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

[Fremitus Borealis]

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

I thought of showing WIP pics, but figure most folks are more interested in the finished product anyway, so I'd just wait till the whole group is done 

[Richard in Sachsen]

Fantastic. I'm late to this thread but I wanted to say that the detail that strikes me is how the commander's bronze shield pops out from the blue ones. Just one admirable detail among many with your painting.

[Fremitus Borealis]

Fantastic. I'm late to this thread but I wanted to say that the detail that strikes me is how the commander's bronze shield pops out from the blue ones. Just one admirable detail among many with your painting.

Thanks for the kind words! I'm still "learning" how to paint, so I try and do different things all the time.... which makes everything take forever, but I feel better about the results that way (I still don't have a standard "formula" for painting skin, for instance.)

I've also from the beginning tried to avoid the "CTRL + V" issue that seems pretty common with wargaming; the logical part of my brain knows most of these guys would *not* have been 100% identical in the ancient world, so I try to reflect that......... even when I'm putting together a Royal Guard unit where *theoretically* they'd be more likely to all wearing the same stuff, I can't resist making them all slightly different

Speaking of which, I'm hoping to be done with my "Bactrian Royal Guard" unit within the next week or 10 days... stay tuned!

[Fremitus Borealis]

Naturally, I decided I needed to paint eyes on at least some of the lads, so it's gonna be a bit longer

[Fremitus Borealis]

Okay! At long last, I got my Bactrian "agema" unit to a "photograph-able" point. Looking at the images now, I can tell I'm going to have to re-do a few of the eyes (yet another reason to not paint them in the first place, I suppose! )

The unit was built from a core of Victrix Theban Hoplites (using the ones with the metal breastplates). To get up to 24 figures, I added a few metal Foundry Thebans, some Wargames Factory hoplite bodies, and I think there's even one or two Warlord/Immortal (i.e. shrimpy) hoplites in there somewhere as well!

Most of the lads got Boeotian helmets from the Victrix Thebans kit, since this is at least commonly attested on Bactrian coins. Of course, I couldn't leave well enough alone, and ended up doing several other head-swaps as well: a few from the Wargames Atlantic Persians box (to give that "Eastern look"! ), a kausia-behatted chap from Aventine, a handsome bald-headed fellow from Mad Robot (for that Fremitus verisimilitude! ), and one or two other random "Greek" heads I had lying around.

Almost all of them got dodgy greenstuff capes, and I thought many of them were looking a little too clean-cut, so I added a bunch of beards as well.

The standard is made from a pushbroom bristle (the rest of the spears are out-of-the-box Victrix plastic ones, most of which broke during the build... oof!) The image on the standard, as well as the images on the shields were made by me in my knockoff version of Photoshop, based on coins of Demetrius I of Bactria, and printed onto waterslide paper.

The individual bases (and the movement tray) were a multi-step process. I've settled on this Frankenstein formula of a mix of Modpodge, wall-filler, brown/dark paint, and fine sand, which I put down to both add texture to the bases and get the "ground" up to the level of the figures' feet (I've found it difficult to do that with just glue). After that dries I put down another thin layer Woodland scenics terrain glue (which I think is just watered down Modpodge, but who knows...) and sprinkle some grittier sand and pebbles, overbrush it all in a tan color, then "highlight" it with a mix of "bone" color and Vallejo "Iraqi Sand", before adding a bit of vegetation.

Anyway, I think that's everything. Comments/questions/suggestions are more than welcome!

 

[Pattus Magnus]

I can’t comment on the historical accuracy, but the figures sure look good! The printed decals worked great.

[tomek917]

These look great, very well done!

[Easy E]

Great looking unit.  Very characterful.  I admit, I am never 100% how to make Agema units.  They get really confusing to me when I read about them historically.  I am not sure if they are Hoplites, Peltasts, a hybrid, or something else entirely!

For bases, I use a type of spackle that starts purple, and then dries to white.  While purple I sprinkle in sand.  The color change really helps me not get too eager and wait for them to dry.

[Jjonas]

A fine looking unit of Frontiersmen. I think you went the extra mile to capture the idea of what a Hellenistic unit might have looked like at Ai-Khanoum, aka Alexandria on the Oxus as Bactria slipped away from western influence. I too find all sorts of issues with painting when I take photos. Your eye does not always see everything in 3D. I have to close one eye to see the same boo boos the camera sees. Plus it is brave to zoom in close to 28mm figures. I wish I had as nice a unit of Bactrians. Back in the day I had a unit of single posed RAFM and Ral Partha versions, but they fell into decay as all things do. I still wish there was a nice range of Bactrians with fancy brimmed Boeotian style helms and boots and long shirts like those old Ral Parthas.

[Fremitus Borealis]

Thanks for the comments, guys!

I can’t comment on the historical accuracy, but the figures sure look good! The printed decals worked great.

The fun thing with Greco-Bactrians is there's so little "hard data" that you get to fill in the gaps yourself I decided that since these guys were the Royal Guard, they'd maybe look "a little more Greek" than other units, though I tried to mix in some other hints of "eastern-ness" as well. And while I couldn't fathom walking around in 40lbs of metal in Central Asia, the Greek-ish cuirassed figure is at least partially attested in the (rather later) golden belt buckle from Tilya Tepe.

As for the decals: this is the 3rd or 4th time I've done it after lifting the idea from Jeff's website Can't argue with the results!

Great looking unit.  Very characterful.  I admit, I am never 100% how to make Agema units.  They get really confusing to me when I read about them historically.  I am not sure if they are Hoplites, Peltasts, a hybrid, or something else entirely!

Agreed. It doesn't help that the sources don't seem to be consistent on the issue. Then again, as anachronistic as this might be, I try to think of "agema" type units as like the "special forces" of their day: heavy infantry when need be, able to skirmish and go stealthy, or just stand around all day on guard duty

A fine looking unit of Frontiersmen. I think you went the extra mile to capture the idea of what a Hellenistic unit might have looked like at Ai-Khanoum, aka Alexandria on the Oxus as Bactria slipped away from western influence.

Thanks! I really wanted to make something that looked unique and "custom", without venturing into the realm of implausibility. It helps that I really enjoy the kitbashing side of the hobby

I too find all sorts of issues with painting when I take photos. Your eye does not always see everything in 3D. I have to close one eye to see the same boo boos the camera sees. Plus it is brave to zoom in close to 28mm figures.

Weird how that works, isn't it? In the end I usually stop when it's something I'm pleased with from 2 ft away or whatever, but then I'm not submitting photos to magazines or running a nice wargaming website

I wish I had as nice a unit of Bactrians. Back in the day I had a unit of single posed RAFM and Ral Partha versions, but they fell into decay as all things do. I still wish there was a nice range of Bactrians with fancy brimmed Boeotian style helms and boots and long shirts like those old Ral Parthas.

I think I have a few of those guys mixed in with my unit of blast-from-the-past 25mm phalangites from a few pages back in this thread! But I agree, this is an area that seems oddly well-represented 20 years ago, but has really dried up in recent times. More room for kitbashing, I guess!


 

[AdamPHayes]

Okay! At long last, I got my Bactrian "agema" unit to a "photograph-able" point. Looking at the images now, I can tell I'm going to have to re-do a few of the eyes (yet another reason to not paint them in the first place, I suppose! )

The unit was built from a core of Victrix Theban Hoplites (using the ones with the metal breastplates). To get up to 24 figures, I added a few metal Foundry Thebans, some Wargames Factory hoplite bodies, and I think there's even one or two Warlord/Immortal (i.e. shrimpy) hoplites in there somewhere as well!

Most of the lads got Boeotian helmets from the Victrix Thebans kit,

Excellent unit! ( I am secretly hoping that more of those Victrix hoplites get used as Bactrian Greeks than as Theban Greeks...  )

[Fremitus Borealis]

Excellent unit! ( I am secretly hoping that more of those Victrix hoplites get used as Bactrian Greeks than as Theban Greeks...  )

Thanks  Not sure there's much risk of the rest of them turning into actual Thebans! I've already co-opted a bunch of the bodies for a different kitbashed Bactrian unit, kind of a mix of Persian and Greek armored spearmen. Not sure when that'll be done as I'm still in the building stage and I do like thirty projects at once, but still...

[Jjonas]

Excellent unit! ( I am secretly hoping that more of those Victrix hoplites get used as Bactrian Greeks than as Theban Greeks...  )

Wow, the anti Theban coalition speaketh
"Freedom!"
~ Epaminondas at Mantinea

[sgzleada71]

Cool project FB.   Nice unique colour scheme and making your own shield transfers adds a lot. 

[Fremitus Borealis]

Cool project FB.   Nice unique colour scheme and making your own shield transfers adds a lot.

Thanks! Making everything unique certainly takes longer, but I think it's worth it