Finally the gloss dried and I was able to apply a coat of matt varnish to the second rank of the Skutatoi in Sheildwall yesterday. I know I keep raving about the quality of the Aventine Byzantines so please forgive me if I once more say, these Aventine Early Byzantines are such a high quality range. There is some very fine detail and they are expertly cast with no real flash to speak of. An occasional barely visible mould line but that is to be expected with any manufacturer of metal miniatures.
The second rank were every bit as much fun to paint as the first rank which is not always the case in a unit that is largely uniform. As I type I have the third rank including the command glossed and ready for a matt coat in a few days. The final rank is in the process of having some paint splashed on and should be completed by the end of this evening.
For anyone interested in what rules the miniatures are based for; I have used 40mm wide by 50mm deep bases on all of my Early Byzantine close order infantry miniatures. I plan on using *Swordpoint as my primary rule set as well as others. In order to place the mini's on the base and avoid just cramming them together, which would make no sense to me from an aesthetic perspective, I chose deeper bases oulined above rather than those prescribed in Swordpoint which are 4 miniature per base on a 40mm x 40mm for Close Order. If I get hit in the flank so be it! It will (probably) add to the fun. :>)
