DBA Early Etruscan Army I/55(a)

I am not quite sure where I got this army – I think I bought it from someone on the TMP Ancients Marketplace – but these are Miriliton Etruscans, and from the composition of the DBA army pack they are Early Etruscans.

I held onto the army for awhile before sending it off to Bob Barnetson to have it painted, mostly because I was unsure of how it should look. You can see Bob's original work on his blog. The only real changes I have made are adding magnets to the bottoms of the bases, painting the sides of the bases, and adding shield transfers.

First up is the General in his Light Chariot on the left, and the two Cavalry in the center and right. Note that the right unit is in the style of Italian Greeks, so I applied some LBMS transfers to their shields.

Next are the two Psiloi in the army. I am not sure why Bob did not put the archers on one stand and the javelins on the other, but I was not going to mess up the basing by correcting that.

In the center is the single Blades unit in the army.

Although these are Spears, Miriliton mixed in a few with different shields. Again, I think I would have preferred mixing them in with the other Spears units, but this is fine. It allows me to use them as a specific sub-tribe of some sort. Unfortunately (for the list), they are not Auxilia.

Finally, there are the other Spears units. These are all styled as Italian Greeks with hoplite shields, so I put some LBMS shield transfers on them too. It certainly added a bit of color to the original figures.

I am not really sure of the historical accuracy of the Miriliton figures; they feel as if they come from a later period like the Etruscan League (I/57), but I can morph this army into the (a) variant of that list by painting another Spears unit.

The LBMS shield transfers were an interesting exercise. Don't assume they are like the decals of your childhood; they are not. Read the piece of paper that comes with the transfers; it is not a catalog, but rather instructions! Had I read the little piece of paper, I might not have wasted three transfers!

Basically you cut out the design, peel the thin, light plastic sheet off of the face, press the uncovered face to the surface (shield) as it has adhesive on it, then wet the paper backing in order to slide it off of the transfer. You do not have to wet the whole thing first and then slide the transfer off onto the shield. Doing so means you will not be able to peel off the plastic covering!

I used the Carthaginian shield transfers because it was the closest thing I could find to what I wanted, but I really need to buy some of the Greek ones, given that I have something like 100+ hoplites to do at some point. (You hear that Bob? One hundred Xyston hoplites are waiting for you to paint someday. All I need are shield transfers and spears.)

Now all I have to do is pull out my Italian Greek army (I/52(i)) for a game ...