Showing posts with label Chariots. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chariots. Show all posts

Wednesday, 2 April 2014

Brittunculi triumphant

Here are some shots of last night's game; a baptism of fire for my the new chariots. Here's a view along the table; soon after landing in Britain, a small force of legionaries (near end of table) have been cut off by Britons (centre); Caesar and the veteran Xth legion  are marching to their assistance (rear).


Caesar's advance was uncharacteristically slow (due to several failed activation cards).


The Britons, however (below), were able to push quickly forward.


A warband burst through the thin Roman line, swept into the camp, and then turned onto the rear of the Roman line; the chariots on the hill then captured the Roman baggage, and the battle was won (and lost).


Below, I'm slowly migrating from using the 4L Really Useful Boxes, to the low 7L size.  These are 30cm wide and take 5 elements across, rather than three.  A more efficient use of storage space!  Here are most of the new chariots, packed for Salute.


Tuesday, 1 April 2014

Chariots, wave 2


Most of the second wave of chariots are ready, for the looming game at Salute.  There are still a couple more on the painting tray, awaiting crew, which will bring me up to a total of 18 vehicles.  I hope to add a smaller third wave, later this year.

These models are a mix of Warlord and Wargames Factory vehicles, mostly with Relic wheels and with Foundry and Newline ponies and various crew conversions.   The crew were painted by Nick Speller.  

Thursday, 27 March 2014

Racing towards Salute...


These are the second wave of my British chariots, partially based and assembled and almost ready for our game at Salute in just over two week's time.  Tonight I shall fit the crew, and texture the bases, and tomorrow start to paint and flock the bases.  I also need to paint 4 more crewmen (and, as you know, I hate painting Celts!).

At Salute the fine chaps from Wargames, Soldiers and Strategy, and I, will be on GE02, which I gather is just inside the entrance to the left as you come in.  Please do drop by and say hello!

Wednesday, 19 March 2014

Ford Dagenham, 55BC

This is an Essex-based British chariot assembly line, c.55BC, desperately building weapons to repel Caesar's invasion (at Salute in April).


Mate Nick has sent across the charioteers, just in "the nick", as they say, and the chariots, horses and bases are also underway.  It is going to be a busy week or so!

Monday, 4 November 2013

Rump of the British chariots

Here are the rump of the first wave of chariots.


Above, chariot 3 from behind.  This one is entirely Wargames Factory, except for Foundry horses.


Above and below, chariot 4.  Factory passenger, Foundry driver, Newline ponies.



Above, chariot 5.  Renegade passenger.  This one is designed to be viewed from behind; it'll face away from the Romans and depict a retreating chariot- the plan is that the chariots will be going in all directions...


Above 6; all Factory, except Foundry horses.


Above 7.  Possibly my favourite; Black Tree charioteer (generously donated by Streetline), and Renegade passenger. The chariot colours on this one, are lovely .   


And finally number 8.  Foundry passenger.  The Green came out very well.

The Wargames Factory chariots, as supplied, are not very realistic, but there is a lot of really good material in the box, once the less useful bits have been discarded. A huge thanks to Nick Speller who painted all of the riders, his tartan is superb! One last special chariot to follow tomorrow or Thursday....

Sunday, 3 November 2013

Chariots 1 and 2


The chariots are finally finished, and I've grabbed a few snaps. This one, I've imaginatively named "Chariot 1"! It includes parts from Relic (wheels), Newline (ponies), Wargames Factory (sitting crewman) and Wargames Foundry (standing).


Nick painted the crew, and I painted the rest.


Chariot 2 has some Black Tree nags, donated (some years ago) by Streetline. The crewmen are Factory and, I believe, Renegade.

I'm hard pressed for time today, but will post the others tomorrow and Tuesday!

Friday, 1 November 2013

A highly charged experience


This morning I took my life in my hands and fired up the static grass applicator (purchased off eBay).  This made a humming noise, reminiscent of the Proton Packs in Ghostbuster.  At one point the sieve touched the crocodile clip and there was a terrific "zap"; it was a bit like "crossing the beams!".

My modus operandi was to paint wood glue onto the base (around 50% coverage), attach the crocodile clip to the element's base, press the on button and tap the applicator against my other hand, shaking the grass onto the glue.

I found the normal 2mm grass looked a little short, and mixed in some 4mm long strands, for variety. Most of these longer strands stayed in the sieve, but enough made it through to make a difference.


So did it work?  I think so.  Quite a bit of grass is on the bases, and it seems to be fairly vertical.  I needed to apply a second coat, in places, to make the grass appear thicker, but then I always do that.  It was a faster process than using my trusty Noch puffer bottle. All in all a success!

I hope to add tufts to the bases tonight, and then spray matt tomorrow (weather permitting), to conceal the gloss left by the glue.  After that I can finally attach the finished chariots to the bases.

Wednesday, 30 October 2013

Chariot basing

I've grouted and painted the 9 bases, ready for flocking tomorrow with the Torture Implement.  An element of warband have joined them for flock-matching purposes.  


I've been trying to decide what to do after these; either another unit of Celtic warband, or perhaps I might revisit the long-postponed swan necked trading ship...

Monday, 28 October 2013

Chariots assembled and ready for basing


I finished the assembly of the 9 chariots last night. The riders are now all pinned and glued to the chariots, and the wheels to the chariot frames.  

I've decided not to fix the chariots to the bases, yet, as basing will be very much easier without them in place. I have, though, used greenstuff to make ruts into which the wheels can be securely glued at the end of the process. I'm not going to add harness, though, as I'm worried about the fragile reins getting damaged in play, and because life is too short! 

Saturday, 26 October 2013

Chariot assembly plant


13 months after starting the project, all 9 chariots (of the first wave) are now painted, next I need to attach the wheels, fit the crew Nick painted, and base with the horses. That's Relic's chariot at the front, very nice...


Monday, 21 October 2013

Celtic gridlock


The painting tray is absolutely groaning with British chariots, and that pesky final unit of Numidians.


The chariot ponies are Newline (foreground), Foundry and Black Tree (right, black/dark brown) and Relic (rear right, white). They are all finished and on their bases.


Above are some of the chariot drivers.  These were converted from Wargames Factory plastics by me, and painted by mate Nick, who also painted the riders in the top photo.  It strikes me that these WF driver figures, with the right head-swaps, would make great rowers for a Roman liburnian.  Hmmm...

Thursday, 17 October 2013

Hosses

With Thapsus out of the way, my mind has turned to previous projects...


These are mostly chariot horses for my Ancient British Panzer Division.  But a final half-dozen Numidians have sneaked in at the back...

I recently came across this horse-colour chart on the internet; it is the best one I've seen.   It really helps to introduce variety and realism into one's herd.




Friday, 15 February 2013

Charioteer and a Queen

My projected British chariot force has been delayed by the Raphia project.  However, I've just received around half of the crews back from my mate Nick Speller, and couldn't resist showing a few of the figures.


Above are some of the riders.  The figures on left and right are Wargames Factory celts, and at the rear is one from the more recent Foundry chariot release.  Nick has done an excellent job with these, but they aren't great sculpts; Foundry, in particular, should be able to do far better.  However the Factory minis were cheap, and easy to convert, and didn't need to be cut off their bases.  I think they will look great on the chariots.

Below is Boudica.  I fancied a "fantasy" queen of the Iceni, and this model from Newline Gripping Beast, lightly converted to make her a little taller, does the trick.  She is no beauty... especially since her face was pitted in the casting process.  She is also rather chinless.  She is, however, quite a character!  She will do, nicely.


A huge thanks to Nick for the great painting...

Sunday, 28 October 2012

Chariots- Pole to pole


This week I was lucky enough to pick up my first Warlord chariots, and I thought I'd post a couple of shots.  The Warlord is on the right, next to the best chariot I've found, from Relik, on the left. 

The Warlord is noticeably longer in the body, and very much longer in the pole.  A charioteer would get knackered running up and down that!  I'll be cutting mine down to the same length as the Relik model. I like the wicker bodywork of the chariot, the pole is nice and slender, and the yoke has great detail.  The wheels are nicely proportioned- almost as nice as Relik's (just feeling a tiny tad too small, perhaps because the chariot body is larger?).


Like Relik's, the Warlord horses are well proportioned and nicely animated.  As with many chariot horse models, I cannot help but wish that they be a bit more pony-like, but I'll certainly be very pleased to use them.  I've not photographed the crew, but they are well animated, too.

All in all I'm very pleased with my Warlords.  Someone clearly did some research before sculpting them.  They will form a valuable addition to my force; I may even pick up a few more!


Tuesday, 9 October 2012

Chariot frames


My chariot project is proceeding slowly.  Above are the primed frames and wheels.  You may just be able to make out that I've added javelin quivers and severed head tropies to some of the frames.

I used an Army Painter primer on these, and it gave a very grainy finish, with the paint adhering particularly poorly to the metal parts, such that I can rub it off with my fingers.  Other minis I primed with Halfords sprays in the same session, were perfect.  This is far from the first time that I have had trouble with AP primers, and, despite the convenience of being able to prime in their useful base colours,  I won't be buying any more.

The horses are also primed, the bases made and the charioteers are off with Nick to be painted, so this project is, gradually, coming together.  I'd have got the chariots assembled if it wasn't for an incursion of Gothic intruders (of which more anon).

Monday, 1 October 2012

Traffic Jam

The painting tray is overflowing with chariots.  My plan is for a first wave of 9, but I want to go to eventually muster 20 or so.  Most of the crews have gone off to Nick to be painted (he'll do a far better job with plaid than could I).


In the foreground are the chariot horses, which I hope will be fairly quick to paint...  and I need to finish basing the cohort of Dalmatians on the front left, to clear a bit of space!

Saturday, 29 September 2012

Relic Miniatures Gallic Chariot

I mentioned in yesterday's post that, along with all the wheels, Mike from Relic Miniatures kindly sent me a sample of one of his chariots, which I'll briefly review here.


Above is the chariot, straight out of the bag.  The figures are very nice true 28mm, but I won't focus on those, as my current interest is much more in the vehicle and steeds.  

You'll see how lovely and slender the chariot pole is, and the frames on the cab.   The wheels I frothed over in my earlier post.  The whole piece appears to be cast in a strong pewter, which helps give strength to the slender pole.  There was no flash, but there were a number of small vents to clip and file away; however this didn't take long.


Above, I quickly assembled the piece, which fitted together very nicely.  The photo isn't great but you might be able to make out the crisp detail underneath, such as the ropes.


Above is the assembled Relic chariot, and below is one of my "Frankenstein" chariots, for comparison.  I think you'll see that the Relic chariot is rather more elegant, in a number of areas.  Firstly, the very nice Relic horses above are much more animated than the Newlines I will mainly be using.  A very minor observation is that, as this is a Gallic chariot, these are small horses, rather than the ponies that would likely have been used in backward Britain and Caledonia.  The chariot frame is very detailed with ropes and one of the more svelte frames I've seen, and the chariot pole is lovely and slender.


You'll have gathered that I'm quite a fan of the Relic model, and will certainly add more to my fleet when time and funds permit.  Thanks Mike!

Friday, 28 September 2012

Got wheels

A timely delivery of Relic's very nice chariot wheels has enabled me to replace the clunkier Wargames Factory wheels.  Here is the "before"...


...and below is the rather more elegant "after"!  Much closer to Wetwang, I think.


At Mike's suggestion, I have further shortended the chariot pole, which I think really helps with the look of the chariot.  I've built oval-shaped bases out of plastic, laser cut ply and magnetic sheet, so that I can make the chariots skrimish.  The round plywood disk raises the chariot to the level of the bases of the horses.

Mike also kindly sent me a complete chariot, which I'll assemble over the coming days, and post here; it's a lovely piece.  Thanks Mike!

Thursday, 27 September 2012

Chariot Wheel Size Comparison

I'm constructing a fleet of chariots for my Ancient British, and I though others might like to see some of the wheels that are out there.

Firstly, this is the ideal I'm aiming towards; a wheel of similar size and proportion to those on the below chariot reconstruction.  You'll notice that the rim is pretty thin... this isn't a feature on many of the models out there!


Below are the wheels from the models I've collected so far.  Isn't it astonishing how varied the size and shapes are? 


The smallest wheel is from Black Tree Designs; at 12mm diameter, it would suit a 15mm model better than a 28mm!  Laughable.

The second, is from the more recent Foundry range.  It is in my opinion too small, and has a very ugly thick rim; looks like it should be on a wheelbarrow.

The third, from Newline Designs, is rather elegant, if a little on the small side for me (I guess it is true 28mm).  It doesn't have a raised hub, though, which is a pity.

The fourth, from Relic Miniatures, arrived today from Canada and is lovely (thanks Mike!).  It is a good size and very elegant.  It is ready drilled on the back to take an axle, too.  Absolutely my favourite wheel; it is beautifully modelled and cast.

The sixth, from Renegade Miniatures, I quite like, even though it has a thickish rim.  If I didn't have Relics, I'd certainly look at these.

Finally, the Wargames Factory wheel is the largest by around a millimetre.  Again, I was planning to use these, until Relic's lovely pieces arrived.  I now intend to save these and use them as waggon wheels for a projected baggage train.


I'll do a picture review of the very nice Relic model in a few days time.

Friday, 21 September 2012

Chariots of... plastic.

For a couple of years I’ve toyed with building a large force of British chariots, to use with my Celtic army.  I collected no less than 20 metal chariots from five different manufacturers (Renegade, Black Tree, Gripping Beast, Newline and Foundry*).  Unfortunately, none of the models are good in all respects; some horses were too large or ugly, chariot poles long and very thick, and generally the chariot cabs looked like they had been knocked up out of offcuts of two-by-four timber.  As for the wheels, they varied from too small to absolutely tiny.

I had had been planning to chop them all up to make a dozen or so decent chariots out of them, but it always looked like an insuperable task.  A couple of weeks ago, I picked up some Wargames Factory chariot parts from Steve on the WAB Forum (thanks!).  I’d always been put off these models, by the dodgy (doggy?) horses, over-long pole and thick chariot floor.  However, looking at the models, afresh, the cup is more than half full, largely because they are plastic and easy to chop about.


I’ve replaced the thick floor with Wills plastic card, and cut new axles from brass rod.  I cut the pole length down by 6mm or so, and trimmed away the flamboyant up-turned ends off the yoke.  I’m going to position the axle slightly behind the midpoint of the cab, as I’ve seen on the Wetwang chariot.  I have some ideas for what to do with the WF chariot crew.  Finally, I will replace the chariot horses with some of the nice metal ponies from Newline, of which I bought earlier.  

I’m really pleased with them so far.   In an ideal world, I'd use a wheel with a thinner rim, but I've not yet been able to find a suitable alternative.  Because the models are plastic, the conversion is very quick and they are also much lighter and more resilient to dropping than their metal equivalents.


They are very cheap and have pretty much the look I’m after.  Wargames Factory; who’d have thunk it?


*I don't have any of the newer Warlord or Relik chariot models.  These look very nice but I suspect that they may be a little small for my needs