Romans Beware!

Having completed the basic Etruscan force for Andy Hawes’ Dux Italica I have been turning my hand to building an Italian Gallic contingent — the Senones who famously sacked Rome in 390 BC.

I begin by kit-bashing several figures that have been languishing in my lead pile, supplemented by a recently purchased sprue of Victrix plastics. The Victrix Gauls are wonderful figures. If I did not already have so many unpainted Relic, Warlord and Foundry Gauls I would have been tempted to use Victrix exclusively.

I like to paint in relatively small batches so once all the figures have been assembled and undercoated I begin to paint half of them. I start with those wearing helmets to keep the assembly line simple.

Painting checks and proto-tartans takes time but I enjoy it. Doing only a few figures in one go makes it easier. My basic technique is to use a relatively light colour base with a darker shade criss-crossed over it. I then add an even darker colour where the lines meet. If I want to get fancy I sometimes add a thin contrasting line between the checks. Some have stripes and others simple thin criss-cross lines.

Once all the men have been painted I start on the shields. I paint the underside first then get to work on the faces which will all be shades of white (except for the leader) to give the unit visual coherence. They are a mix of hand-painted and transfers. Little Big Man transfers fit the Victrix shields perfectly and they now come with the spines and bosses pre-cut out which makes fixing so much easier.

The first two groups of Senones are now ready for battle I have given some of the bare-headed warriors lime washed hair by dry-brushing white over their base hair colour.

They are ready to take on Romans, Etruscans or anyone else who dares to stand in their way.

Their leader is the formidable chieftain Accostix (Relic Miniatures — both leader and standard bearer)