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Thursday 23 November 2023

Ancient British Army

 It has been a while since my last post but this is because I have been head down painting an Ancient British army.  The idea came when I was sorting through some old boxes when I came across a load of Airfix 'Ancient Britons' figures.  There were some Romans too.

I have never painted these figures and my initial go was enjoyable and so the idea for a full army emerged.  I managed to find some more, including a pile of chariots on eBay.  I swapped the clunky solid wheels for those off the RHA set.  Cavalry came from an Italeri set.  There are some additional ESCI and Revell figures in the warbands to boost numbers.






Altogether I have 10 warbands, nine chariots, making four units, three units of archers, two of cavalry and a chariot borne leader.

I have started work on some Romans, although I am undecided whether to employ Airfix figures for this part of the project.  I will paint a sample unit to see what it looks like.


13 comments:

  1. A fine looking force Bob - I always liked the Airfix Ancient Britons. You've inspired me to see if I can find my collection!

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  2. They bring back memories. My Airfix Brits usually stood in as Frisians / Vikings to fight my Normans (Sheriff of Nottingham's men), all inspired by the film 'The War Lord' with Charlton Heston - cracker of a film albeit with the mandatory love interest.

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    1. Ah, the Airfix Sheriff of Nottingham, another fine set for it's day. Along with the Robin Hood set they have graced many actions throughout the ages. I remember seeing the battle of Agincourt with hundreds of finely painted and converted Airfix figures. I must watch the warlord.

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    1. Thanks Prufrock. They were fun to paint as it was nice to have a variety of colours and poses.

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  4. Ooh that makes me think I should dig out mine - they are a lovely set indeed. The Airfix Romans are terrible though!

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    1. Agreed, the Romans are not good. I have decided to paint a few just to see how they turn out. That said I will likely use figures from elsewhere.

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  5. Wonderful to see these fellows on the table!
    Alan Tradgardland

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    1. Thanks. I am looking forward to a few clashes with the Empire!

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  6. They are lovely figures and have stood the test of time very well. They also make up a large part of my 20mm Ancient "barbarian" horde (along with Revell, Italierie etc). I prefer the Hat Romans to be their enemies, the figures are more unifethan the Airfix ones.

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    1. Thanks Martin. I am moving towards 20mm metal figures for my Romans but I want to give the Airfix figures a try.

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  7. They look very nice Bob. My collection has largely succumbed to brittle plastic disease as did the Romans. The latter have been replaced by Newline metals.

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    1. Thanks Jim. I have just ordered some Newline figures to see how they compare with the plastic offerings.

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