Romano-British 12 and Blood Bowl

Apologies for the lack of updates recently my ability to concentrate on painting and associated tasks has been quite limited.

I have done some more work on the Romano British levies with two groups almost done. The first group of Heavy Cavalry is also almost complete with only a few more highlights required. This, however, brings up and important issue; what to do with the shields? I would like for the cavalry to all have the same design as befitting my general/magister's comitatus while the levies to have, relatively) different designs.The images below show a selection of the Little Big Men transfers that I have considered for the Levies. I am still undecided on the cavalry designs but I am considering a white field with red Chi Rho but standardised rather than differing.

As well as the Romano British some small steps have been taken with my Blood Bowl teams. My High Elves have finally been all converted for a TV1000 team, I still need to make a few spare Linemen. This has involved finishing off the kit bash and sculpting the hands for the Catchers. I think they look rather serviceable and hopefully will be finished soon. I would like to try and organise a small league around the Christmas holidays (whether local or online remains to be seen). Below is a work in progress shot of the whole team. It consists of 2 Blitzers, 2 Catchers, 1 Thrower and 6 Linemen.

Romano British 11

So I am just under half way through painting my Dux Britainniarum army (I have, however, painted more comanipulares than is required at this stage). This means I have 18 infantry split into three groups of six. One of comanipulares and two of milites/warriors. These are all finished, photographs of the, now based, warriors should hopefully be taken relatively soon. This leaves the three groups of levies, the group of skirmishers and the characters of which three remain (two lesser nobles and the champion). One group of levies is almost done and just requires a few highlights and another has had some base colours blocked in. They have been painted in a non-uniform manner using a limited palette of colours that are found on the other figures but without much added detail. Basically they do not have Late Roman style uniforms but average 'dark age' clothing. In addition to this I have almost finished the first group of four heavy cavalry, these are not for game purposes but more just general completion and enjoyment.

With the release of Blood Bowl 2016 edition I have been inspired my to actually take a few of my teams out and finish painting/converting them. I have five teams: Humans, High Elves, Pro Elves, Dwarfs and Chaos. I favour Humans or High Elves and prefer a more passing style of play as opposed to that of the 'bash'. I am currently working on painting my High Elf team and converting the last few pieces. The figures are a kit bash of the newer High Elf multi-part kits namely White Lions, Shadow Warriors and Phoenix Guard. I will hopefully get a few pictures of the my teams up in the near future.

Romano British 10: Finished General and Infantry (sort of).

My Romano-British general and the first six unarmoured infantry are finished! Well apart from the varnishing and basing. I mentioned in one of my previous posts that this would be done soon. However a malfunction with my matte varnish has meant that the can is now unusable and as such the figures cannot be sprayed and therefore not based. I thought I would include these, still technically work in progress figures, regardless.

First of all the Romano-British general. I use the term general here as a catch all term for leader rather than any specific attributation of rank of which Comes or Dux are probably more apt. The figure is mounted on a 40mm round base with his personal vexillarius who has the ever imaginative chi-rho borne on the vexillum. This is mostly because I am a rather poor freehand painter and the simple shapes can be created without much effort.

Ambrosius Dumnonius, Custode of the Sabrina Civitates stands ready.

From the side. I prefer the lighting in this picture.

From the rear.

From the front (again) but at a better angle.

The infantry. Note the different, although similar shields to the cominpulares.

The remaining six unarmoured infantry are in the final stages of painting and should be finished relatively soon. Some work has begun on the mounted general with the horse being almost complete. Hopefully the levies can be started soon as well although doubts of how to paint them still remain.

Comic-Con Birmingham Haul

So this is where I am going to show off the few purchases I made from the Saturday at MCM Birmingham. I am yet to read any of the items that are shown here, this is more of a run-down of what I have and what intrigued me about the titles. I had hoped to get a few pictures of the artwork from each issue however the glossy nature of the pages meant that there was far too much glare. 

I must first mention that I am quite an avid collector of comics and graphic novels. I have, however, had something of a lapse over the past few years. I have found most recent mainstream publications to be rather dull in theme, art and writing. There was a resurgence when IMAGE published some collected editions for a few of their short runs of (mostly) Sci Fi. I have mostly accepted that I am not the audience for a great number of volumes (and that is perfectly fine) but I would still like something that tickles that itch. Perhaps in the next few days I shall do a post on what I would like to see from a comic or graphic novel but anyway back to my purchases.

The first items I bought were issues one and two of MOON. Has rather nice and interesting art/style. After talking to the writer and artist the plot revolves around the moon walking around the 'human' world in the early hours of the morning due to a botched ancient ritual. Wacky adventures ensue. I mostly picked it up due to the art being quite nice and interesting and for some light hearted shenanigans, which I think it will deliver.

Issues #1 and #2 of MOON.

Next up is FLINTLOCK.  Mostly drawn to the fact that it is an adventure story set within the 18th Century, which in my opinion is an under utilised period for adventures (pirates notwithstanding). The art is not anything special but is decent enough in black and white. I look forward to giving it a read.

Flintlock

My favourite and most anticipated purchase from the comic con is SKIES OF FIRE. I must say the art on both the covers and within is absolutely fantastic. I am a complete sucker for anything pastel and water coloury and this is no exception. The booth/stall had a great number of fantastic posters and post cards that showed said art of off to a wonderful degree. I am loathe to use the term 'Diesel Punk' to describe these issues lest I start a diatribe about the nature of the -punk suffix and its use in modern speculative fiction, so I shall not. Instead I shall suggest that from my brief perusal of the art it is a pulpy art deco themed story involving air mercenaries/air ships and biplanes a la Porco Rosso or Crimson Skies. I am very much O.K. with both those things. These are the first three (and currently only issues printed) from a planned series of eight. If the story is up to the artwork then this shall make me rather excited for the following issues.
 

Issues #1, #2 and #3 of SKIES OF FIRE.

My final purchase was the first three volumes of COMICHAUS. This a collection of differing stories/comics much in the same vein as 2000ad. The art is rather varied in style as one would expect but all seems at least decent with a few strips being excellent. It is all in black and white but as a fan of monochrome (especially for gritty stories) this is a plus. The mixed nature of each issue is rather nice especially as I have come to enjoy far shorter length pieces of fiction (be it television or literature) and the variety is a plus when I am in an odd mood, not necessarily knowing what I want.
 

Issues #1, #2 and #3 of COMICHAUS

These are all the comics that I picked up during the course of Saturday. I did get a rather nice 19th Century/Industrial print but I shall show that once I have it framed. As  a whole I enjoyed the day but would have appreciated if there was a greater emphasis on both comics and their creators as opposed to the periphery of merchandise.

Romano British 9

A very small update today. The general and infantry shown in the last update are finished! they are however still drying so no photographs are available at the moment. I hope to get them up tomorrow after they have been varnished.

The plans are to finish the next 6 unarmoured infantry (who have only been washed) and then start on the levies. This will be a relatively big task due to the numbers (nineteen) and the un-uniformed nature of the figures. I think some thought about the various styles well be needed in order to speed up the painting.

On Saturday I also attended the MCM Comic Con Birmingham. This was the first MCM event I had attended and while I enjoyed the event it seemed a little 'general trader' heavy as a opposed to focusing on comics, writers and artists etc. To this end I managed to pick up a few interesting, independent comics. I shall post a few pictures and my thoughts in the next few days.

Romano-British 8: General and Infantry

My Wargame Foundry replacements arrived in good yesterday, very prompt service. I'm quite happy as it is my favourite Late Roman/Romano-British character. I think it espouses Roman character and generalship more than my other figures which have more action orientated poses (I understand the complexity of 'Romaness' and the challenges in understanding identity of the Late Roman army but this is not the place for such a in depth discussion).

The figures themselves are lovely sculpts done by the Perry's however there is one complaint. They are rather short when compared to other, more modern figures. There are many comparison photographs of the figures available but the difference 'in the flesh' is more striking than what I was expecting. To this end the base on which the general rests has been built up a millimetre or two. However the figure is still smaller in proportion than that his Footsore compadres. This not too much of an issue but I feel that it is worth reiterating for any perspective buyers. 

Find below a few work in progress pictures of both the general and six of the unarmoured infantry. Several of the infantry have had their bare heads swapped out for those available in the West Wind head packs. This was done as I wanted all the figures to be helmeted (or at least wearing a hat). The heads fit rather well in terms of scale and are easy to attach. They are ever so slightly larger but it is almost unnoticeable.

The General and his vexillium. Note the purple for his Imperial connections (or ambitions?)

The Infantry at ease.

 

Romano-British 7: Completed Armoured Infantry

The armoured Romano-British infantry are now completed! All nineteen (I still need to purchase a few more and to make a banner bearer that is not the draco wielder). I am quite happy with the paint jobs and shields. I am still a little disappointed with the basing but it is something to work on.

The first batch of six unarmoured have also received their washes and well be highlighted later this evening. The levies have finally been undercoated and the bases painted. This means that all the basic infantry for Dux Britianniarum are all at least undercoated.these levies well have a far less uniform appearance when compared to all the other infantry. I do however have a quandary, do I buy them transfers for their shields. There are those varied packs available but I can paint the simpler designs myself. My main concern is the difference in styles between printed and painted.

 Dux Brit also requires a number of character/champion figures. I have a number of characters that I can use for nobles but these are yet to receive any paint. Speaking of characters I received a package from Wargames Foundry with some paint and supposedly some late roman figures. Unfortunately I was sent some earlier Imperial Romans instead of the their later countrymen. This was soon sorted and the actual figures should arrive soon (hopefully tomorrow)

Romano-British 6

Another small update today. The second batch of armoured infantry is almost complete with just a few highlights needed before the transfers are applied. When the entire unit is completed then the basing will take place.

The first batch of six unarmoured infantry have finally had some paint applied (that is not undercoat!) and will soon be ready for washing. The militia/levies have had the bases touched up and sealed and, when dry, will be ready for the undercoat. The heavy cavalry have been put on the back burner for the moment due to game play reasons (as in they are not required at this moment).

Speaking of games, the figures that are currently being worked on are in preparation for a game of Dux Britianniarum. This requires (in terms of basic infantry) six commanipulares (the armoured infantry), twelve warriors (the unarmoured infantry) and eighteen levies (the militia/pedyt. The heroes/nobles I also have but they have not yet been started. The only problem I have is that a lack a suitable figure for a Dux or Comes, they all seem a little too action orientated rather than imperious looking. Footsore/Gripping Beast/Saxon Miniatures all do suitable figures but for the latter two I am loathe to mix ranges. I feel some conversion work may be required although I am rather unsure of what it is I want exactly.

Nature of Basing and Updates

Sorry for the lack of updates the past few days I have been rather unwell and not really in the frame of mind for making posts. However I feel a little better and intend to make some small comments on the wargaming and historical activities that have taken place. Also, in other news, I played my first game of Rugby for two seasons, I felt a little rough to say the least!

The tufts arrived today, I have 2x Heather, 1x Patchy and 1x Wild Meadow from the Warlord War World range. My intention that with these a some more muted static grass I can create an upland theme. The static grass being muted should allowed for the heather and tufts to 'pop' a little better.  This and evening and tomorrow shall be the test, I will post the outcomes at a later date.

In terms of reading it has mostly been in regards to looking at the Romano -British. Guy Halsall's 'The Worlds of Arthur' is a tome I have owned for quite some time but I have never given it my full attention. It starts out with a decent summarisation of the nature and a discussion of the previous scholarship relating to 4/5th Century Britain. It then gives a critical analysis of the major historical sources (6th-12th Centuries) relating to Arthur (or at least those used when looking at the 'historical' Arthur). Then finally the volumes attempts to re-examine the nature of Anglo-Saxon migration and settlement although some of the conclusions may be a little 'out there'. The book it sit in weird positionn I find. Guy Halsall is not a 'popular historian' he is a Professor of Early Medieval History at the University of York (and a keen wargamer to boot!) but the book seems marketed as such. The publication is NOT popular history but yet it is not quite a full academic work (the lack of in line or footnote references is the main issue). Overall it is a decent introduction to Post Imperial Britain and the debunking of most claims to a historical Arthur (that is not to say that the author thinks that he never existed just that it is almost impossible to tell).

Basing Miniatures

Having completed the first 12 Romano-Britons the matter arises of basing the figures. I am not a very competent 'baser' of models. They either appear too plain or I think they appear too crowded or somehow artificial feeling. I struggle with making the scenes seem natural. There is one exception my Beitland AK47 army (in 15mm and can be seen in the archives). I feel that I did a relatively decent job at making the Southern African veld. This, however, was rather simple; merely static grass, tufts and a clump foliage.

In an effort to combat this lack of creativity I have ordered some more grass tufts of various greens, browns and even some heather. The theme for the basing will be some based around Upland/moor areas. 

The problem arises when trying to tie all these features together. Generally this would be done through static grass. I am however generally unhappy with static grass that is available as I find it far too green. I have found a more muted type but in some cases (and on some figures) it seems far too dull. It seems rather difficult to find a statc grass of the correct colour. My experimentations in individual blends have also been met with such failures. While nothing that I have done looks bad, it is not at the level which I desire.

I believe some more practice/blending is required in order to fully get a handle over this material. I would welcome any advice or help in regards to this matter.

Romano British 5

The shield transfers arrived this morning and have been applied to just over half of the armoured infantry. It was a little fiddly to apply them to the shields and despite the transfers being meant for Footsore shields they were still a little too big. There was some overlap on the rims of said shields that required careful cutting. I am unsure whether this is due to the transfers or the shields but it can be remedied. My main problem is blending the white background transfers with the shields. This may be due to the different whites used (the transfer and my paint) or the fact that the shields are battle-worn and have mud splatters that makes any colour on the rim far too stark in comparison.

The selection of transfers. Red and white for armoured with the unarmoured take the black and white.

All twelve so far.

The 'Redders'.

The 'Whiters'. Note the rims and the very distinct change.

The figures still need a few touch ups and the for the shields to be tidied before varnishing and basing but are almost there. 

In other developments the heavy cavalry horses are done and some work has begun on the riders, mostly just blocking in the base colours so fare. The other 8 armoured infantry have also had some base coats applied. Hopefully in the next few days they can be done! I still need to get some transfers for the cavalry. I want them to be uniform as befits household troops but am unsure as to what design, nothing overly ornate. I am thinking just a large red Chi Rho on a white background. 

The Romano British Military

This will be a brief discussion on the Romano-British military and how it relates to the wargamer and my decisions and thought processes in regards to the creation of the army.

The Migration-Era/Sub Roman/Early Medieval, whatever one wants to call it, is both my favourite period of history and wargaming. It allows for the creation of many fine stories and scenarios based in both history and legend. The general nature of the warfare (well at least in Great Britain) does not require too many figures and allows for a great variety of both colours and types (lets not forget the shields! Late Roman/Romano British designs have to be my favourite).

To begin, Sub Roman Britain (post 410AD) is a period with rather limited written and physical evidence (and that's before you even bring the question of Arthur in!). This is especially apparent with regards to the military structures. The main point of contention is the nature of Roman institutions and how long they continued/are applicable post departure. This point should be qualified that this is very dependant upon the location within Britain. Upland areas, those to the North and West, generally had far less Roman influence than those to the South and East. So it is expected that these areas would have 'reverted' far sooner if not straight away. This is primarily based off of excavations and re-use of upland sites/hillforts combined with coinage distributions.

For the purposes of this blog my Romano-British force is from what would be Southern England from the mid 5th Century. The force still exerts a strong Roman influence in terms of equipment and organisation. Whether this was actually the case is debatable. My own knowledge and research as a scholar is, to be frank, unsure. There is some evidence to suggest some characteristics continued as seen in the Breton Kingdom of the later 5th Century (for those unaware the Bretons of Brittany were migrants from Southern Britain). For miniature purposes, however, I enjoy the Romanised style far more than that of the 'traditional' Celtic styles. This may be partly explained due to the greater contrast it provides with the barbarian forces they would face, both in terms of appearance as well as organisation.

The army that I have assembled consists of:

• 10 Heavy/Shock Cavalry in the Roman style
• 20 Regular Armoured Infantry in the Roman style
• 20 Unarmoured Infantry in the Roman style
• 20 Archers in the Roman style
• 2 x 20 Militia/Pedyt in a rather my irregular style to the above

The Cavalry could represent the Comitatus/Bucellari of a Warlord/General or professional regulars. The Romanised infantry are meant to represent Comitatenses or Limitanei (or equivalents thereof collectively termed Milites) left or raised locally for the Civitates. The Pedyt are what would be found later on in the period and represent those locals/citizens doing levied or selective military service.

The core of said army would not be out of place within a Late Roman force of the same period. Units of all of the above were found within Late-Roman Britain. Whether this force accurately represents the military of lowland sub Roman Britain is another matter. I think it is definitely possible and probably but the study of history require more than that. Like all my forces they very rarely represent actual units or kingdoms but attempt to cover the general period while being as accurate or true to the general idea of the time as possible. However like this force some lee-way in terms of accuracy is given for aesthetic considerations. If I do not like the figures, the time and effort to paint and finish them will never be found.

Expansion of the force will include a slight increase in the number of Armoured and Heavy Cavalry as well as the purchase of some Lighter Cavalry (once again in the Roman Style). For a more accurate army one might look to various Germanic mercenaries/allies as was the case in both Britain and the Western Roman Empire. I have an early/mid Saxon army from which suitable figures may be drawn so as such do not require more of the same type. However, I enjoy keeping the armies 'pure' for mostly aesthetic and cohesive reasons. The other reason is that the figures are partly designed with the game Dux Britannarium in mind (as well as the original Warhammer Ancient Battles of which I am/was a fan). Said game, at least at the beginning, does not use any mercenaries.

While this has been the briefest of discussions I may attempt to post a more in depth examination in the near future (time permitting).

Romano British 4

A few more work in progress shorts of the armoured infantry/comitatenses. They require a few more highlights and tidying up before having shield transfers applied (which will hopefully arrive tomorrow). They have a very uniform appearance with the same cream and red tunic. The idea for the force is that it maintains a more romanised approach. It is an army with professional/standing forces. The unarmoured infantry will also be uniformed but slightly different to the armoured and probably not quite as homogeneous. 

The cavalry are also being worked on. Currently the horses are the prime focus with the riders to follow. I am finding it rather a struggle as I very much dislike painting horse, I find it rather tedious.

The militia/levy has also been sanded (on the base that is) with an aim to undercoating soon. A few 'special' individuals need to assembled, mostly command figures. The army as whole is almost complete it only needs the lighter cavalry and a small expansion to the armoured infantry and heavy cavalry.

Romano British 3

First of all apologies for no update yesterday, my Internet connection had some serious problems.

Today's update shall be a a few work in progress of the state of my Romano British forces. It shall also be a general showcase for the army as many miniatures do not have any paint yet (outside of undercoat).

 First of all the armoured infantry of which twelve are shown here from a total of 20.

Armoured Comitantenses/Milites

Second the unarmoured infantry of which 19 are shown from a total of 20 (the musician is missing currently).

Unarmoured Infantry

Lastly the heavy cavalry and general/magister militum.

General and his personal standard bearer.

The heavy cavalry

The force also includes 2x20 militia/poor infantry and a number of archers (numbering 18 currently assembled). Pictures for these units shall go up in due time.

All the figures are Footsore Miniatures (formerly Musketeer). Shield transfers have been ordered from Little Big Men Studios and should hopefully arrive soon. I have been finding that the are an absolute joy to paint. I am unsure whether it is the relatively simple uncluttered sculpting and the slightly chunky nature but they look rather good even with only a few colours.

Romano British 2

The Gripping Beast plastic Late Romans arrived today. I ordered them on Tuesday so it was a rather quick turn around which is always nice to see, Caliver Books always seem to be on point. I the kit at Salute and was not completely impressed. I decided to order to get a proper look and to fill a few gaps (mostly command related) in my Late Roman/Romano British forces. The figures are a lot nicer in person although they seem to have the characteristic Gripping Beast 'roundness' in figure. I can not really explain this feeling very well but the figures seem 'round'. This may be related to the helmet types or the relatively squat nature of the figure (more on this later) but I can not shake it.

From left to right Footsore, Gripping Beast Late Roman and Gripping Beast Dark Age Warrior (with GB shield and Westwind head.

The figures themselves are rather fine with the Late Roman patterned tunics. There is only seven heads per sprue (5 helmeted with 2 variations, 1 bare and 1with hat) which is a shame some more variation would have been appreciated but it's reasonable. The main problem is that they (the figures) seem rather short and relatively slight. This may be because of the comparison with the Musketeer/Footsore majority in my force (which are noticeably chunkier). Despite these concern I look forward to completing my poor infantry/pedes/pedyt infanty with some of these as command. The archers also come in handy in bulking out the numbers.

Romano British

Just a quick update today as I have not done much wargaming related. I have based a small number of Romano-British Pedites/Pedes that have been sitting around for a quite some time. I have also been reading over a few bits and bobs in regards to the Sub-Roman military and the nature of it's uniformity. This is mostly manifest in the nature of shield designs and the transfers I must purchase (creating my own for these more complicated designs would not be worth while). Little Big Men have a very fine range of shield designs compatible with my Musketeer/Footsore and Gripping Beast figures.

With the new SAGA being released this month it has renewed my possible interest in the game (the last time I played SAGA was in the summer of 2012!). I have, however, also been coming up with stat-lines for a possible LoTR SBG conversion. Such conversions exist for many games and I have been basing a few changes off those from an issue of the Wargames Journal, from 2006, designed for the 9th/10th Centuries. It's only a quick tweak as the rules are mostly fine. I'd like to put my version up as soon as I am happy with it.

Some proof reading and fiddling with Aristeia continues but I currently lack the enthusiasm for Ancient Greece at the moment and as such do not feel compelled to do much with regards to it. I should be back too it relatively soon but it's always fun to do a few different projects.

Centaurs Part 3

The hind quarters of the centaurs have had some green stuffing and smoothing. They still require more however as there is still some knife marks. The left arms and shields have also been added, that gives them a rather more complete appearance. I would like to make at least two centaurs with bows but I lack the appropriate bows and arms. The only parts suitable in my bits box are from the later medieval period. Any work using them would require severe alteration.

The Three centaurs

Centaur 1

Centaur 2

Centaur 3

I have also unboxed my Romano-British forces as I have been excited by the new SAGA expansion for the Late Roman period. I'm not a massive fan of SAGA but seeing figures for a period that is my absolute favourite is always a plus. My games of choice for the sub-Roman period are Dux Britanniarum and the WAB Age of Arthur expansion ( It is also my favourite expansion to any wargame, it is absolutely amazing). I would also like to game some smaller skirmishes possibly using a modified Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game. This a ruleset that many people have used for a large range of period and I also happen to be a fan of. I would like to get a few pictures up of my Romano-Brits and Early Saxons but very few are anywhere approaching finish so they would not be the most exciting examples.