Post by Mike Blake on Jun 17, 2018 15:10:13 GMT
TSSD brought out a set #20 Romans, #19 Barbarians and set #22 Romans & Barbarians (mixed) set 2, a few years back, but I have only just got around to painting some of them, and rediscovering what splendid figures they are. We (Skirmish Wargames Collective) have been playing some Romans vs Ancient British games under group member Ted Herbert’s guidance, using the Warlord Games Hail Caesar rules and figures from Ted’s ample collection.
The games have been great fun, the rules working perfectly for 54mm figures, just as they do for 28mm, with no changes needed. After the last game, I decided my Regni needed some more fighters, and dug out one each of the TSSD set #19 poses and painted them up. The only work I did was to remove the minimal mould lines, and replace/add to their weapons, to make them a little more effective in a game.
The small axes were replaced by larger ones from the Bits Box, and the plastic spears replaced by ones made from brass rod. Some were given javelins/short throwing spears , and throwing axes too. The poses are amazingly dynamic, mostly charging full tilt at the enemy. A nice touch is the inclusion of a female archer.
I painted the figures with colours from the Vallejo se. I used a combination of their heavy undercoat colours on some new gesso primers in white, black and buff as a little experiment. Interestingly, the end result looks no different whichever primer colour was used, as far as I could see.
These ‘base’ colours were them worked over with various shades of the colour I wanted. Over this went a wash to add shading and bring out the detail. Some were Vallejo, others came from the extensive Secret Weapon range. All the washes worked really well, creating the kind of effect I was looking for. I then touched up over them with some highlights from the main colour again.
The bases, as usual, were trimmed back to fit onto a 40mm metal repair washer, and covered with textured acrylic paste. I use a couple of makes, Pebeo and Reeves. The bases were then painted with a neutral brown and dry brushed with a much lighter colour. Normally I would have added some flock and grass tufts, but this time I left them for Ted to finish how he wanted to fit in with his other figures.
Ted’s Regni chief also has a personal bodyguard of female warriors. When I looked closely at them deployed on the wargames table, I got a shock. The three in the front rank were indeed strapping Amazons, but the rear three were blokes! I decided to do something about this. Tehnolog do some Amazon warriors, but they are rather short. I raised their height to make them more imposing, by extending their legs above the knee. This was done with brass rod and modelling putty.
Again I beefed up the weapons a bit, and added bows and shields. The bows and quivers came from the bits box, and the shields were fancy buttons.
They were then painted using the same paints as for the Britons, and are now ready to replace the men in the rear rank of the Regni chief’s bodyguard!
The games have been great fun, the rules working perfectly for 54mm figures, just as they do for 28mm, with no changes needed. After the last game, I decided my Regni needed some more fighters, and dug out one each of the TSSD set #19 poses and painted them up. The only work I did was to remove the minimal mould lines, and replace/add to their weapons, to make them a little more effective in a game.
The small axes were replaced by larger ones from the Bits Box, and the plastic spears replaced by ones made from brass rod. Some were given javelins/short throwing spears , and throwing axes too. The poses are amazingly dynamic, mostly charging full tilt at the enemy. A nice touch is the inclusion of a female archer.
I painted the figures with colours from the Vallejo se. I used a combination of their heavy undercoat colours on some new gesso primers in white, black and buff as a little experiment. Interestingly, the end result looks no different whichever primer colour was used, as far as I could see.
These ‘base’ colours were them worked over with various shades of the colour I wanted. Over this went a wash to add shading and bring out the detail. Some were Vallejo, others came from the extensive Secret Weapon range. All the washes worked really well, creating the kind of effect I was looking for. I then touched up over them with some highlights from the main colour again.
The bases, as usual, were trimmed back to fit onto a 40mm metal repair washer, and covered with textured acrylic paste. I use a couple of makes, Pebeo and Reeves. The bases were then painted with a neutral brown and dry brushed with a much lighter colour. Normally I would have added some flock and grass tufts, but this time I left them for Ted to finish how he wanted to fit in with his other figures.
Ted’s Regni chief also has a personal bodyguard of female warriors. When I looked closely at them deployed on the wargames table, I got a shock. The three in the front rank were indeed strapping Amazons, but the rear three were blokes! I decided to do something about this. Tehnolog do some Amazon warriors, but they are rather short. I raised their height to make them more imposing, by extending their legs above the knee. This was done with brass rod and modelling putty.
Again I beefed up the weapons a bit, and added bows and shields. The bows and quivers came from the bits box, and the shields were fancy buttons.
They were then painted using the same paints as for the Britons, and are now ready to replace the men in the rear rank of the Regni chief’s bodyguard!
