Entry #5 to the 8th Lead Painters' League - 'Boudicca FTW!'

We're now at the midpoint of the Painters' League and for this round the theme was Ancient history. I've had these figures from Warlord Games for years and thought it a good occasion to get them out of their packaging and done up.

I decided to do something akin to the great illustration of a Briton chariot team by the greatly missed Angus McBride.

I know Warlord produces a great set which models this specific scene but I wanted something a bit different, perhaps a little more ferocious. So with that in mind I pulled a charioteer from another boxed set to depict a 'show off' charioteer. The figure was originally designed to have a sword and shield in his hands but I decided to reposition him as if we were hauling on the reins of the horse team. 

I first removed his sword and drilled out his fists so I could thread thin plastic rod through to simulate the reigns. I then slightly repositioned his arms and legs and pinned him into place. I think it worked out pretty well though I need to go back and give him some woad tattoos (I ran out of time before the submission deadline).

I really like the figures of the children running alongside the chariot team. I painted the dog in homage to our own little scamp Felix.

Felix plotting mischief...

These rather daunting Celtic ladies were fun to paint as well. Now, m'dear, that's a real close shave...

Unfortunately this entry did not win the match but it gave a good account of itself in the voting so I'm pleased.

Next week we leave on vacation and as we'll be away for the month of May I'm 'front-loading' my LPL entries and submitting the rest ahead of time. Some will be new work, while others, sadly, will be repurposed older stuff as I didn't have time to produce new figures for all the rounds. 

For this week's 6th submission, as I needed a few days to get my Indochina entry completed before we leave, I cobbled together my Winter Retreat figures with a few new additions. I know, these old chestnuts are getting a little care worn, but I really wanted to get something submitted otherwise they just randomly assign one of your previous entries for the new round which I think is even worse than digging something up from the 'lead archive'. So, I invite you to go check out this week's match and enjoy all the various entries from the 40 participants.

From AlanD: 28mm Dark Age Arthur & Hun Date Night (120 points)

From Alan:

I am very fond of the Westwind Arthurian range, and finally got around to painting up their Arthur figure, but found a rearing horse from Black Tree Design to mount him on for extra heroic impact. The bloke with the horn is also from Westwind. As always the shields are hand painted. I can't bring myself to use decals.

Here also is my latest batch of ten 28mm Huns, mainly consisting of a group of noble cavalry. I gave a couple of them Roman tunics, which may have been looted from somewhere, or possibly suggest that the wearers once served as mercenaries for Rome. 

We also have a figure that I find very poignant of a Hun with a clearly terrified captive woman. This figure narrowly missed out on being sent in for the casualty bonus round.

Nearly all figures are from Foundry, with one from Gripping Beast. He's the one riding the creature that has some resemblance to a horse.

Very nice work Alan. Those hand-painted shields for the Arthurian figures are superb (though I will never begrudge anyone their decals, least of all me). The Huns are suitably ferocious though I must agree with you that some look like their riding large dogs. 

These lads, both chivalrous and not, will give Alan 120 points, placing him nicely amongst the top 10. Lovely stuff Mr. D!

From AndrewS: 20mm Ancient Briton Warbands (300 points)

Not wishing to be eclipsed by Kent and Kev, Andrew unleashes these three units of Ancient Britons to vault him back into the lead.

From Andrew:

This is the last of the Ancient Britons for now – once again these are all 20mm newline metals, with a couple of Italeri too make up the numbers.

In total there are three lots of 24 figure warbands for a total of 72 figures.

I have spent a fair bit of time with these, and as well as the tartans and stripes, I have gone to town on both the colours and freehand work on the shields to make these a glorious thump of colour. 

I am sure I have a few bolts loose up top myself, as I actually thought doing checked patterns on shields this size would be fun. I soon realized that it was damned hard work but carried on to make every shield unique.

These buggers will be ready to shed some big nose blood in my next encounter on the battlefield with Kev.

I dunno, I'm getting a nosebleed trying to comprehend all the work, skill and speed put into this force. Wow! Beautiful stuff Andrew. Again, as the other Britons you've submitted, these are wonderful. I love the vibrant colours and the attention spent to make them all unique and characterful. Bravo!

These three warbands of Britons will give Andrew 300 points which includes extra for the marvellous shields, plaids and tartan trews. Great job!