Showing posts with label I Adiutrix. Show all posts
Showing posts with label I Adiutrix. Show all posts

Monday, 17 September 2012

I Adiutrix Completed


At Partizan, I was so pleased with the look of my newish ex-marine legion that I decided to expand it from 80 to 99 men, and I've just finished it; 'av a click!

I'm going to work towards all my legions being the same size, which I think will work well with the scale of battles I'm planning, which often featured 6 or more legions.  Accordingly I'm planning to expand my "big" XIIII Gemina Martia Victrix to 12 x 24 man units so that it can represent 3 legions on the above scale, and I plan to collect 4 more fresh legions, so that I can field 8 legions in total.  Collecting 460 more legionaries will clearly take a year or two!

I've also started work on a new project, which (unbelievably!) includes Wargames Factory minis...

Saturday, 15 September 2012

Adiutrix WIP


I decided last month to standardise on a legion of 99 minis, with 4 units of 24 minis and a command stand. This meant that I needed to expand my favourite I Adiutrix Legion by around a third, and here are the new recruits, fresh from the ships ot the Classis Misenensis at Portus Julius.  The minis are mostly Black Tree with Crusader Command.

My posting rate has dropped away, because real life has been interfering with art.  I've also been spending some time on developing a set of ancients rules that I hope will work well with the big games I like to put on at shows.

Friday, 16 December 2011

I Aduitrix; Finished at Last!


I've finally completed my I Adiutrix (assistant, supportive or rescuer depending on who you read) legion.  This force was hurriedly recruited in 69AD from the marines sailors of the Roman fleet at Misenum, and fought bravely at Bedriacum, and later in Germany.  I’ve read that many of the sailors may have been of Egyptian origin.   Do, please, have a click!


This is the first of my new, smaller legions, of 80 figures in 10 x 8 man cohorts, although it can also be deployed as three 24-man cohorts, for smaller engagements.  I’m going to split my 240 man legion down in much the same way, and next spring hopefully paint another 80 man legion (perhaps even XXI Rapax, that gave Adiutrix so much trouble).  Once I have 6 or so legions, I’ll be able to start to think about re -fighting the larger battles of the civil war, or my long-threatened Roman campaign.

The Legate, Orfidius Benignus, was killed in the fighting at first Bedriacum, in 69AD.  I like the expression this mini (Below) has; it says arrogant patrician, to me.


I’ve used as many Black Tree Miniatures as possible, but ran out of command figures and so used some Crusader and Foundry to add a little variety; they fitted in surprisingly well. For the same reason, I did some head-swaps and a little light conversion work on the legionaries. I’ve given them a varied selection of legionary and auxiliary gear, shields and weapons, as befits a legion newly raised in time of civil war.  There are 3 optios in the rear ranks.


I have developed quite an affection for BTD; they paint up nicely.  They are relatively cheap, too (but alas, not nearly as cheap as they used to be).

Saturday, 10 December 2011

Adiutrix WIP

Last night I fixed shields to minis, and this morning I made up a new batch of bases and glued the minis to them.


I've made the bases slighty deeper than usual (25mm as opposed to 20mm), because I know that BTD minis, once they have shields attached, have a fairly large footprint.  The deeper bases also enable me to adopt a slightly irregular basing style, as my concept is that this legion has been recently raised, and is less well drilled than others. 


In this shot from the rear, I'm  pleased with the effect created by the variety of the tunic colours. 

Tonight I'll apply my BigRedBatGunk to the bases, and hopefully tomorrow I'll be able to start painting them; must be 3 or 4 nights of basing work ahead.  It'll all be over by Xmas.

Tuesday, 6 December 2011

Scuta II


A quick update on the shields; all the blue edging is painted in, and I've washed the new paintwork with satin varnish wth a little blue ink mixed, to give it depth.  Unfortunately, the flash has taken out the detail in the photo; the shields are starting to look very good, in real life.  2-3 sessions more work is needed; bosses tomorrow, I hope.

In answer to today's questioners, I've been using my fingers to hold them, rather than sticking them to a base.  Whilst being painted, the curved shields rest neatly over my left index finger, which is now Porcelain Blue, and lightly varnished.

Sunday, 4 December 2011

Fabricae Scutaria


...a quick post to show progress on the shields for my ex-Marines.  I want to achieve an irregular look, and so I'm using a mix of 4 styles- oval BTD at top (as perhaps used on shipboard), BTD clipped scuta, a few round parma for the standard bearers and the bulk of the legion with rectangular A&A scuta (mix of round and square bosses).  All of the designs are LBMS.

First I sprayed the shield backs brick red, then the fronts white (with a quick coat of gloss varnish to help the transfers stick).  I then retouched the back of the shields with GW terracotta, anad cut out and applied the transfers.  The next stage will be to extend the blue to the edge of the shields, then paint the bosses, rims, ink, varnish and so forth.  Lots left to do, but good progress, this weekend, I reckon!

Friday, 2 December 2011

Sundry Ruperts and Tars



I've finished the last 18 fiigures for my Naval legion; the offices (or "Ruperts" in naval parlance) are above.  Models are a mix of Black Tree, Foundry, Crusader and Companion.  You might be able to make out an Aventine dolphin standard, kindly donated by Keith. Not my best photo... they look better in the "flesh".

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The photo of my optios and the last few legionaries ("Tars") came out rather better (above, all Black Tree). The faces have bags of character.  Next I have to paint 80 shields...

Monday, 14 November 2011

The Final 18...


I'm battling my way towards the conclusion of my Marine legion, which was, perhaps, a project too far.  These are the final 18 of the 80 required minis.  Painting will be finished by the end of next week, and basing should take around a further week.

In other news, I'm taking a sabbatical from TMP which has been eating up too much of my time, and sometimes could get a bit acrimonious; so apologies if I don't respond to any of your posts on there.  If you have a blog about Ancients, I probably will be calling by, or you can drop me an email to keep in touch at the address on the front page, here.

Thursday, 10 November 2011

Navy Lark


21 more marines and a centurion for my naval legion; just 18 minis left to go, now!  And the shields, and basing, of course.   This time, I swapped a bunch of heads for the sake of variety.   The centurion was nicked from a previous project. 

Sunday, 6 November 2011

Hello Sailors

21 more ex-marines for Legio Adiutrix I; roughly blocked in.  I've picked a different shade of blue, and carried out a few head swaps, to bring in a little variety.


Painting an 80-man legion from scratch, is a fair old job. When this batch is finished, mid week, I'll have 61 minis ready, and will be slightly more than half way to final completion of the unit, when one factors in shields, basing and "snagging".  I really do like this BTD pose, rather nicely sculpted (by Woody now of GB, IIRC).

Tuesday, 18 October 2011

Per Mare, Per Terram

(The motto is of our Royal Marines; seems appropriate!)

20 more recruits for my rapidly-mustering ex-marine legion, I Adiutrix.  This time I've gone with a pale (almost duck-egg) blue tunic.   These are 20 more almost total repaints of an eBay purchase.  I replaced all the original pila with new pila I made by cutting the heads off old pila, and drilling metal pins into them, so as to get nice, thin shafts.  Bonkers, I know, but I shall do the same with all my pila in future!  Only 40 minis to go, now... and 80 shields, still on order.

I'll now take a little while off this force, to finish the Middle Imperial Cohort that has been on my painting tray for a month.   After that I may have a crack at the new Marcommanic-war Romans*, that I've just bought off Keith at Aventine.

*Very Late Early Imperial, one might call them.  Or Very Early Middle Imperial, I suppose...

Wednesday, 12 October 2011

In the Navy...

The next EIR Project I'm taking on, will be the first of the "small" 80 figure legions that I plan to use in my EIR campaign.  This lot are the first recruits for I Adiutrix (auxiliary, or assistant) Legion, which was raised in 67/68AD from marines from the Classis Misenensis fleet, based in the Bay of Naples.  Most of the marines would have been Egyptians, and very pleased with the opportuniity, as legionary salaries were rather more generous, than marine!  Presumably there was a citizenship in it, for them, too, and possibly a patch of land on retirement.  Highly motivated, they fought very bravely at Bedriacum, capturing the eagle of XXI Rapax.


These 20 BTD minis are a major repaint of an eBay purchase.  They painted up really easily in 3 evenings, and I'll rebase when the other 60 minis are ready, in a month or so.  Shields and transfers are on order...

My intention is to give this legion a very mixed look, as befits a newly raised legion in time of war, with tunics in white, beige and two shades of pale blue.  I'll mix in the oval shields and javelins that recent ex-marines might have used*, with rectangular scuta and pila, and hamata with segmentata. 

*The Mainz Principia reliefs depict what appears to be an unarmoured legionary light infantryman of Adiutrix I, with oval shield and javelins.