Iron Rain Fell - Painting Roman Republican Legionaries

[Peithetairos]

After many years of neglect, I finally got around painting up some of my Agema Republican Romans. The first in line ist this Princeps.

I tried some new techniques and really gave my best on that shield.

One thing I wanted to try was to use exclusively Kimera colours (apart from some Reikland Fleshshade and Army Painter Dark Tone) and to mix my own skin tones etc. Another thing I saw the professionals do was to block in shadows and highlights and then glaze over it. I did that with the skin and it worked out well enough. Definitely saves time.

Another area I wanted to improve in was true Metallic Metal. Instead of a dark brown or just black, I used dark green and red to shade the bronze parts and dark blue for the steel. That worked out really well and from now on I will shade metallics like that.

Finally, if you are interested in a comprehensive review of Agema Miniatures and historical background check this blog post out:

Agema Miniatures Republican Romans - Review

[Diablo Jon]

That's nicely done i think the new techniques have worked well. I've not seen Agema before just checked them out and they look pretty cool.

[AdamPHayes]

Really nice job on an excellent figure. The shield was held by a horizontal bar behind the boss, so I think you have it right now.

[sgzleada71]

Very nice.  I love the Agema figures.   Got the plastics and the metal resting Princepes and some Punics.   They are more dynamic than their Victrix counterparts.

[Diablo Jon]

Sorry to the OP for the slight thread hijack. Anyone know how the Victrix and Agema mix size wise? The Agema Rome box looks good value and the miniatures look nice but the range is a bit limited so You'd need to mix them with some other manufacturers and Victrix seems like the obvious choice.

[Peithetairos]

That's nicely done i think the new techniques have worked well. I've not seen Agema before just checked them out and they look pretty cool.

Thank you. I was especially pleased about the green in the bronze shade. Great figures and often interpretations that are less mainstream, but still sensible.

Really nice job on an excellent figure. The shield was held by a horizontal bar behind the boss, so I think you have it right now.

Thanks! It was pointed out to me that the shield would need to touch the greave or be stabilised by the arm, or it would spin/move when hit. Accordingly one could easily be injured by ones own shield. The hand position might limit my options, however.

Very nice.  I love the Agema figures.   Got the plastics and the metal resting Princepes and some Punics.   They are more dynamic than their Victrix counterparts.

As you might guess, I am a big fan, too. Love the dynamic metal characters, but the plastics are also great.

Sorry to the OP for the slight thread hijack. Anyone know how the Victrix and Agema mix size wise? The Agema Rome box looks good value and the miniatures look nice but the range is a bit limited so You'd need to mix them with some other manufacturers and Victrix seems like the obvious choice.

I use them together with no issues. You can even swap heads (Victrix are a tad larger, however, so works best Agema -> Victrix). Agema are a bit slighter in build, but work well with the Victrix offerings.

[Tonhel]

Wow

Beautiful painting! Keep sharing your techniques! 

[Peithetairos]

Wow

Beautiful painting! Keep sharing your techniques! 

Much obliged and here we go:

I finished the remaining Romans (and one Iberian Scutati) and have to say, I am fairly pleased about the shield designs. A great improvement over my attempts in 15mm back in the day.

I detailed some of the painting steps on my blog, focusing on painting red, shading TMM and finally, how to go about shield designs. Obviously you also find more pictures of the three legionaries.

I am also experimenting with an new photo setup: infinite background with a scenic arrangement. What do you think?

Iron Rain Fell - Painting Roman Republican Romans - Blog Post

[markw]

Really nice painting and good to see Agema minis rather than the usual Victrix Romans

[Tonhel]

Beautiful!

[James Morris]

These are superb.  Such a high standard of painting and I love the dioramas.

[Peithetairos]

Really nice painting and good to see Agema minis rather than the usual Victrix Romans

I am a big fan of Agema. I just like the sculpting style better. The one issue I have with Victrix are the big heads. I think they are just a tad too large. Makes them easier to paint, but I wished they would be slightly smaller.

Beautiful!

Thank you!

These are superb.  Such a high standard of painting and I love the dioramas.

Much obliged. They took a while, but I will just paint a small skirmish force, so I wanted to paint them to a high standard. I will experiment some more with the photo setup, maybe I can even feature a building or something.

[Fremitus Borealis]

So the figures are gorgeous... But the diorama!! Wow! Did you make the birch yourself?? I'm always super impressed by others' ranges of skills!

[pallard]

Absolutely stunning! 54mm competition level and with serious winning option. Just great painting. Respect.
Philippe

[Peithetairos]

So the figures are gorgeous... But the diorama!! Wow! Did you make the birch yourself?? I'm always super impressed by others' ranges of skills!

Thank you! Yes, the birch stem is a scratch-build, the foliage is a MiniNatur late fall foliage net.

Basically: Wire armature, cover in acrylic modelling paste, shape with a wet brush and add the lenticels with a needle tool. When this is try add rougher sections with woodfiller. Then paint it up and add the foliage.

That said, in the future I will do them differently: A layer of Milliput, smooth it with wet fingers, add the lenticels and then the filler. I think that gives a nicer finish.

Absolutely stunning! 54mm competition level and with serious winning option. Just great painting. Respect.
Philippe

High praise indeed! Thank you very much!