Monday, 4 June 2012

Gallic Auxiliary II- Operation "Silk Purse"

Just a quick WIP shot, the new 24 are coming along nicely, and I've substantially retouched the other 24.  Hopefully basing tomorrow.


Wednesday, 30 May 2012

The Roman Empire Order of Battle for the Civil Wars 68AD to 70AD



The Roman Empire Order of Battle for the Civil Wars 68AD to 70AD is a Society of Ancients publication, written by Michael Lane. I lost my much-thumbed paper copy of this 86 A4-page booklet, around 6 months ago, and Dug Page-Croft recently and very generously bought me a replacement copy, on a disc, from the Society of Ancients.

This booklet is a fantastic source of information about the pay rates, organisation and the deployment of the Roman Legions, Praetorians and Auxiliaries from Augustus to Trajan.   It is also a valuable source regarding the names of the legions and auxiliary cohorts (all mine are named from it), and can often provide information on where they were based, and when, and in the case of the legions, the commander's name when known.  Finally it has orders of battles, diagrams and accounts of all the major battles in the 68-70AD Civil War, some illustrations and a timeline of events. 

This is a must have for those interested in wargaming the period, I can’t recommend it highly enough!  When my campaign eventually gets running, it’ll be based on this.

Tuesday, 29 May 2012

Gallic Auxiliary Reinforcements


My least satisfactory Auxiliary Cohort is the II Gallorum (above, front left).  These were an eBay purchase and fall a little short of the quality of my other units, so they are getting a refurb which involves partial rebasing, some detailing, and a lick of overpainting on the shields.  At the same time I am painting a second cohort from scratch.  All the minis are from Black Tree Designs; not brilliant but quite serviceable.

When they are finished the two cohorts and their associated cavalry contingents will constitute the Gallic wing of my auxiliary project.

Monday, 28 May 2012

Pyrrhic Victory

I went to Partizan yesterday, full of resolutions about shooting all the games, but only really managed to shoot the game we played, Heraclea.  Harry (eldest son below) and I arrived a full 15 minutes before any other punters (or the door staff!) and formed an elite queue of 2.


Here are some shots (all clickable) of Aventine Keith's, Adam and Craig Davey's splendid armies re-fighting the battle of Heraclea, 280 BC.  The armies were pretty well set up when we arrived, Pyrrhus and his allies below:-



...and the Romans, above.  Almost all of the miniatures are from Aventine's range, and painted by Keith, Adam and Craig.  Craig built the beautiful table.


Above is the view across the (very realistic) river towards the Pyrrhic skirmihsers opposite the Roman left.  I commanded the Roman left, and Harry, eldest scion of the Miller family, the Roman right; Keith the centre.  Craig and James (Wargame Insomniac) commanded the Greeks.

Below the Roman centre is advancing (both wings repeatedly and miserably failed command rolls):-



Above, on the Roman right, Harry had a lot of trouble but did gradually gain an ascendancy.

Below is a shot from behind the (very scary) phalanx.


Below, battle is joined along the line.  In general, the phalanx pushed the Romans back...

 
...and further back into the river.  Unfortunately my dice rolling was execrable and I just couldn't stop them!


Everything went wrong... Pyrrhus himself is in that unit of lancers on the left.

 
He killed my general, below (unhorsed), in hand-to-hand combat.

We decided that Pyrrhus had won, but his army took a beating, in a classic "Pyrrhic Victory".


It was a great game but Harry and I were somewhat frustrated by the numerous failed command rolls, which really slowed it down.  I'm still not entirely happy with Hail Caesar.  Aventine Keith had a really great grasp of the rules, though, which helped.  It was very kind of Keith to patiently explain the rules, and of Keith and Craig to let us play.

Below is the one other game I managed to get a picture of, the very photogenic "Warwick at Sea" laid on by the fine fellows at Wargames Soldiers and Strategy, fine fellows.  It was a stunning game and looked to be great fun.


I also managed to meet David Imrie, Phil Steele of the SOA, RTB plus one, Dug "Gimli" Page-Croft and Dr Phil Hendry (I bought the first set he has sold of his new "Augustus to Aurelian" rules) and a whole bunch of the WSS crew, amongst others.  It was very sociable.  Harry and I really enjoyed our first Partizan, and shall certainly be back in September!

Thursday, 24 May 2012

Orbis for Roman campaigning

This is an astonishing new tool developed by Stanford University, seemingly designed for those wishing to run wargame campaigns set within the Roman Empire:-


The really useful tab is the "Mapping Orbis" one.  Using this, one can calculate journey times from any place in the Roman empire, to any other, and choose appropriate means of transport.  It even takes into account season and wind direction! 

One needs to be a bit careful about the suggested routes, which can be a little eccentric.  Also I'm cautious about land travel in winter, which (unlike sea travel) doesn't seem to take longer than land travel in the summer.  However, the potential for use as a tool to work out travel times is immense; the map is pretty handy, too, and could be made available to players.  The GM could calculate travel times for armies and modify with random factors or according to the generalship of the commander.

Hopefully I'll get a campaing running late in the year, and this will be the engine that I'll use to calculate the speed of movement of armies.  Do have a go, it is very easy to use and rather fun!

Wednesday, 23 May 2012

BigRedBat's Loft Sale part 2

This is the Monolith Germanic/Viking Great Hall and a matching barn, assembled and ready for aspiring Saga heroes:- "Because of wine-feast and mead-feast they charged, Men famed in fighting, heedless of life."


I’ve decided to move out of Dark Ages to focus on the vast ambitions I have for my Romans, so am parting with these (and, shortly, my small but very nice Viking Army).  The two buildings are finished to an extremely high standard, mounted on stout card, magnabased for storage, with a selection of weeds and grasses around them.  The roofs can be removed to access to the interior.  I built plank floors for both buildings. I went for a very weathered wood-look, and I think I nailed it!  They are matt varnished.  They have never been used and are in absolutely tip-top condition.




I’m looking for £110 the pair, plus P&P at cost (the figures are shown for size comparison purposes only, and not included).  If you are interested, and are going to Partizan this Sunday, then I can deliver them to you there, or you can collect from me in North London, or I can post.

Cheers, Simon

Tuesday, 22 May 2012

BigRedBat's Loft Sale part 1


I have come across an entire Grenadier Models Horse Raiders army in my loft, which I’m looking to sell on.  They are part of the well known Fantasy Warriors range and were sculpted by Bob Naismith.  There are no less than 38 riders, including a Khan, a very nice kettle drummer, 2 heroes (one hero has a missing foot), swordsmen and archers.  Most of the horses are blocked-in, and could be quickly finished with a wash and some detailing.




These miniatures are currently sold as Steppe Nomads by Mirliton in Italy, and the current RRP for these (converted from Euros) would be £127.  I’m looking for £50, plus P&P at cost.  If you would like them, and are going to Partizan this Sunday, then I can deliver them to you there, or you could collect from me in North London, or I could post.

Cheers, Simon