Shapur the Great by king derelict - FINISHED - Art Girona - 54 mm

king derelict · August 20

I had a plan for another ship model but after a morning spent replacing the taps on the kitchen sink I was looking for something more restful. So, off we go with the last of my “ancients”. Shapur, king of the Sassanids major nuisance to the Roman Empire. He took the empower Valerian prisoner at the battle of Edessa. Shapur supposedly made Valerian endure a humiliating captivity, using him as a mounting block when riding his horse and finally killing him by pouring molten gold into his mouth. There are suggestions that these are highly colored and biased reports but Valerian did remain in captivity until his death.

The kit looks very well cast, the pieces seem to fit nicely. The face is very nice and should be fun to paint.

I drilled and pinned the globe on his crown and the hand holding the wreath with brass rod to ensure a good joint. All the other bits so far have fitted well and been positively located so no pinning was necessary. I’m using BS Gold ca glue again and it is a lot tidier than playing with two part epoxy.

This is where I am at present.

Thanks for looking in.
alan

Jack12477 · August 21

I'm in ! 1619983756348_drinking-red-wine.gif.9530ebed350ce6a5edffd576f102f859.gif

Old Collingwood · August 21

This guy looks very fine - love his face details - lots screaming out there to detail.

OC.

Canute · August 21

Interesting build, Alan. I'm in, too.

Were these the Parthians or a successor regime? Those Mideastern lands gave Imperial Rome quite the hard time; as bad as the Germanic tribes did in Europe.

king derelict · August 21

18 hours ago, Jack12477 said:

I'm in !

Nice to have the experts along for the ride Jack.

Alan

king derelict · August 21

17 hours ago, Old Collingwood said:

This guy looks very fine - love his face details - lots screaming out there to detail.

OC.

Thanks OC, this should be fun. You are of course one of the resident experts too.

alan

king derelict · August 21

7 hours ago, Canute said:

Interesting build, Alan. I'm in, too.

Were these the Parthians or a successor regime? Those Mideastern lands gave Imperial Rome quite the hard time; as bad as the Germanic tribes did in Europe.

Great to see you onboard Ken.

As I understand it the Sassanian were the direct successors to the Parthians and expanded their territories. They were a major problem for the Roman Empire which in the period 250 AD and onwards was badly fractured.
The Ballista series of books (Warrior of Rome) features Shapur and the Sassanians and are generally not portrayed in an especially positive light, but the books are written from the Roman perspective. A great series of books, a lot of fascinating history and locations and less swashbuckling than a lot of Roman legion novels. The journeys across the steppes and to the Baltic are especially good.

alan

king derelict · August 21

I’ve completed building up the rest of the figure and it seems to have gone together without any cracks that need filling. The primer may reveal a different story

I airbrushed a coat of AK black acrylic primer and he can dry overnight before adding the white zenithal paint.

Thanks for looking in, the likes and the comments.

As it turns out, I may have some ancients in the pipeline. I placed an order with The Michigan Toy Soldier online store about two months ago for a few Andrea Miniature figures to see what they are like. Apparently there have been issues with customs and I thought this was a lost cause but today I got a shipping notice so I may have some new things to play with next week

alan

Old Collingwood · August 21

Some nice fine details came out with the primer - looking forward to more Alan.

OC.

king derelict · August 21

1 hour ago, Old Collingwood said:

Some nice fine details came out with the primer - looking forward to more Alan.

OC.

Thanks OC,the face is very nicely sculpted

alan

GrandpaPhil · August 21

Very cool! Looking forward to this one!

Edited August 21 by GrandpaPhil

king derelict · Saturday at 07:43 PM

On 8/21/2025 at 7:45 PM, GrandpaPhil said:

Very cool! Looking forward to this one!

Thanks Phil. He should paint up nicely. The face will be interesting.

alan

king derelict · Saturday at 07:46 PM

I sprayed the zenithal white shading, which also brings out the details.

Now for the glazes.

Thanks for looking in, the likes and comments

alan

king derelict · Saturday at 11:27 PM

I started building up the red glazes on the tunic and this quickly revealed a gap on his right shoulder. I’m not sure whether the arm moved slightly while the glue was curing or if it was a problem with the casting.

The pose looks natural so I have filled the gap with Vallejo plastic putty and painting will hopefully resume in the morning.

Thanks for looking in and the likes

alan

king derelict · Sunday at 07:46 PM

I tidied up the filler and continued building up the glazes on the main areas of the figure. I think the tunic is finished but the pants and cloak need another coat at least. The crown probably needs another coat too.

The white on the face makes it easier to see the details around the eyes and will become the whites of the eyes.

Thanks for looking in and the likes

alan

Old Collingwood · Sunday at 08:30 PM

Really nice work mate - so many fine details coming out.

OC.

king derelict · Monday at 11:21 PM

It’s a funny thing with the figures. One minute there seems days of work needed to complete the miniature and then suddenly it’s almost finished.

I had a good afternoon of progress with a few tea breaks to rest my eyes. The main blocks of the figure were complete so I turned my attention on the detail. The face was given a coat of basic skin tone and then I added warm skin tone to bring out the shape of the cheeks. I still need to add the lips.

hair is a base of saddle brown followed by burnt umber stippled over and then a very dilute black wash. A satin varnish was added once everything had dried.

The beard and mustache were painted with burnt umber and faded out with saddle brown followed by.
The painting guide says the thing in his left hand is a crown. I’m not sure why he needs a spare. Maybe it’s his Windy Day Crown.

gold embroidered elements of his tunic are dry brushed gold using a stiff brush.

I need to paint the lips, earrings and touch up the strings of pearls and the hands. Then I have the sword and a few other bits to paint and add.

The postman delivered the long awaited package.
The subjects look great and a quick sneak peek suggests the figures are very nice. Disappointingly they are very small compared to the Art Girona figures. The faces are going to be extremely difficult to paint. I guess 54mm is a somewhat elastic concept.

Thanks for looking in, the likes and kind comments.

alan

Old Collingwood · Tuesday at 03:32 AM

Really liking what you have done with his face - I think this is one of your best, as faces can be so difficult to get right.

OC.

king derelict · Tuesday at 11:33 PM

19 hours ago, Old Collingwood said:

Really liking what you have done with his face - I think this is one of your best, as faces can be so difficult to get right.

OC.

Thank you very much OC, I’m quite pleased with the face, the darker skin tone blended in well and accentuated the planes of the face. It helps that it’s such a nice sculpt.

alan

king derelict · Tuesday at 11:41 PM

I had a good day today and I am calling Shapur complete. The lips were painted, the jewels on his crown and belt added. His sword, streamers on his crown and his cute floppy shoe laces all put in place. He nearly lost his laces, I thought they were scraps of castings and almost threw them away. Staring at the box art, the penny finally dropped.

Put him on a grassy base using Woodland Scenics grass and added a floral touch, I’m not sure about how it came out , it may get modified a bit.