Darrell Hindley
Member
There is a whole gamut of pictures featuring the unit from various angles and single ranks on my blog here:
https://justaddwater-bedford.blogspot.com/2021/05/belisarus-boukellaroi.html
I present to you Belisarius' Boukellaroi/Bucellarii. I have enjoyed painting up this unit more then any of the rest in the army and I think that is really says something! Every unit from the Aventine Early Byzantine range so far has been a real pleasure to paint up. Minimal cleaning up, perhaps a little filing here and there and very crisp castings. Adam's sculpting is sublime. I really think the whole range is exquisite.
The banner will be a dead giveaway to many so it will come as no surprise that I have painted up this unit as Belisarius' Boukellaroi. I have tried to include as much variation in colour on the horses to keep a real sense of individuality. Same with the bards on the equines. I have equipped the Boukellaroi in similar colours as their equipment would have been personally handed to them by the general himself and a degree of uniformity with minor variations such as patterns on the caparisons beneath the horse armours to allow for a small degree of individual expression without diminishing the uniform look.
I have been debating with myself as to whether to include pennons at the end of the kontos. I am almost certain that pennons would not have been used to decorate such a lengthy weapon as it was used as both a thrusting weapon and a fencing weapon. Fencing with a four meter long "spear" would have been almost impossible with the added encumbrance of the pennon.
I have included a Draco standard in the back rank, carried by an officer, as I believe dressing the ranks would have been paramount for the unit as it entered combat at a cantor. The Draco standard also helps to offset the whopping great banner of Belisarius to the right centre of the unit. In art college speak by placing the Draco where I have the eye will move around the unit. Or at least that is my hope!
You have LBMS transfers to thank for the details on the shield. I have over 240 infantry to paint and there be at least 70 off cavalry models and it just isn't practicable to paint the shields on all those models so I have limited myself to just hand painting the banners.