ALY MORRISON'S "BUTTERFLY" ADVENTURES IN THE WORLD OF WARGAMES AND TOY SOLDIERS

Tuesday 18 August 2020

Lion Rampant... Sassanid Spearmen.

Greetings...

Okay I said I was going to do Napoleonics next but...

Here we have another addition to my 3rd Century Lion Rampant (leo insurgens falculis)...

This time we have some Sassanid Armoured Spearmen...

I am slowly getting closer to having a game...another couple of units and I think there will be enough...







I have gone with a blue-ish theme for these chaps....
I picked a load of complimentary blues from my ridiculously large collection of paints... (The butterfly is in control with a lot of things in my hobby 😂 ) and painted two or three figures in each colour...

The Leather goods are... Citadel... Skrag Brown and Doombull Brown.
The White bits are... Citadel... Pallid Wych Flesh.
The body of the Shields and the Spears are... Foundry... Spearshaft Light 13C.

Then it’s Aly’s Brown Liquid and highlighting with the original shades... the white was given an extra highlight with added pure white...

I really enjoyed painting these... it was fun playing around with the different shades of blue...
The next unit for these will probably be more Spearmen... I think mostly in white.

The miniatures are...
Aventine... https://aventineminiatures.co.uk/

The bases are...
Warbases... https://warbases.co.uk/

The Shields are from...
Little Big Men Studios... https://www.littlebigmenstudios.com/

The paints are Wargames Foundry and Citadel...
https://www.wargamesfoundry.com/collections/paint
https://www.games-workshop.com/en-GB/Painting-Modelling


And another thing...

A lesson to be learned...

For the last couple of posts I have been using my IPad... because my old laptop is getting a bit like me... old and slow... and a bit wheezy...
So I thought I would get a tripod so I could use the IPad camera with a bit more control...

I bought this...

It’s very nice (and cheap)...
And it mostly does what it promises...
Except I just can not get in close enough to get a good picture... with my grown up camera it’s easy... It has good quality lenses... and I can frame the pictures better...but of course the only means of downloading my images is with old wheezy the laptop...

After a bit of experimentation (and shouting) I came up with this compromise...


I am now resting the iPad on the back of this chair...
It works... but I am still not happy with the framing... maybe I need more practice...

The stand should come in useful in my FaceTime games with Mharaid... so sort of win win...
But I can’t help thinking... I should have tried the chair first...

Or just maybe break open my heavily sealed Scottish wallet and buy a new laptop...😱😱😱

Napoleonics next.... maybe.

All the best.   Aly




26 comments:

  1. Lovely work Aly. I do like the shields.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you Ray...
      Thank goodness for transfers... I don’t think I have the patience to paint shields like that anymore....

      All the best. Aly

      Delete
  2. Sweet work, Aly! I laptop was old too and I replaced it in June. Things are much more snappy now. Jettisoning an old model for new. Great idea!

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    Replies
    1. Thank you Jonathan...
      I think it’s more laziness rather than meanness... I should just get of my backside and buy a new laptop...

      All the best. Aly

      Delete
  3. I keep all my old laptops... shields and standards are indeed magnificent. As for paints, I also have hundreds but, with Salute and Partizan cancelled, plus no trips to Norwich for over 4 months - it's my basics that are running out...

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    Replies
    1. I always think that I have less paints than I actually have... but due to lock down and a lack of shows I am actually starting to run out of colours... a strange experience indeed....

      All the best. Aly

      Delete
  4. Splendid spearmen and very blue! Go on now and open the sporran, it won't hurt much and you will have a new shiny laptop to play with.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you David...

      I just have to remember where I put the industrial bolt cutters...

      All the best. Aly

      Delete
  5. A very dramatic looking unit and their bases look good.

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  6. Lovely painting and blue scheme. Now I like thick spears but these are a little chunky are they are tine as well ? So tricky coz I hate the thin wires and Victoria break too easy ? As for your stand I stole a drum/cymbal stand from my son and bought a cheap plastic iPad holder really stable, and you can get the iPad in any position. Perhaps I should patent it !

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    Replies
    1. Thank you Matt...

      The spears are plastic... from Fireforge Games...

      https://www.northstarfigures.com/prod.php?prod=7706

      I can see where a cymbal stand would work well...

      All the best. Aly

      Delete
  7. More splendid Sassanian delight, you have a fine eye for the colour of these warriors.

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  8. Another lovely unit, with the colours working a treat. The large shields really stand out too.

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    1. Thank you Steve...
      The Shields work really well... they are a nice contrast to the more decorated ones that the command have...

      All the best. Aly

      Delete
  9. Much too beautiful! I do hope they won't be reluctant to risk damage to their shields when making saving throws.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you Ross...
      As I am rarely successful with saving throws... the shields aren’t at much risk from being struck by a weapon...😁

      All the best. Aly

      Delete
  10. Lovely job as always Aly - as Ray mentioned, the wicker work shields are particularly impressive. I empathise with your dilemma - I am from near Aberdeen - a city that even Scots think is populated by misers!

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    Replies
    1. Thank you Keith...
      I will probably... take a deep breath and have a look for something at the weekend...

      Mind you... I said that last weekend...😂

      All the best. Aly

      Delete
  11. Nice work on these spearmen Aly. I've found a pop-socket quite useful on my phone.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you Paul...

      I have always used my phone for in game pictures and the odd close up... but I have to admit that I still prefer my camera for most things...

      All the best. Aly

      Delete
  12. Nice work Aly and good to see that the butterfly has not folded its wings. I found that using the big boys camera became difficult too (especially since my PC is in its death throes) and I have switched entirely to using the iPhone camera now then transferring the images to the iPad via Airdrop...what will they think of next.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you Mark...

      Yes the butterfly is still strong....
      I will probably do the same as you for the moment, but as I use the laptop and photoshop to make flags (when necessary)... I will need to open the ancient Morrison purse...😱

      All the best. Aly

      Delete
  13. Lovely Sassanid troops! Can you afford more books and a laptop?!
    Best Iain

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    Replies
    1. Thank you Ian...
      That thought keeps me awake at night... 😂

      All the best. Aly

      Delete