynamic like that too.

...and take a few bonus points to the crisp details and lovely hand painted shields!

- Paul

From MartinN: 3rd Century AD Roman Legionaries/ Limbo (70 points)

This week too I'm running with the Middle Imperial/ Late Roman theme from last week. This time I've brought with me a base of Legionaries, which can clearly be dated to the first half of the 3rd century by their old style semi-cylindrical shield. Also the broad leather balteus, from which the Spatha was suspended, which had by then superseded the earlier Gladius short sword. Most of the Legionaries are sporting the -in my humble opinion- rather fashionable Niederbieber type helmet, also dating to the 2nd to 3rd century. As for armour they're wearing a hodgepodge of Lorica Squamata (scales), Lorica Hamata (chainmail) and the rather famous Lorica Segmental (banded metal strips), that is featured in so many Hollywood movies.

The figures themselves are a mix of Armorum & Aquila Miniatures, which by now are rather dated but almost the only commercially available figures for the 3rd century. Then there's a single Wargames Atlantic miniature from their Late Roman Legionaries set. The set fits the 3rd century almost perfectly with the inclusion of the Niederbieber helmet, but I find the details on the plastic rather soft and the Spathae much too large. That said they paint up OK. Also included are three heavily converted figures from Victrix Limited' Late Romans. To make them suitable I gave them heads from Aventine Miniatures, sculpted on the broader Balteus and designed and 3D printed  Spathae/ appropriate scabbards and Pugiones, the famous Roman daggers. Despite being noticeably larger than the other figures I do think they work together rather well. Shields are a mix of Aventine and A&A.

Painting wise I tried to give them a somewhat uniform appearance by using broadly the same colours, without painting them all the same. Personally I find it highly doubtful that Roman Legionaries ever wore anything approaching a uniform. For the shields I went with free hands and frankly, I had a blast. While at first I found it a rather daunting undertaking, I quickly realized I quite liked the look. So much so that by now I have more of those shields already painted than Legionaries waiting in the painting queue. First world problems I guess.

As some of the figures were already started before the challenge, in fact they had lain partly painted in my cupboard for a few years already, I'm claiming the Limbo bonus for this bunch.

So what do we have here?

Eight 28mm infantry plus the Limbo Bonus should give me 60 points plus whatever our dear minion is prepared to throw in for the hand painted shields and conversions.

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Well Nick, I have no doubt that I speak for all Challengers when I say "holy crap, this looks f**king amazing!" Your brushwork is, as ever, top shelf stuff. The conversions are amazing - and you know this because, absent you telling me/us about the conversions, we would not realize they were present, so seamless and smooth does everything look. 

In particular I am impressed that you managed to squeeze Victrix models in there. While I appreciate the quality of the Victrix sculpts, their giant size has turned me away from making purchases as they seem to loom of every other type of sculpt out there. 

Seeing your Romans always inspires me to say "one, day, I'll paint some Romans!". One day...

I award 10 bonus points for hand painting shields (!!), conversions and general amazing-ness. 

70 points for you in total!

GregB

From MartinN: Burgundians... or was it Romans? (35 points)

I welcome you to my very first scheduled post this year, and yes, I'm a little bit embarrassed myself. But what should I do? I was busy with important things. Like... procrastinating?

Anyway, enough of that inane blubbering, on to the meat of the subject: Burgundians (no, not THOSE Burgundians, but those of the Nibelungen Saga) in 28mm for Midgard! Or was it Romans? A little bit of both I'd say. Knowing I'm unlikely to finish a complete force anyway I decided on adding a few Burgundian foederati to my very fledgling Middle/ Late Imperial Romans.

Midgard makes use of individually based leaders. To easily indicate the level of said heroes I decided on the number of figures per leaders base. Thus today we have Brynhild, a level 2 leader, and her hearthguard. Brynhild is from Footsore Miniatures, while her hearthguard is a converted Late Roman miniature from Victrix. Not liking the overly foldy (that's no word, isn't it?) cloak I sculpted one myself using Green Stuff and let him hold his helmet in his hand. Rather chuffed with the results I have to admit.

Next we have a base of Funditores, staff slingers, that could be Romans but could equally well be Burgundian. Instead of using the recommended 12x6 for the basing I decided on 10x5, primarily because I like the look of the narrower frontage, but equally because it saves me painting figures. For the unlikely case I'm ever fielding these in anger against someone with the bigger bases I can always add a small 2x4 base. 

Figures are Victrix again and despite the overly busy folds in the clothing, were a joy to paint. I really love the character in the faces Victrix do.

So, that's it for today. With six 28mm figures at 5 points each we have a grand total of 30 points, not taking into account any bonus points our gracious minion might deem appropriate for the conversion.

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Hello Nick! So great to have more of your wonderful brushwork to take in. But it is more than the tremendous painting (although, as usual, it is amazing) - I just love how this post checks so many of the "mental boxes" of the wargaming-hobby-brain. In no particular order we have:

- ode to procrastination (you have come to the right place, my friend)

- ode to a game system that you like, but you are unlikely to paint a complete force for, yet here you are painting more for it...

- ode to a figure maker even as we have our little nits, complete with fun term (i.e. "foldy" - I hereby proclaim that not only to be a proper word, but an appropriate one at that!)

- refusal of a stated basing system in order to revert to a personally preferred basing look (I totally sympathize!)

I love all of it! Plus you sculpted on some bits. That gets extra points in my books - so 40 points for you! I wish you well in your battles against procrastination, and we look forward to more of your stunning brushwork!

GregB

From AlanD - The Start of a New Project (255 points)

Of all the ranges of figures I have ever painted, the Middle Imperial Romans by A&A Miniatures are certainly in my top 5. They aren't everybody's cup of conditum, but painting them gives me great joy.

Back in the 2020 lockdown, I spent many a lonely night painting a third-century Roman army from A&A. Recently, it has been an absolute joy to get it out on the table in several terrific games of To the Strongest! As a result, I have inevitably tinkered with the army, adding the Gripping Beast cataphracts from my last post. Then John from The War Library happened to mention that he had some A&A Romans in stock, which was really like him shooting fish in a barrel. Consequently, I added a unit of armoured archers, which I hadn't quite finished in time for last week's entry. And I may have bought a bunch of other Roman legionaries, cavalry and auxiliaries.

And then, the perfect storm of work anxiety, having lovely A&A Miniatures in my hand and the enjoyment of playing To The Strongest! led to me buying a Palmyran army from A&A. And here we are.

In a sort of homage to the viral days of 2020, I have been quite ill with Covid over the past week. I have been sleeping A LOT, but when I have had the energy, I have made a nice start to the Palmyran army of King Odaenathus. The history and culture of Palmyra is so fascinating. In the decade after the defeat of the Roman emperor Valerian in 260, Palmyra became a major power between Rome and Sassanian Persia, influenced by both but utterly distinct. Ostensibly governing the east on behalf of Rome, King Odaenathus and then his widow Zenobia ended up ruling the region from eastern Turkey through Syria and all the way to Egypt, until Aurelian's 'reconquest?' of Palmyran territory culminated with the destruction of Palmyra in AD273.

For a period in the late 260s Odaenathus commanded Roman troops, so I have started my army with a vexillation of the Legio IIII Scythica and some cavalry. For playing To the Strongest, I've added a hero figure (the clubman) and a casualty marker. I've imagined that the Romans are under the influence of the Palmyrenes, and quite likely largely recruited from them, so have given them (hand painted) shields showing the Palmyrene moon god Aglibol, who is depicted in some surviving reliefs with a crescent and rays. 

In something of a points bomb for me, this week's output comes to 39 foot figures (two of them are prone if you want to halve the points) and 12 cavalry. 

From Millsy: Alan, these are absolutely stunning! If ever the saying "Start as you mean to go on" is applicable this is it. I recall you talking about these shields on a paint and chat and have been keen to see them ever since, and clearly the wait was worth it. Utterly gorgeous mate and worth an extra 10 bonus points for me. More please!

From Christopher Sliter: Roman Auxiliary Infantry (80pts.)

 

Moving along with my 3rd Century Romans for Infamy! Infamy' which are now actually starting to resemble a force! I just need a few leaders now and I'll be able to field the core of my army with a couple options, however I'll of course want more then a couple options.

Anyways back to the unit on hand are some light infantry which no Roman commander worth his salt would leave camp without or he would quickly find his legionaries either outflanked or falling into a nasty ambush in some dark woods without these vital troops to scout ahead.

While making big armies has it's place(great fun!) I do rather enjoy building these pocket armies that TFL games offer as the entry level isn't very high to get started, but for those wanting more you will find this in the options available so while your army my not be very large on any given game you will want to build a lot of options to handle the different scenarios and campaigns thus your collection can end up being very large indeed so in the end you become spoiled for choice just as if you were collecting large armies. Nice!

The figures are from A&A which are very nice straightforward to paint and the bases were made to order from Colin over at Charlie Foxtrot Models. The figures were painted with Vallejo, Foundry and some P3 paints and some MIG pigments for dusting of stones and shields.

The challenge is nearing the end and I need to do some leaders but they won't make it into the challenge but are probably what I'll do next.

So that's 16 x 28mm miniatures for 80pts.

Thanks for viewing!

Miniature Company- A&A miniatures

Christopher Sliter: Roman Auxiliary Archers (80pts.)

 My next addition for my growing 3rd Century Roman army for Infamy! Infamy' from TFL are a couple of Roman Auxiliary Archers. These guys will come in handy to thin out the Barbarians before they hit the Legionaries lines. 

The figures are from A&A miniatures and were quite enjoyable to paint although there was a little bit of extra clean up in a few places but nothing very troubling. The paints I used were mostly Foundry and Vallejo with some P3 as well.

The project is slowly coming along but is beginning to take shape which always helps with the motivation to push on through to completion or should I say a point of playability. I'm trying to resist moving on to other projects before I reach my goal on this one but it's not easy!

I'm looking forward to things opening up again for in person gaming as it sometimes feels like your painting things just to put them on shelf which can put a damper on the enthusiasm a bit. While I of course enjoy watching the collection grow on the shelf  it really makes you wish you could use it. Anyhow it will be fun to put them on the table.

More Romans on the way.... probably.

That's 16 x 28mm miniatures for 80pts.

Thanks for viewing!

Miniature Company- A&A Miniatures

From: Christopher Sliter : Roman Iron (120pts.)

 

Hitting the ground with some 3rd Century Romans for Infamy! Infamy' from TFL rules. Time just seems to fly and for various reasons it took me longer to get these off the desk and into the challenge then I anticipated. These are heavy armored Imperial legionaries that make up the backbone of the Roman force and the core focal point of my army. I already began the Germans towards the end of last year and now onto some Romans. I may mix them both in the challenge, but at the moment the Romans take priority.

I picked 3rd Century Romans as they are probably my favorite looking of all the Romans because they have imho the most diverse look of all the periods they are involved in giving you more freedom to interpret their presentation. I just really like the mix bronze, iron and steel in various coats of banded armor, chainmail and scalemail toped off with an assortment of headgear makes for a very interesting looking Roman force! 

I often like to take liberties and here is no exception when I added Palestinian clubmen to my western Roman force operating in Germania which I suspect is highly unlikely, but they look so cool I had to add them! 
In the front rank I have the clubman and those Romans who have drawn their gladius after having thrown their pilums. The second rank is preparing to throw their pilums  in support of the front rank.

The figures are from A&A miniatures which have been around for quite a few years now, but like Foundry are standing up very well to the test of time. What is rather surprising is they are one of the few companies offering Romans from this period considering the range of armor, weapons and opponents one can find from this period.

The bases are from Charlie Foxtrot Models and Colin is a great chap to work with and will modify your bases to your specs. The paints I used were a mix of Foundry and Vallejo paints and some Mig pigments for weathering. The shields are decals from the most excellent LBM although I did add extra battle damage and weathering so they won't look exactly like that if you want some of your own.

More Infamy troops on the way!

These are 24 miniatures at 28mm scale which I believe brings me to 120pts. for the scoreboard.

Miniature Company- A&A miniatures

Thanks for viewing!