This weekend I managed to finish up the first Tanitian (Venusian Carthaginian) unit of 10 figures. Now, you may have heard me mention 12 figures before. Let's just forget that - I like 10 better. If it turns out that 12 is needed, then I'll paint more.
This batch also was the first time I tried a white undercoat and it made a world of difference. I believe it was three coats of the orange paint, rather than 6+ for black, grey, or sienna. This sped up completion considerably.
Applying gloss before black lining - with pen or paint brush - makes corrections easy, as mistakes can be wiped away for the most part. However, it's all too easy to erase more than intended, so in some cases I just globbed on more orange to cover up mistakes, when I cared enough to correct them at all. From wargaming distance a lot of the lining imperfections blur away, at least with my poor vision.
Digressions aside, here are the new recruits:
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| This batch of shield designs comes from a collection of Cthulhu Mythos symbols I found. |
And here is the complete unit of 10:
And from the shield-side:
Both Fistful of Lead: Bigger Battles and GASLIGHT suggest having a
leader figure or two in the bunch. While the standard bearer is clearly a
leader, less obvious is my intent that the checkered pattern shield is
the 2nd-in-Command. It is my favorite pose by far and so I made sure to
only have one of that pose in this batch.
With the exception of the standard bearer, the figures are all HaT Carthaginians. The standard bearer is from the Classic Toy Soldiers Carthaginian set.
On the paint-table already in progress are three Dulcop arditi looking a bit like they're in a musical. That will make more sense when I show you a picture of them, but not until they are finished. Waiting close behind are Italian cavalry, more French Foreign Legion, Tanitian light infantry, more 1/32 lizard warriors, etc.
Top notch John, they look like the figures on ancient Greek pottery.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Paul! Mission accomplished!
DeleteA very distinctive looking unit. All that line work would have been tricky.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Peter! It's gotten easier as I've honed in on the process. Mind, I wouldn't look too closely at it in a close-up!
DeleteThey are awesome John! They look great and they are so unique! A very special project that has come to fruition in an exceptional way! Really well done!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Brad! I'm tempted to try the inverse for the light infantry but that might be a bridge too far.
DeleteI like the idea of using human ancients for the locals. That's very retro SF.
ReplyDeleteIf I recall, the initial idea for ancients for this project came from a discussion about Tekumel. But I have no doubt that the paperback covers I saw as a kid perusing the SciFi/Fantasy section of the bookstore were subconsciously at play.
DeleteInteresting effect and... I like it! (not that I'm the one who has to like it!) Gives an effect part way between colour comic strip/book, B&W movie, and "You're not in Kansas" anymore.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Ross! Although colorwise I was going for a sort of Greek pottery look, I did have comics or cartoons in mind as well, like something from Ralph Bakshi's Wizards: https://viewerscommentary.files.wordpress.com/2016/08/wizards-warrior-e1470460504386.jpg
DeleteYes I did get the Greek Pottery inspiration and it does work, but when they appear on a 3d table with terrain and other figures, I suspect some of that side of them might fade a bit. (hmm if one were to paint flats like this, inc flat trees etc....hmmm..nope not getting started down that road....)
DeleteVery interesting.
ReplyDeleteTheir appearance, though not quite the color I wanted when i started, is meant to look like Greek red-figure pottery (which tends to vary in shade from yellow-orange to dark red). I wanted something suitably alien and unusual for one of my Venusian cultures and this seems to fit the bill. The Venusian campaign lore we have developed so far posits that there are/were portals between Earth and Venus - thus, it's quite likely the Tanitians were the inspiration for the Greek pottery figures.
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