Romano-British Army for DBA (II/81)

Panorama of the Romano-British battle line

Romano-British Cav and Light Horse
This article shows a miniature army in 15mm scale painted and based for the miniatures game De Bellis Antiquitatis. Each army consists of 12 stands (known in the game as elements) of 2 to 4 figures per stand. Elements for the Romano-British are of type cavalry (Cv), light horse (LH), knights( Kn), spear (Sp), warband( Wb), auxilia (Ax), and psiloi (Ps). In the game, the Sub-Roman British (Army Book II, army number 81) range from 407 AD-945AD in the following configurations:

407-428AD: 1x3Cv (Gen), 1x3Cv, 1x4Ax or 2LH, 8x4Ax, 1x2Ps.
429-441AD: 1x3Cv (Gen), 1x3Cv, 1x4Ax or 2LH, 5x4Ax, 3x4Wb (Saxons) or 4Ax or 4Sp, 1x2Ps.
442-539AD: 1x3Kn or 3Cv (Gen), 2x3Cv, 1x4Ax or 2LH, 7x4Sp, 1x2Ps.
540-945AD: 1x3Cv (Gen), 2x3Cv, 1x4Sp or 2LH, 7x4Sp, 1x2Ps.

To the right we see the leaders: 1x2LH, 1x3Cv (Gen), 1x3Cv. The leader and horsemen obviously have a bit Roman look with red wool capes and horse-hair crests. The general rides the white horse in the center.

Romano-British Spear
To the right is a photo of the 7x4Sp spearmen.

The figures are mostly Old Glory. I painted them with the "magic dip" method described at the Fanaticus site. Basically, paint them with acrylic paints with little or no highlighting or shading. Then dunk the completed figure an the ink-like product such as MinWax PolyShades Jacobean or Tudor shade. This product is a stain and polyurethane with a matte finish. Most of it runs off, but some shading is left in the crevices and depressions giving the miniature a nice three dimensional look. Then I finish them with a matte clear coat to protect the figure. Especially with 15mm figures, this is a quick and easy method to paint an army.

Romano-British Auxilia and Psiloi
To the right is a photo of the 4x4Ax auxilia and 1x2Ps psiloi.

The bases are from Litko Aerosystems. Glue the appropriate number of figures to the base, coat with white glue, and flock with static grass and peebles from a scenery company such as Woodland Scenics. I like thin bases that blend with the tabletop. These bases are laser cut plywood that barely warp, even when coated with dilute glue.

Romano-British
To the right is a photo of the complete Romano-British battle line.

This is a hypothetical battle line of my first army completed for DBA. They must be lucky, because they already won their first two battles, defeating some Scots-Irish rabble and some fanatic German warbands. At this rate, Britain will soon be speaking Welsh.

Other of my DBA related articles and armies are available at:

Dan's DBA Painted Army List

There are more articles on Britannia at the Britannia page and many miniatures-related articles at Dan Becker's Models and Miniatures Site.

Thanks for stopping by and reading about my figures.