EIR Legionary Contubernium Underway! (Part 1)

I'm starting on my next Tent Group (or Roman Contubernium).  Here I'm comparing a new plastic mini from Warlord Games to a metal alloy figure from Wargames Foundry.  There are differences to be sure but I think overall they're okay for side-by-side placement in a battle line.  The main difference which I dislike greatly and will have to figure out how to fix is the Gladius (sword) size disparity.  On the plastic 28mm WLG figures the sword is oddly shaped and way to small -- looks more like a Pugio (dagger).  But for this Contubernium I will use the Pilum carrying plastic (until I sort this out, perhaps I will have to resin cast new swords?). 

I start with flash and mold line cleaning/removal.  The WGF metal figures require a good amount of this effort (way more than the superb Aventine 28mm metal alloy minis).  Next up will by black primer coverage.

I prep the figures for paint-handling by blue sticky-tack attaching them to extra paint pots.  Notice that once they're all primed black -- it is hard to spot the plastic mini out of the group; which is a good thing (I do like the idea of plastic minis because you can easily adjust and customize various positions and stances).

I begin with the armor color application -- this is fast and fun to do.  I tend to like to work in small batches of figures as to not get overwhelmed...so a Tent Group is perfect I think.  Also this way I can spot and remember any small oddities with each figure, making mental notes as I go along on how I will deal with them (e.g. a sword strap that is oddly molded or a scarf that will be hard to reach with care so I may need to adjust the "order" I paint the colors on, etc.).

I painted the Pilum (javelin) shaft a buff/khaki like color because I know the Army Painter Quick Shade "Dip" will darken it and I want it to stand out.  Now I work the skin colors up.  As I described in my step-by-step Primus Pilus Centurion post previously, skin is my least favorite part to paint.  I tend to mix Reaper's Caucasian Flesh with Army Painter's Tanned Flesh at differing amounts as to create different skin tones (so they all don't look exactly alike).  Sometimes during this step, I spot a mold line I missed and reach for my hobby knife to scrap it away and then go back to painting.  I tend to thin the flesh paints as I go with some of P3's Acrylic Paint Medium to improve the flow of the paint onto the mini.

To Be Continued!