From SimonG: Wrathful Roman War Machines [Wrath] (125 points)

So, it's been several weeks since my last post. But I am back with a return to one of my ongoing projects -- the first century Jewish Rebellion in 28mm and based for Impetus.

In part this delay has been down to the complexity of what I chose to paint this time, but more importantly, the need to take time out to deal with the sudden death of my father. In fact I would like to dedicate this posting in his memory as it was a trip we made to Israel in 1973 while he was on sabbatical from his university lectureship, that stimulated my interest in military history and in particular the Jewish rebellion. Visiting Masada at the age of 8 (back in the day when you still had to hike all the way up) kind of does that to you(1).

My Scrapbook of Masada (1973, age 8)

The figures this time are all Victrix early imperial Romans -- a stand of legionaries defending their signum. These are on large (120x60) diorama like bases for Impetus. As always these are great sculpts with loads and loads of detail which I cannot help but fill out (even the hands holding shields have painted nails!). Every time I do a Roman suit of armour I discover more leather straps that should be picked out, and once you've seen them my anal retentiveness says I need to do them!

The other two stands for this week are each bolt throwers -- machinery is another level of fiddlyness and I couldn't help but bind up the dragons teeth with thread -- something has to hold them together after all! These are on super big 120x80 stands and altogether look quite impressive.

So much as I enjoy the result the time taken is considerable -- anyway here's hoping you appreciate it -- some close ups so you can get to know the characters. 

The paint is mostly Citadel, with some Army Painter. 95% of the work is in the base coat which takes me about 1-1.5 hours per figure -- washes, highlighting and dry-brushing then flies by. The key is close inspection at the end under a 2.75X Optivisor. It's easy to correct all the little defects at this point. One quirk I have is that I always do a flesh tone first, there's no colour logic to this (it will need loads of touch ups as other colours spill on to it), but for me it makes the figures come alive! Eyes are a straightforward five step pricess: black eye socket outline, white eye within the socket, reikland fleshshade wash over the face which dulls the white of the eye, black eyeball (option for colour at larger scales or with larger animal eyes), gloss finish.

Photography under artificial light tends to make the finish seem glossier than it is and masks some of the dry brushing, so please fill in a requisite overall level of grime and dustiness! Also be assured that all toenails are present and correct, I just didn't trouble you with any close ups this time around 🤪

Blowing his own horn?

Bearskins in Judea! No way!

Studying what brown bears look like!

So thats what they look like under their helmets!

This should also count as a Inferno stop off for Wrath -- my Dante inspired piece of literature this time is Gary Panter's "Jimbo's Inferno"(2), a loose reimagining of the Divine Comedy set in "Focky Bocky", an alternative Los Angeles shopping mall!

Watch out guys!

Points wise that should be 120 (16 28mm figures = 80, plus two crew served weapons for 20 more and the 20 point Inferno bonus) --- a major haul by my standards but not really helping me achieve my target.

Not sure what to do next but I think I need to start on my early Medieval British special musical project so looking forward to sharing that with you in a couple of weeks.

(1) And my interest in modern miltary history as we lived through the Yom Kippur war as well, I still don't know why my mother let him take us on sabbatical again after we'd been in Nigeria for the Biafra conflict in 1967 as well!

(2) Full size hardcover limited edition, Fantagraphics, March 2006. Mine is copy 30/150. Gary advises "Don't try to pass a pop quiz on Dante's hell based on a reading of this comic: it won't work."

TeemuL: Very sorry to hear about your father, especially when he seems to have been a very influential person both to you and most likely to his numerous students.

Thank you for an excellent entry, lots of beautiful photos, historical and personal background, theme entry and the minis itself are very nicely painted. I especially like the photos, where most of us are happy with the mandatory three photos (or less), you are giving as several ones from different angles. They are like action shots. I like them very much! And not to mention the groundwork you have done on those large bases, they look great. Have your 120 points and 5 bonus points, too!

From SimonG: Wrap Up, Or A Mixed Bag (In Many Ways!)

It's once again time for my wrap up post and the one time a year I have to struggle with taking a selfie without holding my stupid phone at arms length (which btw always gives terrible results). It's also rather a shock that the picture that comes back is one of my father (but that's another story!)

Who is that guy? And why does he smile so oddly?

The Final Array

Anyway this is now my fourth challenge and while not a terribly high scoring excursion it has allowed me to embark on two exciting new projects. The first is the expansion of my existing Jewish Revolt 28mm skirmish project into a full scale Impetus based large battles setup with figures from Victrix.

I though it would be nice to show the figures alongside some key references. In this case they are of course Josephus' "Jewish Wars" but also Jodi Magness' recent study of Masada and how this has echoed down the centures, and finally Martin Goodman "Rome and Jerusalem: The Clash of Ancient Civilizations".

My other and completely new project was another Impetus army but in this case in 15mm for the Albigensian Crusade. All figures are from Khurasan.

The references here are Jonathan Sumption's first publication "The Albigensian Crusade" plus "The Perfect Heresy" by Simon O'Shea and Sophie Thérese Amblers "The Song of Simon de Montfort" to show how the experience of Simon the elder influenced the younger.

Finally I am close to finishing up my 10mm 1980s Cold War project with figures from Timecast.

In this instance I've shown the figures alongside two rule sets for the period -- Sabre Squadron and Battlegroup Northag -- all I need now is some terrain and I am ready to go.

Finally I wanted to share my secret for detail work at all scales -- a really good set of magnifying visors -- and I can heartly recommend The Donegan Optical OptiVISOR - I use the 2.75X No 7

So with no more to say I will offer up invocations and thanks to the lord and lady of the challenge -- Curt and Sarah, to my scholarly minion Sylvain (I hope my errors in erudition didn't embarass you too much), and all the others in the Monday crew who seemed among the most valiant posters and commentors and a great group to work alongside.

I also wanted to say how much I appreciated the theme for this year’s challenge. Libraries are sorely under appreciated, especially here in the UK, and I wish I was still in Portland, OR which has a great program of building new libraries to serve all the local communities and where I was able to make a donation. 

My calendar is now marked for November 20th 2024 and I am already making plans for the next time -- see you all in nine months time!

From SimonG: Final Post - Some "New Look" Romans in 28mm (40 points)

It seems too soon but this is probably my final new post for the challenge as I am off to Paris next week (to catch the Posy Simmonds exhibition at the Pompidou Centre). Anyway I've had a fun week working on another batch of Roman legionaries but changing things up a bit in the look.

My reference for this batch of figures was the seated legionary from Plate G in Osprey 511 "Roman Units in the Eastern Provinces (1)".

With his yellow undergarment and brass galea this is quite different from the normal red/steel look I've been painting so far. As before the figures are from Victrix with LBMS shields.

The main challenge was getting the shade of dusty yellow right but here Reikland Fleshade turned out to be my saviour -- it tones colours down without imposing a strong shade of its own and so is very versatile if you want to add depth and muting to pretty much any colour. A range of tan brown and very pale yellow dry coats and it came out OK (at least I think so!)

My main bug bear was that Eagle! It broke off and of course I stuck it back on backwards the first time! Doh ... I'm sure this one's not going to last long in use, in future these might be better replaced by metal

Anyway I've made a start on my Impetus armies for the Jewish wars -- four bases down only another 56 or so to go! Luckily I have a 8x6 playing area so I can deploy decent sized armies 😃

So with the challenge drawing to a close while I have abjectly failed to meet my target I have made a good start on two new projects (Jewish Wars Impetus and Albigensian Crusade) and discovered a new scale (15mm) -- now I only have to keep some momentum up before the next challenge!

For points we have a simple 8 28mm figures for a total of 40.  See you all soon for the challenge round-up.

Sylvain: A very impressive display of erudition and artistry for this submission. Your Romans are a pure delight to look at. I hope you have an excellent time in Paris and see you in in round-up!

 

 

From SimonG: Six Rebels -- 28mm Jewish Slingers for Impetus (30 points)

A small submission from me this week only with a pair of skirmisher stands for Impetus in 28mm.

For my larger Impetus scale project I'm varying the methods I use to make Jewish rebels. Where previously I had used Victrix Nubians as base figures I am now expanding my range -- in this instance the base figures are the Victrix  Balearic Slingers . More problematic is sourcing suitable first century jewish looking heads. I have previously used Anvil Industry bearded modern special forces heads -- which look great but are a little overscale. For these figures I simply mixed in some Victrix Germans -- but while these are certainly hairy the look just, at least to my mind, doesn't seem right. The other modifications are adding sandals in green stuff to two of the figures, and adding tzitizit to three.

Green Stuff Sandals and String Tzitzit

I chose to space these figures widely to suit open order skirmishers and the room needed to use a sling (good article on this subject in the current SoA Slingshot btw).

Smooth Faced Seem OK ...

... But Hairy Guys Maybe Less So?

Although they are neat looking heads!

One thing I deliberately did was keep the Tzitzit clean and not muss them up with washes, I also added some colour detail too. I think this helps this detail pop and also adds a subtle, but important, nuance.

Finally I'm beginning to play about with adding some more scatter to my bases, a but of effort to make the pieces (and break a pilum realistically!) but adds to the look I believe.

Abandoned by the Invaders!

Six 28mm figures makes for a simple 30 points this week with no library bonuses claimed. Next week a return to 15mm as I add to my Crusader forces.

 

Sylvain: The clothes on your figurines and the texture on your base suggest a sunny place on earth. The colors you chose bring out the warmth of the biblical land. Your scattered accessories are a very nice addition. It fills in nicely the space on your bases. Masterfully executed!