From EricM: Its All Greek To Me (235 points)

 Those troublemakers over at Footsore Miniatures tempted me with the new Mortal Gods:Mythic kick-starter.  I am sucker for the old Ray Harryhausen style Jason and the Argonauts movies.  So besides backing the kick-starter, I felt compelled to paint some Greeks.

I started by working on some mercenary hoplites.  I have to admit I really like the smaller unit size of many of the modern skirmish games.   These figures are a mix of Wargames Foundry and Black Tree Design.  I have a hard time telling them apart, but if you look close the  Black Tree are bit more angular and well fed than the Foundry.

This unit was a first for me.  I used Little Big Men Studio shield transfers.   I have had them for quite sometime but have been a little worried about using them.  They aren't your traditional water slide transfers. A quick Google search turned up a great video tutorial.   I highly recommend Little Big Men's Transfers.  I used Vallejo Transfer Medium to help blend the edge of the transfers. 

Despite a few mistakes (bonus points to you if you can spot the backwards Sigma.  I am going to claim its not a mistake I am just a big Dale Earnhardt fan) really liked how the transfers turned out and will be using them again.

Next up I decided to paint some Athenian Marines.  These guys are the cream of the crop for the Athenians.  Unfortunately I did not have shield transfers for them or the arrow drape at the bottom of the shield. These figures are a mix of Wargames Foundry and Black Tree Designs.

Here are a few close ups

My final group of Greeks are very lightly armored and extremely self-confidant.  I have tried to position them in the photo to use their modesty shield to maximum effect, but I would not recommend clicking on these pictures at work, just in case

I used LMBS shield transfers on this unit which is comprised of Wargames Foundry and Black Tree Design figures.  I got a little over enthusiastic and painted 10 instead of the required 9 for this small  group.


In total I completed 47-28mm foot for a total of 235 points which I believe pushes me over my 1500 point total!

Thanks for looking




Using transfers on shields? You're lucky it's me minioning this post - if it had been Peter you'd have had points deducted left, right, centre, above, below, in front and behind!

Cracking job on these Greeks!

TamsinP

EricM-28mm Late Roman Cataphracts (168 points)

 This week I am rolling out the heavy metal.  I was able to finish two small units of Wargames Foundry cataphracts.  While I like the figures, I am not a huge fan of the two part riders that connect at the torso.  I think the torso connection creates variety, I can see the possibility of them coming apart.

Here is the first unit

 I went a little crazy and painted the lances just to break up all the metal

Here are some close ups.

The second unit is a little more vibrant

I am not as happy with the shields on the second unit as I am the first.  Painting lines in a circle are defiantly my Achilles heel.

Here is the class picture

16-28mm Cavalry.

Thanks for looking 

Those cataphracts look simply smashing Eric. I'm going to award you a few bonus points for the hand-painted shield designs.

TamsinP

EricM-28mm Late Roman Infantry and Cavalry (290pts)

This week I was lucky enough to have a three day weekend and I put it to good use.  I was able to knock out a 24 figure unit of Late Roman Infantry. The first two rank are uniformed armored infantry supported by a third rank of light bowman.   All the figures are from Wargames Foundry.  Even though these figures are 20+ years old, I think they are still some of the best out there.

I was able to get started on the Late Roman heavy cavalry as well. For the project we are going with smaller cavalry units 8 figures instead of the normal 12.  I am not sure if I like the look as well but they do paint faster.

The first units shield is from the front cover of Warhammer Ancient Battles (hows that for some historical research).  I really do like the design

For the second unit of cavalry I went with the traditional Chi Rho design.

Finally here is a full class picture of the infantry completed so far.

I was able to complete 24-28mm foot and 16-28mm Cavalry for a total of 280 points
Thanks for looking!

These are lovely and I will steal the shield design for mine, especially the raven on the infantry and they deserve a lovely bonus of 10pts. Please add labels to your posts in hte future.

ta

Martin

EricM- More 28mm Late Romans - 120 points

I have been able to avoid the distractions of the new and shiny things the war-gaming world has thrown at me and completed my 4th unit of Late Roman infantry.  These figures are all by Wargames Foundry.  While they are not as dynamically posed as the earlier units, I appreciated their uniformity after the shield issues I had with the the last bunch.
As with the earlier units I went with two ranks of spearmen supported by a rank of light bowman, cant can also be used as skirmishers.

Here is a close up of the command stand

Total 24-28mm figures   I think that puts the point total for this submission at 120.

Thanks for looking

From DaveD. They are a fine addition with a nice regimented look as well. 

EricM-28mm Spartans Crossing Benitos Brooke (128pts)

For the next installment along the path of History on Challenge Island I choose to investigate Benito's Brooke. Benito's challenge for us is to paint something related to a test of arms against hopeless odds.   Well in my opinion there are not many more iconic stands against hopeless odds than the Spartans (and their Greek allies) at Thermopylae.  On top of that this year marks the 2500th anniversary of the battle.  I would like to claim that this was planned and thoughtful but really if it were not for Footsore and their Black Friday sale on their Mortal Gods Box Sets, I would have had to go a different direction.

The box set includes plastic frames to make 16 armored and unarmored Spartans provided by Victrix and three additional metal figures that I believe are sculpted by Footsore.

Overall I was very happy with the Victrix figures.  They went together very well and had minimal seams at the joins.  In hind site I would do somethings differently in assembly but over all they are very nice figures

I really like the metal command figures included.  I think my favorite may be the unarmored hoplite pointing.  Leonidas is a nice figure as well.

In total 19-28mm Spartans were painted.

Great work, didn't know it was 2500 years since the Hot Gates. That's 128 pts inc hand painted shield bonus but please add you labels and do the maths next time

Martin

EricM -28m Late Romans and The Last of the Slaves to Darkness

I had planed to shift away from the late Romans for a bit, but the last group of Limitanei had to be finished.   These are all Wargames Foundry figures.  While they are nice sculpts I have come to hate the figures.  Most of my trouble is self inflicted.  I decided to base the close order foot 4 to a base and paint them on the base.  It seemed like a time saver.  I cant say that it saved time but it did make painting them no fun.  My second issue is I discovered that I mounted the second rank shield men with their shields in the wrong position.   They should be over the head of the kneeling front rank.  At some point I may go back and correct the shield placement but that would also require re-basing, but as I type this I am realizing I perfectly happy with them the way they are.

Some close ups of the heavy foot

The supporting light troops

The second unit I completed this week was the last of the Games Workshop Slaves of Darkness set.  The sculpts are a marvel but it does require an engineering degree to figure out how to put these guys together.   GW should be confidant no one will have the production skill to pirate these guys.  They have really taken their model kits to a new level.  For example one model piece includes the riders left arm, shield , reins and half of the horses head.  It was a little counter intuitive to me but once you get used to the methodology they went together nicely.  Lots of detail (maybe even too much)

 They ended up a little more gray than I would have liked.  I think i started a shade too light on my gray highlights.

A couple close ups

I really like these figures but I am glad to be done with them.
 
Total for the week 24-28mm foot  5-28mm-Mounted.

Thanks for looking 

Eric these are marvellous, love the shields, just about to start a late Roman army myself . As for the Slave of Darkness they are brilliant

From EricM: 28mm Bicorne English Civil War Ensign Millys Challenge and Challenge Prize (60 Points)

Last week I made land fall on Challenge Island and began my trek on the Path of History.  Having conquered Sander's Sand Dunes last week I pushed on to Millsy's Millpond.  Milly's task for us was to paint a figured from history (minimum of Pre-2000).  

After much digging,I came across one of the earliest historical figures I purchased.  I think he comes from my first visit to Cold Wars in 1991.  That first Cold Wars trip from central Indiana to eastern Pennsylvania is fondly remembered as the "ride of death or Donner Party II". Eight inches of snow and a meat loaf shaped like a human brain left an indelible mark on my memory.

This figure is a 28mm Bicorne English Civil War Ensign.   He was a fun figure to pain, the quality of sculpting has really held up well over the almost 30 years.

Since this is a one-off figure,just for fun, I mounted him on a cobblestone base from Tre Games.  I'm a big fan of Tre Games they have a great selection of bases and other laser cut wood products.

In addition to this figure being my my toll to cross Milly's Millpond, it will also be my Challenger's Prize Figure (coming in just under the wire, as usual).

Thanks for looking!

***

"Just" under the wire is still under the wire in the end, very good Eric. Your ECW ensign is excellent and certainly looks the part.  The cobblestone effect on the base is also very nice, and your brushwork brings the best out. But it was a bit hard to get past imagining what the situation of the snow storm and the meatloaf entailed...

So, between all of the location bonuses etc. etc. I am pretty sure this gets you 60 points. If I'm wrong, I'll be mauled by other minions (and presumably end up as part of another tantalizing meatloaf dish served only on Challenge Island).  Did you have a recipient in mind for this figure? Do let the Snow Lord know...or he'll share more about the details of some of HIS memorable meals...

GregB