From PaulOG: Last Hurrah Legionaries (118.5 points)

I'm away for work and wont be back until after the Challenge. I'll complete my Duel Wallah duties from afar but this is my last submission for AHPC 14.

Despite having planned (and acquired models) for tribal warband allies for Caesar, I recently discovered that in fact... I cant under the army lists! Oops. An emergency resupply of legionaries was required.

So here are two more Legionary units, using 1st Corps models and taking me to a total of 10. Frustratingly, these are smaller sculpts to the rest of my army, more true 25s really. That said, they look good on their own bases and their poses give them a different look to my other troops. Shield decals by LMB Studios, and 2 fancier ones were hand painted for the Centurion and his Signifer to mix things up.

Another Command Figure to take charge on the wing, a Warlord sculpt this time. Nicely detailed but  more statuesque and fancy in style, as befitting his rank. Maybe a wealthy Senator's son spending time with the Legions to further his political career back in Rome after the campaigning season.

Ave Caesar!

Next a pair of Lictors, destined to accompany Caesar on my army's command base. I got the General's famous white charger done but sadly ran out of time for the man himself and really didn't want to rush such an iconic figure. So here they are, albeit unbased - mea culpa!

Their broad flat features and big noses are very Wallacus and Gromitus!

And finally a Hoplomachus for my gladiator ludus, filling a gap in my retinue. This style of fighter was modelled on the Greek Hoplite and was distinguishable by his spear, small shield and greaves. Traditionally, a Hoplomachus would be paired to fight either a Threax or Murmillo.

I've gone all-in with the Hoplite style and am very happy with how he turned out with the matched red and white apparel.

That's 22 completed figures @ 5 points each (110) and 2 more unbased @-25% (7.5 points) for a total of 117.5 points. Added to my tally of 882 gets me to...999.5 points for the challenge. So I've hoping my hand painted shields are worth a bonus point between them to squeak me over the 1k milestone, and I throw myself at the mercy of the Minion :-)

From Millsy: Ave dudorum! Very nice indeed Paul and despite the difference in size I'm sure these will fit very well alongside your other units in the army. Wallacus and Gromitus made me laugh out loud, so I feel I must respond by asking "Plus caseus Gromitus?" Your efforts will be missed for the remainder of AHPC 14 but with a bonus point you at least sneak over the line and hit your target for the year. Safe travels and hurry home mate, my Numidians are keen for a fight!

From PaulOG: Allied Gallic Cavalry (132 points)

These two units are Crossing the Rubicon for me - I just don't do units of cavalry for any period, so these took some working up to. But at last, here are my Allied (Mercenary) Tribal Cavalry to fight for Caesar.

Gallic Cavalry with attached General and retinue

Having procrastinated for years, these brought me real joy and I did the models in a weekend, including hand painting all the shields. These aren't anything special, but they are special for me - I even tried a dappled grey for the Chieftain as a stretch goal. To be honest, it took a few goes.

Look at those great Gallic moustaches!

I've done something a bit different with the basing too - I wanted to depict them as a thundering mass of terrifying horse flesh bearing down on the trembling legionaries of Pompey Magnus. So they are on deeper bases to give them space for dynamic placement, and I chunked one of them up with even more figures to depict the attached General and his retinue.

I bought the figs second hand, and while I'm certain the Command figs are Crusader models, I'm not sure about the rest.  All are metal though, so these bases have a very satisfying heft when you pick them up :-)

So there they are - a dozen 28mm mounted figs for 120 points, pending any hand painted shield bonuses. If AHPC is about pushing oneself, either in productivity or new styles, then these Cavalry models have certainly taken me out of my comfort zone and helped me round out this Army project. Thanks for the encouragement!

From Millsy: I'm really pleased to hear you've enjoyed painting these Paul given how much you dislike cavalry as a general rule. Sometimes once you start enjoying something it sticks so maybe in future mounted minis won't present such an obstacle. Your end product here is absolutely smashing I have to say and if mine had come out so well I'd have been equally pleased. Beautiful work especially the shields which I'm awarding an extra point each. Cracking effort mate!

From PaulOG: Caesarian Light Troops and a Hero (110 points)

Lower output recently with work travel taking a toll, so its good to be back at the brushes! Those on our antipodean paint and chat know that Cavalry is my hobby kryptonite, and the lads there have been demanding encouraging me to man up and get some done!  So here are my first: 2 units of Roman light cavalry to skirmish ahead of my Caesarian army.

These are OOP plastic Roman Cavalry by Wargames Factory; rather average models TBH but good enough for support troops. I did some head swaps and changed the shields - hand painted of course! - to give them a more dynamic look, which has helped a lot overall.

Overall they are ok, very useful on the tabletop, and have nudged me onto doing my Cavalry units. I did enjoy doing the casualty, complete with javelin in his back, and Alan even painted up a shield to match his own army. Thanks mate!

"Caesar Aeternum!" (Caesar Forever!) and take that you traitorous son of Sassanid!

Continuing the light troops theme, a unit of Numidian foot skirmishers to precede the Legionary heavy infantry. These are also OOP Wargames Factory figs, kindly donated by Alan to fill this gap in my army. 

Again, nothing special about these figs but they are fine for their role and painted accordingly.

And lastly onto this lovely Aventine miniature - so wonderfully evocative I felt compelled to make him a standalone Hero; battered, bloodied and undaunted in the face of the enemy.

Gaul blood stains on your tunic are hard to clean... 

Wounded and sans armour post medicae treatment, he has discharged himself from the hospice tent to fight with his Comrades for his beloved legion and Caesar. "Greater Love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends". How noble, even Romantic, one might say with a more Victorian era interpretation of nationalism and brotherly love.

Vulneratus non Victus! (in fact, this is my traditional family motto!)

6 x mounted 28mm Figs (60 points), 6 x infantry models (30) and I would like to claim the Romance bonus for this admittedly non traditional interpretation: after all, "Legio patria nostra"!

From Millsy: Great work on these horsey chaps Paul. I nearly bought WF Numidians a couple of times but they proved too awkward for me to pull the trigger so I can understand how you were reluctant to paint these Romans. Having said that I love what you've done with them but maybe I'm just an old romantic? (see what I did there???). Five extra shekels for the hand painted shields brings you up to 115 points for this entry. Well done mate!

From AlanD - Gallic Cavalry (55 points)

Pompey's army for To the Strongest! continues to grow this week with a unit of Gallic cavalry.

Figures are from Wargames Factory (donated by Paul OG - thanks!) They aren't too bad, although the detail is very soft in places.

Shields are hand painted, which was fun, but did not make me want to paint a whole army of Gauls!

From Millsy: Absolutely wonderful brushwork mate! There's so much to like about these, especially the plaid and the basing but the shields are the real show stopper. I've painted enough checks myself over the years to know how frustrating it can be but the results speak for themselves. Bloody beautiful and worth another point apiece I reckon.

From Paul O'G More Caesarians! (145 points)

Building on last week's expansion of my Caesarian Roman force, this week I am adding another 2 units, and a Commander.

The Command stand is a great Aventine sculpt - a Legate focused on Crushing His Enemies and Seeing them Driven before Him, for the Glory of Caesar!

These two units (with 11 figs each) were prepared similarly to my submission last week - veterans with some mismatched gear and dynamically based on 120mm frontage. They are a mix of Warlord and Wargames Factory Romans (OOP) - the latter aren't nearly as nice but do the job for troop bases like these.

Our weekly Antipodean paint and chats have been great to build some momentum and catch up with a bunch of Aussie and Kiwi challengers, and see friends old and new. However, Kent was even more helpful this week - while I was looking for tips for  the leopard skin pelt on the standard bearer, I stumbled cross his tutorial at his YouTube channel- thanks mate! Here is the full 30min video it is for those who seek to emulate him better than me!

I hope I haven't embarrassed your tutorial Kent!

Added to last week's output my veteran Legionaries look thus

And all my Legionaries massed up are starting to look rather imposing (I hope!)

Points Wise that is 25 x 28mm figs @ 5 points each for a total of 125 points. No bonuses for hand painted shields last week so I didn't bother with any this week!!!  :-)  but I was quite happy with how the vexillum came out.

I've done the History section so am looking to file this in the Children's section because Wikipedia says: 

"The Eagle of the Ninth is a historical adventure novel for children written by Rosemary Sutcliff"

Maybe its a bit of a stretch but Alan's logic for his bonus was far weaker so I reckon its a fair cop! :-)

From Millsy: More wonderful Romans to expand your army Paul! The leopard skin has come out really well and you've certainly not embarrassed Kent with your efforts. A book about Romans written for kids seems a legit argument for the Children's section so no problem with the bonus from my POV.

From Paul OG: Romanes Eunt Domus! (Overdues)(210 points)

Our recent discovery of To The Strongest has reignited our slumbering Roman Civil War project. So I'm expanding my collection with additional Legionaries with more dynamic massed basing, starting with these.

Alan and I are both using 120mm frontages for consistency, though its less important in To the Strongest.

I really enjoyed building these and went for a veteran look with differences in equipment & tunic/shield colours while still being cohesive overall. These are Caesar's experienced men from the conquests of Gaul and Hispania, and now arrayed against the forces of Alanius Minimus! Naturally I completely overthought the whole thing and got lost in a myriad of now utterly lost detail, but I'm really happy with the final outcome. Hand painted shields for the Centurion and the Signifier, others are Warlord decals.

Wanting to use my already completed models (posted in in Jan 21 during AHPC Season XI), I've used my existing single based figures and reconfigured them onto 120cm wide bases, adding an extra 8 to get to 4 full units. I then hobbycrastinated (when you do some hobby things to avoid other hobby aspects you dont want to do) by stripping their old flock and experimenting with a new basing system, and also making a sabot base...before realising that this investment of time was probably not best done during the challenge! Again, the Centurion has a hand painted shield, others are decals.

Figures are mostly Warlord games with some Wargames Factory and a few metals mixed. LBM decals

In To the Strongest, Heroes can be assigned to units to boost them in the attack. I've added four to the force; a veteran Centurion, the infamous Pullo and Vorenus duo, and a certain senior officer (from WI's Giants in Miniature range - said officer is scheduled to make another appearance later in this army project...)

Really enjoying rediscovering this project. In summary, thats: 

• 8 single based figures
• 26 figs across the 2 new multi-based units
• 4 heroes 

Totalling 38 @ 5 points per fig = 190 points. Given that this project harks back to 2020, I'll shelve them in the Overdues and Returns section for a further 20 points.

Romanes Eunt Domus! 

But only the other ones, obviously...

From Millsy: Your Roman graffiti immediately put me in mind of Monty Python which is never a bad thing Paul. I did enjoy the subtext on your pic ensuring only the "other ones" should go home.

These look like they really mean business and I imagine Alan will be suitably nervous when facing off against them. Great colour choices on the shields, and the imperial purple on your general really pops so he'll stand out well amongst the ranks.

Cracking work mate. 210 denarii for your total!

From AlanD - Long Overdue Roman Command (170 points)

In AHPC XI, Paul OG and I started our Roman Civil War project. This was originally aimed at playing Infamy! Infamy!, but what with Covid and all we lost all focus. However! The project has since burgeoned into a plan to build large-ish armies to pit Pompey (me) and Caesar against each other using To The Strongest! I'm at the stage of adding some eastern allies and command figures to Pompey's army.

First up, we have a unit of Thracian cavalry, using Relic Miniatures. I await the inevitable ribbing from Paul for using shield decals.

The command bases and the individually based heroes are all either from Foundry or Warlord. The Foundry figures in particular are lovely to paint. I think they were sculpted by Mark Copplestone? Pompey himself, here being saluted by some optimate flunky was painted in 2011, and now inevitably rebased.

The general with his arms crossed is my favourite. He has the air of someone watching the cavalry on his left flank victoriously charging off to do something heroic thus allowing his unit to become enveloped and massacred.

And finally, a scorpion from Warlord.

With nine cavalry, the scorpion and ten figures on foot, this should be worth 150 points, with another 20 for the Overdue bonus please Millsy!

From Millsy: I know these are long overdue Alan but you just can't rush quality and these are certainly top quality mate. Everything about them is so evocative of the period and the army right down to the basing. The metallics are especially good I have to say.

I agree that the general with the crossed arms is great pose but I also love the swords drawn chap with the billowing cloak. There's a real dynamism there which you've only added to with your colour choices.

Paul better look out. These guys are well worth 170 points!