XYSTON 15MM MACEDONIAN COMPANION CAVALRY

 

These are 15mm Xyston Miniatures Macedonian Companions. The bareheaded chap has to be Alexander himself even though Xyston now produce a specific Macedonian personality pack which contains the great man himself..
I enjoy painting Xyston Miniatures and I am seriously considering collecting some armies of my own. I can't decide whether to do Hoplites (Sparta vs Athens) Macedonians and Later Persians; or possibly the Successor states. Mind you Xyston will soon be releasing some Marian Romans...

Below: Some Xyston Hoplites have sneaked into this post. Alexander did employ mercenary hoplites after all. They spent a lot of time in reserve. Its as if Alexander didn't fully trust them in his battles.

 

XYSTON MINIATURES 15MM GALATIANS

I remember a post I read by Simon Miller (The Big Red Bat Cave Blog) about Celts being boring to paint. I have to agree, though when its just a unit of 32 figures like this its ok. I don't know why this is so because when they are finished they look really nice. They do die very quickly though which is heartbreaking to watch. This unit is from a more recent commission.

15MM MIRLITON ITALIAN KNIGHTS 1200-1300

 A unit of Italian knights 1200-1300ish. With handpainted heraldry and flags. They were painted a while ago now and are residing in and fighting on a tabletop in America. Figures are by Italian company Mirliton, available in the UK through Vexillia Ltd.

15MM MIRLITON PAPAL COMMAND 1200s

These pictures are from the archive as they were painted and based a while ago now. The figures themselves are now in America...the commission also included a two units of Italian knights and I plan to post some pictures of them another time. The flag was handpainted as well.

GRIPPING BEAST (POLEMARCH) 28MM SUCCESSORS

I've just got hold of my copy of Wargames Illustrated issue 320 (June 2014) and saw Martin Lampon's article Raphia 217 BC.  Its the game that was hosted by David Marks at the Ugley Hougomont last Christmas, which I was unable to get to because the car broke down.
The magazine article features some of the figures I painted for the game - for example the Thorakitai and elephants pictured below. I wish I could take decent photos like that - the figures look so much better!
I know I'm blowing my own trumpet but as my wife says I can't hide in the shadows for ever! (Now I sound like Voldermort).

28MM FRONT RANK SEVEN YEARS WAR FRENCH

This is the Diesbach Regiment, which was a Swiss Regiment fighting for the French during the Seven Years War. The customer who commissioned me to paint these wanted to base them himself to fit in with the rest of his collection (I have several other customers that also do this). Its still worth showing some pictures of them though. I always take pictures of the finished commissions anyway, and email them to the customer before payment is made, especially if they have to be posted overseas. If there are any changes needed it can be done before they are sent out. For example, the customer might want to change the shade of blue on the facings. This has never happened but I like to make sure everything goes out to the customers satisfaction!

I have had several more French Seven Years War commissions from this customer, and though they are not based I'll be posting some more pictures of various regiments in the future.

PERRY MINIATURES 28MM BRITISH 16TH LIGHT DRAGOONS

 

 

 

This is a unit I painted a while ago, the 16th Light Dragoons in the 1812 uniform. They have made very little impression on the cornfield they have just trotted through lol.

It took me quite a while to paint this unit of Perry Miniatures, but it was very enjoyable all the same. I will perhaps use a darker shade of blue for the coats in the future. Having said that I think that the brighter colour gives them a faded look that suits a campaign feel. The dyes in the coats were not permanent for the average OR. The officer would obviously have had a better quality jacket.