(Ancients Month) Celt Javelinmen

I managed to finish the eight Celt skirmishers with javelins earlier this morning. All the figures are from the Warlord box and the more dynamic poses do seem to suit the skirmishers best. The only non-Warlord bits are the javelins themselves which were taken from the Wargames Factory box which has a ton of extras like these. The nice thing about the plastic was the ease of altering hand positions to convert sword holders to appropriate javelin poses.

As previously the figures were block painted and then brushed with dip. I did take a while studying Phil Hendry's excellent dipped Celts and concluded he is quite conservative with the dip and resist the urge to smoother figures with it, consequently I am trying a similar approach with what I think are passable results. I certainly more pleased with this second batch of Celt skirmishers.

The first Celt warband is now constructed, undercoated and sat waiting for a bit of free time before I start on the painting. I do now need to have a serious think about shields and decals. I'm torn between the simple and relatively cheap approach of VVV or the more expensive but visually stunning LBMS.

Celt painted running total:

16/186 infantry

0/3 chariots

(Ancients Month) Celt Slingers

Ok 'Ancients Month' is now officially off an running with the first painted Celts done with these eight slingers. These models are all made up from (primarily) the Warlord Games Celts with a few accessories (and one torso) from the Wargames Factory box.

Both sets have their plus points, as well as a few negatives. Whilst the Warlord box is probably slightly better detailed, the 'dynamic' poses are not (to my mind) wargames friendly and the lack of shields (only enough for half the figures) and other weapons is disappointing (the slings here are from the Wargames Factory box). I did try one Wargames Factory torso on Warlord legs to check compatibility and whilst the end result is ok, I probably won't make a habit of it.

I did reposition a few of the 'outflung' arms and these was easy to do with a little bit of Green Stuff being needed to fill gaps. I also used Green Stuff to make the pouches for the slingers shot to be carried in. Painting was by using dip. whilst they are not my favourite painted miniatures in my collection, they are done and were done quickly.

Celt painted running total:

8/186 infantry

0/3 chariots