Painting Ancient Italian Cavalry

This guide is going to be very simple and mainly to remind me of the general steps I took for Italian Allied Cavalry.

• Undercoat horse and rider with black.
• Base coat rider with GW Tallern Flesh. 
• Base coat horses in various colours.
• Paint rider's tunics and flag various colours.
• Paint Armour VJ Brass.
• Paint reigns, straps spearshafts dark brown.
• Paint Feathers black.
• Paint leader's cloak with dark grey.

• Apply GW Delvan Mud Wash over horse and rider.

• Highlight horses in original base colours (black with GW Granite).
• Dry brush horses' mane and tail with original base colour. 
• Highlight rider's skin with GW Tallern Flesh (face with GW Elf Flesh).
• Highlight rider's tunic and flag with original colour.
• Highlight armour with VJ Old Gold.
• Highlight reigns, straps and spear shafts with light browns.
• Dry brush leader's cloak light grey.
• Base coat spear tips black, paint with GW Chainmail. 
• Metal shields as above, apply transfer, gloss varnish.
• Other shields, base coat GW Deneb Stone, GW Mud Wash, highlight original colour.
• Shield boss base coat with GW Boltgun Metal, highlight GW Mithril Silver.

Hat 1/72 and Newline Designs 20mm Carthaginian Comparisons

I received a request on Benno's Figures Forum, where I posted about my African Mercenaries with the blue shields, about comparison shots between Hat 1/72 figures and the Newline Design 20mm figures. I am popping them here in the workshop for future reference.

I have said before how I collected 1/72 Ancient miniatures initially following army lists in Field of Glory supplements. However I looked into filling blanks at the time with Newline Designs 20mm lines, namely the Thureophoroi and I asked about African Veterans in Roman armour. After receiving the metals I loved them and over the years I have been collecting Newline miniatures with 1/72 plastics as secondary.

Newline miniatures tend to be chunkier than the Hat plastics depending on the sculptor. Earlier Newline miniatures seem noticeably smaller than 1/72 and I think that as quite a lot of people asked Sean at Newline about how close they were to 1/72, later miniatures were made a bit larger and fit better height wise.

Some Hat figures appear to be full of action, mid-slash, running throwing etc. and some of the earlier Hat Ancients have shields cast on which lead to flat looking and sometimes awkward poses. Newline poses tend to be more conservative with most heavy foot either standing or advancing tucked and hunched behind their shield. These factors also accentuate the size difference.

I generally don't mix manufactures on the same base/unit but I would definitely mix within an army. I have seen them mixed within units and I think they mix well when painted and based in a consistent manner.

Some examples I have seen around the web:

20mmgamer.blogspot.co.uk

20mm Gamer

cameronian-onlyagame.blogspot.co.uk

jpwargamingplace.blogspot.co.uk

Painting Libyan, Liby-Phoenician, Carthaginian or African Spearmen etc.

Painting guide for African heavy infantry.

GW = Games Workshop Citadel Colour, VJ = Vallejo.

1. Undercoat with GW Foundation Flesh.
2. Linothorax with GW Foundation Stone.
3. Tunic, crests, cloaks with VJ Red.
4. Straps, scabards, spear, in GW Dark Brown.
5. Metal, helmet, greaves, armour, spearbutt with VJ Brass.
6. Sandles with light brown, hair with black/brown.

 

7.   Whole figure GW Brown Mud Wash.

8.   Highlight Skin with GW Foundation Flesh except face, use GW Elf Flesh.
9.   Highlight linothorax with GW Foundation Stone.
10. Highlight tunic, crests, cloaks with VJ Red.
11. Highlight straps with GW Vermin Brown, scabards, spear with GW Snakebite Leather.
12. Highlight metal helmet, greaves, armour with VJ Old Gold.
13. Speartip, swords with GW Chainmail.



Shields:

1. Undercoat with VJ Light Blue.
2. Wash Front with GW Blue Wash.
3. Paint alongside of spine with GW Ice Blue.
4. Highlight VJ Light Blue.
5. Paint Shield Boss GW Boltgun Metal.
6. Highlight shield boss GW Mithril Silver.
7. Apply transfers.
8. Highlight VJ Red if neccessary.
9. VJ Matt Varnish shield.