Going the extra mile

I saw a fantastic speaker recently at an industry presentation. My industry is G.I.S. (mapping) and he described many of us as the types who will just not let go from finding a solution to our geographic problems. Being the last speaker he mentioned that some in the audience had dropped away but thanked us remainders for being those that will go the 2nd mile. He elaborated on that old saying and it was interesting as I had recently read about the Roman soldier (Marius' Mules) and the weight of his gear while on the march and that is perhaps where the saying comes from. The speaker told us he was in Rome and he asked a local about the 2nd mile.
The answer is interesting. A Roman Soldier way back then was permitted by Law to ask a Jewish person to carry his load for 1 mile. Non compliance with the request could result in severe punishment. From what I can gather a Legionnaires load was around 45kg (99lb). After 1 mile of 'helping' to gain a further mile from this 'volunteer' the Legionnaire would offer to tell a few storys of the places he has been, the battles he has fought in and so on. So the pay off for the 'volunteer' was really in the second mile. Sure he got no money but I bet he got some amazing storys.
Anyway it is just a bit of trivia but perhaps it applies to Wargamers as well. Here are some images of my Praetorians and Legionnaires in progress. At this stage it is just before I apply Army Painter dip but this time with a brush and some Turpentine for thinning it on the miniatures. The one at the back not on the tray are completed except for soem flock.

 

I will have some images soon of them with shields attached and after dip. I am enjoying this method at the moment. I am also super pleased to hear from a friend recently who is going to work on making a British Celtic force for me to play games against. Should be Britannia-conquering-tastic.

Cheers from Brendon (The Kiwi)