Greek Command Stand

Having a couple of hours to spare last evening I came up with this command stand for my Greek army-in-the-making. Nothing much, but it serves to illustrate the animation and detail Baccus have managed to squeeze into their 6mm figures. Truly five star sculpts, even at this scale!

"And I tell you Sparta is that way !"

Baccus 6mm Greek Army (wip)

I haven't posted for the last few weeks because I have been concentrating on a new project - 6mm ancients. Partly driven by an old desire, and partly inspired by my pal DaveG as well as some of JonathanF's recent blog posts on his excellent 'Palouse Wargaming Journal', I decided to take the plunge and get myself some classical Greeks from Baccus. Baccus have a vast range of splendid ancients and I got enough for two armies with the aim of recreating Peloponnesian strife between Athens, Sparta, Thebes, and what-not.  So as soon as the various hoplites, peltasts, psiloi, and chums were delivered I set about building my armies.  However I must say that it is taking much longer than I expected. With 6mm Napoleonics, the painting process is quite fast due to the uniformity of the colours used.  With ancients, however, the many varied colours and lack of uniformity translates into a lot more time consuming process which honestly took me by surprise.  Not to mention the decals to be applied to each and every hoplite shield ! Anyway, no use complaining.  The only solution is to get stuck in and carry on. Some pictures below with a few sample units.  Many more still to come......

The units finished to date

Phalanx detail

Bolt throwers deployed in front of peltast unit

Archers supported by heavy cavalry

Javelin psiloi providing skirmish cover to phalanx

Another phalanx closeup

Phalanx from right flank. Note leading two ranks with spears in attack position.

Haven't decided on a ruleset yet but second edition Impetus is a hot candidate

Foundry Chasseur a' Cheval Garde Officer

As I had occasion to mention in previous posts, I like to go for 'display' grade 28mm Napoleonics as fillers between projects. Last week, in between my Lion Rampant medievals and 6mm Ancients (my latest project), I went for Foundry's classic Chasseur a' Cheval Garde officer in 28mm. (Or is it 25mm? Being an older figure I'm not really sure).

Anyway, this figure is one of a yet incomplete unit of guard chasseurs and this is the final result. I still have three figures to paint to complete the unit and as soon as they are ready I will present the final unit.  In the meantime, I am posting a set of pictures of this beautifully sculpted officer figure inspired by Theodore Gericault's famous painting (right). Credit to Foundry for a really classic figure!

28mm Medieval Mounted Sergeants

Medievals have always held a special interest for me but somehow always played second fiddle to Napoleonics.  In my youth I used to play WRG with a regular opponent but through the years we lost touch with each other and my Hinchliffe figures ended up forgotten in their box deep down in the dungeons.  

Last year, however, I resolved to revive the period and got a hold of Lion Rampant (LR) medieval skirmish rules.  Not willing to repaint and rebase my old miniatures (they were admittedly primitive anyway), I ordered 28mm miniatures from Front Rank (metals) and Fireforge (plastics), both manufacturers having excellently detailed figures. However, being a sucker for detail, I was unable to give them the 'production line' treatment and ended up painting each figure individually meaning that it took ages to build up a decent amount of figures.  Now that I have enough to field a number of units, I think that in the end it was worth taking the extra time and effort.   

 As an opener, I am presenting a LR unit of six mounted sergeants from Fireforge.  They come in multipose form of which I am not too keen as I honestly consider the construction phase a bit of a pain in the neck. However, I have to admit that the end result is a pleasant collection of varied figures which is not always possible to obtain with non-multipose figures. I am attaching some pictures of this fictional unit for LR.

Ben who?

For this my first post of 2019 I will leave my Napoleonic comfort zone and recede slightly more in time. Few would not remember the epic chariot race from the 1959 film Ben Hur - a cinematic action-packed masterpiece which spawned its fair share of boardgames. One such game was Circus Minimus, a bloodthirsty game where winning a race is only secondary to the mayhem you have to weather getting to the finish line.

The original Circus Minimus Boardgame (internet pic)

Well, down at the clubhouse we are pretty much miniatures guys so we don't really enjoy ourselves unless we have a few minis to push around a table.  And the annual event at the beginning of every new year for the last few years is a blown up version of - you guessed it - Circus Minimus.  Not on a board but on an 18 foot table! So at the turn of each of the last few years the chariots and their valiant charioteers are dusted out of their boxes, the gaming mats are removed, and the table is transformed from verdant Napoleonic battlefield to sandy Roman Circus, complete with central obelisk and dipping dolphin lap counters.

The Roman Circus in all its glory, gleaming chariots lined up at the start

The man to beat was DaveFS, the reigning champion from past editions and so the favourite of the emperor and of the gods. It goes without saying that his war chariot and equestrian team were the prime targets of the usual pre-race skullduggery.  Result: four damage points to his chariot at the outset and a team of fresh horses promptly drugged. There was also some previous night 'entertainment' paid for by some players on others with the result that 'tired' drivers would get a -1 when cornering for lack of stamina and concentration!

The following photosequence gives an idea of the course of the race.  As per rules the finish should be three laps away but due to time constraints we had to drop this by 50% to one-and-a-half laps. The gods' favourite only made bronze this time despite his six allowed saving rolls and the gods now have their new golden boy - DaveG - who came in dead heat with MarioA.  However, since he occupied the inner lane and moved first he was assigned the laurel wreath to wear proudly for the next twelve calends.

As for myself, well what can I say? I had a dismal race due to a tactical mistake. After the first corner, my driver used his only whip to lash out at AngeloF with the result that the latter grabbed it straight out of his hands. Having  only a net as a second weapon but no extra whip in hand, I was forced to use just my reins with the result that my acceleration was limited to one speed factor per turn. Much like a diesel engine from the eighties! Needless to say I arrived a lousy third from last. I swear I'll stick to the net next year.....

All lined up glaring menacingly at each other

And they're off! My guy is in second, innermost lane, black horse team

Approaching the first corner

And with a screech of tyres....... No, hang on, that can't be right!

Zooming down the back straight. My fateful whip attack occurs now (the two chariots running side by side in joint fourth)

Second corner coming up

And around they go with a lot of wheel-banging. My guy is now a dismal last

Somehow everyone makes it round alive.......

........and the pack goes haring off after the leader down the main straight

Now nearing the last corner

The gods' favourite (front, centre) is now pushing hard despite his chariot's mounting damage

As he enters the final straight in the lead he prematurely savours his victory and waves smugly at the crowd

But wait,  his opponents are sneaking up behind.....

......and promptly pip him at the post! The gods have found a new protegé!

And finally - the participants