From KentG: 28mm Early Imperial Romans (155 points)

Those who have been following Kent's blog will know that he's taken a huge bite and has been labouring through around 160 Roman castings - all at one time. Whoah! Well, he wisely decided to break-out a smaller group so he can get some momentum on The Challenge scorecard. 

Here are 24 Praetorians and 3 Slingers. The castings are classic 28mm Foundry. I really like what he's done with his shields. All layered, freehand work - they look very, very good!

I also like the grey-tone groundwork contrasted with the grass and flowers as it really frames the figures nicely.

This group comes in at a base of 135 points but I'm going to award Kent with another 20 points for all the freehand painting on the shields and the nice groundwork. So, 155 points for the roster - well done!

General Lasalle's Pipe

This post originates from a comment Scott recently made regarding DaveD's General Lasalle figure which was submitted for the Painting Challenge. Scott was curious to find that the object in Lasalle's hand (and that of the famous painting by Detaille) was a pipe, thinking instead that it may have been a sword in a forced perspective. So I thought I'd quickly post this as some may find it interesting.

Since my earliest time in the hobby I've always found the life of General Lasalle to be fascinating. Lasalle was a larger-than-life personality who generated a very loyal following amongst his fellow cavalrymen - many who often tried to emulate him. One of the many vices that Lasalle was noted for was his love of pipe tobacco. It has been noted in several sources that he would often charge into combat not with a sword in hand, but instead be seen urging his men on, waving his long-necked pipe that he had received from the Governor of Stettin (a city Lasalle had captured purely by bluff, guile and bravado). In fact it is believed that this is what he had in hand while leading his final and fatal charge at the closing stage of the Battle of Wagram.

So, you can imagine my awe when I visited the Musee de l'Armee in Paris last year with my good friend Greg and saw not only his saber on display, but also his famous pipe. I was pretty stoked and so took a few quick pictures. 

So here you go, the pipe with which General Lasalle rode to his glorious doom at Wagram.