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 - Roman Allies for Palmyra (125 points)

This week I have finished the Romans who will form a tough little allied contingent in my Palmyran army for To the Strongest! These are called auxiliaries in the TTS army list, although by the mid-3rd century AD it is fairly unclear what distinguished legionary from auxiliary units. I've painted these up as unarmoured infantry, to contrast them with the armoured legionaries from my last entry.

I've also painted a little command group for the Roman allies, hand painting Sol Invictus on the general's shield and Victoria on the vexillum. This design is based on the only known surviving Roman vexillum, discovered in Egypt and now in the Pushkin Museum in Moscow. It amuses me that I seem to have painted her to resemble Princess Leia.

As with all this army, the figures are from A&A Miniatures, a range that is firmly within my top three figure ranges of all time. 23 of them this week, so adding 115 points to my total. Thanks Millsy!

From Millsy: Another wonderful set of Romans to add to your collection mate! Every unit seems to be showcasing more detailed hand painting which I cannot help but be impressed by, so much so I'm awarding more bonus points. One thing I am curious about is some of the auxiliaries seem to be looking backwards whilst about to throw their javelins. Is that sneaky Roman look away tactics in operation?

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!