It’s been a hectic week but I finally finished my small band of Somalian militia. I had to make a long trip to serve my nation this past weekend and had to put on my camouflage uniform again. I’m glad it’s over and now I can recommence on with my band of rag tag militia.

Firstly here’s a short video presentation that I managed edit right after I came back.

Somalian militia are a rag tag bunch. Some wear camouflage uniforms and some dress in civilian.

Center: Child soldiers were common in African militias. I appreciate that this Caesar set included one child soldier pose.

Militias wearing headscarfs were trademarks of the Al-Sahab rebels in Somalia.

Check out my review on this modern militia set here. I excluded the female figures in mini skirts because they just don’t fit in this scene. I’m sure I will use them for a later project.

I swapped the heads for these guys from Asian ones to African ones and I finally got my all African militia.

This group can be used as African militia or Somali pirates since this is how African militias are dressed to this very day. Based on references of African militias that I’ve collected, I would have preferred that some figures were wearing sandals and slippers instead of boots. That is something I would like to modify when I paint these modern militia from Caesar once again in the future.

African Militia For Sale
I am placing this set of 10 African militia for sale. You can find it on ebay here. Please contact me here if you have any queries.

Dealing with modern period figures can be tough. The reason being that history is still being written. On top of that, all the sides that are involved in a conflict are still around and have different views about the situation. In order to understand things better, it would be better to look at the perspective of those who had gone through a conflict or civil war than those who report it from the outside.

Main photo: An African militia leader dressed in camouflage fatigues with the right hand holding a gun and left holding up a mobile phone. On the right is another militia in a camouflage vest and green army pants holding up a heavy machine gun. Both these figures are in the final stages of painting. I will add the eyes next and dry brush the base last.

A closer look at an African warlord or militia leader.

Left: 10 years ago children did take part in the civil wars. Evidence do show that things have changed very much in much of Africa. Right: Al Shahab(Al Qaeda) militia used to be seen in the streets Somalia some years ago dressed like this.

As you can see, these Caesar miniature figures really look convincing because of the level of detail on them. More updates on these figures to come soon.

The 1/72 scale 100 Years War English infantry set by Zvezda is a real stunner. It comes with 45 infantry with very adequate poses to create a very good medieval battle scene.

Zvezda's English infantry comes with wooden stakes! 3 sets to be exact.

Every army has it's own command group. The English army was no exception.

Back view of command group.

This is a good array of halberdiers that can be arranged to become a defensive wall against a cavalry charge. You get 12 halberdiers in this set.

Back view of halberdiers.

English Longbowmen were the most effective way to halt French knights. Here you get 21 longbow men.

Back view of longbow men.

The only lacking thing in this set are the men at arms in the fighting pose. You get three poses for the one on the left and 6 poses for the pose on the right.

Back view of men at arms.

I’m planning to convert and use some of these miniatures to create a medieval Scottish army. That will come in due time though. Overall this is another good set by Zvezda that I can’t wait to get started on.

“It has too often been too easy for rulers and governments to incite man to war.” – Lester B. Pearson.

The Caesar Miniatures Modern US Army set was designed based on the US Marines during the Iraq invasion back in 2003. To be more precise, it was the troops who took part in the battle of Fallujah. To go along with the story, I have created a mini diorama for these 1/72 figures. Unexpectedly upon research on this subject, I have also discovered that the bloody battle in the Iraqi city of Fallujah had impacted the civilian population in that city till this very day.

Figures from Caesar miniatures feels like rubber more than plastic. The good thing is that it won't break as easily as hard plastic.

The Desert Combat Uniform (DCU) was a three-color desert camouflage introduced in 1992. It was used in Somalia, Afghanistan and Iraq operations. The DCU was then replaced by the new Army Combat Uniform.

This sniper looks like he is using the M82A1 semi automatic rifle. It is a .50 caliber rifle that can split a human head apart in one shot.

The bag on the left thigh of this marine is a gas mask carrier.

Of all the firing/kneeling poses I have come across, I like this one the best.

The figures are mounted on a 1.5 cm square plastic card to stabilize them for the wargaming table.

A squad leader is responsible for the accomplishment of the mission as well as the lives and well being of his men while conducting combat operations.

The poses of these figures were designed for an urban fighting scene.

The squad AT-4 anti tank weapon.

During the Iraq war, US soldiers discarded the army issued Nomex gloves for motocross and battling gloves because they were too thick and warm for the terrain.

This Battle of Fallujah scene was scratched built.

Mini Diorama on Sale

This exclusive 1/72 scale set is up for sale. Do check out the link at the bottom on how you can get this diorama.

This mini diorama comes in a clear plastic display case measuring 21 x 7 x 8 cm. All the figures and scenery are painted to the finest detail as seen in the photos and video. The miniature figures can be detached from the set and be used for war gaming as well.

I have no plans to make another set like these. If you are a collector of this period, don't miss the chance.

The details to purchase this exclusive set can be found here.

This set from Caesar miniatures (1/72 scale) covers a wide range of modern militias from various nations. Pretty interesting if you ask me. If you use this with the “Urban Resistors” set, you can create unlimited types of modern militias from around the world.

African militia leader on his mobile phone.

AK-47 totting African militiaman.

Middle Eastern militiaman with AK-47

African boy with AK-47

Middle Eastern militiaman running with weapon.

African militiaman with heavy machine gun.

African militiaman kneeling with weapon.

Militiaman with RPG.

It's rare to see miitiawomen but in a short skirt? Caesar is just having fun.

An Afghan militiaman.

She means business!

A casualty of war.

These are truly a range of figures which no other manufacturers have covered. Let’s see how good they will look once painted. More updates soon.

Just a quick update on my progress. My 1/72 scale modern US army figures from Caesar miniatures are all painted except for the final varnishes to be applied. The face details are already added. Here is one fine example. I’m now working on the scene where the soldiers will displayed.

I'm this tall... really.

The desert camouflage is pretty tricky but I think I managed to get it right.

More to come in a short while.

As promised, here are the work in progress pictures of the Modern US army figures from Caesar. I wanted to use these figures as players in a Somalian Operation in 1993, but the equipment they were using were for the 2003 Iraq invasion. Take note of the camelbak water hydration system that some of them are wearing on their backs. This was not present in 1993.

The figures had been primed, basecoated and now the details are about to be added.

Here's one with the accessory packs still unpainted. There are at least about 5 shades of green alone for these guys.

Here's a bigger version of the main photo.

The camouflage pattern is halfway done for this particular figure. The upright accessory on his back is the camelbak water hydration system.

A different thing I did this time was to paint the bases first and it turned out to be a good idea. Drybrushing can be a clumsy process for small scale figures such as these and so makes sense to drybrush the bases first.

This German infantry set from Airfix depicts soldiers who were involved in the earlier part of WW2. With acrylic paint, I painted these vintage miniatures to enhance the details that were meant to be seen. Back in the 80′s, only enamel paints were the most widely used and available. That means things like highlight and shade were difficult to achieve on these tiny figures. Fortunately these days, with newer painting techniques like acrylics paint, better results could be achieved.

These are the classic poses that was released in 1974.

I remember seeing cheaper plastic versions that had this type of poses in the 80's.

On top of painting in the highlights and shades, I decided to add the tri-colored symbol on each German helmet.

The oldest type of German infantry you can find out there.

Each figure is based on a 1.5 cm square plastic card(except for the prone figures) and furnished with some static grass.

These prone figures are based on 40x20 mm plastic card.

You can now bid on these 28 figure Airfix German infantry. 7 day auction starts at $0.99 here. It’s April but not April’s Fool on 2PaintMiniatures.

It’s now time for a new period and new challenge. This week we take a look at Caesar miniature’s 1/72 scale modern US army. This modern US army set in desert uniform was used in the Iraq invasion back in 2003. Caesar Miniatures released this set back in 2006.

These US figures looks promising. Only some flash on a couple of the figures.

The details of the facial features on these figures looks very good. This means it is possible to paint facial details.

To get the best out of these miniatures, I cleaned the mould lines with an X-Acto knife.

This kneeling figure with a sharpshooter scope definitely looks unique.

The poses in this set are very focused on fire and movement.

This looks like the squad commander issuing the commands.

The figures might look similar in pose but they actually have subtle differences.

This is the only figure wearing night vision googles.

A soldier about to fire the AT4(Anti Tank weapon). The left hand actually should be on a handle.

How an AT4 looks like in real life!

The final pose is this sniper wearing a boonie hat in a prone position.

I shall post the work in progress pictures soon.

‘Rise up, warriors, take your stand at one another’s sides, our feet set wide and rooted like oaks in the ground. ‘

Firstly, thanks to Max Martinez from Spain for reminding me to paint this Spartan set.

This is a fantastic set from Zvezda miniatures. It is full of details and is a joy to paint.

Almost everyone is familiar with the glorified story of the 300 Spartans, who fought gallantly and perished in the Battle of Thermophylae during the Persian invasion of Greece. Indeed the Spartans were the most fearless and the most feared warriors during ancient Greece. At the same time however, Sparta was also a brutal regime that committed infanticide, enslaved their neighboring states and was a bitter rival of the first democratic Greek state called Athens.

The enslaved population were called helots and were servants accompanying this or that Spartan. I simply like the depiction of the helot figure by Zvezda. Seems historically accurate enough.

It was indeed a time where brutal regimes dictated and dominated the ancient western world. Just ask the Messenians who were slaves to the Spartans for over two hundred years until they were liberated by Thebes in the Battle of Mantinea. "They(helots) were ritually mistreated, humiliated and even slaughtered: every autumn, during the crypteia, they could be killed by a Spartan citizen without fear of repercussion."

I was inspired by these excellent sculptures to paint the Spartan figures up to their eyeballs. They don't look like 1/72 scale figures anymore do they?

Alexander the Great had high respect for Sparta even when the state was in decline during the era of the Macedonians. He bypassed Sparta, with no intention of razing the city to the ground when he had a chance to do it.

With no flash and with the excellent details of these figures, there was fewer things to worry about except to focus on highlighting and shading the miniature figures.

After much deliberation, I have decided to put this lovely set of 10 Spartans and 1 helot for sale.

Spartans Set For Sale

I’ve put a good number of hours to this figures and it’s one of my best works in 1/72 scale to date. I hope miniatures collectors would love to have them in their collection. Find out more details on how to buy them here.

Miniature figures coming up next- WW2 Germans, modern US Army and modern African militia.