That nice Mr Sawyer, of Warlord Games, sent me some of their new Roman Legionary slingers for my birthday. I've almost finished them now - just gluing the Woodland Scenics 'Turf' to the bases. This afternoon, whilst finishing off the shields (I always paint the shields separately), it occurred to me that loading a sling is quite difficult whilst carrying a shield. On the other hand, these are legionaries, and I want them to have shields. Two of the figures are armed with swords (for variety!) instead of slings, so I can give them shields, and the centurion is waving his vitis (vine stick), so can have a shield. Some of the figures are actually holding sling bullets in their left hands, and will look better without shields. Then it struck me that I could keep the shields separate - stick them to some little bases, which would move with the unit. So I think I'm going to do that - the figures will look more 'real' slinging without shields, but by having the shields with the unit, it'll be obvious that they will count as shielded in the event of becoming involved in a melee.
Copyright © Dr. P.C. Hendry, 2010