Romanised Argyraspides

Quite a slog at the desk but finally got these 64 Romanised Silvershields painted and based for 8 bases worth. Not really needed for project Magnesia but always a favorite troop type that has always fascinated me after seeing Angus McBride's plates in Sekunda's Motvert on the Seleucid army.

Using trusty and handy Newline Designs 20mm African Veterans with Macedonian command figures all with Hellenistic thureos shields sourced from their Jewish javelinmen code. The shield pattern was the main challenge. Originally I had some home made transfers but the tester did not look good at all. I had no choice but to muddle through painting the design by hand which was a daunting prospect. In the end I quite enjoyed the challenge and process overall and will have to tackle more in the future. They are inconsistent but overall I am happy with the result and looks fine en mass at a distant. More details on the PARADE GROUND WORKSHOP.   

As I have mentioned these are no good for my Lost Battles Magnesia project as they appeared in Antiochus IV's army. After the defeat of Hellenistic pike phalanxes by the Romans, and no doubt after spending time in Rome as a hostage, the king equipped some of his Silvershield regiment in the "Roman fashion" as attested by Polybius' account of the Daphne parade. Many other ancient states followed suit; Mithridatic Kingdom of Pontus, Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt, Numidia and Armenia were some that had troops supposedly equipped as Legionaries. These bases could then populate those armies (I do have many more unpainted veterans!). Also I think they could be fielded in a Late Republican Roman army, Pompey the Great had troops raised from Syria, quite possibly equipped with a more Hellenistic appearance than the troops raised in Italy.

1/72 ancients