My Macedonian/Successors project - (9/23 - Scythian Chieftain)

[Codsticker]

Nice painting of the patterns on the fabric- well done!

[Easy E]

Nice pants on those back rankers!

[Fremitus Borealis]

Thanks! I tried a few different ones just to vary things up. I settled on mostly just dots though because at 25mm anything more intricate just looks like mush, at least with my skills 

I wish I could have gotten some better close ups as I'm quite proud of a few of the shields and armor of the rest of the lads as well.

[Jjonas]

Finally finished up a phalanx I'd been chipping away at for forever the other day.

I'm imagining these lads as a "Bactrian" phalanx. The figures themselves are a mix of older RAFM and (I think) Ral Partha 25mm tinies.

Wow a RAFM and Ral Partha mashup Bactrian phalanx. I have to give you credit for dredging up those old lead dudes. I too had a Bactrian looking group using much the same mix. They got bubbly after a bad storage solution. I think you did a great job of trying to create the feel of the Bactrian phalanx (such that we can surmise) and gave it your own nice touches. I still field my Ral Partha and RAFM phalanxes. In a pinch you can make them thicker sabot trays to allow them to stand up to the 32mm plastic brutes.

Very impressive. Too bad one must still jump through hoops to get this kind of result since modern companies don't do much reaching out into the fringier areas that only covered by 15's now.

[Fremitus Borealis]

Wow a RAFM and Ral Partha mashup Bactrian phalanx. I have to give you credit for dredging up those old lead dudes. I too had a Bactrian looking group using much the same mix. They got bubbly after a bad storage solution. I think you did a great job of trying to create the feel of the Bactrian phalanx (such that we can surmise) and gave it your own nice touches. I still field my Ral Partha and RAFM phalanxes. In a pinch you can make them thicker sabot trays to allow them to stand up to the 32mm plastic brutes.

Very impressive. Too bad one must still jump through hoops to get this kind of result since modern companies don't do much reaching out into the fringier areas that only covered by 15's now.

Thanks for the kind words, Jeff. These guys were actually sind of the first figures I picked up when I started with the hobby about a year ago, before I *really* grasped that they're was a visible difference in scale between newer and older figures 

I definitely agree about your second paragraph. I find I'm frequently frustrated when browsing for new figures because I'll come across something that sounds great and niche-specific (Paphlagonian spearmen! Phrygian psiloi!! Or whatever) only to find that they're in 15mm.  It does seem that RAFM was only of the last companies to do a vast range of Successor troops that you didn't necessarily have to kitbash yourself (even if I do enjoy that on some level). I'd love if one of the new plastic companies would take up the band, because the options would be endless. Alas it would be prohibitively expensive, so they've got to follow the money first, which I get

[Jjonas]

"I find I'm frequently frustrated when browsing for new figures because I'll come across something that sounds great and niche-specific (Paphlagonian spearmen! Phrygian psiloi!! Or whatever)"

Yep. We have much more 28mm quality than ever, but still there are huge gaps as the basic sell, and the oddballs slip away into the ether. You have to look in all sorts of places for large scale niche Hellenistic figures. Eureka does a Paphlagonian cavalry and peltast set that I have not seen in person, but their figures are generally very trim Vendel made thick and burly Lykians, and are now available through facebook by Thistle and Rose, which have some other larger 28's that fit the Bactrian cause better than others. Some of them are older and not as clean as modern castings- but they fill voids. Like their trousered auxiliaries with Phrygian helmets which could be any eastern hellenized thureophoroi.

Of course things happen in waves. Part of the reason that Minifigs and Naismith and RAFM and others had such large ranges was the lead tin casting material was way cheaper than when everybody shifted from lead. The next waves caused the jump to heroic 28's which dwarfed other 25's and 28's. Then we came to the current plastic revolution where multi part kits solve a lot of issues- but still only cover the top layers in most markets. Part of the plastic revolution comes from the direct to casting from digital sculpts- which was a big jump (too bad I hate Z-Brush! and am too cheap to buy mud box). This is always the gateway to the next level we are already seeing. Print on demand and print at home. This might be the real change that opens up the diversity, where physical sculpts are not even cast, but you just download them into your 3D printer.

Currently separate heads on plastic figures are creating a side line where folks can sculpt extra heads and cast them in resin. Footsore has done this for Victrix hoplites and they add a lot of variety. Maybe someone will see the ability to make Bactrian and other niche helmets and hats for Victrix or other plastic phalangites? Of course that doesn't solve the boots and long sleeves

[AdamPHayes]

Thanks for the kind words, Jeff. These guys were actually sind of the first figures I picked up when I started with the hobby about a year ago, before I *really* grasped that they're was a visible difference in scale between newer and older figures

I wouldn’t stress too much about differences in sizes between old and new figures. I have Essex and Corvus Miniatures figures that have been giving good service in the phalanx for over 30 years now.  Their being painted and based is what counts when they are being pushed around on a table. It’s not often that they are being compared for their height or heft next to the other units!

[Fremitus Borealis]

"I find I'm frequently frustrated when browsing for new figures because I'll come across something that sounds great and niche-specific (Paphlagonian spearmen! Phrygian psiloi!! Or whatever)"

Yep. We have much more 28mm quality than ever, but still there are huge gaps as the basic sell, and the oddballs slip away into the ether. You have to look in all sorts of places for large scale niche Hellenistic figures. Eureka does a Paphlagonian cavalry and peltast set that I have not seen in person, but their figures are generally very trim Vendel made thick and burly Lykians, and are now available through facebook by Thistle and Rose, which have some other larger 28's that fit the Bactrian cause better than others. Some of them are older and not as clean as modern castings- but they fill voids. Like their trousered auxiliaries with Phrygian helmets which could be any eastern hellenized thureophoroi.

Of course things happen in waves. Part of the reason that Minifigs and Naismith and RAFM and others had such large ranges was the lead tin casting material was way cheaper than when everybody shifted from lead. The next waves caused the jump to heroic 28's which dwarfed other 25's and 28's. Then we came to the current plastic revolution where multi part kits solve a lot of issues- but still only cover the top layers in most markets. Part of the plastic revolution comes from the direct to casting from digital sculpts- which was a big jump (too bad I hate Z-Brush! and am too cheap to buy mud box). This is always the gateway to the next level we are already seeing. Print on demand and print at home. This might be the real change that opens up the diversity, where physical sculpts are not even cast, but you just download them into your 3D printer.

Currently separate heads on plastic figures are creating a side line where folks can sculpt extra heads and cast them in resin. Footsore has done this for Victrix hoplites and they add a lot of variety. Maybe someone will see the ability to make Bactrian and other niche helmets and hats for Victrix or other plastic phalangites? Of course that doesn't solve the boots and long sleeves

It's crazy how fast the tech moves! I swear like a year ago, guys were saying that 3D printing was great for things like terrain, but was impractical for 28mm figures because you could still see the resin lines, which were impractical to sand at that scale. But here we are! I do wonder how much it'll change things, because right now it's still just a liiiiitttttle to pricey to plunk down the change for individual 3D figures for, say, a whole phalanx. But five years from now? Who knows! It does make me wonder about the impact it'll have on manufacturers, and if it'll actually drive the scarcity we're talking about even further, because I've heard that it is obscenely expensive to produce plastic sprues.

[Fremitus Borealis]

I wouldn’t stress too much about differences in sizes between old and new figures. I have Essex and Corvus Miniatures figures that have been giving good service in the phalanx for over 30 years now.  Their being painted and based is what counts when they are being pushed around on a table. It’s not often that they are being compared for their height or heft next to the other units!

True! It's just frustrating when trying to mix and match figures within the same unit Like I've got a few beautifully sculpted Thracians from Footsore, but I can't mix them in with my RAFM/Minifigs Thracians without them looking like they've got a few gods of war on their side 

[Fremitus Borealis]

Since finishing up the phalanx a few weeks ago, I've been working on some nomadic horsemen allies for my Seleucids/Bactrians. I've got a ton of horses painted up, so now I'm working through the riders themselves. I'm focusing on them in groups of 3 so I can give them an okay amount of detail without driving myself crazy  I figure I'll just share photos for each grouping of 3 I finish up!

First up are these guys from Wargames Foundry. I varied the painting on the horses a little bit, just so I don't end up with a couple dozen Scythians all riding clones of the same horse I went "loud" in one guy's garb, and balanced it with something a little more subdued for the other. Got a lot of practice with the old "toothpick method" for the spots on these lads' clothes, which I guess serves as a stand-in for all the tiny designs that would never in a million years show up in 28mm

I took way longer than I wanted to on the fellow with no shirt, just because I still haven't found a skin formula that I like, or that I can get to consistently work! But in the end I think it turned out okay. I also tried to add some of those "Scythian tattoos" to the bare skin, with... mixed results. It's just one of those skills I'm still working on the balance of. Like, you want to represent the tattoos, but in reality, the lines you are able to physically draw on a mini are actually going to be about the same width as the lines in the actual (1:1 scale) tattoo. Hoping I can get that sorted before I move on to my Galatians!

[Hu Rhu]

Very nice.  If you want to use transfers instead pf painting , then I believe the Warlord Celts have a set in their box.  Alternatively you might want to try a fine pen to draw the lines rather than a toothpick.  0.5 or 0.7 might work.

[Fremitus Borealis]

Yeah I actually have a small marker that I thought might work for tattoos but then it was almost like the lines were *too* small...

Anywho I have another three Scythians almost done that I'll post when I get some time and finish the basing. I'm really enjoying making these individualized warriors! It helps not having to do them in groups of 32 

[Fremitus Borealis]

I "finished" a few more Scythian horsemen allies the other day. Pictures aren't the greatest, but you get the idea! (Figures from Wargames Foundry). I tried a few different things this time, with mixed results.

For the archer in the reddish tunic, I decided to try and depict his bowcase covered in... human scalps (or fur, if that grosses you out ). I don't know of Scythians doing this specifically, but we hear of them hanging scalps off of their horses' bridles, and making capes out of them, so... why not? Instead of using green stuff, I tried using static grass, which ended up looking a lot more "scruffy" than I was hoping. I also cut a bit of twine and glued that to the side. Fresh scalp! I covered the "hair" with watered down PVA with some brown paint in it, then just kind of highlighted here and there. Didn't come out quite like it looked in my head, and I will definitely do it differently next time, but that's half the fun, isn't it?

For the guy in the pink-ish tunic: I was mostly basing him off of an old(er) reconstruction of a Scythian warrior from some museum I'd seen in a book somewhere. Gave him a snow leopard skin bowcase for the same reason I tried the human hair one up above

Also painted the horses all different for some variation.

I've actually got a bunch of horses painted up and waiting for the riders to be done, but I think I'm going to try and crack out a different unit in the next week or so that I've been working on off and on for forever, so look out for that soon

[Fremitus Borealis]

I'm about half done painting up my kitbashed unit of 24 "Bactrian Royal Guard", when I decide to mix it up a little and do some more head swaps, reposition arms, etc., at least on the unpainted minis.
.....and this is why it takes me forever to finish anything

[AdamPHayes]

Can’t wait to see them after this build up!😉