Monday, May 26, 2014

Late Roman Heavy Infantry


Well finally got started on a long planned project with Nick http://moitereisbuntewelt.blogspot.de/  in the form of Western Late Romans primarily for Impetus, but also to be used for Dux Bellorum. We both are doing Late Romans and Germanic tribes together and plan on Romans vs Germanics and/or civil wars.

The Late Roman army I'm creating for this project is a mobile Roman field army(Comitatenses). I see them as very well equipped and supplied so my army will present itself somewhat uniformly in that each unit will have matching shields and colour bands and all units will have a cream tunic. However, they won't be perfectly equipped as that wasn't seen to often in this period so trousers colours and helmet shapes will have variety. I'll be building my heavy infantry units in sets of four consisting of 2 spear bases and 2 attached supporting archer units.

I want to try and finish this army in a reasonable time so I opted for AP with highlights and some lovely LBM transfers and dusted up the shields a bit with some MIG pigments. The figures are from Wargames Foundry and paint up nice and easy which is a bonus. They are of course on Impetus bases which I happen to really like btw! There are quite a few pics on this posts as I squeezed two posts into one but I wanted to show the units in their "blocks" so thanks for hanging in there.

In addition to more Romans I have some ACW on my desk as that's another project I'm doing with other group members of which two have blogs so stop by and check them out please with Sasha at http://saschas-wargaming-notes.blogspot.de/ and Mike at http://dreispitz.blogspot.de/.

Thanks for viewing!:-)
Miniature Company- Wargames Foundry


80 comments :

  1. They look very nice, your Late Romans. I look forward to seeing more of them.

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  2. Stunning paintwork and basing Christopher! The cream tunics are absolutely awesome!

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  3. Very nice!

    The first army I ever painted was Late Roman and I've always had a soft spot for them: you've captured the "understated" look of the Late Romans perfectly here.

    CdlT

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    1. Thank you very much CdIT! If you still have the army you should post them as I'd like to see them.

      Christopher

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  4. Ah, those old Perry Late Romans, still some of the best, aren't they? Very nice job on the first units, both colour scheme and painting style work absolutely fine. So I'm really looking forward to what you're coming up with next – there's a lot of potential for 'period-feel' staging in these Impetus bases. Certainly, you've looked at BigRedBat's unit bases already? A great source of inspiration.

    Cheers, SG
    mountainsoflead.com

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    1. Thank you very much SG and yes the Perry's Late Romans do indeed stand the test of time. I have indeed seen Simons Late Romans and they look good! Well, don't expect anything overtly active on my Impetus bases as I like to keep them reasonable so no matter where they are on the table they don't look out of place so I tend to avoid large scenery pieces on them.

      Christopher

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  5. They look great. Did you use the AP dip or the washes?

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    1. Thank you Wiatrog and I used AP dip, but brushed it on and not actually dipped them and latter added some highlights.

      Christopher

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  6. Excellent looking LR's, the plan looks to be working out well. Your results using the AP system works for you better than me at any rate. Nice!

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  7. They look solid. I'd agree with Hendrid and others, given you're using a fast AP, they look great.

    FMB

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    1. Thank you very much FMB and the way I use AP it's more of a wash process as I add highlights so it's quicker, but not quick in the end.

      Christopher

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  8. Very nice result indeed Christopher! I haven't tried pigments yet. Would you recommend this for dry brushing, and could one apply a matt varnish on top without mixing about the pigment?

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    1. Thank you kindly BP! Pigments are the very last thing I do as you have to use them after you varnished the figure. I do indeed dry brush the pigments on the shields.

      Christopher

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    2. Thanks for the advise - I'll try it out using your recommended MIG pigments. Cheers, sören

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  9. Excellent work on everything from bases to shields Christopher! Looking forward to seeing the rest of the army.

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  10. excellent work, late romans are one of my favourite armies

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  11. Great stuff Christopher, they look impressive!

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  12. The figures look awesome...The off white tones cloth color look great! The shields are top notch visual effect of the unit. The flocking of the bases look marvelous as well! Thumbs up to the great looking units you have here... well done.

    cheers,

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    1. Oh before I forget....What is AP painting? :o)

      all the best,
      cheers

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    2. Thank you very much Phil! AP stands for Army Painter, however please remember I added highlights to the figures after applying army painter which is something you should know I think.:-)

      Christopher

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    3. Thanks Christopher...yeah I know about army painter ;o) which fine to use...but really your painting style on these fine miniatures look so stunning and great "eye candy" appeal!

      all the best,

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    4. Thank you Phil I really do appreciate that.:-)

      Christopher

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  13. Quality painting and to think you used AP.

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    1. Thank you very much Pat! True, but please remember I added extensive highlights which is a major factor in getting my results.

      Christopher

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  14. Great ! Great ! Great !
    And once again: The design of the bases is outstanding.

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  15. Chris you're a real madmen! While I don't get anything done lately you're churning out four, FOUR absolutely fantastic bases of infantry... Must get back painting...

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    1. Thank you very much Nick! I'm actually trying to catch up to you quickly so we can try Dux Bellorum as my Saxons are too small and take longer.

      Christopher

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  16. You can really be proud of these. All that white and so well painted. Also the shields and the basing are fantastic. I don't know how you can paint this fast and still maintain a high quality of brushwork. Takes me a week to do a single figure!

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    1. Thank you very much Anne! Assembly line painting is key to army painting Anne whereby you don't paint each figure one at a time, but all at once starting with all skin, then shirts, etc.

      Christopher

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  17. Wow! The visual effect of the off-white/green tunics combined with your basing is striking. I love your painting style and enjoyable to watch an artist at work.

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    1. Thank you very much Jonathan and very kind of you to say!

      Christopher

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  18. Again excellent Looking miniatures! but what impressives me most is the Speed You paint in that high quality. Some Day You have to teach me some of your techniques!

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    1. Thank you kindly Sascha! I'd be happy to help!

      Christopher

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  19. Spectacular Late-Romans. A period I've shied away from, but your work really makes it enticing.

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    1. Thank you very much Dean. I's really like to see what you would do with the period.

      Christopher

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  20. Fantastic work. They look just right to me!

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  21. Absolutly fantastic, my favourite period by one of my favourite painters.
    Jan

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    1. Thank you kindly Jan I do really appreciate the sentiment.

      Christopher

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  22. Simply outstanding, what a triumph Christopher.

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  23. Brilliant Late Romans Christopher!

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  24. Truly amazing paint work, like them very much. Exellent looking bases to, it will be nice to see how your project devellop, and maybe even some AAR´s in the end.

    Best regards Michael

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    1. Thank you very much Michael! I'm curious to see how it goes too.:-)

      Christopher

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  25. Lovely examples of a properly cohesive painted unit. One period that I keep on wanting to attempt if only I had the time.

    Regards,
    Matt

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    1. Thank you kindly Matt and I understand about time issues.

      Christopher

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    2. I have much the same feeling as Matt here. If only i could find the time to tackle this period as well! Your minis are such a nice inspiration!

      Oh and I just wanted to give you a heads up, that you have been nominated for a Liebster Award:

      http://dhcwargamesblog.wordpress.com/2014/05/27/liebster-award-2014-edition/

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    3. Thank you very much Burkhard!

      Christopher

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  26. Absolutely fantastic, Christopher!! I am itching to go back and paint my Saxons after my WW2 8th Army and meet you on the battlefield! Love them!

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    1. Thank you very much Doc and your WW2 material is superb as are your Saxons which I'm looking forward to seeing again!

      Christopher

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  27. Ha Ha! I nominated you for a leibster as well! http://over-open-sights.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/i-love-you-all.html

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    1. Well, love is all around! ;-)

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    2. Thank you very much Mark!! I'll post it up this week.

      Christopher

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  28. From color selection to painting style, your work here is fantastic, Christopher! Impetus basing really showcases your superb work. I love how the main colors are repeated in the draco!

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  29. Stunning minis, Christopher!
    Excellently done.

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  30. Hello Christopher,
    Excellent roman units !!
    I have to paint a late roman army too... I will draw my inspiration from your beautifull army.
    Nikko

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    1. Thank you very much Nikko and I for look forward to seeing your vision of them!

      Christopher

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  31. Chris I've nominated you for the Liebster award posted here http://scottyswargaming.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/liebster-blog-award.html

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    1. Thank you very much Neil I'll post something this week!

      Christopher

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  32. Congrats on the award, your blog deserves it.

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  33. They are just outstanding Christopher, in every detail!

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