"new Carthaginian army" Topic

Hello all,

I about to start painting a Later Carthaginian army and was wondering on what kind of skin tones would be "correct" so to speak. I suspect that different units could have different skin tones depending on where in Africa/Spain they come from?

I will be using Vagello paints to do them.

The shield patterns are going to be colorful and challenging to paint, does anyone know if there are any decals available for them, or know of some sites that have shield patterns i can paint from?

cheers

That sounds like a good plan. I would also mix inside some units. A quick Google images search should give you some ideas.

If you are painting 25/28mm then LBM make some nice ones for that scale. Not sure if they sized them for 15mm.

LBMS has a great line of sticker for Carthage shields. What scale are you doing and what manufacture are the question.

As for skin tone I have gone with Mediterranean for the most part from here:

link

VR
James Mattes

Thank you for the comments, I should have included scale etc, im working in 15mm and the figs are Chariot Miniatures

Pretty much everyone would have a light brown skin tone like many modern Mediterranean people. The Carthaginians themselves were originally from Phoenicia, modern Lebanon, so essentially Semitic like modern Jews or Arabs. The Libyans and Numidians were Berbers, so not as dark as mid or Southern Africans and without the genes from later Muslim African soldiers and arabs that modern North African populations have. The Iberians were similar to the Berbers but with influxes of Celtic genes from Gaul and the western European seaboard cultural zone. The Celts were essentially Caucasians and often described as fair.

In summary I'd paint everyone with a tanned med skin tone, maybe painting the Berbers A shade darker and the celts a shade lighter for variety.

Yaa my figures have turned up and the first unit is going to be a unit of veterans in chainmail.

Only question is the shields, would they more have a common shield for the unit or a more individual design for each man?

cheers

I think just because of it being more "Hoplite" style army Early Carthaginians would be more individualized shield. But then again the Successor style shields might be considered the influence of the hired guns so to speak. Later Veterans would have a mix of captured Roman kit and might have some Romanized shield designs, whatever those might have been. I have my "veterans" in a more Romanized style while the home units still very much with Greek and other style shields. Very late Carthaginians were a shadow of the great armies that marched North through Spain and on to the Roma homelands.

VR
James Mattes

Thank you for being nice and helpful James, appreciate it :)

cheer