CAESARIAN ROMANS: Legio XI Cohort VII

I was surprised how long it's been since I added to my growing Legio XI so I'm intent on following hard on this addition with another. Anyway, please find my rendition of the 7th Cohort - or as I will no doubt refer to them, 'the Black Stallions'.

The unit is the usual Warlord Games miniatures produced for Hail Caesar from their Caesar's Legions range. The Signifer is an Aventine Miniatures figure from the earlier Roman republic range, as is the Centurion. I really like these Aventine figures and they add a little extra character. From here on I'll be kit bashing the Warlord Games figure to make the difference.

I'm not at all sure what the Centurion's shield arm and hand were supposed to be doing - the pose was unusual to me. I sculpted a strap across his open hand to make more sense in fixing a shield to it.

As I am starting to run short of decals for my white horse shield designs, I am starting to introduce some variation. Left most is an alternative black horse decal which I am required to retouch to bring it closer to my usual and preferred decal (far right). The inner right white horse is a decal of the same design as the left most black decal and similarly touched up. The inner left is a simplified hand painted and stylized horse which I will be doing a lot more from here on in both black and white.

Apologies for the distasteful and bloody addition. I used darkened red matt, brighter red matt and gloss red both darkened and bright. I was sure to allow the blood to be shown seeping between the figures. I didn't think to provide for a severed hand gripping a sword but perhaps that's too ghoulish. When you think about it, some of my cohorts if they are depicted after any amount of fighting could be depicted with bloody swords and blood splashed shields. Pretty sure I won't be doing any of that.

I was sure to read up on blue dyes and horse hair for the plumes and I am completely satisfied it was done ... by someone. It certainly would have been more expensive than most so I went for a partial pattern.

This is my seventh cohort for the Legio XI but my ninth Caesarian cohort in total. So I think it's time to paint up my Legatus with the next Cohort and another testudo. After painting Seven Years War figures in large battalions these little fellows were a doddle.