This figure is in the home stretch now. I have begun painting the shield and doing all the little detail painting and crisping up the existing work. The sash was painted with W&N Indigo with a bit of Prussian Blue added. Highlights were built over the black boots with Mars Brown and Mars Orange with a bit of Yellow Ochre added.
This is a quick post on how I am progressing with my current batch of figures. This little Soldiers Roman is moving along fairly well, with the flesh about 90% complete. I have also laid down the base coat on the armor and the helmet and am about 50% complete on the tunic. Instead of using the metal of the casting as the finish on the armor I gave it a base wash of silver printers ink and Ivory black with a wash of black applied after the first coat dried. The helmet is gold inks and Burnt Umber. Once complete I will dirty up the figure's clothing and legs as he looks tired after a long days march.
Here we have one of the last figures that EMI released in their "Gladius" series, an Etruscan Warrior from the VIII century BC. This is one of two such studies of this subject released by EMI. The first was a very nice figure (also by Laruccia) showing a warrior celebrating over a funerary pit. This release shows how Laruccia has matured as a sculptor with amazing detail and personality. This is a wonderful figure that comes with two separate shield and spear choices. One shield is oval and leather covered, the second is round, bronze and highly detailed. The later was chosen for this figure. Unfortunately the more elaborate spear was damaged beyond repair in packaging and shipping (Why I like the steel weapons from Alive History's new kits) so I am forced to use the more simple spear. The figure has been primed and is shown resting in it's mounting holes. I will be painting the figure on a separate working base as the groundwork would preclude access to the back of the figure. Lots of Earthen Red and Bronze on this figure so it will be quite dynamic and colorful. The groundwork was created using some of the twigs I have gathered on outings locally, epoxy putty, a stone or two from the garden and primed for paint.
As the weather here turns colder and there is less time for outdoor activities (except for blowing leaves and putting away the motorcycle for the winter) I am starting to prep figures for the painting season to come. One of the first I've begun work on is this little gem, the very first Roman release from Soldiers in their "SR" Series. The figure is simple but very nicely done and replicates an early image from Peter Connolly. The shield is simply resting on the figure for these pics and will be painted seperately for ease of access to the figure.
Over the past few years I have made it fairly obvious that my thing is really ancients and for the most part anything Roman. Recently I was introduced through my participation in the MedRom Forum, to a new company from Russia named "Alive History Miniatures". This company started with a limited release line of 54mm figures that is planned to include around thirty figures once complete, depicting a large skirmish of Romans and Iberian Celts from the Second Punic Wars. The series is limited to 25 figures each and yet is priced like any normal figure line. As you can see from the photo above I committed to the first four figures to see how the line looked and have now made plans to purchase all of the company's future releases. The figures are cast and posed well with extremely nice detail especially on the weapons and equipment. All swords, spears, etc are made from stainless steel so that they will not arrive bent. This is a real plus for me and I was impressed with their quality and realism. The anatomy of the first figure (slinger) was a bit off in the 
I have been moving right along on this great little figure from Art Girona. The face is nearly done with highlighting yet to complete on the hair and few last bright highlights on the skin. The helmet metal and torso armor are nearly complete as I slowly work my way down the figure. The armor started as a mixture of Burnt Umber, Mars Black and Gold Printers Ink in a medium of Grumbacher Medium #2. This medium is what I use for all my printers inks as it gives a nice carrier for the inks and smells nice and citrus (OK, I'm joking there but it does smell nice). Once dry. I gave the armor a wash of Mars Black, then worked in some more black as a rub in the shadow areas. This gives the nice patina expected on bronze armor. Final highlights are straight gold ink. The leather was Mars Brown and Mars Black with black shadows and Mars Brown, Yellow Ochre and Titanium White highlights. The lacing is Mars Orange and will receive additional highlights once dry with a bit of yellow ochre and white added to the Mars Orange. The turban on the helmet has yet to be highlighted with white. Jesus Gamarra's box art for the kit has a blue sash but I am toying with doing something a bit more "textured" as I envision a woven cloth for this time period rather than something opulent as you would expect in later times.
Well, at last I am nearly done. Other than a few little touch ups and some weathering on the shield this figure is done. It has been a lot of fun and really a very basic out of the box project. I have had the kit for many years and the quality stands up to everything Adriano Laruccia is doing today (for the most part). Fit and quality of casting were good except for the two part cast base which required quite a bit of work to get aligned. I miss these little vignettes in a box from EMI and am very glad that Masterclass is beginning to re-release many of these classic kits. I haven't seen any of them yet so I can't comment on their castings, but the sculpting is top notch.