From IanW: Macedonian Pike in 6mm (200 points)

First of all sorry for not commenting of late on others work. Having to share a computer sucks big time. However it has freed me up some to paint.

I finished last weeks entry by early Thursday, this being my day off meant I had the time to sink my teeth into something a little meatier. So out came the last of the Baccus 6mm phalanx figures. 384 of them to be precise, though these are a little different from the last blocks I have painted up as all ranks have pikes in the up position. Belatedly I decided I wanted to have some units like this to break the blocks up a bit.

The main advantage is that it is easier to work on the shields as the figures are based side by side rather than in rows like the slopped pike figures are. This speeds up the process nicely.

The dice cells are for marking casualties and possible status. I did think about adding it to the back of the unit but this would have pushed the figures forward and that was not a fair trade off.

384 pikes to glue in was atrial of patience with it being completed over three sessions, each block was about 40-50 minutes so could have been done in one go but I struggled a bit this time.

So these four get added to the four I painted up earlier in the challenge. Indeed most of the blocks have been painted during one challenge or another over the last three years.

This is what 18 blocks look like, that's over 1730 figures as a few blocks have extra figures on the bases as commanders and wounded etc. My plan has been to paint up 20 in total but I am not committing to that being the end of them. That depends on exactly what we decide to do for next years Joy of Six so it could be expanded a little. I have spent £118.80 just for the figures for these 18 blocks, best not let the wife know.

This is the army to this point, still need to add a fair bit more cavalry and some allied infantry. As it stands I have a bunch of light infantry both skirmish and larger bodies but I can also use four units of Hoplites that are also serving my Persians.

So 384 figures at half a point each gives me 192 points, none to shabby. Next week will see me move away from the SYW for a bit of a break so as not to go off it. Should be back to them the following week as they are on my prep list.

384? 384 of the teensiest miniatures?! Wow, that's an impressive feat in just a week. All those shields to paint, and pike to individually stick on - I really don't know how you face it. But the result is worth it, all those phalanxes lined up look immense. Thanks for the whole army shot too.