Arab Light Infantry and Command
/I’m still working my way through all the peripheral troops required to field my Arab Conquest army.
First up are the light infantry archers, who I have painted as Berber types using Contrast Apothecary White highlighted with white acrylic, all over a Grey Seer undercoat. Sashes and turbans painted with Contrast Stormfiend Blue.
The models are 3D Breed Moorish archers printed by Geek Villain. I like their slightly squat, cartoonish look, reminiscent of some of the FoW ranges.
Painted the same way, but with the addition of a light blue wash on their trousers and cloaks, here are a couple of units of light infantry javelinmen.
These models are Red Copper sculpts printed for me by Baueda Italy i.e. before they were sold. They are beautiful sculpts with brilliant animation and detail. The best of their Arab Conquest range in my opinion.
An army needs its commanders, so here are two mounted commanders with some more ‘mounted infantry marker’ camel riders in the background.
The coammanders follow the paint scheme I’ve used for the rest of the Jund cavalry and Arab infantry i.e. a mix of bright colours specifically designed to contrast with the Berbers and Bedouin.
The figures are also Red Copper sculpts. Note the chaps holding the hawks on their wrists: really nice figures that Claudio at Baueda specially printed for me as a pack of five rather than as one of the models in a mixed pack of commanders.
The camel riders in the background are Forged in Battle.
Speaking of which, an Arab army sometimes needs some Daylami infantry: fierce tribesmen with javelins and big, multi-coloured shields. Neither 3D Breed, Red Copper nor anyone else I could find do them as a resin 3D print, so I had to go with a metal version from Forged in Battle.
After painting over 200 3D printed figures in a row, it was a bit of a shock to the system going from resin 3D sculpts to metal casts and not in a good way. Don’t get me wrong: the FoB figures are lovely, it’s just that the quality of characterisation and animation that are now being achieved with 3D prints is just incredible, and these just felt, well, bland in comparison.
I had checked what Daylami shields looked like, and they promised to be a real pain to do…so I cheated.
The front ranks have my attempts at Daylami shield patterns: hand painted in what I’d call a cell-like pattern. The back ranks use Celtic transfers from Little Big Man Studios over a variety of backgrounds. As the FoB Daylami shields are flat, and the LBS transfers have a hole in them for a shield hub, the shields have a bare patch in the centre sort of in the shape of a cross. This actually works quite well, as it makes the shields look unusual and different, something that is definitely the case with the Daylami. I know my shield patterns aren’t tip top, but they look okat at wargaming distance!
So just the foot commanders, heroes and camps to do now, and that will be my basic Arab Conquest army done. Then to start moving into the later “caliphate” versions: with Berber spearmen instead of Arab warriors as their main infantry contingent.
