Thursday, March 7, 2013

Assyrian Slingers

As much as I love my Greeks, I love my Persian army too. Initially made as "something for the Greeks to beat up on", I found it titillating to build it with a lot less regard for historical accuracy than I did my Greek army. While I would never dream of including a Roman or Byzantine among my Greeks (I do have a few Trojans), for my Persian army I decided, since Cyrus's reach was so expansive, that I could include any miniature that suggested an origin of the Middle East, South Asia, or Africa. So I have Zulus (with their distinctive shields replaced so I can call them Nubians or Kushites), medieval Saracens, turbaned Indians originally meant for use in the colonial era, all in my Persian army. If I knew any wargamers who were particularly expert in the satrapies of the Achmaenid dynasty, they'd probably hit the ceiling, but since I don't know any, i have a highly multicultural Persian army. Maybe I'll show it to you one day; a lot of those guys are probably due for a touch-up since I improved my Greeks recently.

For today, eight new Assyrian slingers join the Persian army. I'm pretty sure this lot is historically accurate for Persian levies; the Persians did hold Assyria, although these guys may be sculpted for the Biblical era rather than the era of Xerxes' wars with Greece.

Feeling pretty good about these guys; they're Foundry, which has never done me wrong. Look at those action poses on the guys who have just released their stones. Teh drama! My only concern is that real life Assyrians (and Persians) liked to wear patterned clothing and I'm afraid to add patterns for fear of screwing up the shadows I have achieved on their tunics. What do you think, gentle readers? Do these guys need some fabric patterns added? Any tips on putting patterns AND shadows on a garment without ending up with a smudge?

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