Monday 21 December 2020

15mm Republican Roman Army Completed

 This has been the main project for 2020, and really represents options for three DBMM Republican Roman armies from Camillan Romans, through Polybian Romans and the time of Scipio Africanus, to Marian Romans and Julius Caesar, Pompey et al:











This turned out to be more of a slog than I was expecting, although I knew there were a lot of them to get through and I wanted to complete them as I know it is unlikely I would summon up the motivation to return to them in the future:





































All the figures are Xyston, and the shield transfers where used are from Little Big Men Studios. As one would expect with a Roman army, I needed a lot of shield transfers to complete the waves of legionaries:



There was thankfully some variety in the form of a bit of cavalry, the anti elephant wagons and the velites which I especially enjoyed painting.







I estimated this army to be around eight hundred figures, but the final tally was a little more as follows:

Foot and mounted figures        = 845
Horses, ox and flaming pigs    = 83
Wagons                                    = 7
Artillery pieces                        = 2

That gives a total of 928 figures, and I'll be very happy if I never paint another 15mm Republican Roman (although I do have the same army in 28mm in the pile which I suppose I must complete one day):








 
So that's the Romans done, and the second army completed in 2020. I'm now just putting the finishing touches on some WWII German ships, a batch of Gauls (which I also said I'd never paint again in 15mm), and have some 15mm terrain/camp pieces and three regiments of 28mm French cuirassiers to complete before moving on to a new project. There's quite a few to choose from in the lead pile and I am leaning toward some 28mm Renaissance at this stage, but I'll see where the mood takes me once I have completed the other bits and pieces.


10 comments:

  1. What a stunning achievement Lawrence - this is a fantastic collection and I look forward to seeing them bringing some Latin order to a chaotic gaming table some day soon!

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    1. Thanks Keith. One New Year's resolution I intend to make is to actually write up some AARs, if only to prove that some of these figures do actually get table time.

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  2. Wow! Your Romans were impressive individually as they came off the painting desk but en masse your army is an amazing sight. Very well done, Lawrence! Superb achievement!

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    1. Thanks Jonathan. They are unlikely to ever be on the table en masse, so I wanted to see what it would look like.

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  3. Incredible! Very impressive, very well done.

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    1. Thanks Codsticker. One of the most gratifying things is finally being able to throw out the cardboard box they have been languishing in for the best part of ten years and which was getting under my feet.

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  4. Fantastic achievement and a great looking army, and your going to do it in 28mm as well? Maybe after a break? Have fun with the renaissance!
    Best Iain

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    1. Thanks Iain. Yes, it will; be a few years at least before I attempt to do any more Romans, even in 28mm.

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  5. Now *that's* an army! Most impressive.
    Regards, James

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    1. Cheers James, it turned out far larger than I imagined it would.

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