Parcel Arrived!

What have we got here...?

My Victrix order arrived, and I now have Ancient Greeks to last me a very long time (remember, I also have the two Warlord Hoplite boxes). I have already washed the archers, and I am going to start assembling them as soon as they are dry - they will have top priority until all 12 stand ready for the table, as I shall then have a full point of Levy for A Fantastic SAGA (and also SAGA, should 2nd Ed. get rules for ancients), and I can re-configure my Broken Legions Argonauts to comprise some of them, too.

Hoplites Got Bogged Down

Literally, actually. I am gluing sand to their now black bases - last step before painting!

The Hoplites Advance!

I have made a bit of progress on my Argonauts warband. They got primed earlier today, and I decided to add a step to my usual modus operandi.

Sometimes the sand I use to texture the bases does not cover completely, leaving very small gaps (mind them!) not easily closed with paint, allowing the primer colour to be seen as dots from specific angles. White primer is the worst, as small dots of a bright colour are impossible to not notice.

Thus, I have decided to re-prime the bases when using white undercoat. I use Humbrol matt black enamel for this, and it now has to dry until tomorrow, before I glue sand on top of the bases.

Broken Legions: Argonauts WIP (Hoplites)

So, after spending a couple of weeks working my way through the minis that had cluttered up in front of my plastic hoplites, I have now completed assembly of the six models I started last month.

They are only half my planned Argonauts warband, but I shall finish their bases and get them undercoated, before I start working on the next batch, as I really yearn to start painting them.

Finally Progress on the Hoplites



I finally managed to clear the space in front of my WIP plastic hoplites (technically, I have not yet finished cleaning and basing the Minas Tirith standard bearer, but I had to give in to the urge).

In terms of my Broken Legions warband I got the Argonaut Captain and two Argonauts finished (they need som dusting before getting spray primer applied).

A shot from a different angle. I am really looking forward to get them painted - they should make a nice break from all that medieval/fantasy stuff I have been working on the last month.

Hoplites WIP

As with my other projects, the Argounauts for Broken Legions (etc.) have been on hold for a couple of weeks.

Not a lot of progress today, but I have put heads on the bodies, and crests on those helmets that require so. I shall, of course, dom something about those moldlines, but the heads and crests are too fiddly to work with separately, so the glue has to settle.

Hoplites!

When I was looking for information on the very early Roman military/warriors, again and again I was met with the word 'hoplite', and it prompted me to dig out the two boxes of Warlord Games plastic hoplites (generic Greek and Spartans) I bought second-hand quite a while ago.

A quick look in my wargames library revealed that I can use Greek hoplites for Broken Legions, Of Gods And Mortals (OGAM), A Fantastic SAGA, and A Song of Blades and Heroes, and I decided to start building a warband for Broken Legions (Argonauts) right away.

The standard warriors are called Argonauts, basically heavy hoplites with the option to take a spear in addition to their standard 'hand weapon' and shield. I am going to make nine of these in 'bell cuirass', seven with spear, two with just the sword (there are five in the Greek Phalanx box, four in the Spartan Hoplites - one per hoplite frame).

The guy in the muscle cuirass is going to be the Argonaut Captain, and I have two more destined to become Heraclean Champions.

I shall also add an Orphean Champion (bard/musician) from the Greek Phalanx box, and an additional five 'Mercenary Hoplites' in Linothorax.

At first, I was puzzled by this component, but a brief research revealed it to be a 'Mitra', worn hanging from the front of a bell cuirass, so I shall probably use a couple of those to ensure some variation in appearance of the Argonauts (they are all the same basic body, arms/weapons, and heads/helmets can be varied a bit).

I am actually quite eager to start painting a few of these, as I have always liked the aesthetics of the classic Greek warriors (and it does nothing to temper my enthusiasm that I can use them for several games I already own).