A hump for DaveD

At Crisis in November I had the chance to not only meet our honourable host Curt, but also had the pleasure to make the acquaintance of co-challenger, fine fellow and all-round gentleman Dave D. The state of the hobby was discussed, a few beers were had and all in all it was a wonderful time out.

From left to right: DaveD, RobP (behind), ChristopherS, JakeK, Jerry Miller and his wife Christine, myself , Curt and MikeF

Soon after Crisis I received a surprise parcel from Britain, sent by Dave, containing a few treasures from his collection (he himself referring to a ominous mountain of lead), of which I'm hoping to get at least a few done during the challenge.

Of course I had to come up with something to say thank you for such a generous deed. Remembering his soft spot for anything 'camel' I had a rummage through my treasure box and came up with something I thought appropriate.
So, here's my "thank you" to you Dave, a Centurion of the dromedarii:

The dromedarii or "camel riders" were auxiliary troops, reportedly first raised by emperor Trajan to help protect the eastern borders, especially against the Parthians and later Sassanids. We have to assume they were lightly armoured cavalry, probably mostly used for patrolling the dessert.

According to our sources the Parthians made use of cataphract camels, there's no evidence for their use by the Romans though. But as the Romans were never shy to at least try a new way of waging war before dismissing it, I thought it plausible that there could have been a unit at some point.
Evidence or not, It definitely makes for an interesting conversion.

The camel (or to be precise dromedary) was provided by A&A Miniatures and the shield decal is from LBM Studios, whilethe cataphract rider is from Aventine Miniatures. All three are companies I can't recommend highly enough.
It took me some work to make the rider fit properly, but nothing that couldn't be adressed with a sharp knife and some green stuff.
When it came to painting I was aiming for a eastern influenced, thus rather colourful look. In the end I think he might turned out a little too colourful maybe.
Still I hope Dave has some use for the figure. He'll wing his way to the island as soon as the holidays here in Germany are over.

Now there's nothing left to say but wishing all my readers and their loved ones a Happy New Year! May your brushes flow freely in 2018.