Warlord Games - SPQR Part Two

I've been busy completing the figures that came with the starter set, using almost exclusively my Contrast paint collection.

Gaulish Hero

I know I've said it before, but I'm really impressed with the speed these paints can be applied, and the table ready finish they deliver.

Roman Hero

For ancients they're perfect as the colours are quite vivid. For more modern subject matters the choices are far less. There's one or two browns and an olive greeny colour, but not really enough to deal with WW1 or 2.

Standard Bearer

I spoke of the speed of use, and these figures bear witness to this. I only got the starter set at the very end of August. Since then I've been abroad for 4 out of 6 weeks, but I've already completed both warbands - that's 16 Roman Legionaries and their hero + 40 Gaulish Warriors, 12 Gaulish Archers and their hero - 70 figures all painted, based and varnished! Not bad.

Standard Bearer

Centurion

There are sufficient decals for every figure to have a decorated shield though taking into account standard bearers and musicians, there is a surplus.

Matt White Primed

Painted in Citadel Contrast colours (edge of shield still to be touched up and base painted)

I've not yet learnt the ways of using decal softeners etc. (I will have to look these up) and my tried and trusted way of application is to slide the decal onto a thin layer of PVA glue to aid adherence.

Pilum armed legionaries

This worked to a point with these, but as they have a surround that makes them slightly oversize I think the softeners would have been a real help. In the end I trimmed each decal with a scalpel to remove the surrounding clear area. Quite a ball-ache to do.

But they're all done now. Next step is try them out and write up an AAR.

Warlord Games - SPQR Part One

In a weak moment the other day I decided to treat myself to the new SPQR starter set by Warlord Games.

Resin archers mounted on the 25mm bases provided and textured using Vallejo Grey Pumice.

I was actually attracted to this by some of the criticism I'd read on line...in that many historical buffs felt it was too dumbed down and over-simplified!

Primed with Wilko's matt white spray - ready for contrast paints!

Having watched some "how to play" videos on YouTube, I couldn't help but feel that I could probably play this with my Grandson as the rules literally fit onto one side of A4.

Another treat, a Citadel Figure Handle to help with painting

As an aside, I was curious to try out figures that were cast in Warlord's new resin. So off I went to Firestorm Games and parted with just £36. An utter bargain price for 70 figures (40 plastic Gauls, 12 Resin Gaul archers, 16 Romans and two heroes and bases), a dozen D6, decals for all their shields and a nearly 200 page long, glossy rule book!

The plastic figures are standard sprues they've produced for some time and the resin archers are former metal figures now cast in the new material.

Detail on these resin figures is very good. They are quite flexible (not in the Airfix figure bracket though!) but I did not find them that easy to clean up. The Warlord blurb says they can be sanded, filed or scraped but I found that this wasn't easily achieved. In the end I carefully removed the few mould lines with a scalpel blade by cutting, not scraping.

Painting them up is going well. They are ideal candidates for Citadel Contrast paints and the 12 archers were finished in just one day.