Currently on the painting table plus the near future...

 

Had a casting session or two to set myself up for a few weeks. This lot have been undercoated - two units of armoured lancers, I'll be using these with mostly horn armoured horses.This will give me four units of lancers on armoured horses and should be enough for now!

Unarmoured medium cavalry in leather armour - again, two units. Will need quite a few more of these!

Finally, a large unit of the Sarmatian infantry with Dacian officer and converted standard bearers.About 50 figures so will need a few more of these units.

So that's the next 3 or 4 weeks sorted... still leaves loads of Spanish/Carthaginians and Gauls of course. Plus I'm factoring in Kushite/Blemye. And possibly Elamite. Could be a busy year.

Sarmation and Fantasy Arabs test paintings

In between my 'mass' painting sessions I've done a few test pieces...

 

Firstly, Sarmatian cavalry on armoured horse. They are supposed to mostly have horn armour so I thought I'd try doing one with it... Iraqi sand base, cavalry brown wash then lightly drybrushed with ivory. Seems to have worked OK. Takes longer though.

Cast a few of the fantasy Arabs... crude figures but look fine at a distance.

It will be a while before I really get round to doing anything with them though.  I still need infantry, officers and standard bearers.

Finished Roman legionaries

Probably shouldn't have done the Roman Review until I'd finished these but...

Two cohorts brings it up to four when I had originally planned on three - but I had the figures so...

Left the shields plain. Might detail them a bit more in the future (no I won't).

So as far as the Romans are concerned I'll certainly do two or three Praetorian units which I could  then pretend to be late Republican. Other than that, one cavalry and two auxilia units ad, as far as I am concerned, the legions are complete.

Sarmatian and Dacian Review

Still a long way to go before either of these armies are complete.

Sarmatian light cavalry unit using SAC1 for the rank and file, SAC2 for the officer and SAC3 as the standard bearer. This unit goes back to 2015... 

As do these... so 11 years before I got back to them...

The recent two heavy cavalry units. The army probably needs to double in size as far as HC/EHC are concerned, but a lot more of SAC1  figures to provide MC! 

The Dacians. Light cavalry are GAC2, the Gallic light cavalry, again with  SAC3 as the standard bearer. Need at least a couple of hundred more infantry for this army! Infantry are technically SA1 Sarmatians, but are much more convincing as Dacians! 

So a lot to go here - and the Sarmatian mould is back and will be ready for casting in a few days...

Reached 1,000,000 views...

 Though probably 900,000 of them are bots. Or me.

Sarmation heavy cavalry

 

Two units of Sarmations on unarmoured horses. Probably got about half the Sarmation cavalry I'm currently looking at.

Seems like Sarmations liked bright colours like red, yellow and gold. No tartans.

So one unit based on yellow, one on red and bright block colours throughout.

Roman army Review

Although I've started lots of Roman armies in the past I can't pretend I've always been enthusiastic about them. This one is just about my most successful attempt to date.

The cavalry. Back row heavies with a unit of each of the three Garrison heavy cavalry figures. There is another cavalry figure I've got and will probably do a unit of those - the other unit either replaced or was replaced by the ones with plumed helmets. Front rank African light cavalry is a very useful figure - Moors, Numidian, Egyptian ... As far as 'needs' go the cavalry are complete but will almost certainly be expanded in future!

The right flank infantry are the most interesting troops a far as I am concerned. Front ranks velites with wolfskins - what's not to like, need more. Middle rank auxilia are cavalry conversions and are my favourite Roman LMI auxilia with pointy sticks.  Need more. Rear figures are Praetorians but I'm thinking that they might be useful as Late Republicans - not quite right but I can live with that. Need more. 

Centre and left flank. Garrison artillery not exactly the best engines but... Slingers next to them have been painted as Spanish, white tunics and black cloaks. I'll be putting them in the Carthaginian army eventually and paint up another unit for the Romans. Middle archers, very Airfix in style, and the rather stiff 'ordinary' Auxilia - won't be increasing either of these units, archers because I've got enough, others because I don't like the figure! At the back, marching legionary - my favourite legionary figure. Need at least one more unit (probably more than one) which has been cast (several years ago!)