All Brushes Lead to Rome

If you're painting ancients you have to paint Romans at some point.  So why not give in to the dark side and paint them first? This Mid Republic Roman army is from West Wind's new War and Empire range.  At the finish line, it's a whopping 60 cavalry and 532 foot. So, what do we have here?

Velites: With the extra room on the bases, the skirmishers get a chance to shine! The wolf cloaks are well modeled and a nice touch.

Hastati:  The hastati were the first up in the Legion and not as well-kitted as the principes or triarii behind them.  There are 192 figures here, making it a bit of a challenge to shoot in one go. Somehow, I only got a group photo of them walking away.  West Wing puts command figures in every bag, allowing you to sprinkle them throughout as I did here and still save some for the command stands.

Principes:  When the hastati wore down or couldn't get it done, the principe went to the front. These are modeled in chain mail and yes, it's another 192 figures.

Triarii.  When all else fails, these tough bastards were the last and best hope for the Legion.

All ranked up and ready to conquer the world!

Roman cavalry.  Roman cavalry wasn't particularly good in this era.  At times they dismounted and fought on foot.

Commanders.  There is a wide variety of command figures in this army, with old baldy being my favorite of the bunch!

Now I'm on to Numidians, then Spanish and lastly, Carthaginians. All these figures are destined for Historicon and the Battle of Zama. I wish I could see it in person but that's looking like a long shot.  

I can't really complain though because I made it out to the Big Show at Adepticon.  You're probably wondering, was it fun?  Oh yea! Here's me hanging with Stephen the Viking from Kansas City. Fabulous players, hosts, tournament, armies and terrain.  If I could use only one word to describe the event, it would be 'epic.'  I'll try to use more than one word to describe the event in another post. Until then, skol!  

Everything's Coming Up Ravens

This week, I'm off to Adepticon for my first big tournament.  It's been great fun building a list, brainstorming scenarios and hoisting beers over practice games.  Adepticon shared a picture of our Grand Melee swag and its sweet!  To wear all the Dark Age T-shirts I packed for this trip, I'll need to change after each round of the tournament. Is there an award for "Most Costume Changes?"

I told my buddies this magical raven T-shirt only works with Norse warbands. My friend John replied that any warband fighting under the raven T-shirt is destined to win but the bearer is doomed to die.  It's this kind of banter that makes our SAGA group shine! Despite John's warning, I added a raven war banner to my Norse-Gaels list.  Banner bearers, beware!

My friend Hugh is painting a Carthaginian army in 15mm and we've traded emails on how I paint in this scale.  He's kindly edited them into a "How To..." painting guide.  I'll share it once I figure out a form or format for that.

I've got some work in progress shots of Mid Republic Roman army I'm painting. West Wind's War and Empire range goes live in mid-April for the UK and mid-May for everybody else. If you're an ancients gamer, take a look at these for your next army.  They've got lots of armies and the excellent sculpting makes them easy to paint up.  As a painter and player, I'm thrilled to have another superb choice.  These are the days, my friends!

Celtic swirls for SAGA

Scrounging for something quick to paint, I found these resin casts I bough for SAGA's Sacred Ground scenario.  The Fenris Games casts are clearly inspired by Celtic triple swirl rock carvings. The casts are not glued down so I can move them around.  They'll pull double duty as rocky ground or Sacred Ground as needed.   

Tower Games is host a SAGA tournament today and I'm going to run a Strathclyde Welsh warband. I scrounged up a Strathclyde warlord to lead the boys.  My buddy said this would make a great gift for his eldest daughter.  All kidding aside, its a nice bit of sculpting from Gripping Beast and he does have a throwback look.  

I pulled my Norse-Gaels warband out for a head count and group shot. Since I can only field 6 points (about 41 figures) at the SAGA Grand Melee in Chicago, nearly half of these lads will be cheering from the sidelines. As much as I've enjoyed them, I'm ready to play a new faction. I'm thinking of posting these up for sale after the tournament.  I'll also share tips and observations for playing the Norse-Gaels once Adepticon is over.  I've found them a tricky faction to play but once you get on a roll, they can really rip it up.  

You may have noticed my blogging and commenting is getting spotty. That's because I've got a 1,200+ figure West Wind Punic War commission under way. The upside is the new figures are a joy to paint.  The downside is I won't be able to paint and blog with a project this big. To fill the gap, I set up a Twitter account -  Monty Luhmann@TwinCitiesGamer. New to the Twittersphere, I need peeps to follow and to follow me. 

I hope your staying warm and surviving winter.  I am but just barely thanks to my paintbrushes.