Tuesday 26 January 2016

From JonathanO – Ancient Assyrian Infantry (175 points)

Finally, my first ever post in the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge.

Time for some “ancient” history – these are Lamming Miniatures Ancient Assyrians dating back to the 1970s!  I used to go to Northern Militaire and bought the first few figures from Bill Lamming from his then new range in 1975.  I added to the collection over the next few years, but for some reason this army never got painted.   

Having enjoyed following the painting challenge over the last couple of years, I was delighted to be accepted into this year’s challenge and resolved to finally paint some of my old figures.  A lot of the figures did have a rather thick undercoat and maybe one colour after an earlier attempt to get them painted. So I stripped off all the paint and prepared them for painting in the early part of the challenge.  I had hoped to get one unit done in time for the Nostalgia bonus round, but didn’t quite make it.

Rather than the WRG rules that these figures were originally purchased for, I decided to base the figures for large battle games such as Sword and Spear, Impetus and To The Strongest.  The bases have a 120mm frontage.  My friend Scott had based his Successor armies the same way using homemade MDF bases and he kindly game me enough bases for my entire Assyrian collection.  The bases are ¼ inch high, but are great for moving around and providing protection for the figures.  The spearmen units can be supported by the archers to make larger combined spear/bow units, as required.  

So here we have 34 infantry.  That should hopefully get me on the scoreboard with 170 points in the Challenge and also in the Bronze to Steel side challenge.


 


 



 


 







Two debuts in a day! These look absolutely lovely Jonathan. I've had it in my mind for a while to do an Assyrian army (in 15mm) and seeing these might just tip me over the edge.
Great work - I've added a few bonus points for the hand-painted designs on the round shields. Your 175 points for this debut entry will put you a fair way up the points table.
And, dear friends, with Jonathan joining us, this means that three-quarters of this year's entrants have now made at least one submission.

41 comments:

  1. It took a lot of work to get these guys ready to post what with stripping them first.

    Nice job and great pointage!

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    1. Thanks Anne. They did take a long time to prepare. I tried soaking them in Pine Sol and my wife came home and asked if I had washed the floor! Simple Green worked better, followed by careful use of a toothbrush.

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  2. Very nice minis! I really like the colors you used and the detail you got on them is really good!

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    1. Thanks a lot David. I still like Lamming figures even if they are simple sculpts compared to many today. I thought I would go for a colourful army and use the red and while fringes to help with the army theme.

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  3. Very nice a small point bomb great use of color

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    1. Thanks Adam. I am very happy to be finally on the scoreboard. More to come.

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  4. Great to have you with us Jonathan!

    When I first saw these minis I was wondering to their provenance and after reading your description I'm delighted that these are well-loved, vintage models from yesteryear. Wonderful stuff and very nicely painted. Bravo!

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    1. Thanks for your kind comments and for allowing me to participate, Curt.

      They may have been stored in cupboards, attics and basements over the years, but I never forgot why I bought them. The Challenge has given me the incentive to finally give these old guys the attention they deserve.

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  5. Lemming figures, wow those are ancient Assyrians. I have always loved this army and you have done very well in painting them. Well done. Now what vintage oddities are lying at the bottom of my lead pile....

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    1. Thanks Peter. Yes, they certainly are old. I would be interested to know what treasures may be in your old lead pile. If you find any Lamming figures and want to sell them, you know who to call!

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    2. When I told my wife about the Painting Challenge, painting my old miniatures and the Nostalgia round she said "Do they have a round for stuff you forgot you had?" Hmmm, maybe she thinks I have too much stuff? I thought it would be a great suggestion for a future bonus round... "The Forgotten".

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  6. Thanks Tamsin. I am glad you like them. Assyrians are a great army to collect - lots of types of infantry with spears, bows and slings, great cavalry and of course chariots. You can even have camels.

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  7. Welcome along. Oldies but goodies that for sure. Now prepare for them to run off that table in game 1

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    1. Ah yes, the curse of the freshly painted unit. They may be old, but they will have to earn veteran status.

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  8. This is what's great about the Challenge, you get them figures out of the long lost pile and are motivated to paint them. Great work Jonathan!

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    1. I agree and I am happy to be in the challenge this year. Thanks Ray.

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  9. Welcome to the show. Really good job and those thick bases look really good.

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    1. Thanks Martin. I am pleased with the bases and they certainly give the units some weight.

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  10. Very nice work on these old figures!

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  11. Great to see a blast from the past. Well done.

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    1. Thanks, they took me long enough - and you think you are a slow painter!

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  12. Great to see a blast from the past. Well done.

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  13. What fantastic figures! Great paintjob and they've aged well.... fair play to them as they are older than me :)

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    1. Thanks. Glad you youngsters also appreciate old school figures!

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  14. You now rate as one of the committed in the looney bin.

    I always like to see biblical armies they seem to have a charm all of their own. If they were at all popular at my club I would get one but there is nothing for me to fight against. (so I would have to get 2 armies).

    I love the look of these I think they will be stunning to look at on the table top

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    1. That's why the men in the white coats came!

      I will need to do the enemies too, but I am thinking rebellion in the provinces, so some troops can be used for either side. Thanks Clint.

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  15. These are nice, the army will be very striking when finished

    Ian

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    1. Thanks Ian. I hope to make good progress on this army during the challenge.

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  16. Lovely job on these cool old school figures. I was drawn to the detailing on the robes and officers "skirt".

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    1. I am glad you like them Sean. I particularly like the officer figure. There are a couple more to come in the next units.

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    1. Thanks Lee. How you manage those 6mm details is beyond me!

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    1. Thanks. Hopefully it will be a good size by the end of the challenge.

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  19. Top brushwork on some classic lead Jonathan. I like your basing, it's really quite convincing.

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    1. Thanks Millsy. I was unsure how to base them as the Assyrians had a vast empire and fought in lots of terrain types. I am pleased that you approve.

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