Thursday, 21 January 2010
BigRedBat MSc.
I received an email yesterday evening which advised me that I've been awarded my MSc. in Human Resource Development and Consultancy, from Birkbeck College, with a Merit! Huzzah!
Wednesday, 20 January 2010
Fellow Traveller
If you have a minute or two, follow the below link to a new blog set up by a mate of mine, Geminian. Geminian has made much of my terrain, and almost all the best bits, including all my Roman a buildings (below), Middle Easten Buildings and some hills.
I needed some olive trees made for Zama (I mean, couldn't Scipio and Hannibal have found anywhere more scenic to fight than a totally featureless plain?), and thought of Geminian. He is making what may well turn out to be the finest olive trees in the history of 28mm gaming...
http://myblogspot-geminianterrain.blogspot.com/
Bruttian progress...
I've been working on the big batch of 48 minis Greg sent me. They now all have spears. I've highlighted the feathers, skin and bronze armour. I invented a new technique last night; to get shadows above the eyes,and under the rim of the helmets. I used a wash of black ink in Klear, and then suspended all the miniatures upside down, under a magnetic sheet, as it dried. My family looked at me as if I was mad! (am I mad?)
I've worked out that I need another 16 or so to finish what is turning into 3 units. I may shortly be sending another begging email to Greg... All these Southern Italians would fit in well with doing a Pyrrhic army, later in the year.
Above I've made a small start on painting 2 of the dead nellies. To the left is a closeup of a couple of the Aventines Greg kindly painted for me; they are looking very nice! They are destined for a command stand.
Monday, 18 January 2010
Figgybloggy Blog of the Year
Mon ami Greg is running a competition for "Figgybloggy Blog of the Year".
This has reminded me that I've not recently promoted Figgybloggy, which is an excellent site including most of the best wargames blogs. If you have a wargaming blog, that isn't already listed on Figgybloggy, then I'd recommend adding it to his list; I've noticed lots of people come from there to read my blog, and I persoanlly read dozens of wargaming blogs that I first saw on Figgybloggy. Even some of the ones in French! ;-)
http://figoblogotheque.blogspot.com/2010/01/figgybloggy-best-blog-of-year-award.html
In other news... I have been highlighting Greg's Bruttians; especially the bronze, to make it "zing". Hopefully I can finish the highlighting tonight, and start work on the dead nellies...
Friday, 15 January 2010
Brute Squad
In parallel with yesterday's Dead Nellies, I'm making a start on the 48 Bruttians Gloarmy Greg painted for me before Xmas. You may recall from earlier posts, that these southern Italians form part of the Carthaginian 3rd line at Zama.
Greg has done a fine job with these. They just need the odd highlight, spears, shields, varnishing and basing. I've pre-painted the spears and shields so I reckon they represent around 2-3 weeks work.
The minis are a mixture of Crusader Oscans and Aventine Etruscans. The Aventines are somewhat larger, but I think they'll work together.
Thursday, 14 January 2010
Bring out yer Dead!
I've started work on the casualty figures for the Zama game. I'm going to paint the elephants (except for the ones I've sent to friends to paint), and later, when I have enough of the infantry casualties prepped, I'll send them to Greg to paint.
Each elephant will be a bit different; the first has a victorious Aventine Italian on it:
The second is really gutted..
Below are two from Gripping Beast.
...and here are the first (of many) infantry casualties, mostly Etruscans kindly donated by Keith at Aventine, and lightly converted.
The first dead elephants (but not the GB ones) are available from Aventine, and profits will be donated to "Help for Heroes":
Monday, 11 January 2010
Numidians Done'n'Dusted
I've finished the bulk of my Numidians (most of which were painted by Greg) and I thought it might be interesting to run through what I have, and how I store them.
2 generals; Juba and Masinissa
96 citizen levy, troops raised from the urban centres
36 tribesmen from the hinterland
4 dead horses below:-36 tribesmen from the hinterland
40 tribesmen with javelins
10 tribesmen with slings
10 tribesmen with bows
6 elephants (cohabiting with my Macedonian phalanx) below:-
6 elephants (cohabiting with my Macedonian phalanx) below:-
66 light cavalry without bridles (mostly below):-
2 more elephants (hopefully the Aventine Africans will be ready in time)
9 cavalry with bridles; mostly Spanish mercenaries. Nick is painting these, and I'm really looking forward to them as they will be very distinctive.
6 more cavalry without bridles... just so that I have a round 12 units, or 4 "wings" of 3 units as I think of them.
8 elephant casualties
Sundry other casualty figures
And at some stage in the next year I will want a couple of units of Imitation Legionaries, in mixed Roman and Greek successor gear. I'm hoping that I may be able to work it so that they can also serve as Pontic and Judean ILs.
The storage boxes (below) are the "Really Useful Boxes", which I store all my minis and terrain in. I line them with steel paper from Coritani. I chose them because they are fairly cheap, rugged, waterproof and because they stack neatly. I am, unfortunately, running out of places to put additional boxes; I may have to sell some minis from armies I'm less passionate about, so that I have room to store the Roman and successor armies that I'll be painting over the next year or so.
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