Dan Becker's Late Roman Light Cavalry 28mm Figures

Sorry about the simple background. I painted photographed these while away on vacation and did not have access to my usual modeling materials. However, notice the towel representing the turf is now green and not bright blue as in my last article!

Here's a reverse view of the entire Late Roman Light Cavalry unit.

As with the last few sets of miniatures, I based coated these with black primer, then white primer from above, and a bit of white dry-brushing. This performs a fast highlighting and shading for the next step.

Then I block in the main color areas of the figure with Armypainter Speedpaint. Because the Speedpaint is semi-transparent (like an ink), the highlights and shades poke through the paint. Then I fill in details with regular Armypainter Warpaints.

Like my other miniatures of late, I base my cavalry on 20x40mm capsule (rounded rectangle) bases from Litko. Then I apply some talus or small peebles, some static grass (from Woodland Scenics or Armypainter), and any other base details. Here I have some lichens from local trees that make nice scrawy vegetations under foot.

Here are the first three archers of the Late Roman Light Cavalry. These young men are riding a chestnut, a bay and a roan colored horse.

The tunics are done in the Late Roman style which was used in post-Roman Britannia and the Eastern Roman Empire of Byzantium from 300 AD to 600 AD. These warriors have small buckler shields, but no heavy armor.

Here are the first three archers of the Late Roman Light Cavalry from the other side. These Gripping Beast cavalry have nice animation and variety. I would say they are slightly smaller than Victrix or Fireforge figures, but it is very hard to see without counting the millimeters.

Here are the Late Roman Light Cavalry second archers. These figures are done with helmeted heads, but other than that they are the same as the earlier three.

Note that these horsemen ride with sandles and no stirrups. That would make them slightly more vulnerable than later cavalry.

Here are the Late Roman Light Cavalry second archers from the rear view.

I am pretty impressed with my Google Pixel 4a ability to take these miniature photos. The cavalry are in focused, but the fore and background are nicely blurred.

Here is the first group Late Roman Light Cavalry spears. These riders have helmeted heads, but they carry spears and heavier shields. They certainly won't break a shield wall, but they will hunt down any broken infantry and fleeing soldiers.

Here are the Late Roman Light Cavalry first spears from reverse.

Here are the Late Roman Light Cavalry second spears with the leader of this cavalry unit. The leader is distinguished by his gray stallion, sword, and heavy shield. He also has a Romanesque crest on his shiny helmet.

The shields are made with designs from Little Big Men Studios. By far these are the best shield and banner designs for 28mm figures.

And here we see the Late Roman Light Cavalry second spear from reverse.

I like the spear quiver on the back of the right side horseman. This is one warrior who is going to be nailing some foot soldiers.