Here are the first shots of my work in progress 28mm Republican Roman army for WAB and Crusader rules. These pics are the first 10 painted figures in the army and are part of a 16-strong unit of Principes from one of the 2 allied Italian legions.
Basically, this army is being built to represent the army that served in the wars against Antiochus (battle of Magnesia, etc) but will also be fine for the 2nd Punic War and any of the 2nd Century Macedonian wars. The army is not points limited, but is using units that feel about righta nd will work with both WAB and Crusader. The army will be a typical 2-legion Consular army, so it will have 2 Roman legions, 2 Italian legions and assorted cavalry. It will also eventually have Pergameme and Tarentine cavalry, thureophoroi and peltats, plus a small unit of Cretan archers and an elephant!
The models used wil be Aventine miniatures for all the Velites, cavalry and Roman legions and about half the allied Italian legions. The rest of the Italian legions will be A&A Samnites, Crusader Republican Romans plus a handful of Foundry Caesarian Romans that I have converted. I'd have liked all the legions to be Aventine, but can't justify not using the suitable models I already have!! The Pergamemes will be Polemarch, as they have on pre-order a bunch of specific models in their Successor range!
The painting method is as follows:
All models wearing lots of armour (mail, full greaves, or composite Italian armour and full greaves) are spray undercoated black, with all tunics, flesh and boots re-undercoated white. All lightly armoured/unarmoured troops (hastati, pectroale-armoured Principes, bronze-armoured Triarii, Velites, etc) are spray-undercoated white with all weapons and bronze armour re-undercoated black.
Basecoats are then applied. On these pics: Flesh: Foundry Flesh mid tone. Tunics: Foundry Brick red shade or mid tone, Foundry Night Sky light, Foundry Ochre shade, Foundry phlegm green light. White tunics are left with the undercoat. Mail is drybrushed over the black with GW Chainmail. Bronze armour is all GW burnished gold. Pilum wood is Foundry Spearshaft shade. Pilum shanks are GW Chainmail. Sword blades are GW Mithril siver. Boots and belts are Foundry Bay Brown light. Armour trim (leather) is Foundry tan light.
Once these are completed, the models are washed in Army Painter Strong tone applied by brush. Once 100% dry, the tunics, flesh and bronze are given a single highlight using their original basecoat colour. Bases are painted in GW Graveyard earth. Fine sand is PVA'd on and, oncer dry, is washed with a VERY thin mix of the basecoat and water. Finally it is highlighted with GW bleached bone. The model is then given a light coat of varnish to seal in the highlights before being given a good blast Testor's Dullcote.
Shield designs are LBM. The backs of shields are Foundry Bay Brown Light. The back of the shield is washed in dip as well. The metal on the front of each shield is GW Chainmail, washed in dip. The spine of each shield has a light wash of dip. The transfer is given a brush-on coat of GW 'Aardcoat before being matted down with Dullcote.
I'm very pleased with the results. The Aventine minis look especially good using this technique, which takes about 30% of the time it takes me to do the full-on layered approach I've used on my Dark Age models. With an army the size this one will be, that's very important!!
Unit sizes will be 16 figs per heavy infantry unit and each legion wil have 1 unit of velites (12 strong), 1 unit of hastati, 1 Prinipes and 0.5 unit of triarii (the army will have 2 triarii units, each oone composed of half Roman and half Italian allied models). Cavalry will be in units of 10 or 12. Pergameme troops, not sure yet. Possibly 24 Thureophoropi and 12 Cretan archers, probably 10 each of Companion and Tarentine cavalry...
I hope to complete this unit over the next week and a half, then tackle the same legion's hastati. Each legion will have its own shield design so it's clear on the table which legion is which...
Keep checking back for updates to this and my ongoing Colonial project... I have comparatively little time to paint these days - probably about 3 hours a week if I'm lucky...
Cheers
Andy
