Friday 12 July 2019

15mm Ancient Spanish Army Completed

The weekend saw the completion of this project, so I took some time out to gather the troops for a few group photos as it is unlikely they will ever see the table all at the same time and it helps to remind me what I have completed:


















The figures are all Xyston, and the shield transfers are from Little Big Men Studios. Here are a few shots of the scutarii, with caetrati in the foreground and some Celtiberians in the rear:


















And a few gratuitous shots panning of the infantry panning left to right, which I hope nevertheless serves to highlight some of the marvelous detail of the Xyston figures:






















































Looking at these pictures reminds me of how many individual shields, javelins and in some cases arms I have had to glue together. I like the effect but found that even pulling them out for a group shot like this inevitably means I have to glue some back together and I wonder at times whether the old one-piece figures may be less bother. Then again, the trade-off with one-piece figures is that the spears can often end up bent and wavy and in some cases snapped off completely:






















































Next, a few close-ups of the cavalry:


















With my favourites being the light horse with caetrati pillion riders:


















And a closer look at the armoured Spanish cavalry with some C-in-C and subordinate general elements immediately behind:




































Finally, the twenty-eight balearic slinger elements (as opposed to the twelve actually allowable under the DBMM Spanish army lists) and the remaining light horse:


















And one final group shot:


















In total, the army is comprised of the following:

              67 elements of scutarii
              40 elements of caetrati
              30 elements of light and armoured cavalry
              28 elements of slingers
              16 elements of celtiberians

providing a total of 72 horses and 469 foot and cavalry figures, or 541 individual figures in total.

I completed the first experimental unit of scutarii in February while I was awaiting the arrival of some additional Gauls, but really only got started in mid-March so in effect this army took me four months to complete, which is around the same length of time it took me for the Gauls. At least I know I'm working at a reasonably steady pace.

That's it for the ancient Spanish. I have a few Carthaginian spearmen on the painting table at the moment so will try to get through them at a reasonable pace, before moving back on to some 28mm French Napoleonic figures.

20 comments:

  1. Not only does your comprehensive photoshoot show off Xyston figures but highlights the beautiful quality of your painting style. This is a marvelous looking army and a tremendous effort in the books.

    Very well done!

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    1. Thanks Jonathan. I have to say it has been my favourite army to date due to the great detail on the Xyston sculpts, the scutarii and light horse in particular.

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  2. 4 months?!?! Incredible! Well done- they look great.

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    1. Thanks Codsticker. I have had a good run so far this year and am hoping to maintain the momentum.

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  3. Fantastic effort to get this whole collection completed in four months Lawrence. I know what you mean about separate hands/arms etc - plastics are ok because the glue actually melts the two surfaces together, but superglue on metals always seems to have the odd issue here and there!

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    1. Thanks Keith. The modelling part of the hobby has never been a strong point of mine, and I find trying to stick 15mm arms on 15mm torsos very difficult to master.

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  4. Great looking pictures. What a mass of troops, definitely worthy of the moniker 'army'. Spears and shields can be a total annoyance. I usually swap lead for the metal ones that can seriously injure players but it's not unusual for those to pop off. Closed hands that can be bored out are usually safe, but it's more common for the open hand. #ancientwargamerproblems

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    1. Cheers Dave. It's definitely a first-world problem, but I suspect I'll have to carry around a container for each game to collect all the bits that fall off so I can glue them back on at a later stage.

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  5. Wow very impressive numbers and they look great!

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  6. A fantastic looking army, all ready for To the Strongest :-) or whatever rules suit you and your opponents best. Loss of bits is definitely an issue regardless. Amazing oroductivity, Kawrence, especially at this level of quality!

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    1. Thanks Peter. I'm looking forward to your reports from Historicon and how the Berg Isel game played out.

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  7. What a splendid army my friend, marvelous mass effect, presentation and wonderful work!

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  8. Now that is impressive, excellent painting too!

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    1. Thanks Angry Lurker, there do seem to be a few of them when assembled together on a table rather than languishing in their storage boxes.

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  9. I am a bit late congratulating you here, but what a magnificent mass Lawrence!

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    1. Thanks Mark. I'm on a roll with ancients at the moment, so will probably stick with them a but longer before returning to my Napoleonic projects. My Gauls hit the field for the first time yesterday and came away with a win, which I was quite happy about. I forgot to take any photos of course.

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  10. Fantastic looking army! Nice sculpts and lovely painting to a really high standard over a short period of time!
    Best Iain

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    1. Thanks Iain. I think it was the short period of time I was most happy about as I now have a chance of getting another army completed this side of Christmas, all being well.

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