Dux Done!

Sound drums and trumpets. Farewell sour annoy! For here, I hope, begins our lasting joy!

My Late Romans for Dux Britanniarum have spent their final day upon the painting bench and henceforward they will trod the dour battlefield in search of glory!

Well, It's been a little while coming, but this weekend I got my Late Roman Levies based and completed the four slingers I needed to put the finishing touches to my first Dux Britanniarum army. There are only 48 figures in all, including the sidekicks I added to the bases of the nobles, but I think that is just about the level I can manage these days. 

The slingers were supposed to be youngsters, too young to take their place in the shieldwall, but they have turned out to be something more "Last of the Summer Wine". As it goes, I'm perfectly happy to have a bit of experience behind those nasty missiles to be honest. It's comforting to know that you can rely on experience out there in the skirmishing zone.

The Centre of the Levy, including Usainius, the Veteran Leader.

The Left Flank of the Levy.

The Right Flank of the Levy.

Building and painting the Levy was probably the most enjoyable part of creating this army. I wanted a unit with character, which looked as though many of them had fought with the Legions or the Auxilia in the past and were now picking up spear and shield again to defend their homes and farms from the dreaded Saxon invaders. The bodies are all from the Gripping Beast Dark Age Infantry box, but their heads come from a variety of sources. Many are straight from the box, while others are metal from the SHS range produced by West Wind and one or two are just randomly picked from sprues I have in my big box of spares.

So, onwards to glory for the Late Romans, or Romano-British forces and, just in case I can not find any opposition for them, I've already made a small and tentative start on an army of Early Saxons to keep them on their toes and ready for battle at a moment's notice.