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The “Asiatic Archers” from Crete

05 June 2017


Now the Expendables are complete it’s time to turn my attention to the Seleucid army archers.

The figures I am using are really Cretan archers, but they could best be described as Asiatic Archers, which in those days meant archers from the eastern Mediterranean and what we now call the Middle East. 

Of course, they are purely representational of the light troops that were present in the Seleucid army at the time. In reality these troops were formed from many different types of soldier that were lightly armed and armoured. They carried javelins, slings and bows and were found skirmishing in front of the line, protecting flanks or supporting specialist troops in the army, such as the elephants.

Anyway these are Cretan Archers serving under the banner of “Asiatic Archers”. 

Once I have fully painted and based this line of archers the collection calculator says that these three bases are going to worth about £10.80.




Three bases with six figures in the line
Six archer figures in open order on three bases. I concentrated on the individual look of the figures to make them appear different and a bit non-uniform. They actually took a short time to paint but a long while to get to them finished - a birthday and a few bank holidays got in the way. 

Stage One - Blocked out the large colours
I applied the main clothes colours to the archers. Viking Red, Wool and Tunic Green. This is how it looks painting figures without an undercoat. I also applied a thin coat of green to the plastic bases.




Stage 2 - Flesh tones

I have added the Burnt Flesh on the figures below.  They are beginning to look okay at this stage, but I am still unsure of excatly how they will turn out. 



Stage 3 - Browning 

I've now completed all the appropriate brown bites, such as the bow, leather and arrows. I then tidied up the figures by simply touching up some of my bad brush work. This should also help when I add the blackwash later. 



Stage 4 – Bronze helmets

Bronze helmets done. However, from this angle the bases just make them look worse. My first major crisis in confidence has arrived. I am now convinced they are going to look pretty bad. But there's nothing for it but to plough on.



Stage 5 – Base painted green

Crisis averted! They look much better after tidying up the base by giving them a coat of Loren Forest green. Somehow this seems to make the figures stand out and look a lot better on the base. 



Stage 6 – PVA & Sand 

A day after drying out, I applied the PVA glue and sprinkled a layer of sand over the base. They are starting to look quite the “Asiatic Archers” now.



Stage 7 – Blackwash and groundwash

Blackwash gives the figures a little depth, However, I managed to get some sand on the figures. So the next batch will be blackwashed before adding the sand. I've also applied groundwash to the sand to darken it a little and  give the base a bit of depth of colour.



The final stage – Flocking grass at last

I apply a 70% PVA and 30% water mix to the base. I then cover it with grass and let it dry. Once dry, I gently knock of all of the excess grass and these figures are ready. Apart from a covering of acrylic varnish to protect them.



The Archers from the front



The Archers from the rear




The Archers from the left flank



The Archers from the right flank