15mm Spanish Unarmoured Cavalry and Generals

Rather a long post as I have managed to finish the remaining ancient Spanish cavalry sooner than I had expected. Even though May was a relatively slow month on the painting front I finished the bulk of the cavalry horses so only had the riders to complete, and pleasantly surprised myself how quickly I was able to get through them.

First off, a group shot including some of the earlier-completed armoured cavalry:

The latest batch includes six elements of generals and some armoured nobles to augment the armoured cavalry:

The figures are all Xyston, and I mixed the generals in with some figures from the musician and standard-bearer packs:

Next up, twelve elements of unarmoured Spanish light cavalry:

That should have been more than enough for my requirements, but Xyston released a new pack of Spanish light horse with caetrati pillion riders, in line with DBMM v2.1 where the light horse gain a bonus if supported by caetrati.

Although the actual caetrati elements are mounted on separate bases and more than adequately covered by what I have already completed, I couldn't resist these models and am glad I didn't as they are among my favourite Xyston purchases to date:

The figures are supplied with a separate sprue containing additional javelins, which I thinks is a nice touch and round out some of the figures perfectly:

Two more group pictures, showing all thirty elements of cavalry assembled:

That's seventy-two horses and eight-four riders in total, and the completion of the army is now in sight. I have another twenty elements of slingers on the painting table at the moment, (another over-purchase, this time due to miscalculation) which I hope to complete in the next couple of weeks, clearing the way for the final batch of sixteen elements of Celtiberian allies.

More 15mm Ancient Terrain

I recently managed to complete a few more 15mm terrain pieces from Forged in Battle, including a Roman market store:

Roman temple:

And another temple built of stone:

My plan is to put these together alongside another dozen or so Forged in Battle pieces to form two more DBMM built-up areas.

I have managed to do that with the FIB middle-eastern village set, but am not sure I am entirely happy with the result:

The buildings are a little too angular-looking for my taste. A couple were damaged in transit, and I was actually quite happy with that as it lends some variation to the models. I was also pleased to have found a home for the ruined temple piece I completed earlier.

I'm ploughing ahead with the last of the cavalry for my ancient Spanish project, and hope to have more on that within the next week or so.

15mm Spanish Armoured Cavalry

I knew that May would potentially be the least productive month this year in terms of painting output (the reasons for which I have outlined at the end of this post), but I managed to progress my ancient Spanish project in the form of some armoured cavalry:

These are again Xyston figures but appear a little different to some of the others in their range, not least because they have cast-on spears:

This reminded me a little of the old Miniature Figurines sculpts, and how I could never completely remove the waviness:

And usually ended up snapping one or two along the way:

They are however great figures, and the four different poses in each pack provides sufficient variety:

May turned out to be a busy month with my daughter's wedding, which was wonderful; my father's eightieth birthday, which was great and was thoroughly enjoyed by all; a trip to New Zealand, where I got to spend a very pleasant hour catching up on the last thirty years with Mark Strachan; and the end of the university semester leading into exams.

I wonder on occasion why I am persevering with a law degree at my age, but it is something I have always wanted to do and I find it keeps my mind active. Besides which I am now just slightly over two thirds of the way through, so will keep plugging on.

I have also already made a good start to June, and hope to have a few more posts up before the month is out.

15mm Bridge and Ruined Temple

Two more terrain pieces I managed to complete over the Easter weekend. Firstly, a 15mm bridge which I purchased from Baueda:

This is a very nice three-part model and includes some nice detail, conveying the impression of a bridge built by an army while on campaign:

I also purchased the additional expansion section which, when added, turns it into a long bridge which should be enough to cover most scenarios:

I also completed a ruined temple from Forged in Battle, comprised of a mixture of resin and metal components. Another nice model which I blockcoated in a Foundry sand colour and to which I then applied an ink wash and three successively lighter dry brush applications. As I was doing this the thought crossed my mind that I probably could have just gone down to the local aquarium shop and purchased something from there instead, but I was pleased with the overall result:

I'll probably end up incorporating this into a larger middle-eastern built-up terrain piece more suitable for use in DBMM. I have a few more Forged in Battle buildings in mind for this and will be making a start on this once I completed a few elements of Spanish cavalry.

15mm Spanish caetrati

Easter proved to be quite productive and I managed to complete forty elements of Spanish caetrati.

The figures are again Xyston with twelve different poses, so there was a fair amount of variety to get stuck into:

The models are supplied with the typical Spanish caetrati shield, which meant a welcome change from applying transfers:

Some of the blade-armed figures were single-sculpts, such as the figure on the left below, so that also meant not having to glue on separate shields or weapons:

The detail was up to the usual Xyston high standard, which made these a pleasure to paint:

I actually ended up with seventy-nine figures for some unknown reason, but remembered I had a spare scutarii figure so recruited him for the fortieth element:

On to some cavalry now, then a few more slingers and a few elements of celtiberian reinforcements. That means the project should be completed within the next couple of months.

I have also been putting some effort to the completion of a few additional terrain pieces along the way, and will hopefully also have a post on that within the next few days.

15mm Celtic Village

While finishing the last of the Xyston Spanish scutarii I thought I'd allow myself a small diversion in painting and assembling the Hovels Celtic village:

I have always been a fan of Hovels models and have normally ordered them fully painted, so this was the first time I have attempted painting the raw resin myself:


They are lovely models to work with, and the set comes with seven buildings and a couple of pigs for the pig sty:


It was also my first attempt using modelling plaster for the mud. I gave it a couple of goes and still couldn't get the consistency completely as I would like it, but as long as it stays in place I think it looks reasonable enough. The fruit baskets are an addition from Baueda, who also make a very nice range of 15mm models and accessories:


I particularly like the cracked daubing on some of the models which exposes the wattle underneath:





















Overall I am quite pleased with the result, and it has encouraged me to get stuck into a few other terrain pieces I have stockpiled and which I now plan on attempting over the coming months.

Last of the Spanish scutarii

A quick post, as it is primarily more of the same but does however represent the last batch of Spanish scutarii (I promise):

Another fifteen elements, making sixty-seven elements of scutarii in all:

That's 201 figures all-up, and 202 if you count the poor fellow who hasn't found a home yet. Given that the scutarii are the backbone of an Ancient Spanish army I believe I am now on the homeward stretch with this one. As lovely as the sculpts are, I'll be glad if I don't have to see another 15mm scutarii figure again:

I'm also just putting the finishing touches on a Celtic/Gallic village which I'm hoping will be complete within the next day or so. It's been years since I have had a go at terrain and I have accumulated a rather substantial resin pile to accompany the lead mountain, so I thought I'd make a start on the former to help keep up my motivation with the latter.