The Leadpile - March update

Having decided what to do for the weekend, the choice being upstairs, downstairs or garden, Mrs E and I decided on doing some gardening.  Nothing too heavy as Mrs E's arm is still healing so just planted a few bits and pieces and set some seeds for transplanting later in the year.  If the world comes to a grinding halt I should have spinach, courgettes, lettuce, coriander and chillies available.  How many chillies for a pack of Baccus soldiers do you think?

While I was outside I took advantage of the dry weather to spray prime the next batch of figures.  In this batch there are 20 Hun LC, 10 Late Imperial Roman Horse Archers, 10 Goth Medium Cavalry, 20 Sassanid Heavy cavalry 24 Moorish Infantry and Greek psiloi who will become Sassanid LMI, and  64 Late Roman Infantry.  That's everything I need to complete a 300pt ADLG Sassanid Army and most of the balance of a Late Imperial Roman Army too.  That's going to make a reasonable dent in the leadpile, but it doesn't look like Horse by Horse is going back on the bookshelf anytime soon.

The leadpile is still ahead in the painting stakes. After Vapnartak in January I had an additional 594 6mm figures in the pile.  By the end of March I had painted and based 104 mounted figures and 109 foot, so the leadpile is still ahead by 381!  On top of that I have rebased a further 64 foot and 40 cavalry which were those Irregular Miniatures figures that are open order castings and can be separated from the strips they are cast in to be based in the same way my Baccus stuff is.  Those provided two units of Hunnic Light Cavalry and two of Auxilia Palatina.  Not as nice as the Baccus equivalents, but waste not want not and all that.

The transfers I made are working well on the Roman shields although I have found that the red printer ink can bleed through the back of the transfer if soaked too long.  The trick is to hold it with tweezers for a short a period as possible, just enough to get the transfer to slide off the backing paper with a bit of help rather than waiting for it to float off.  Pictures of the results will follow once I have a couple of units done.

I now have completed DBA armies for both Sassanids and Late Imperials and both are almost there for ADLG at 200 pts albeit without much flexibility for alternative troop selections.  After I have done these I think a bit of infantry painting is on the cards.  I have Picts and Scots-Irish from Irregular Miniatures sat waiting for attention, which when done will bring those two up to DBA sized armies.

I also decided to make some more terrain so with help from the ever useful Milliput and cardboard I set to making a marshlands piece.  I'm not 100% happy with it but it will serve I can't get the surface of the water to look completely still.  I have a better result with varnish than I do with Woodland Scenics' realistic water but it still isn't the dead level smooth finish I crave .  Their burnt grass fine turf works well though and I'm very happy with the look of that part of the build.  I have done two versions one as a 3D terrain piece and also a felt outline that will replace it when troops occupy that terrain.  I think that I might try using an image from google earth as the outline as the felt looks pretty naff (do people still say that?) on its own.

See what I mean about the felt?

More self-isolation excitement tomorrow when I may vacuum clean, hell I may even go as far as dusting.  I can hardly wait.

Hoping everyone who reads this is doing well and staying safe.  Take care all.