Off the Painting Table (Nov 2018) part 2

I have been struggling to decide on a new project to paint/game for many months now. I have finally chosen to model a pair of 15mm armies for the 2^nd Punic War, and decided to use Xyston figures to do this (I like the sculpts produced). I therefore went to Warfare in Reading with a starting Roman list and bought enough figures to complete my first Roman legion. Just before I left the show I stopped at Lancashire Games and was tempted by their Battle Packs range. I purchased a few boxes of Carthaginians which were significantly cheaper than Xyston and, although poorer quality, will match well with Xyston.

I have since painted 2 units of Lybian spearmen and some Numidian  skirmishers (photo above). The spearmen remind me of the ‘old’ minifig PB range sculpt. The figures have a simple tunic and feather headdress. The remainder of the Battle Pack has a ‘hoplite’ style of spearman, and these should provide a nice contrast. I want the Carthaginian army to have a polyglot feel, compared to the more regulated Romans.

It is good to start this project and it should occupy the next few months. I have not textured the bases at this stage because I like to do this on mass, so the effects look consistent across the army. As a side project I’m making a range of ‘marker’ bases to use on the table to replace the functional (but ugly) coloured tiddlywinks normally employed. The first batch is shown below. I like the simple casualty bases made by Warbases. I have also used some spare pouches to make ‘ADC’ or order markers to use with General d’Armee rules (I don’t want to buy a stack of special figures to use in the game). In future I plan to make some ‘Shaken’, ‘Disorder’ and ‘Rout’ marker bases.