Many years ago, when I was 13 years old, I found a book in a secluded library of a school. That book was Hannibal and the Enemies of Rome by Peter Connolly. I was entirely fascinated by that book, in a time when I didn’t have a computer and the internet was something I couldn’t have fathomed it would ever exist.
At that time, I used to do helmets and shields out of cardboard while imagining myself one of the Etruscans under Lars Porsena marching on Rome or one of Hannibal’s men crossing the Alps. There weren’t any 28mm historical miniatures available in shops here at that time. I could only imagine.
Time passed, and two years ago, a friend of mine sent me a link of Victrix. I was intrigued by their models and shield designs. Later I did a Republican Roman force while waiting for their enemies - which maybe I'll show in another thread, though they do need some details added. Last year Victrix released the carthaginian kits and though I bought them, but I dithered a lot on them, hardly doing any.
When Victrix announced the Samnites releases, I was ecstatic – they seemed to have jumped out of Connolly’s book (I have Greece and Rome at War by the same authour which includes artwork and information taken from his Hannibal book – though every now and then I still barrow the original book from the library – it has a sort of ‘feeling’).
The new armoured samnites arrived last Saturday, and immediately started doing some of them. The kit is very detailed, though personally I would have like more helmets like the phrygio-attic (6 out of the 4 helmets are the same from their Roman Italian Allies kit) and the trumpet arm needs conversion because it’s odd – I guess it should have been mirror imaged to be on the left instead of the right. Only 2 sheets of shield designs have been released so far, though another 2 should be released soon. All in all, a good kit which I recommend to all enthusiast modellers of this period.
The first one I did is this. No conversion work was needed. He is the unit leader and I painted the trim of the tunic with flame-like designs whilst trying to keep a steady hand! I find that a white undercoat is best, and use Ceramite White – not spray, too much humidity here. The model isn’t based yet, because I base them on multi-bases unless skirmishers, which in that case models are based individually.
More Samnites on the work bench...............
20 September 2013, 06:58:53 AM
