Prepping the Greeks

Okay, another short session tonight to start preparing the 6mm Greeks for painting. I have taken a trio of photos to show you precisely what I’ve done.

In the first picture, I’ve laid out the tools and materials I’m using next to the first completed unit (noble cavalry). There are some 12″ strips of 1/4″ square softwood for mounting the figures, and a roll of double-sided sticky tape which I’ve sliced along its length whilst still on the roll using a very sharp scalpel. Keep your fingers well out of the way! I decided to try the tape as I get fed up with stringy glue like UHU and Bostik leaving spider webs everywhere, and I have had a couple of unfortunate incidents where PVA (white) glue has attached figures so securely that getting them off again has been a devil of a job! The tape is just a bit wider than the wood, so I can do twice as many figures by halving the width of the tape.

Equipment laid out for prepping the 6mm Greeks

Also in the equipment shot you can see the big file I use to level the underside of the bases (I just run each strip from side to side along the flat side a dozen or so times), and a pair of GW clippers for separating individual figures from the strips where necessary, as in the case of cavalry and skirmishing troops. The hoplites will stay in their groups of four. I also have a penknife/multitool close at hand, and a pair of scissors for cutting the sticky tape into lengths. The little cardboard box is used as a containment device when clipping the figures from their strips — without it, the little blighters sail into orbit!

The first batch of Greeks prepped and ready for priming Another view of the first batch of Baccus 6mm Greeks on their temporary strips of wood

Pictures two and three show this evening’s completed batch, ready for priming. There’s the unit of noble cavalry, a unit of light cavalry (Thessalians, I imagine), a unit each of javelin skirmishers and archers, and the first unit of hoplites, 24 stands of four, making 96 tiny warriors. And there are another 11 units to go after this one!

I’m already thinking about the Persians too, and feeling that I may not have bought enough…

Okay, next step will be undercoating, and my thanks to Tyler Provick whose comment has given me some interesting ideas.

2 Comments

  1. Looks good Henry. How are they coming on? You must be eager to get on with making another army.
    Never painted 6mm before but I’d be interested to see what they look like finished.

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