Friday, 26 October 2012

Bucolic Interlude


... slaves bring in the grape harvest, during a lull in Civil War campaigning.



('ave a click; Foundry slaves, scratch-built vine stakes.  Now, where can I find Cincinnatus and his plough?)

Monday, 22 October 2012

Revolting Goths


I've just finished painting my first unit of Gothic deserters, please have a click.

In all honesty I hadn't planned to paint a unit of Goths, but I was stripping apart my old Viking army in order to sell it, and discovered 16 bounty Germans hiding in the rear rank.  I couldn't resist adding a couple more elements and some lovely LBMS shield designs to round them off.  Most of the minis are Gripping Beast, with a few Black Trees amongst them.

They are destined to become enemies for my (alas so far largely projected) Late Roman army.  I like them slightly more from this angle, where it's easier to see the new shield designs.


Sunday, 21 October 2012

Chalons, 451 AD

Yesterday I played a fine game using the Comitatus rules, with their author, Simon MacDowell.  We refought the battle of Chalons as a rehearsal for the game that he has planned for the Society of Ancients Battle Day in Bletchley, next April 13th.  Simon was a generous host and I frothed over the miniatures in his display cabinets...

Simon has started to write the battle up here.  Rather than steal his thunder, I'll show some shots of his excellent miniatures.  These were 15's, but have more detail than many of my 28's.  I played the Romans, or rather the side that included a few token Romans amongst a host of Germans!  This unit were some of my Auxilia Palatina. 


Below is Flavius Aetius, last of the great Western Roman generals, and his Comitatus.


...and here is Attila, Scourge of God!


Unfortunately I forgot to take a closeup picture of King Theooric I, the Visigothic leader, who also played a siignificant role in the battle, but here he is, charging at the head of his Comitatus (left, below).  Simon had suggested that I hold him in reserve, but I preferred to use him in the manner of Theoden King, at the Pelennor fields...


The shields of the Visigothic foot, beyond him, are splendid!

EDIT- Simon McD reminded me that there is, indeed, a closeup of the impetuous Theodoric:-

Wednesday, 17 October 2012

One hundred Spartans (and some Greeks)

Last night we had another play test of the ancient rule set I've been working on.  We pitted Wabby George's newly restored Thessalian army, against my own Spartans, generalled by Ian as King Agis.  All the below pictures are clickable.


Above, Wabby George, the Thessalian Hegemon, looks rather nervously across the table towards the elite Spartiates on the right wing of the Spartan host (as well he might!).  Below is the Spartan army, with 3 mora of allies in the foreground and two of Spartans, beyond them.



The Spartans and their allies advanced quickly (above).  The allied hoplites, left foreground, suffered heavy losses from accurate (lucky!) fire from the Thessalian psiloi.  The Spartan hoplites inclined to the right in an attempt to run down the Thessalian cavalry, and a gap opened in the line, between the Spartans and allies, through which a unit of Thessalian psiloi penetrated.  The psiloi outflanked the rightmost mora of allied hoplites, and peppered it from two sides with slingshot and javelins, until it was on the very edge of disintegration (below).



The Spartan situation, above, became desperate as a succession of melees went badly, and all 3 of the allied units were on the verge of flight. 

On the Spartan right, however, things were going better.  Rather than tackle the Spartiates frontally, the Thessalian cavalry fled from the table.  The right hand Spartan unit had a good deal of trouble passing a movement test to turn through 90 degrees...



...but eventually they, and the neighbouring unit, managed to re-align and they were able to start to roll up the enemy line (as in the battle of Coronea), enabling the Spartans to snatch a (rather expensive) victory from the jaws of defeat.

The game was good natured and very enjoyable.  I took away a few actions to adjust the rules, which I've done, and I hope to be able to play another test game in a week or so.  It was great to see George's new troops, and I'm now resisting the impulse to add a bunch of hoplites to the burgeoning painting queue...

Monday, 15 October 2012

Article on "Rome"


No pics to post as my various current projects are all slowly grinding along in parallel, a fair way from completion.

Eldest son sent me this article on the veracity of the military scenes in HBO's Rome.  It has reminded me why I enjoyed the series so much!  Must watch it again... it had me gripped from the very first scene.


Friday, 12 October 2012

Surplus Hoplites


These chaps are Foundry Hoplites (plus 1 Essex miniature) that served as Blue Dragoons in my Hordes of the Things Lunar army.  I'm planning to repaint them, shortly, for use as regular hoplites...

Wednesday, 10 October 2012

A rare night's gaming


Last night a near-full muster of the local Muswell Militiamen gave my draft rules a bit of an outing along with my Celts, who haven't seen daylight since Zama.  The game went pretty well; despite losing their flanking cavalry, the superior discipline of the legions eventually told, and led to them breaking the line of warbands.  I have a handful of revisions to make to the rules, and expect to give them another outing next Tuesday, with Gorgeous George's Greeks.

My painting table is below.  Inexplicably an unexpected Gothic invasion is delaying work on the chariots.  The Goths, who have languished unnoticed in amongst a box of Vikings for 3 or 4 years, charged forth with a shout of "Paint me! Paint me!" and are consequently in the process of being tarted up and expanded to 24.  Worse still, some part-painted Celtic foot have pushed in behind them... and there is a chap carrying a tray of what look to be unripe tomatoes....