Conquering the Lead Mountain

Almost There

2012-02-13T20:35:00.000+01:00

As the title suggests, Tactica 2012 is just around the corner. And so preparations for our participation game are at the final stage. There's still some work to do, but hopefully the next few days will see us tying it all together.

The game itself will be all about visual impact – after all, it's the flamboyant Mycenaean age! And I've tried to support that with some graphic designing. Experienced users, let alone professionals would certainly smile at my humble efforts. However, being a creativity buff I enjoyed the proces.

So, like last year, here's a teaser, and again it's the famous "traffic stopper". Nothing set in stone yet, but you get the idea:

Click to enlarge

This time we finally have an English abstract for all those visitors from abroad. If you're going to be at the show, please come over and say "Hello". Looking forward to put faces to names and, of course, seeing familiar ones there as well.

Wargames, Soldiers & Strategy 58

2012-02-10T14:42:00.000+01:00

A very quick 'n' dirty update, because I'm busy to get all the stuff ready for our participation game. Even with aims cut back to managable standards, there's a lot of work in it. A teaser will be up shortly.
This post, however, is to show you some shots of the vignette I did for the latest issue of Wargames, Soldiers & Strategy. Most certainly you have already seen the cover or even read my tutorial in there. (If not, I urge you to catch that up! :-D ) Since the magazine has been out for a while now, I thought it okay to give at least a few additional views that didn't make it into the printed version.

Despite my initial plans, I got a bit in a hurry to paint and stage the miniatures - as well as taking photos of them. Hence, if you want to enjoy them in a more convenient format, there's another reason to get the magazine. ;-)

As a result of this work, I'm planning to complement my French/Westphalian Napoleonic troops with some Austrians. Because, if nothing else, this vignette demonstrates the possibilities of just a single box of plastic miniatures nowadays.

If you have any questions that weren't covered in my article (e.g. my colour reference got lost), feel free to ask here. Other comments are welcome as well, of course!

Painted October 2011. Models by Victrix Miniatures (and a tiny piece from Perry Miniatures).

Middle Imperial Romans Review

2012-01-18T14:56:00.000+01:00

Half a month into the new year, and I'm hoping you had a good start. Despite my desperate struggle to cope with the masses of stuff still to be finished for our Tactica 2012 presentation, I had a good one with issue 58 of the Wargames, Soldiers and Strategy magazine finally in print - more on that on another occasion, for now just have a look for yourselves. ;-)

Let's start here with a short review (or sorts of). That's been taken over from last year, when I promised Keith of Aventine Miniatures to have a look at their latest release of late 2nd century Romans. Keith very kindly sent me some samples, after we had discussed a few of my issues with the models, especially regarding their equipment. So I was able to base my opinion on the actual models - and could also compare them to my beloved 3rd century Armorum & Aquila miniatures. Both ranges are divided by a mere decade (at least by periodisation fetishists), so it's not too far a stretch using them side by side.

First off, an unassembled model by Aventine, just black-washed for the photo. As mentioned before, these models are set in the time frame of 160-190 AD. This, for example, is the period of the Marcomannic Wars, famously pictured in both the Column of Marcus Aurelius and Ridley Scott's Gladiator movie. Some figures sport segmented bracers (manicae) and greaves. They are all equipped with large rectangular shields, wearing Newstead patterned segmented armour and Niedermörmter type helmets. And that's whereupon I raised some questions to Keith, for I don't see Roman soldiers as uniformed as portrayed so often. Especially since it's rather futile to clearly assess Roman military equipment to a specific period of usage. There are quite a few other pieces, like the Niederbieber or the Imperial Italic G type helmets, which could be pre- or antedated with good reason as well.

The castings are of the highest quality, almost no cleaning required. The pila are to be clipped from a sprue, and I shortened the one pictured here a bit. (If you want to go mad, you could acuminate the end in order to get a ferrule.) The amount of detail on the armour is incredible, just look at those clasps and hinges! The shield features also good detail like spines on the back and an offset frame. Disappointingly its handle, actually a hole to plug the soldier's hand into, is too small. So the pieces won't fit easily, and you have to file down the hand a fair bit. That said, it's only a problem with certain models, others take the shields quite nicely.

Second, the same view on an A&A model. The soldier is also equipped with a heavy javelin of a different shape (bigger counterweight ball, no rivets). However, distinctive for a later period (c. 200-280 AD) are his long sword (spatha), the hinged plate to cover the neckline and the Heddernheim type helmet. The latter is often deemed to belong to cavalrymen - mainly due to the short neck peak and its decoration indicating elite status, but that classification is debatable. The fashion of long sleeves and trousers also sets this soldier apart from his slightly earlier comrade.

Again, the casting is clean, just beaten by Aventine's quality. The figure itself features good detail as well, but it's less defined than the Aventine one. Both armour and clothing look a bit 'puffy', especially compared to the sharp edges and slim appearance of the earlier model.

Here's the Aventine figure, readily painted and based. For this presentation I assigned it to one of the busiest Roman legions around, the legio XXX Ulpia Victrix (abbreviated leg XXX V V). From its formation under Emperor Trajan (98-117 AD), certainly in anticipation of the Dacian Wars, until the reign of Emperor Constantine (306-337 AD) this unit was involved in almost every major conflict.
In our given period the Tricesima fought in Lucius Verus' Parthian campaign (162-166 AD), before being designated to Marcus Aurelius' continuous wars on the Marcomanni in the West (165-180 AD). They were probably one of the units that had a devastating disease in their luggage which would haunt the Roman Empire for years. In 193 AD legio XXX immediately joined the usurper Septimius Severus, who would eventually end civil strife and become emperor (198-211 AD).

Their emblem was most likely a capricorn, but Jupiter and Neptune were also mentioned as the legion's patrons. So I opted for Neptune's trident here, a nod to the triple X as well. As a sidenote, one of the actual Niedermörmter helmets, found at Xanten, bears the inscription of a certain Lucius Sollionius Super, soldier of legio XXX.

Septimius Severus' ill-fated grandnephew Severus Alexander (emperor 222-235 AD) brought the Tricesima back to the Germanic provinces. Stout defenders of the Northern Rhine frontier, they became part of the EX(ercitus) GER(maniae) INF(erioris), the army of Lower Germany. This was some kind of "corporate identity" label, and it almost predicted that the legio XXX would join Postumus' Gallic Empire in the 260's in order to prevent being sent to far-off theatres again. In fact, the Tricesima would stay here for another 150 years until their disappearance from the records.

Once more, colour schemes and designs are purely conjectural. However, most of them are taken from artwork appearing in Osprey books or in the excellent issue II.6 of Ancient Warfare focussing on the "3rd century crisis". I fancied especially the blued metalwork on the helmet, some sort of rust prevention which, at the same time, looks quite impressive if combined with silver or gold. It was done here with GW's Asuremen Blue applied to a surface painted with dark silver.

Finally, a comparative shot of both miniatures side by side. As you can see they go together quite well - not the least since they are from the same sculptor. They are quite exactly 28 mm heigh models, measured from sole to the top of their head (or helmet for that matter). As said before, Aventine is the superior sculpt regarding proportions as well as animation. The poses appear to be more natural, and it gives a convincing sense of movement. However, I've seen one of my initial suspicions confirmed in that the Aventine models have elongated necks. That's in order to fit the helmet's huge neck peak onto plate-covered shoulders, and it probably supports my assumption that those pieces were never worn together. Otherwise, they are some of the best models I've seen in a while.

Eventually I might use both ranges to build up a party for "snack pot games", a term recently coined by Richard Clarke of Too Fat Lardies for a new trend towards large skirmish actions. The Roman Empire of the 3rd century has some advantages here: Not only can you choose from a wide variety of opponents - ranging from Parthians/Sassanids to Ancient Germans and civil war factions - without loosing too much the look of Early Imperial Romans. It is also a period of transformation that apparently enforced the use of light infantry and combined arms tactics. But that is, really, a theme for another posting.

Painted December 2011. Models by Aventine Miniatures & Armorum & Aquila Miniatures.

Guess who's coming for Christmas

2011-12-19T17:02:00.001+01:00

As kind of a last dance to end our latest gaming weekend I brought out once again our beloved Argonauts. Instead of just another run of the four scenarios played at the Tactica show, I came up with a completely fictional encounter, loosely based on Greco-Roman mythology. As a matter of fact, this gave me an excuse as well to paint and deploy some miniatures I had owned for quite some time.
The general idea was to stage a 'contrafactual' or untold part of the myth by borrowing some elements from a surprisingly closely related story: Homer's Odyssey.

Hence, first off was a cyclops. It had been unexpectedly hard to find a model that wasn't too 'fanciful', i.e. nothing with horns, hooves, four arms etc. Just a big-sized humanoid with one single eye like featured in Ancient art. Then I hit on this DSA miniature, licensed by Ral Partha. For a mere tenner (that's GBP) you get there a massive model of about 7cm to the eye. And as you can see he stretches well beyond that.

Actually, the cyclopes were best known for their skills in architecture and smithing: They built the walls of Mycenae and were working in Hephaistos' forge. However, the most famous of them is arguably Polyphemos, portrayed as a half-barbaric herdsman in Homer's Odyssey. The model itself wears a sheepskin rug, so I emphasised this aspect by the addition of a she-goat from the now defunct Mega Miniatures range (unfortunately, no sheep model was at hand).

The cyclops named Brontes (after one of Polyphemos' brothers) featured as the end boss in my two-step scenario. Before he appeared the heroes had to face a few minor foes. One of them was a centaur called Abas.

According to Ancient mythology Abas was one of the few centaurs that escaped the wedding ceremony of Peirithoos, a party that went terribly wrong: Drunken centaurs tried to rape some female celebrants, even the bride herself. The male guests, among them heroes like Theseus, came to aid and slaughtered most centaurs. Therefore, in terms of our game, it would be quite hard to convince Abas of the Argonauts' noble intentions - the more since the player had included Theseus in his band…

In order to save the day heroes need something to rescue. Best someone. Even better: a lady in distress. This poor maid is clearly in an unfortunate position, and what self-respecting hero would literally let her down?

This model would fit many scenarios as an objective marker. In our game it represented Galatea, a nymph engaged or married to the aforementioned Polyphemos. As Ovid tells us, she fell in love with Akis, a young human shepherd, who was then killed by the jealous cyclops. Most likely this caused some marital problems, and in our game Brontes had decided to sort this out for his bugged brother in a most definite way.

In the end the Argonauts rescued the fair lady. Driving off Brontes had been a costly affair with one man dead and most others severely wounded. However, Galatea's gratitude would be quite useful during the sea journey ahead.

Certainly, the beasts - and to a minor extend the beauty as well - are also suitable for my slowly gathering Beastmen army. This already has an Ancient mythology theme, and I'm always in search of new models fitting the bill. At least, now I don't have to bother about an alternative, yet appropriate giant model.

Painted June to December 2011. Models by Ral Partha (cyclops), Mega Miniatures (she-goat) Otherworld Miniatures (centaur) & Reaper Miniatures (lady in distress).

Post Scriptum
Since this may well be the last entry before the holidays, I want to wish all visitors, both regular and casual, a very happy Christmas and all the best for starting into the new year. The current year has seen ups and downs in regard of my hobby experience, but this place and all the feedback I get from you has been definitely a major encouragement. So thanks a lot for that!

American Militia

2011-12-16T16:16:00.000+01:00

Just a few days left for 2011, it ultimately is time to solve another New Year's Resolution. Without further ado, here's the second unit of Patriots for the American War of Independence:

These are meant to represent a formation of militiamen. However, the summer dress shown on most figures makes them fit for service as a state regiment as well. Of course, when I selected the figures for the command stand, I had a certain image in mind: Benjamin Martin, also known as "The Patriot". I also added one lad carrying his father's rifle (taken from Conquest Miniatures' FIW colonists) to commemorate Mr Martin's unscrupulous recruitment of child soldiers.Despite this and further devastating shortcomings of the movie I wanted to honour it once for it sparked my initial interest in the 'real' AWI. At least, I passed on fielding a flamboyant Frenchman…

Once again the casting quality of the Perry models was poor. At least, I hope it's not down to the sculpting itself. Most noticeably the leader got a crumpled face, but also limbs and equipment showed washy detail. A shame since the older Foundry range shows quite well how Perry models could (and should) look.

Fortunately this unit got ready just in time for the "big game" I had planned with an old chum for 2011. At least, with a couple of 12 to 16 men units per side, it was big by our standards. After some consideration we wanted to give the British Grenadier! rules a try. In essence, they provided a good and fun game with decent period flavour. That said, there are issues in regard of the rules' structure and a confusing layout that worried us a lot. We spent quite some time leafing through the booklet to find certain, even elementary rules. Most of them seem to appear in a more 'intuitive' than logical order.That's probably fine if you are a native speaker or just more accustomed to similar rulesets than we are. However, for example an index or cross references with page numbers given would have enhanced the book greatly. One can only hope that such things were considered for the updated version that has been released this year (we used the original set).
Certainly one has to play a few more games to come to a reasonable judgement. And I am more than willing to dig them out again if opportunity arises.

Apart from poring over the rules, the mere nature of our test game kept us from collecting data for a dedicated AAR. We played kind of a rearguard action with the Americans trying to delay an advancing British force. Thus the American player had all his troops available from the start, whereas parts of the British marching column would appear on reserve rolls in subsequent turns. Since the American player would be outnumbered soon it was left to his discretion when to withdraw his entire force.
Our game opened with the British advance guard, consisting of Light Dragoons and a Jäger corps, rushing forward. Acting indecisively, the horsemen first came under artillery fire and were then repelled by musketry before they could make any impact. In contrast, the Jäger skirmished with their American counterparts for some time and drove them finally off in a fierce Hirschfänger attack. Still shocked by the rapid British advance (due to lucky dice rolling the main column arrived in the first few turns), the Americans couldn't bring their already brittle firing lines into effect. So, in the face of superior morale, command and numbers, their resistance faltered. However, it wasn't as decisive as it could be, since the British lost some time manoeuvring and getting rid of disruption points. Hence they didn't catch up with the Americans withdrawing in - overall - good order. At the time we finished, only the rearguard, i.e. the Hessian regulars, were in a position to pursuit the enemy by forced march.

To compensate for the lack of in-game photos, and because it is the parade time of the year, here is at least a shot from the general assembly staged on my sill prior to our game. Of course, the Americans got some reinforcements as my gaming partner contributed another two units and I lend some turncoats to the Patriots' cause. So next year will likely see further American units on the painting table.

On a final note: Weather is not very conducive to taking photos these days, hence I struggled a bit (again!) with quality. Apologies for that. Anyway, hopefully I'm able to come up with another posting before Christmas.

Painted December 2011. Miniatures by Perry Miniatures, Wargames Foundry and Conquest Miniatures, flag by GMB Designs.

Pollice Verso

2011-10-21T18:26:00.000+02:00

Lo and behold, finally a sign of life. All I can say to excuse myself by now would be the usual "life's gone crazy"-nonsense. I'll leave that to the Mountaineer's Log.

In between various commitments I try to do something purely enjoyable, at times even something pretty useless, at least in gaming terms. From last year's experiences, that's absolutely mandatory to keep my enthusiasm for all this 'serious hobby-work'. Therefore, recently, I squeezed into my painting scheme some gladiators. Gladiators are one of the many subjects I always had some interest in (like in all things vaguely Roman, I admit), but never really cared to start a gaming project with. Years ago I bought a boxed set from em4 Miniatures, which included some - actually quite neatly - prepainted models. With no effort involved, I used them in one single game of Red Sand, Blue Sky (RSBS) - and was deeply bored. That said, it wasn't the rules' fault, for historical gladiatorial combat - like most sports games - doesn't really lend itself to a gripping tabletop gameplay.

Basso

In the end, RSBS went to the bookshelf, only recently to be rediscovered. In fact, I have quite a few sets in my collection, which I flicked through on a lazy afternoon lately. RSBS got me hooked with two aspects: the ability to play it solo and its campaign system. These days there's a serious lack of regular gaming buddies round here - and of focus for my part. Playing solo and playing campaigns might solve both issues.

From the Northern Wastes

On the one hand, like all Two Hour Wargames rules, RSBS works as some sort of reaction test system, which eases the use of "NPCs" controlled by the game itself. The campaign, on the other hand, is simple enough to begin with and possibly amend it later on: You start as the owner of a gladiatorial school (ludus) somewhere in the outer rim of the Roman Empire. By fighting in the arena your successful gladiators will gain reputation for themselves - and you, as their owner, as well. Your ultimate goal is to provide fighters for the great Imperial games in Rome. By now I'm pondering the idea of managing two or three competing ludi myself, because there's very little paperwork involved.

Carassius Auratus

For a start, I acquired some additional gladiators from Crusader Miniatures. This is an excellent range of great historical accuracy (apart from their nod to the "Gladiator" movie). That's even more important, since I wanted to stick to history as much as possible. Therefore, as a first step, I wanted to complement the prepainted models I already own (not pictured here, since I didn't paint them) to get the most common historical pairings. Gladiatorial combat was quite a stylised affair with surprisingly many rules in place. Besides the gritty part, it's rather comparable to Japanese sumo than to a brainless hack'n'slay. Spiritual notions like Good vs. Evil or the representation of different virtues like Agility vs. Steadfastness weren't at least as much as important as a good show in general. Of course, spilling blood was essential as well, but we don't know how lethal a gladiator's job actually was. After all, unlike those poor souls who were sentenced to die in the arena, gladiators were trained professionals, mostly well-fed and medically cared for. Some historians estimate they were supposed to fight only in two or three serious combats a year, since games were expensive and gladiators quite an investment of time and money.

A notorious braggart

Arguably the most famous type of gladiator is the retiarius (net-man). He's lightly equipped, the only gladiator wearing no helmet. Instead his face was protected by a large shoulder guard. Net and trident were his offensive weapons, symbolically associating him with the sea and/or Neptune. The retiarius' usual opponent was the secutor (follower), equipped with helmet, medium-sized shield, an armguard (often made of scales resembling fish) and a sword. Better suited to close combat, the secutor had to catch his opponent (hence the name) without getting entangled in the retiarius' net. Actually it must have been a well-balanced pairing, since the event of a retiarius being defeated by an already 'caught' secutor was noteworthy enough to be eternised in a mosaic.

Encolpius

A variation on the secutor might have been the scissor (cleaver). There is no reliable evidence for this type of gladiator, although he's included in most miniatures ranges, presumably for his scary appearance. The scissor has been reconstructed by Marcus Junkelmann as a heavily armoured secutor with his shield replaced by "Roman scissors", a blade resembling a mincing knife, used in both offensive and defensive (e.g. cutting the net). Perhaps just fancy stuff, but in my games he could be spared for the more cultivated regions of the inner Empire or used as some sort of 'boss monster'.

A notorious womaniser

That's all for today. These chaps now have to earn some nicknames. So, next up are some games, and then perhaps some replacements for the prepainted figs (or even just pimping them).

Painted in September to October 2011. Miniatures by Crusader Miniatures.

Centurionum Addendum II: Book Review

2011-09-09T11:55:00.001+02:00

Almost kind of a companion to my centurion series, Osprey Publishing released a new book the other month, called Roman Centurions 753-31 BC. The Kingdom and the Age of Consuls. It's the first installment of a two-volume series, written by Raffaele D'Amato and illustrated by Giuseppe Rava, both well known among military history buffs.

The booklet (48 pages from cover to cover) could be divided into three parts: The opening one deals with a general overview over the development of both the Roman army and the centurions as institutions in the time frame given. The second part goes into some detail about the centurions' actual role, their social background and their military duties. The last chapter then is all about equipment, clothing and weapons, and that's certainly the meat of the book. Finally, a small bibliography has been added, and it struck me again that there's still no major academic paper covering the Roman centurion in particular.

Throughout, the volume is heavily illustrated - as one would expect from an Osprey -, mostly with black and white photographs and some drawings of archaeological material. Of course, most readers will flick through the book to feast their eyes upon the eight color plates in the centre. The overall printing quality is good. However, there are issues with some photos being a bit blurred, some even rendered useless since their focus is on evidence of colour! That said, all the more colour is used with the plates…

Here the cover art sets the tone, in that it shows some, let's say, interesting artistic interpretations of Roman centurions. Definitely, Graham Sumner's and Raffaele D'Amato's works have been a breeze of fresh air in the somewhat 'traditional' subjects of Ancient military dress and equipment. While I rate Sumner's and Rava's work equal (up to personal taste), Sumner seems to be superior in methods of research compared to D'Amato. Where Sumner in his "Roman Military Clothing"-series explains every source for his reconstruction in some detail, D'Amato uses a rather broad brush. The latter focusses heavily on literary and sculptural evidence, sometimes mixing together sources from very different periods, and he produces a lot of circular statements.

To give an example: Livy (quote) describes how king Tarquinius drew together the separate units of Romans and Latin allies by putting one half of each aside in new formations. These, in turn, were led by centurions. Livy calls the new units geminati manipuli, which bears the meaning of "twin" or "paired" troops and therefore indicates the blurring of differences between Romans and Latins. Indeed, as Livy tells us, by this act of integration the army made up of 'genuinely Roman' troops was "doubled". However, D'Amato misses the meaning here completely, in that he uses a rather technical translation (not his own!): Assuming that the new units were in fact each made up of two complete manipuli, and that each of these double-maniples was commanded by one centurion, D'Amato equalises them unashamedly with a centuria, consequently nominating the manipulus as its subunit, as a "company". Of course, that gets him into serious trouble when he has to explain the sudden reversal with the manipular system, where a maniple itself is obviously composed of two centuriae!
By the by, even if we accept the statement that one centurion was appointed over each maniple, it's perfectly in line with Livy's account of the Republican army. There the tribunes (derived from "tribe leaders", so kind of a Royal council perhaps) selected half of the army's centurions (priores) to command a maniple's first centuria. These themselves then nominated a 'wing-man' (posteriores) in charge of their maniple's second subunit. As with so many institutions of unclear origin, Livy could just have backdated this practice to the Kingdom era.

As a matter of fact, D'Amato's conclusions share the issues of those of old Livy himself: By connecting all available evidence, regardless of its true origin or inherent meaning, he tries to literally "make sense" in a way that ultimately shall lead to reputedly stringent and logical argument. That's not just pointless; it also casts a damning light on D'Amato's further interpretations - be it the almost ubiquitous "organic armour" or addressing each and every supposed depiction of a Roman (or Etruscan or Italic) officer as that of a centurion.

There are many more examples, but we've certainly got the point here. I fully appreciate the fact that reliable sources for the early Roman army - the more for a special subject like the centurion - are scarce at best. But then one should simply avoid a catchy subtitle or at least exercise more caution with his argument. If there is no evidence, do say so and do not fill the gaps with excessive interpretation.
As much as I embrace bold and thought-provoking theses as well as reinterpretations of well-known material, do sell it as such in an appropriate format. An Osprey booklet definitely isn't the right place, and so I consider this particular volume improper. Improper in its methods and results, and therefore improper for its intended audience, i.e. as an introductory book.

Thus, though I would like to recommend this book for the sheer joy of pretty pictures and for covering a neglected topic - I can not.

Centurionum Addendum I: The Golden Gate

2011-09-06T19:37:00.000+02:00

So you really thought I had finished this series? Where's your history then, lads? ;-)

Granted, at school I was taught Antiquity ended on the 4th of September 476 AD. On this day (as I'm typing this just 1535 years ago) a Germanic warrior in Roman services named Odoacer deposed the last Roman emperor, Romulus, nicknamed Augustulus. In fact, however, that's not even half the truth: Romulus had been merely a puppet like many of his predecessors. Both Odoacer, a high-ranking military, and the Senate of Rome simply thought it superfluous to sustain such a meaningless institution any longer. So they sent the Imperial insignia to Zeno - surprisingly another Roman emperor ruling the empire's Eastern parts. It's not even true that by this transfer the Western Empire ceased to exist - it was just thought as a 'reunification' long overdue. And, of course, for centuries to come, the Eastern emperors saw themselves and were undoubted as the only Roman ones.

In order not to forgo this continuation of Roman history then, I'm stretching this series a little further - and a bit beyond the actual focus, admittedly. Anyway, here comes Flavius Focas, hekatontarchos in Emperor Maurice's Balkan army, c. 602 AD.

Eastern Roman respectively Byzantine history is nothing I've been much into. Therefore, what follows comes from my superficial grasp, and I'd happily stand corrected by anyone better informed. And there might be quite a lot, for Byzantium has been (and probably still is) promoted at university as the subject of up-to-date research in Classics par excellence. Part of this rediscovery is, of course, the rehashed debate of where to actually make a cut with literal Ancient history then. With the reign of Justinian I (527-565) who reconquered large parts of the former Western empire? Or with Phokas (602-610) who abandoned most of it? With Maurikios (582-602) who initiated reforms that would lead to the - particular "Byzantine" - Thematic military organisation? Or with Heraclius (610-641) who established Greek as the empire's official language and finally subdued the Sassanids, only to leave both empires exhausted and exposed to Muslim Arab conquest? Or, putting it all aside, not until the capture of Constantinople by the Ottomans in 1453? You get the drift.

Matters aren't obviously any clearer with military history. Since the 4th century there's a lot of change going on we don't necessarily understand in all detail. The disinterest in and disregard of all things military by most Late Roman/Early Byzantine authors and artisans leaves us with fragmentary information at best. Depictions are often highly stylised, in the case of literature imitating classical works, while art resembling rather court dress than actual field habit. Therefore one cannot be sure if the term of hekatontarchos (leader of a hundred) translates the Latin centurio not only quite literally but also in terms of actual rank.

Also, the soldiers' appearance of Focas' time might have been quite similar to 5th century military look. Or it might, however, have turned already into a fashion that was considered "majestically ancient" by 10th century artists - a period which the model (as the whole Byzantine range from Crusader Miniatures) is actually meant for. That said, the somewhat ceremonial dress raises the question of adequacy regarding the relatively low position of centurions/hekatontarches in the later Byzantine army.

Thus, in order to avoid further trouble, I betook myself to the story of Flavius Focas. You might have noticed the similar name of Emperor Phokas above - actually it's the same person, just in its Latin or Greek version each. When Emperor Maurice ordered his army to take up the fight against the Slavs in mid winter 602 AD, the soldiers revolted. Soon, according to our sources, a certain centurion named Focas took the lead, and finally, after Maurice was overthrown, became the new emperor. A state of transition could well be resembled by the model's mixed dress. A badge of rank is the mace (probably a decendant of the vitis shown before) as well as the crest I've attached to the blackened iron helmet.

Focas' reign, however, was considered one of the worst of all times - at least by authors reviling in the times of Emperor Heraclius who, in turn, had overthrown the aforementioned himself but was more fortunate in founding a new Imperial dynasty. Thus Focas could be held responsible for all the losses the empire suffered during and even after his reign. Of unknown origin (I opted for a Middle Eastern influence here), risen from the ranks and so with little in common with the more subtle inhabitants of the metropolitan areas, naturally Focas was seen inapt to ruling an empire. However, one could argue that he simply followed a certain pragmatism: In reducing the empire's presence in the West he tried to free up resources for the Balkan and Persian theatres. Ultimately these plans didn't succeed, at least partly due to powers wasted for and against Heraclius' uprising.

After all, Focas' reign is certainly not THE turning point from Roman to Byzantine history. As said before, it's just impossible to draw a definite line between a 'real' Roman Empire and its reputed Byzantine successor. Most likely, there simply is no such one single dividing factor, for people keep changing, adopting and adapting quite constantly.

So, if anything, this little series about a particular Roman type of officer might have shown this only constancy not only in Roman history but in history in general: the constancy of change.

Painted August 2011. Miniature by Crusader Miniatures, plastic crest by Wargames Factory.

Centurionum Vol. IX: A Turning Point

2011-09-01T18:09:00.000+02:00

Closing the final gap, you might have guessed what's left. Once more choosing a 'regional' theme I went for THE event of the Roman period in Germany - at least by German measures. And coincidentally, the idea for this series started with this model: Lucius Caedicius, primipilaris of Legio XVII, c. 9 AD.

This figure is involved in quite a few stories, so better prepare yourself! First off, its particular background is (as indicated by the date) the famous battle of Saltus Teutoburgensis. I don't want to go into too much detail, since there's so much debate of where and how this battle ensued and what its actual impact on Roman politics was - the more after the great anniversary in 2009. Only to give you an idea: Somehow three Roman legions got lost in the about-to-be province of Germania Magna, i.e. the territories between the rivers Rhine and Elbe. Roman tradition has it that they were ambushed and destroyed by a native war host under command of a supposed ally to Rome, the Germanic prince Arminius. Since this Arminius had been also in charge of auxiliary troops, it's been discussed lately, if the whole affair in fact was some kind of military revolt. The erasure of three legions could therefore have been a sanction ex post. Whatever the truth, quite a few members of the lost legions seem to have made it back to the Rhine frontier, and there's mention of a certain Caedicius being responsible for the successful escape.

Caedicius' name is conveyed by the ancient authors Velleius Paterculus (cf. II, 120.4) and Frontinus (cf. Strategemata III, 15.4 and IV, 7.8). Both tell the story of a Roman camp besieged by Germanic warriors in the aftermath of the Teutoburg battle. Only by cunning the praefectus castrorum (commander of the camp), Caedicius, manages to hold the attackers at bay and finally withdraw his troops in good order. His post was the highest rank achievable for ordinary centurions, after they had performed the tasks of a primus pilus for one year. Derived from the first centurion of the first centuria of triarii - the veterans, also called pilani, hence the centurion's (untranslatable) appellation - the primus pilus could be a seasoned warrior, but also a member of Roman upper class stepping in at an 'appropriate' rank. Some known Caedicii were of noble birth, and it might well be, that Lucius is just a fictional character emulating one of their ancestors' deeds. Thus, if Caedicius ever existed, his assignement to a particular legion is unknown. I chose the Nineteenth simply because, unlike the lost legions XVIII and XIX, there's no member of it known by name.

The Anreppen site

The fortified camp that Caedicius defended seems to have been the famous, yet undiscovered Aliso fort. There are at least as many places identified as Aliso as there are sites linked to the Teutoburg battle. (You might recognise that I'm not convinced by Kalkriese being the real deal here.) Recently I visited two of them near the city of Paderborn. The first one is the Roman fort of Anreppen, which has been partially excavated and quite recently 'restored'. Nothing to get crazy about, just indications of former roads, entrances and ditches with some information tables, but you get the impression. Anreppen was build c. 4 AD near the Lippe river as a depot to supply troops operating to the East. Its commander's house was an impressive villa, maybe housing a leader of Imperial rank (Tiberius is a likely candidate). Also quite remarkable are the huge granaries, which could be featured in Frontinus' description.

The lovely Weser Renaissance castle of Neuhaus

A less likely candidate is the peninsular of Neuhaus at the confluence of the rivers Lippe, Pader and Alme. The latter perhaps gave its ancient Saxon name "Ilasan" to the nearby village of Elsen. Both sound quite similar to Dio Cassius' "Elison", a feeder of the Lippe, mostly connected with the location of Aliso (cf. LIV, 33.4). However, that's the only evidence, since there've been found no Roman remains yet. Maybe the remnants became the base for the Medieval bishops' rectangular castle, after the latter had been thrown out of the city of Paderborn. Again, that's speculation and rather unlikely - but still interesting.

Enough of that, some words on the figure itself: Colour choice this time was given, since with the last figure I wanted to honour my first reenactment group, the Cohors IIII Vindelicorum. Sadly, due to a lack of time, I'm not able anymore to join them on a regular base. Of course, they're auxiliaries, however, I found the colour combination adequately striking to ascribe it to a primipilaris. Caedicius is mainly unharmed by the elements, for I wanted to capture the moment - as described by Dio Cassius (cf. LVI, 19-22) - when the legions' marching column was first ambushed. The legionaries, bogged down in marshy ground, might have had almost no chance to pull off their shield covers before the Germanic warriors were upon them. Just so Caedicius has dismounted (like most officers he would travel by horse) and, grabbing a shield and waving his spear as an improvised standard, cheers up his men to form ranks. His equipment follows the later Augustan period's fashion: A corselet sporting his medals is featured on the cenotaph of Marcus Caelius, another known victim of the bellum Varianum (war of Varus, the provincial governor, who committed suicide during the battle); the Weisenau helmet derived from Gallic designs used by Caesarian soldiers; and the smaller rectangular shield had just begun to replace the older oval version.
First and foremost, this, however, is the centurion at the very peak of the Roman Empire. Here the classic image was born, but it prevailed only for a very short time, maybe the next 50 to 80 years.

And there we are, that's the final posting on this series.
Let me thank you for your comments and encouragement, seriously it kept me motivated all the way. Of course, this project has been by no means an unbearable effort - but still I'm a bit proud to draw it to an end in reasonable time.

That said, you never know, perhaps there will be something to add. I've already an addendum in mind, and one could think of other Roman officers worth a depiction. So, stay tuned!

Painted somewhen 2010. Miniature & alternative shield by Warlord Games.

Centurionum Vol. VIII: Pride & Progress

2011-08-28T20:12:00.000+02:00

A lot of inspiration for this series was drawn from the work of well-known Peter Connolly. Actually, lasting interest in the Roman period (and thereby the Roman military) was founded by his two-volume illustrated biography of Tiberius Claudius Maximus, whose career is documented by an inscription on his tombstone. Most famously, in 106 AD Maximus presented the severed head of the Dacian king Decebalus to Emperor Trajan. Connolly's first book gives an account of Maximus' humble beginnings, from recruitment and legionary training to his first battle. The latter's a clash near Tapae during Emperor Domitian's Dacian war in 88 AD, and this climax is illustrated with a striking picture:

The accompanying text is no less gruesome (especially, with the intended younger audience in mind!), with the centurion cheering on his men and reminding them how to kill an enemy efficiently. "Go for the belly!" is his blunt advice. And, embarrassingly but as with so many male kids, it prompted my imagination and piqued my eventually deeper interest. Therefore I just had to honour this image within my centurion series. Dedicated to this, here's Lucius Aconius Statura, centurion of legio VII Claudia Pia Fidelis, c. 100 AD.

Since most centurion models seem to wear some kind of advanced armour, i.e. coats of mail or scale, I had to improvise a bit. Obviously, Connolly's centurion is clad in segmented armour, and he's also sporting a distinctive kind of vambraces, the so-called manica. The author explains the latter as additional protection prompted by the Dacian's use of two-handed, shield-piercing swords, the falces. But seemingly manicae were in use before and after the Dacian wars. There are nowadays a few suitable models, however, I always had a soft spot for Foundry's Early Imperial Romans. Added to that, one miniature from a legionaries' pack is taking a lunge forward, (coincidentally?) similar to the centurion's pose in Connolly's painting. Granted, the sword is worn wrongly on the right (discussion here), and there are countless centurion models dedicated to this particular period - however, I just wanted my own special version to be as true to the original as possible.

Unfortunately, Connolly's centurion stays nameless throughout the book. Hence I searched for a fitting proxy, and I found another fascinating inscription providing details of a centurion's career in the late 1st to early 2nd century AD. Maybe Statura joined the army already at a higher rank, at least there's no account of posts before the centurionate. Participating in Domitian's Germanic war (83 AD), then a campaign against Sarmatia (92-93 AD) and finally in Trajan's Dacian wars (101-106 AD), Statura was decorated several times with medals and earned the corona vallaris (a crown, rewarded for being the first to enter an enemy's camp). Also, upon his leave emperor Trajan granted him admission to the ordo equester, the Roman knightly class. Statura settled in Italy and became head of priesthood in his new hometown. Quite an achievement, showing the military as a valuable career option for 'civilian afterlife'.

Of course, there is a slight stretch in two aspects:
First, the Dacian war of 88 AD isn't part of the listing. However, as with so many Roman inscriptions, there could always be deliberate or unconscious omissions or simply a lack of "modern reasoning". For example, Statura might have left out campaigns where he didn't excel in particular. Or Trajan's wars in Dacia should be seen as the decisive ones - especially if previous efforts had been undertaken by the never-to-mention-again Domitian!
Second, four legions are given as stations of Statura's career: legio XI Claudia Pia Fidelis, legio IIII Flavia Felix, legio V Macedonica, legio VII Claudia Pia Fidelis. The latter one being the home unit of aforementioned Tiberius Claudius Maximus. Looking at the different units' itineraries, Statura's list of posts could have been in progressive order, for only 11th legion took part in the campaign of 83 AD, the other ones being on guard duty on the Dacian-Sarmatian border for the most part. Hence, the 7th legion would probably be Statura's last post, and he wouldn't have been able to act as Maximus' trainer. In any case, they both shared service in the same legion (the 7th) and in the same theatre (Trajan's Dacian wars). That's as close as I could get.

Besides these somewhat personal preferences, this model should be included here for it shows the Roman army once more in a state of transition. Traditionally, the early 2nd century is seen as the peak of Roman power. In fact, there were quite a few drawbacks the Romans still had to cope with. For example, even if not the nowadays famous "Ninth Legion", most likely the legio XXI Rapax got annihilated in 92 AD by so-called barbarians - actually Sarmatians about to ally with Dacia. Of course, the Roman Empire stroke back each and every time, but they weren't as unchallenged as one might assume - or as those among us (EIR-reenactors in particular), who seem to identify themselves more readily with invincible armies and the heyday of empires, would like to think. However, Rome had to react to those challenges, and she did. So there is progress and change in the Roman army as well, with soldiers adapting themselves to enemy tactics and weaponry, even specialising in certain styles of fighting. Inter alia, that's where 3rd century super-heavy infantry or, in contrast, the lanciarii (skirmishing regulars) came from.

PS: Now I've written my 70th post (with a few more concepts not yet ready). With the blog's 3rd anniversary approaching, I just wanted to give it a short mention. Many thanks to all for your continuous and ever-growing support!

Painted August 2011. Miniature by Wargames Foundry, plastic crest from Wargames Factory.

Centurionum Vol. VII: Hour of Glory

2011-08-25T15:47:00.000+02:00

Before I left home for working a few weeks 'abroad', I had prepared postings for the last few centurions. Now, since there's some spare time now and then, I'll try to draw this series to an end over the next couple of days. Hopefully it won't bore you or, even more dangerous, mislead you to believe that's a pace I can stick to. ;-)

Closing in on the Early Imperial era, we are now travelling on calm waters. No decent coverage of the Roman centurion would be complete without THE image created by a certain literarily talented general, particularly well-known (and well-hated) among countless students of Latin. Therefore the next one is Marcus Petronius, centurion of 8th legion, on campaign with C. Iulius Caesar in Gaul, c. 52 BC.

Those who had to translate Caesar's De bello Gallico in school might remember Petronius. In fact, he's one of the few centurions Caesar mentions by name. Today the arguably best-known are Lucius Vorenus and Titus Pullo, due to their appearance in the TV-show "Rome". However, only the very first scene slightly resembles what Caesar actually tells us about the certamen centurionum (cf. book 5, chapter 44): a "contest between the centurions", first, a show of prowess in single combat and, finally, of comradeship and mutual aid.

Petronius' story comes in a similar vein. In early 52 BC things were not going well for Caesar. Amongst other things he had to deal with rebellious allies, whereas Vercingetorix, leader of Gallic resistance, was gathering support while just sitting in his hideout, the hilltop castle of Gergovia. Unable to confront his opponent in open battle, Caesar tried to at least interrupt the stream of supporters by attacking their camps. However, the plan didn't work out, as the 8th legion ignored Caesar's command to fall back before the Gauls' counterattack. Pushing forward instead and even scaling the city walls, they became soon overwhelmed by the Gauls. One of those leading their men into trouble was Marcus Petronius, and I'll give my - quite literal - translation of Caesar's description (cf. 7, 50).

"M. Petronius, centurion of the same legion [the 8th, as mentioned before], after he had tried to break open the gates, was repelled by a multitude [of enemies]. And, as he had already been wounded several times, he abandoned hope for himself and said to the soldiers of his maniple, who had followed him: 'For I cannot, at the same time, save you and myself, at least I shall fend for your lives, that I, seduced by a desire for glory, have put in jeopardy. Look after yourselves, whilst there's a chance.' Instantly, he threw himself amidst the enemies, killing two and driving the rest back a little from the entrance. To those, who tried to support him, he said: 'To no avail you're trying to aid my life, which's already lost all blood and vigour. Hence, back off, while you can, and withdraw to the legion!' Thus he fell battling and saved his men."

Caesar tells us that 46 (!) centurions were killed at this incident. If a bit 'larger than life', thereby some aspects of the 'Caesarian' centurions are revealed as well: On the one hand they show a strong "desire for glory", thus embodying an ancient ideal of Roman nobility. Military service, like never before, is now a possibility for advancement, for social rise: Attract your commander's attention and he'll back you up by all means! On the other hand, centurions develop a certain esprit de corps, both among each other and with those being in their custody. It's no longer of importance, if you belong to the same district, tribe or to the same constituency. Centurions in particular are professionals, who can be deployed wherever necessary, and who are the most reliable source of military experience for a politician made general - or, for that matter, a general who wants to make politics. So it's understandable that Caesar was disappointed by and, at the same time, quite proud of their performance at Gergovia: Men like Petronius got carried away by their "virtue", but they didn't spare themselves in order to save the day at least for their men - and their commander as well.

In the 1st century BC the combination of the army's ever-growing professionalism and its use as a political factor is becoming explosive. For instance, in 52 BC, with Crassus dead and family bonds with Pompeius dissolved, Caesar's foothold in Roman politics was at risk. The Senate could order him to disband his army and return from Gaul any time. Expressing his support Petronius scribbled CAES(ar) VIC(tor), "Caesar (shall be the) winner", onto his shield. The 8th legion - their actual symbol unknown, but a bull might be more likely - was to become a firm ally of Caesar and his political heir, Octavian, in the following civil wars. In fact, during its whole existence (up to the 5th century AD!) the 8th seems to have chosen the - retrospectively - 'rightful' side almost every time, e.g. opposing Nero or supporting Septimius Severus early on.

Lately there's been some debate what Late Republican soldiers actually looked like. New finds and re-interpretations have doubted the omnipresence of Montefortino helmets (the cooking pot-shaped ones) and chain mail shirts in the 'Caesarian' army, with leather or linen armour, Gallic or Greek helmet designs seemingly being common as well. However, for Petronius I chose a quite traditional looking model - okay, mainly because I wanted to include one of Marc Copplestone's excellent sculpts. (After the demise of Companion Miniatures, despite their short-lived reappearance at Aventine's, one is left with Foundry's part of it.) This particular model also wields a vitis (vine-stick), another item I wanted portrayed at least once, for it was a centurion's distinct sign of rank throughout the Roman period. If the vitis was carried into battle is yet rather dubious, as it was more useful to chastise stragglers on march and sluggards in camp. Lastly, I gave Petronius tunic and crest dyed red, even as there's evidence for shades of blue and white as well. His only 'experimental' feature is the yellow-coloured shield, which adds some contrast.

Now, only two centurions to go…

Painted August 2011. Miniature by Wargames Foundry.

Centurionum Vol. VI: Autumn of Rome

2011-08-22T18:12:00.000+02:00

Now that I've painted the whole lot of models planned and being on vacation, I'm going to draw this series to an end in the next few weeks or even days. As promised, we'll encircle the iconic image of a centurion in the 1st to 2nd century AD a bit further. However, we are getting quite close today with Titus Flavius Romanus, centurion of the 22nd legion, c. 235 AD.

Please note: I've included some external which should enhance the text for those interested.

Unlike the other ones before, Romanus is a historical figure. His name appears on an inscription found at a small Roman fort, part of the border fortification in Germany - which is nowadays simply called 'the' Limes. There Romanus is named the commanding officer (centurio curam agens) of a gang that had just refurbished a decrepit bath nearby, somewhen in the summer of 232 AD. The gang's composition, however, is somewhat unusual: Besides a unit of an auxiliary specialist unit (the exploratores STV, their full name being unfortunately lost), which was most likely garrisoning the fort, there's a rather dubious formation of Britons. Called deditii, they had only recently submitted to Roman rule. Whether these Britons were barbarian warriors, incorporated into the Roman army as irregulars, or just civilians who had been deported to a godforsaken military outpost, is still hotly debated.

Whatever the truth, the inscription shows the army as integral part of Roman everyday life, especially in a highly militarised province like Germania Superior. With soldiers and maybe even civilians employed in building up infrastructure, all under military command. In turn, this command, at least since the late 2nd century, was given to legionaries, i.e. the most 'Romanised' people around. (Coincidentally, Titus Flavius is quite strikingly nicknamed "Romanus"!) As such, Middle Imperial centurions could become literal globetrotters - one centurion's tombstone lists no less than 13 stations after his promotion from the ranks - as well as, to a degree, 'ethnic interpreters', in particular if confronted with irregulars, foreigners and locals. Maybe that's why Romanus adapted to the fashion of wearing chequerboard pattern, which was, in fact, a common design among indigenous Celtic people throughout the Roman period and beyond.

While Romanus stayed in Germany, at least large parts of his original unit, the legio XXII Primigenia Pia Fidelis, were off campaigning with Emperor Severus Alexander in Persia. There they gained the Imperial honorary title of Alexandriana. However, a serious Germanic intrusion in 233 AD prompted the emperor to abort his Persian adventure, rushing with his troops to the Rhine. On Primigenia's return to their home town Mainz, Romanus might have rejoined his former comrades. By then at the latest he would have carried a shield bearing the legion's traditional symbol of a capricorn (which is known from the legion's brick marks). But maybe Romanus' experience in 'foreign affairs' might have gained him a commission as commander of the Eastern bowmen who had been recruited from Persian POWs and brought to Germany as well. It would have been no surprise, if he had adopted an Eastern composite armour of mail and scale as well, showing the ever increasing 'international' state of the Roman army at that time.

Despite Severus Alexander's best efforts, the army griped about him negotiating with barbarians by bribery instead of force. So, eventually, in 235 AD, he was murdered at the instigation of Maximinus Thrax, a military careerist, beloved officer and arguably the first "Barracks emperor". In order to satisfy the troops' thirst for plunder, Maximinus led an expedition deep into Germanic territory. Quite unusually, there seems to be also archaeological evidence for this campaign: Cos only a few years ago archaeologists announced the discovery of loads of Roman and Germanic equipment and weaponry, indicating the site of a battle fought somewhen in the early 3rd century AD. Situated far beyond the Limes, this battle (or rather: side show engagement) attests the actual range of Roman expeditions even after Germanicus' campaign of vengeance around 15 AD.

However, its most thrilling aspect is the intactness of the site itself, enabling archaeologists to reconstruct Roman movement and tactics. Hence, a Roman marching column, probably an advance guard, returning to Mainz in autumn 235 or 236, had to force its way through a Germanic blockade. Instead of a frontal assault, the Romans delivered kind of a 'surgical strike' on a fortified position in the enemy's flank. Under cover of archers and light artillery, the infantry struggled uphill and eventually made a breakthrough - probably followed by Romanus and his bowmen and most likely by cavalry to wrap things up. A masterly use of combined arms and small detachments which should become common practice during the 3rd century, resulting in the army reforms of Diocletian and Constantine with the permanent disposition of most former vexillationes as self-contained units. But that really is another story. ;-)

Okay, I forego my thoughts on leaf and stone colours - enough squeezed into that single miniature! Finally, only some notes on the figure: Romanus might not be the best model of the series, but that's mainly due to sufferings from several repaints. I simply couldn't get it right! The model itself, however, is a very nice, clean sculpt from Armorum & Aquila Miniatures - in my opinion one of the most underestimated manufacturers. If somewhat chunky, the models provide clear and historically accurate detail, which makes at least for an unusual looking Roman army. Surprisingly enough, given the rich and colorful background I might have hinted at, there are not many 3rd century Romans out there. Therefore, even if you're only mildly interested, give it a try - you might like this autumnal Rome!

Painted May to July 2011. Miniature by A&A Miniatures, plastic crest by Immortal Miniatures.

Centurionum Vol. V: Dog of War

2011-08-15T15:23:00.001+02:00

Leaping back and forth once again, today we've landed in the 2nd century BC. Though there seems to be basically no considerable shift in equipment or tactics compared to the preceding century - despite, perhaps, the pilum becoming predominant - the role of the Roman soldier changed a lot. Therefore I wanted to include this period here as well. Ready to soldier on, here's Gaius Varius, nicknamed "Monophthalmus", in the 140's BC.

From the First Punic War in mid-3rd century BC onwards Rome engaged in wars all over the Mediterranean and beyond. Varius is both veteran and product of these 'international' conflicts: He might have been recruited in the 170's, campaigning under Aemilius Paullus who eventually defeated the Macedonian king Perseus at Pydna, 168 BC. Therefore Varius decorated his shield with the term MACED(onicus), "he who has conquered Macedonia".

Most likely, just before Paullus could return to Italy, Varius joined the 'mutiny' of soldiers demanding a bigger share of booty - which the general calmed by unleashing his army on Epirus for free plunder. Of course, this might as well have been quite a deliberate action on Paullus' part, for he gained his men's lifelong support. In this respect, an incident which should become quite common in the decades to come.

Given the frequent Roman plunderings in the East, I originally had a genuinely Greek figure in mind. Maybe a thorakites, a Hellenistic armoured yet 'light' infantryman (sometimes quite arrogantly called an "imitation legionary", though it may well have been the other way around). However, I settled on a Roman model, because at least once I wanted to include the feather plumes, which Polybios, writing in the 2nd century BC, mentions as a distinctive Roman (rather: Italic) fashion. The Apulian design shown here is archaeologically well documented, and it provides a distinction from the certainly simpler patterns worn by ordinary soldiers. At least indicating a 'souvenir' from Hellas, I painted Varius' cloak à la mode of a Macedonian infantry officer, i.e. golden yellow bordered in purple.

Probably during the Macedonian campaign Varius also met Paullus's son Publius, roughly of the same age, who would soon afterwards be adopted into the Scipiones family. This P. Cornelius Scipio Aemilianus was to become not only patron of Polybios but an influential military and political leader, decisively battling Carthage and its former Iberian allies as well as the reforms of a certain Tiberius Gracchus. Hence the men following Scipio Africanus (called "the Younger" to distinguish him from the victor at Zama) got about quite a lot. And this demonstrates one of the biggest problems the army faced: Since it was still based on a militia system, ordinary citizens had to leave their homes for years and, in consequence, be economically supported by their leaders. In turn, this not only brought soldiers into dependance of their generals, even after a war had ended; it also made them almost professionals of war, literally unable to bear civilian life.

I intended to portray Varius as one of these restless wanderers: Covered in North African or Spanish dust, he's keeping his remaining eye on the enemy, the other one lost in just one of the other countless battles he's fought in (hence his Greek-ish nickname, "the one-eyed"). As a sign for his hard-boiled attitude, I chose the scorpion to be depicted on his shield. This symbol was later adopted by the Praetorian guard - originally soldiers like maybe Varius employed as a general's bodyguard.

Final notes on the model: Crusader Miniatures are known for their well-sculpted, easy to paint models. However, 'tis at the expense of detail and animation. So, for example, aside from its somewhat static and chunky appearance, this officer model has his sword on the wrong side. Reason: a centurion didn't take part in the constant exchange of front ranks (remember the opening scene of the first season of "Rome"?), so he could draw his sword just before first impact. His men, however, being locked in dense formation, would only draw when stepping into front line. To prevent their swords getting jammed between themselves and their shields, they simply had to wear it on their right.

Honestly, I'm not picky about that, just for the record. For other than that, it's a really nice model. The cloak took me some time to get it right, and the more I had to work up the courage to give the whole miniature a final drybrush. That said, I like the result, looks dull and dusty as it should. Hopefully you agree.

Anyway, sorry for the wall of text this time again. The later Roman Republic is a bit of a hobby-horse to me. But fear not, there's only one Republican left. Until next time…

Painted August 2011. Miniature by Crusader Miniatures.

A Narrow Escape

2011-08-08T23:33:00.002+02:00

Kind of an interlude this time, to give you a break from centurion silliness. Only a little, anyway. ;-)

Well, cutting a long story short: I recently and finally took the plunge to prime those pesky Perry plastics I had lying around for ages. Maybe I was a bit too lacklustre, for after the dust had settled I discovered the whole unit of 36 Frenchmen, lavishly spray-primed, had turned into a mess! Tiny crumbs all over them, not to be removed, neither by rubbing nor brushing nor bathing in hot water.

Simply put, they'd become unpaintable, and I was at the edge of bining them straightaway to join the primer can already there. However, having calmed down a bit, I reflected my options and noticed the can of Army Painter Dark Tone. I had tried it some time ago, after seeing Dave Imries' great results, but never got the hang of it. Now, with literally nothing to loose I gave it another chance. And here's what I came up with:

Okay, these are only the first 24 men ready for battle. The rest hasn't been based yet, but I think you get the idea. Of course, these aren't nowhere near what I would be happy with under normal circumstances. But, otherwise, for relatively cheap plastics almost completely spoiled - and watched from a distance - they are decent enough, me thinks.

As I said, the technique of Imrie-fame was applied here, with just the base colours blocked in, then brushed on Army Painter and eventually a few highlights added. As a focal point, I spent some extra work on the faces; effort spared by lavishly muddying their trousers.

Initially I bought these, when my interest in the Sharp Practice rules was reignited by an excellent little series of introductory videos to the game. Having bought the "Fondler" supplement, I realised that pretty substantial forces are needed in order to get started. So I decided to make best use of the several plastic boxes available meanwhile. Fortunately, I also discovered the Perry French infantry could be easily turned into pre-1812 troops of the "Royaume de Westphalie" (and that's where I'm living right now!). Therefore I 'painted' them up as the 2nd regiment of the line, admittedly with a bit of artistic license, since I didn't want to make a fuss about these miniatures I had almost written off.

As I said, nothing special. Best thing is that I simply could give up on painting for ages and, after no time, get a decently sized unit out of it. Now to follow are some officers and skirmishers, who are, by advice of the rules, better off single-based. However, before I come to that, I need a rest to overcome the shock.

"Done" August 2011. Miniatures by Perry Miniatures.

Centurionum Vol. IIII: LRDG

2011-08-04T17:59:00.003+02:00

Apologies for the lack of updates recently. Hobby activities have almost completely grinded to a halt. Therefore I’m using the precious spare time for painting things that can be finished in an afternoon or two to keep me going. I’m really in fear of a downtime like last year when eventually I almost gave up my Impetus army due to a lack of time and focus.

So it wasn’t actually intended to play out the Centurion series in a row. However, I’m having fun with it, for it gives me the opportunity to tell a story as well as to search out and forward some background information with just a single miniature. The same is the more true for the following model. When I first saw it, I just had to find an excuse to pick it up – and now I’ve found it.

Entry, M. Aurelius Heliudurus, leading a patrol at the Sassanid frontier, c. 330 AD.

Allowedly, it’s a rather unusual representation of a Roman centurion. However, from archival materials, preserved at Dura-Europos (modern Syria), we can gather that at a time some 20 dromedarii (camel riders) were attached to the auxiliary cohort garrisoned there. It’s not said if they were originally foot soldiers or re-mounted cavalrymen. But given the inaptitude of camels for close combat, it’s most probable that the riders fought dismounted – or avoided engagements due to their supposed primary role as scouts.

Purely conjectural again, I wanted Heliudurus to be a legionary centurion, in particular of the legio I Parthica, a long-time guardian on the Empire’s Eastern frontier. From about 197 until 360 AD the legion was stationed at Singara (modern Iraq), when the city got lost to the Sassanids and the troops were withdrawn to Nisibis and Constantina respectively (both modern Turkey). In the 330’s they very likely took part in preparations for Emperor Constantine’s major campaign against Persia (which eventually never happened). The legions involved would have sent out detachments of exploratores (scouts), regularly attached to each of them. In case of the legio I Parthica these could well have ridden dromedaries, mounts best adapted to a desert environment.

Beyond that, I wanted to portray Heliudurus as a man native to the Near East as well. It’s not unlikely that a unit drew its recruits from their adjacencies, the more if it stayed in one place for such a long time. After Emperor Marcus Aurelius Severus Antoninus, named Caracalla, granted Roman citizenship to each free inhabitant of the Empire in 212 AD – hence the appearance of so many Marci Aurelii in the records after that – the legions, being originally reserved for citizens, could draw on more locals as well. The nickname Heliudurus (obviously corrupted Greek, meaning "gift of the sun") appears on an inscription from Dura-Europos.

Some notes on colours and equipment: Though I got really upset with all the figure’s detailing I couldn’t make sense of, I had some fun converting this Early Imperial Roman figure into a Late Roman centurion. First I chose a lot of different, bright colours. This indicates Sassanid-Persian influences, with them controlling large parts of the Western Silk Road. The mass-produced spangenhelm is also copied from Eastern equipment and a forbear of models used throughout late Antiquity and early Middle Ages. Heliudurus’ rank is shown by a golden yellow plume, the colour taken from a nowadays popular reconstruction by famous German historian and reenactor Marcus Junkelmann. Lastly, the shield bears several motifs used in the 3rd century and perhaps even thereafter. (And yes, under normal circumstances the shield would have been wrapped in a leather cover.) Most prominent is the image of Sol Invictus ("the Invincible Sun") framed by his horses, which bears a slight resemblance to depictions of Christ. For its unclear assignment it possibly survived the 'official' adoption of Christianity by Emperor Constantine – the more likely since Constantine himself wasn’t yet sure-footed in Christian symbolism, placing his own grave amidst the cenotaphs of the Twelve Apostles…

So, for anyone wondering, it’s promised: that’s the most obscure centurion model in my collection. There are still another six models I’d like to enqueue here, most of them in various states of completion, from 'ordered' to 'not yet photographed'. Hope you bear with me.

Painted July to August 2011. Miniature by Warlord Games.

Centurionum Vol. III: Winter's Coming

2011-07-15T16:00:00.007+02:00

As threatened in the second part of our little series we're now going fast forward, right into Late Antiquity. Shown below is Iovianus, braving the elements somewhere on the Rhine frontier in winter 406 AD.

This figure's background is obviously one of the most-cited incidents in scholarship covering the Western Late Roman Empire: the crossing of the Rhine on 31st December 406 (or 405), undertaken at once by large groups of "barbarians" searching for new homes on Roman territory. Traditional view has it, the invaders awaited the river to freeze in order to avoid the guarded Roman bridges, e.g. at Mainz, seat of a high-ranking official, the dux Mogontiacensis. That said, it's debatable if this crossing was the final blow for Roman control of the Rhine frontier - or even if it ever happened.

However, the according illustration in a book for young people about the Migration Period (someone remember the "Au temps des…" series?) could be named a key moment for my lasting interest in Roman and especially Late Roman history. An empire passing off mirrored by the elements - that's drama!

Therefore I decided to capture this moment with one of the latest incarnations of a centurion. Actually, like in the very first installment of this series, we don't know much - if anything - about the centurions' rank and tasks in what seems to be an again completely re-modelled Roman army (more on that transition on another occasion). The reforms in the late 3rd and early 4th century AD obviously led to new ranks and titles which, however, didn't replace older ones at all. Added to that, new units were formed, by both raising them from scratch and splitting up existing ones. Not to mention the parallelization of military and civil ranks - with senator becoming an officer's title, or the administrative rank of a centenarius not to be taken for a centurion. Quite confusing.

I chose this model to represent a centurion for its Intercisa IV helmet, which sports a distinct metal crest, thought to be a badge of rank. Helmets like this one were mass-produced simple designs, rivetted or even stitched together, and perhaps 'visually enhanced' by coating with metal or fabric. I spared this here to show Iovianus in an workaday-kit. The colours and decoration of his tunic and cloak are based upon Graham Sumner's excellent research (see Osprey MAA 390). In adaption to the Germanic climate Iovianus wears some knitted mittens - a technique known from 3rd century Egypt, probably not introduced to Europe before the arrival of the Muslims in Spain - as well as some kind of woolen greaves, which might also offer some protection.

His shield bears the insignia of the Mattiaci iuniores Gallicani as given in the famous Notitia Dignitatum. This account places the unit in the Gallic field army (comitatus) of the Magister Equitum, but it may well be that these chaps were withdrawn border guards (limitanei or ripenses) from the Rhine frontier. At least, the Mattiaci were a Germanic tribe located just opposite to Mainz - so the connection is there. And, less academic, it gives a nice contrast to Iovianus' otherwise muted appearance.

Though this is probably not the very latest centurion in my collection, timewise we're slowly encircling the most prominent or stereotypical image of a centurion, i.e. the one from the Early Imperial period. That's not been intended, but never mind.

Just a final remark on the miniature: Spurred by Lt. Hazel I ordered some samples from Musketeer Miniatures. Despite them being literally huge and chunky compared to my beloved Perry sculpts - mounted ones in particular -, they are very nice figures. Easy to paint due to limited amount of detail, knowledgeably sculpted and cleanly cast. Recommended!

Painted July 2011. Miniature by Musketeer Miniatures.

Бесконечный бег

2011-07-10T20:27:00.000+02:00

Still struggling with my camera, pictures become dark and/or blurred despite my best effort. However, as finished miniatures begin to pile up on my desk, I just squeeze in some more off-project models.

Fortunately nowadays we seem to live in the Golden Age of Miniatures. The more in that TV/movie junkies like me are able to portray their favourite protagonists in model scale. Once more Hasslefree provided us happy (some say sad) geeks with a great opportunity: Tomoko, an unadulterated knock-off of Major Motoko Kusanagi, leading character of the Ghost in the Shell franchise.

Ghost in the Shell, originally a manga dating back to 1989 with several adaptions both to cinema and TV, has highest ratings in my personal top list. I won't go into detail here regarding its (rather complex) content. However, if you like Near Future-themed stories and you've not seen it before - or if you have seen it but felt a bit overwhelmed (my own first and frustrating experience), I highly recommend to give it a (second) try.

To say the least, Kusanagi is a cyborg. The story centres around her actions as a counter-terrorist agent in Near Future Japan as well as the ethical questions caused by being reduced to just a few braincells (the "ghost") enclosed in an artificial body (the "shell"). The consequential reserved attitude towards her body seems to be externalised by Kusanagi's tightly fitted dresses - if any (others may call it 'fan-service'). Here she's wearing a rather modest battle-suit, seen in the second season of the TV series.

Kusanagi's sidekick is Batou. He's also 'cybernetically enhanced' but obviously not a full-scale cyborg. Given his important role in the mangas and animes - and my sympathy with the character - I wanted to portray him as well. Although there's no dedicated model for him, once again Hasslefree came to aid. I already got one of their Harby figures, that found employment as a Hellboy-incarnation. I don't know if the sculpt was originally intended to possibly being turned into a Batou look-alike as well, but to me it's perfect. I only had to plug in two tiny balls of greenstuff to represent Batou's distinct artifical eyes, and he was done. Other than Kusanagi his haircut and clothing stems from the first movie. Furthermore Batou is aproximately of the same size as Kusanagi, which isn't appropriate to the film, but I can live with that.

Nothing fanciful about the basing this time. Just a slight resemblance to Japanese street markings, not to distract from the miniatures themselves. All I need now is a decent Tachikoma spider tankette...

Hope you don't mind the last postings being not as 'beefy' as those featuring whole units. Maybe it's a bit back to the roots of this blog, when I started with just a few miniatures per post, too. That said, I'm off to painting units again soon, the more since Lt. Hazel and me have finally decided upon a theme for our participation game at next year's Tactica. I don't know if I can hold my breath like with the Argonauts for 2011, so be prepared for some premature previews.

Painted April 2011. Miniatures by Hasslefree Miniatures

Centurionum Vol. II: Republican Rioters

2011-07-01T21:43:00.000+02:00

Following up the first installment of my Centurion project, here's the second batch. This time I'd like to present the two Acilii brothers, Balbos ("stammerer") and Vaala ("wall climber"), c. 280 BC.

So we're making a considerable leap forward, right into the so-called Middle Republican Era. The Roman military had undergone quite a few changes since its formation as a phalanx. Most noticably indicated here is the general adoption of oval/rectangular shields (scutum). Originally borne by infantrymen fighting in open order and having to protect themselves on their own, these scuta were better suited for the more flexible (i.e. the manipular) formations, the Romans most likely copied from the Italic hilltribes while making war on them. (Similarly, chainmail was introduced by the Celtic invaders from the North.)

The rank of centurion had now certainly become a military one. Still, these leaders were elected, but probably no more by their comrade but by the tribunes on general assembly. Six military tribunes made up one legion's senior staff, so it seems only reasonable that they would appoint their subordinate officers. Maybe it's also because the tribunes being orignally deputies of each Roman tribe were acquainted best with their people's spokesmen and therefore knew whom to elect. This is represented here by Vaala posing in full parade kit on the Campus Martius.

He's wearing a white tunic, said to be a ceremonial dress in later times, but mostly to underline his state as a candidate (from Latin candidus for white). Valaa's helmet follows hellenistic fashion, whereas the scale armour seems to have been common in Italy beforehand. His shield is marked "IIII" (the cut indicating that four out of six tribunes had voted for him so the remainder haven't had to be asked) and "II FAB", which means he's send to Fabricius' second legion (a consul C. Fabricius called "one-eye" battled with Italic tribes in the 280s and 270s). I took some artistic license in placing Vaala on paved ground, which seems rather dubious for Roman plazas before the Augustan period.

Each centurion the tribunes elected (centurio prior) had the right to nominate a colleague (centurio posterior). Both centurions were in charge of the maniple's two centuries, one commanding the front, one the backward half-unit (centuria prior and posterior). Balbos represents such a loyal, if somewhat inferior comrade. Despite historical facts I could imagine these men as brothers in arms, one being even of lesser social state, but now with a chance to litterally fighting his way upwards.

Therefore I portrayed Balbos in cheaper battle dress. A more valuable item is his bronze helmet, which has been tinned in order to look like silver, a common practice in this time. I tried to capture the reflective surface by giving it a blue wash. The shield bears one of the cryptic abbreviations the Romans loved so much; it resolves E(nos) M(armor) I(uvato) ("Mars help us"), a line from a very old chant to Mars, the Carmen Arvale. The use in profane contexts is, as well as the shield designs, as always purely conjectural. But, to be honest, that goes for most we seem to know about this time…

And that concludes the second part of our journey through the history of Roman centurions. The next models are already standing in line, however I most probably have to break up the chronology next time. Balbos and Vaala could only be interjected because of the great service of Aventine Miniatures. Not fond of the miniatures judging from the website I ordered them blind - and was very pleasantly surprised by their quality. Honestly, they had no flash and online a minor mouldline which wouldn't be noticable anyway. Some poses look a bit awkward, but in general they make for excellent, realistic models for an interesting, but under-represented period of Roman history. Two thumbs up!

Painted June 2011. Miniatures by Aventine Miniatures.

More Bang for the Buck

2011-06-17T19:58:00.000+02:00

Only recently have I finished the next unit for my Habsburg army. What can I say? Never thought it would take me so long to build a (Basic) Impetus force, which looks rather small on paper. Somehow I lost some verve last year and haven’t fully recovered yet. Thus it was clearly the better option to restart with an all-new and, at the same time, tiny unit. Added to that, the figures used here first and foremost sparked my interest in the whole range.

Anyway, enough of the fuss, on with pictures:

Obviously, here we have some skirmishers. The army list I’m using allows for one base of handgunners, and to me they are quite iconic for this period of experimenting with new tactics. Handheld guns were employed in European warfare as early as the beginning 14th century. The earliest surviving example from Germany is the so-called „Tannenbergbüchse“. It was excavated at a small castle in Hessen, which had been razed in 1399. So it seems very likely that the Habsburgs would have been able to obtain handguns in 1386 as well.

Commonly a handgun consisted of a small barrel mounted on a wooden staff. The pole could be pushed into the ground or held underarm or like a modern panzerfaust. Before the invention of a trigger mechanism a second man was needed to ignite the gunpowder. Though being very slow to reload and dangerous to the fireteams themselves, handguns were cheap to produce and quite easy to handle. In early times the metal pieces were made of bronze, and therefore the steel barrels portrayed here might be a bit too advanced. However, in the famous German Bellifortis manuscript, dating from around 1400, a handgun is pictured in the same colour as the firing soldier’s steel armour. That said, if this remains the only evidence I’m probably going to change the colour later anyway.

Many people playing Impetus seem to deploy as few models as possible. Bases of skirmishers in particular are prone to this practice. Personally I’m still undecided, if I was comfortable with two or three models representing a whole unit. Of course, that’s just me. With the handgunners I saw the opportunity to set up a little diorama instead. I remembered an intriguing vignette provided by the Perrys in their Samurai range: It shows a noble warrior reaching out for an arquebus, which in turn is presented to him by one of his retainers. I quite like the idea of a progressive-minded nobleman trying his hand at new military developments. (By the way, that’s an image Emperor Maximilian I would cultivate for himself a hundred years later.) I found an expedient miniature in Charles d’Albret (sorry, chap!) from the French High Command at Agincourt. His heradlry was removed and his tabard repainted in the colours of House Schnewlin. The Schnewlin (or Snewlin) were patricians from the city of Freiburg im Breisgau; two of them were killed at Sempach. As city dweller I could imagine them being more liberal towards such ‚unchivalrous’ weaponry like guns.

Picking up the thread I gave the common soldiers some urban heraldry – a red cross for Freiburg, black and yellow for Schaffhausen. Both cities contributed to Leopold’s army in 1386, and as municipal authorities are always struggling with finances, sending some inexpensive handgunners is a likely way to go.

That concludes the story so far. If you have any comments or questions, please come forward. Also, suggestions what Impetus unit should be next are very welcome! Hopefully I’ve taken up some steam again. But first, to my backlog of things to get finished.

Painted May to June 2011. Models by Perry Miniatures.

AWI: Trooping the Colours 2011

2011-05-29T18:41:00.002+02:00

A bit later than expected I finally dragged out my AWI collection for a 'parade shot'. Let's say they just set out, after a fair bit of skirmishing, for a full-blown summer campaign.

For another reason that's quite fitting, me thinks, since this day in American Revolution history saw the Battle of Waxhaws in 1780. From there the term "Tarleton's Quarter" arose, as on that occasion the (in)famous Col. Barnastre Tarleton didn't prevent his men from cutting down Virginian soldiers, who had already surrendered.

So be it, here's the picture.

Click to enlarge

You might notice two minor alterations: First, the Mirbach regiment got an additional base, raising it to 16 men, until now the standard size for all my regular infantry units. Second, I've bought and painted a first piece of terrain for this particular conflict; it's the farm house from Perry's. Nothing special about it, perhaps it'll be 'individualised' later on. For now I just wanted something to add flavour to the table in case I shall get to actual gaming.

For the photo I distributed the light infantry among my regulars in order to bring them up to five bases each (which should be the next step anyway). By doing so I'm already able to field regiments sized for big scale rulesets like Black Powder (which, in turn, has only small units of skirmishers). That's quite a nice expectation.

As you can see, at this stage I have at hand: 2 British Regiments of the Line, 1 Hessian Regiment of the Line, 1 British Light Infantry battalion, 1 Hessian Jäger-Corps, 1 British Light Dragoon detachment, 2 British RA batteries and 2 brigadiers. Regarding casualty markers I seem a bit optimistic - more to come. In total that's three units added since the last result in December 2009. Obviously it's not a fast- but steadily paced project. ;-)

PS: As a thank-you for your continued support I'll add a poll for the next unit. Please feel free to comment on your voting here as well.

Centurionum Vol. I: Etruscan Warrior

2011-05-27T16:03:00.001+02:00

Rather coincidentally this post is dedicated again to a single miniature. As said before, recently I've acquired and discovered quite a few models which are not meant to result in larger projects. However, today I'm going to start a little series. Some might remember me mentioning my love for Roman centurions. There's something about their appearance, both in attire and historical background, that appeals to me greatly. Therefore I'm collecting all kinds of centurion models, up to now mainly in 28mm. My collection isn't nearly comprehensive, yet I don't want to add just more miniatures to the pile of unpainted lead (or plastic respectively). So, choosing a more orderly approach I'll make up a small tour de raison through Roman military history and show centurions from different periods, areas and units. Perhaps sometimes there will be more than one figure - especially since the 1st to 2nd century AD incarnations are by far my favourites.

We start off at the very beginning. This is Poplios Vibenna, leader of suodales (distinguished for "thugs"), sometime in the 450s BC.

Click to enlarge

Apparent by his large round shield (clipeus), he's normally fighting as a hoplite. The Etruscan adopted phalanx tactics, designed after the Greeks from southern Italy, early on, likely in the 7th century BC. This new kind of warfare was also introduced to Rome, being an Etruscan lead city, approximately at the same time. In the 6th century the Roman army consisted of upper class warriors in hoplite's panoply, supported by horsemen and lighter armed citizen soldiers. If the term centuria (a hundred men) and the derived centurio (leader of hundred) already had military connotations, is rather debatable. In particular since our sources are by majority literal reconstruction from later times.

Click to enlarge

Maybe tribal organisation and personal bonds were still predominant in the early Roman army, with noblemen (patricii) maintaining bands of warriors made up of followers (clientes). Most likely these groups had leaders elected by their brothers in arms, as this practice, if limited, was still in use even in the Imperial period. Since they fought among their men in the line (cf. the Greek term lochagoi for infantry officers) and lead from the front, they probably were recognisable by a turned crest (crista transversa) - which would become a centurion's trademark.

Click to enlarge

Other than that mentioned, Vibenna is equipped with a stylish Pseudo-Corinthian helmet (perhaps of Apulian origin), a curved sword (kopis) and some kind of quilted leather armour (depicted in an Etruscan burial site). So maybe he's rather a leader of light infantrymen, but I wanted him to carry a hoplite's shield in order to add a small freehand. The motif is taken from an illustration in Peter Connolly's "Greece and Rome at War". The model's also one of my first trials to muddy a miniature - I thought it fit, since these guys were mostly involved in dirty business like cattle or women raiding…

Click to enlarge

If you want to know more about early Roman warfare, issue No. IV.1 of the Ancient Warfare Magazine is highly recommended. Actually, Vibenna's sculptor took inspiration from its cover illustration.
Since this model is the earliest incarnation of a centurion I can think of (apart from Villanovan warriors, of course), following up are better known examples of centurion - if not appearing in chronological order, perhaps.

Painted May 2011. Miniature by Gorgon Studios, shield from a plastic hoplite by Immortal Miniatures.

Answer is 24

2011-05-18T20:44:00.001+02:00

It is kind of a one-shot, so the following model gets its own posting.

Just a few words of explanation beforehand: One could have noticed already that I'm an outright TV & movie junkie - more distinguished people call it a "cinéaste". Hence I'm also a huge fan of the 24 series. Its whole approach, from the tension in storytelling to its ethical double bind, captured me early on. Surprisingly enough, I couldn't imagine how to properly transfer all these aspects to the tabletop. However, I just wanted to paint something up as a homage to this series which's still one of my favourites.

For quite some time I had this model in mind, because it's reminiscent of a typical Jack Bauer pose. The miniature shows both mental and physical tension combined with agility - or more simply put: I just love this sculpt. It's one of Hasslefree's Kevs, most probably meant to be deployed in a 'Zombiecalypse' setting (which isn't my cup of tea, to say the least). Originally, this chap is bald, so I had to add hair. Granted, I'm no sculptor, but it turned out decent enough me thinks.

Paintingwise I tried to resemble the muted colours mostly sported by Jack Bauer in the series. Also I limited the colour palette to reflect the rather depressing, shabby and backyard-like urban ground, wherein most episodes are set. This is a bit broken up by the hair colour - obviously, Jack Bauer is rather dark blonde -, his quite extravagant gun, the wear marks of a "very hard day" and, of course, a recurring feature, the emptied soft drink can.

Now there are yet some other vignette models I've started with. It's a nice relief from painting figures for actual gaming, because I don't feel obliged to start on whole units or complementary stuff. Furthermore, it allows for experimenting with techniques, colours and the like. Thus, as always, I'd love to hear what you think.

Painted May 2011. Model by Hasslefree Miniatures.

Virginian Continentals

2011-05-14T15:56:00.000+02:00

Lately I bought me a new camera since I needed a half-decent one for work. However, I still need to get used to it, and therefore I've not yet taken pictures of the things that got finished in the meantime. Mainly 10mm's and a couple of vignette-like miniatures which won't make it into full-blown gaming. Otherwise I'm pondering in particular about recently released rulesets and if to buy them or not; Hail Caesar, Clash of Empires or even 7TV, to name but a few. Maybe more on this in a dedicated posting (or rambling).

Anyway, since I'm determined to finally bring out my AWI forces onto the gaming table, I've agreed with a friend upon painting up at least two units of American patriots - or rebels respectively - for each of us until our next "year end meeting". So here's the first one:

This units could represent almost any newly raised regiment of the Continental army. Its uniform was inspired by Giles Allison's interpretation of the 10th Virginia, and to simplify matters they're designated as "Virginians" by now. What appealed to me the most was the colour combination of grey and yellow, for which I used Foundry's Granite 31 and Ochre 4 pallettes. If you're bold enough or just want a brighter grey, use 31C lavishly straight from the pot; I myself toned it down with a wash of heavily thinned 31A.

Among these are the very first AWI miniatures I ever purchased - originally intended to be used as militiamen in the French & Indian Wars. Compared to more recent Perry releases (owned by Foundry), some of them look almost cartoony. Nevertheless, I like their general characterful and ragtag appearance, for it gives them individuality, especially in contrast to the British machinery of severely drilled soldiers. Whatever the truth is: fighting for personal freedom and by individual choice is an icon in traditional AWI historiography.

In trying to enhance this appearance I got a bit carried away: Firstly, I mixed and matched Foundry's "Minutemen" and "Uniformed Militia" with Perry's "Continental Command". Thus almost every model wears a different garment, some even civilian dress. Also, since I'd read that a considerable part of the American army was made up of former (or actual) slaves, one of the more 'frugally clad' men was painted dark-skinned (back row, with straw hat). Beyond, as I was short of one model in firing pose I drafted a British sergeant into service, who's now bawling out a straggler in the rear. Obviously a uniform doesn't make a soldier...

As always, the unit will receive reinforcements soon, though possibly I'll have to limit that to a base of marksmen (two skirmishers, that is). In the meantime I've finished the fourth base for my Mirbach Hessians, which brought all my British army units up to four bases each. Time for another parade, it seems.

Next step will be a fifth one perhaps - or maybe another flank company instead? I'd like to read your suggestions or wishes; if comments amass I'll set up a poll as well.

Painted March to May 2011. Models by Wargames Foundry and Perry Miniatures, flag by GMB Designs.

Can't take the sky

2011-04-22T14:54:00.001+02:00

Waiting for ages to be photographed I finally took pity of the following figures today. I'd ordered them quite a while ago after a strange coincidence: I had watched the phenomenal "Firefly" series for the second or third time. (If you haven't heard of it yet - heaven forbid! - head over to your favourite DVD dealer immediately and GET IT RIGHT NOW!) On the other hand my research on (ultra-)modern warfare rules - to be used with my Near Future Russian partisans - had led me to Ambush Alley Games and a preview version of their "Tomorrow's War" rulebook. A Sweetwater fellow advised me of Ground Zero Games who produce also a set of not-Serenity crewmembers in 15mm - and I was sold.


The core crew (left to right): Jayne, Mal, Zoë, Wash & Kaylee [Click to enlarge]

As you know, I'm trying my hand on different scales this year. And these miniatures were some kind of a first or renewed venture into 15mm's. First off, I went a bit crazy about painting details onto them. For army projects this would be pointless, I know, but since these are intended for skirmish games it seems managable. Still, being a 'shot in the dark' I'm not overly confident of the paintjob and the basing as well. Thus comments on that are more than welcome!

The passengers (left to right): Inara, Sheperd Book, Simon & River
[Click to enlarge]

Originally, I wanted to wait until I'd finished additional bits and pieces to stage them in a decent setting - opponents, huts and, of course, cows for a start. Having already bought some of this stuff I find my interest concentrated on other projects recently (AWI and 10mm that is). At least I've just managed to add a small vehicle, loosely resembling the 'Mule' quad from the original series.

The Mule
[Click to enlarge]

Maybe there's more next up, if interest shifts back.
PS: I've experimented with lighting and background. It didn't work out quite as planned, so I have to apologise (again!) for the mixed bag of photo quality.

Painted 2010. Models by Ground Zero Games.

Royal Artillery 6pdr (2nd ed)

2011-03-09T18:02:00.002+01:00

Three weeks after Tactica 2011 my first purchases are painted! Admittedly, it’s not all of them, and also I miraculously refrained from buying a lot. Having the whole Perry range within reach was, however, a major temptation. So I ended with the absolute minimum, one single blister for my AWI British. Since it’s only a few models, I couldn’t resist to squeeze them into my painting plans already set. Therefore today I may proudly present the second gun for the British batteries.

You’ve already spotted the green uniforms. These are a nodd to the New Jersey Volunteers, one of the biggest and most famous Loyalist regiments. During the Philadelphia campaign their 2nd battalion supported the heavily undermanned Royal artillery. Granted, I couldn’t find first-hand accounts for if they served merely by manhandling or actually operating the guns.

Anyway, the scene almost suggested itself: With one man ‚fine-tuning’ the muzzle while his comrades look on, I immediately thought of a RA officer showing the rope to those unlearned colonists. To underline the officer’s authority he’s portrayed in full dress and powdered wig. I also added the RA’s distinctive white cartridge pouch, impatiently thrown off by its wearer in order to interfere just in time.

The Provincials’ uniform is rather conjectural. A large shipment of clothing to be distributed among the Loyalist regiments arrived early in 1777 at New York City. It is most likely that the New Jersey’s received these green and white uniforms, although they confusingly switched to red faced blue in 1778 and/or 1780. Not to speak of the possibility that the 2nd battalion marched south in their former i.e. civilian dress…

Okay, no further details, the more as there’s an extensive account available by „The On-Line Institute for Advanced Loyalist Studies“.

Encouraged by some successes lately (see the last miniatures from the last posting), I tried to varnish the figures. Used the same procedure – it’s almost like a tea ceremony – but got disappointing results this time again. Some parts became rough as sandpaper, others are still sparkling like hell. Of course, it is not as visible from a distance as under close camera, so the varnish hasn’t spoilt my effort completely. However, I’m still grumbling.

Painted February to March 2011. Models by Perry Miniatures.

To Scale or Not to

2011-03-01T15:10:00.002+01:00

Some ramblings this time.

Like I mentioned in my New Year's Resolution post, this year should see me venturing into new scales. Apart from an early effort with back then all-new Flames of War in 15mm - soon abandoned due to a lack of historical interest - and commission work with 20mm figures, I have no experiences with anything smaller than 28mm miniatures.

Recently I had to realise that my capacities both of time and storage room keep melting down. However, at the same time I felt the urge to play with armies again (after my early beginnings with huge, however awfully painted Warhammer armies).

I came up with two solutions:

First, playing grand scale battles with small sized armies. Impetus became the magic word here: Being able to field as many (or as few) miniatures as you want to stand for your troops is a considerable advantage for someone painting slowly like me. The only problem I have faced so far is the somewhat brittle appearance of such armies in 28mm. I'm totally fine with moving dioramas, though it's hard to avoid overstretching this specific look. Maybe my imagination is too limited, but I have my issues with two or three figures representing a horde of skirmishers.

So there came in, second, playing grand scale battles with small scale miniatures. Admittedly, I'm a sucker for the detailing of 28mm figures. Anyway, I was often put off by the lack of the same detail on smaller miniatures - or at least my inability to paint them properly. Therefore I had to find a compromise: on the one hand finding miniatures that were still appealing to me aesthetically; on the other hand using a scale small enough not to be tempted to paint too many details.

Click to enlarge

The shot above pictures the whole misery. Currently on my desk there are 28mm crossbowmen for my 14th century Impetus army, shown here primarily for scale and to stand in for the approach mentioned first. Next are 15mm knights from Legio Heroica that sparked my interest from first sight. My dear friend Tellus of Sweetwater forums fame was kind enough to send me some samples of Pendraken's 10mm Seven Year's War range. And lastly there are 6mm Landsknecht figures from Irregular.

Having painted these samples, here are some thoughts:

15mm can definitely provide good detail. In fact the miniatures almost look like scaled down 28mm ones - and that's also their main issue. Of course, I could stand away from painting all those tiny bits in order to speed up and building armies that deserve this title. But even if I succeeded, I would know that I could have done it better. Silly me!

6mm didn't really tempt me with these issues, though I was impressed by the level of detail still possible on such tiny figs. However, I found it hard to choose my approach. One has to be quite bold with colours in order to visually 'shape' the miniatures. Only the brightest colour schemes seem to work - at least from a distance, for looking at them closely while painting almost made me break up. For sure, these miniatures are meant to be amassed and they can be painted astonishingly fast. But after all I had little fun.

So then, 10mm. First impressions were quite similar to my 6mm experience. Anyway, after reading this inspiring tutorial and a few brush strokes painting turned out more enjoyably. These miniatures have a lot of individual character and good clear detail, yet reduced to a minimum. I'm still in the process of getting accustomed to the altered painting techniques necessary at this scale.

Thus, so far I'm most pleased with the 'cost-value ratio' of 10mm figures. Surely it depends not the least on the quality of the miniatures themselves. Though I'm now willing to invest a few bucks and see if I can cope with 10mm on the long run. Therefore, Seven Year's War, here I come!

In the meantime, let me know what you think. Or tell me about your experiences with different scales. I'm very interested!

Painted February 2011. Models by Perry Miniatures, Legio Heroica, Pendraken and Irregular Miniatures.

Jason and the Argonauts

2011-02-21T14:29:00.003+01:00

Last weekend saw the Tactica 2011 show. Finally, for some of us. In short, we had a blast! And I still haven't recovered enough to list all the impressions I got. However, I think that our presentation provided good fun for those who joined the Argonauts in search for the Golden Fleece. Here's a big thank you to all participants and, to be sure, to my project partners!

And this is whereby it all started.

Admittedly, this nice little sheep skin was provided by my mate Jan (Lt. Hazel). He also did the basing and varnishing for all the following figures, painted by me over the last months. So, a big 'thank you' and all the glory to you, chap!

First off, the hero himself: Jason, true heir to the throne of Thessaly, adventurer and conqueror of the Golden Fleece. Here he's accompanied by his sidekick Argos, who build a ship (with divine support) famously named after him. The lady to Jason's left is Medea, princess of Kolchis, indued with witchcraft and desparately in love with Jason.

Maybe even more famous than the Argonauts' leader: Herakles, demigod and strongman. Followed by his hetairoi: Iolaos (left), Herakles' personal driver, and Hylas, his weapon bearer.

With an expertise at monster hunting, second only to Herakles: Theseus (left), slayer of the Minotaur, and Bellerophontes, victorious in battling the Chimera.

Then there are (left to right) the Dioskouroi, Kastor and his immortal brother Polydeukes. The latter is known for his abilities as a pugilist and here portrayed accordingly. However, they are rivalled by another pair of twins, Idas and Lynkeus. The relationship between those four is ultimately doomed.

The only woman aboard is Atalante, nimblest huntress of Hellas and an excellent runner. She (or better said, her virginity) is protected by Meleagros, her immortal and loyal lover - platonic, of course!

Ballistic support is also provided by a pair of archers, Poias (left) and his son Philoktetes. Both are sparkling sharp shooters, although Philoktetes' fame is still to be earned.

Kalais and Zetes are the sons of Boreas, the Northern wind. Their father fitted them with purple wings. Although both joined Jason's journey, I've only portrayed Kalais (left). Here he's shown in company of Orpheus, Greece's most famous bard.

Although great heroes in their own right, some less known crew members (from left to right): Nestor in his teens; Akastos, son of evil Pelias, a spy; Telamon, conqueror of Troy, long before Agamemnon's attempt; Tiphys, coxswain of the Argo; Peleus, shall foolishy fail to invite Eris to his wedding party.

Again, from left to right: Aethalides, the Argonauts' herald; Periklymenos, a shape shifter; Amphiaraus, a famous seer; Laertes, father of Odysseus; Admetos, homeboy of Apollon; Mopsos the Lapith, battled the Kentaurs.

On their way to Kolchis the Argonauts must pass the Symplegades, clashing rocks that will crush the unprepared travellers. However, the seer Phineus knows how to get through safely. And he surely would be quite grateful for any help himself, for he's badgered by a pair of Harpyies, send by vengeful father Zeus.

If they succeed, the Argonauts will finally reach the Black Sea and the shores of Kolchis. There they will be welcomed by king Aietes (second from the left) and his royal household.

Memorials of times and heroes long gone by line the ways of the Argonauts, spurring them on to even greater deeds.

And this concludes the survey at my contribution to our participation game. Of course, we had more miniatures aboard, since we played four different scenarios: Think for example of Talos, the giant made of bronze, or the dragon protecting the Golden Fleece. However, these items weren't painted by me, and I don't want to adorn myself with borrowed plumes.

If you want to see pictures of the actual game being played, watch the Tactica website, which will be updated with photos soon.

One last piece I'd prepared and a testimony that we offered quite a lot of play-throughs, is the beleaguered dice board - with appropriate dice, of course. For anyone wondering, the dish is inscribed with the first lines from the Argonautika by Apollonios of Rhode.

Us wargamers are crazy, aren't we?

Painted October 2010 to February 2011. Models by Wargames Foundry and Otherworld.

Draft Horses

2011-02-06T17:43:00.001+01:00

Just to give a sign of life - if you haven't watched my updates via Twitter - a rather short post. You might have guessed it, I was quite busy at preparing stuff for our participation game. Honestly, almost nothing else could creep up to my painting desk for it was completely occupied by mythological men and creatures.

That's finally over now! Just the other day I finished the very last miniatures for this project. But I'm not yet relieved, because (even if I'm going to burst meanwhile) I cannot show you the results. It's a matter of politeness to all those visitors and my co-producers: I don't want to spoil the experience.

However, I've been playing around with Adobe Suite (God bless my employer!) and tried my hand at creating all kinds of flyers and posters for our game at Tactica. I've produced nothing too ingenious, that's for sure. But here's a first draft for a 'traffic stopper', giving some background for those interested.

Click for an enlarged version

I haven't yet worked out a full translation; not even sure if we'll provide one. Anyway, it simply lists a few facts about the myth and its (possible) historical background as well as some notes on the Harryhausen-movie and our interpretation.

As I said, it's a first draft, and I wanted to show it here just for the fun of it. Maybe some of you, dear visitors, are able to read it or feeling even inspired to visit us in Hamburg. If for nothing else, now you should easily recognise us there... ;-)

Silent Nights

2010-12-24T15:07:00.000+01:00

First of all, no pretty piccies this time! :-o

You might have noticed, I'm currently on holiday. Therefore only a hobby-related summary of the closing year. 2010 has been quite busy, fortunately not only at work. I've played more games than expected and managed to push on some projects, both by painting up and clearing out miniatures, old and new. Consequently, although on paper I've acquired a lot of new toys, my lead mountain has eroded considerably.

☆☆☆

As you might remember my New Year's Resolution, here's what I achieved in 2010:

Late Medieval Impetus: After sound progress a combination of summer heat, supply difficulties and other occupations deprived this project of its (literal) impetus. By now I'm searching for inspiration to continue. But fear not! The battle's not lost yet.

American Revolution: Both Light Dragoons and Hessian regulars were done as promised. The (not really) traditional year-end parade had to be postponed, since some Hessian reinforcements didn't arrive in time. No progress on the Patriot's cause, I'm afraid.

Greek mythology: I completed a party of beastmen and finished off painting some more elven maids as well (no photos yet). However, in some way the project morphed into our 'Jason and the Argonauts' project for next year's Tactica, although there's actually no more need for goatmen and nymphs. In any case I will eventually own a nice collection of mythological figures. Call it a win-win.

Rogue Trader: I purchased a few figures, but lost interest somehow as I became drawn towards more realistic settings than the "grimdark" future of 40k. Therefore my energies went into Near Future Russians and leafing through all kinds of '(ultra-)modern warfare' rules.

☆☆☆

Admittedly, I had no high hopes for 2010, so I really couldn't get disappointed. Next year will probably see even more labour and less hobby time, not the least since I have to force working on my dissertation. Apart from that, a few things I'd like to finish/further/begin in 2011:

Jason and the Argonauts: Okay, that's a no-brainer, since I must draw things together till February, when we will stage our participation game. Approximately ten figures to go plus any supernumeraries, bits and pieces.

American Revolution: Who didn't expect that. I haven't decided on specific units or factions yet, so suggestions are welcome.

Small scale armies: Yes, you've heard it here first: Due to a lack of time, space, money and - not the least - of opposing armies I'm going down in scale. Nowadays there are so many high-quality ranges in 20, 15, 10 or even 6mm out there, that I have been finally tempted to give them a try once again. I'm tending to Medieval and SciFi miniatures, but also my interest in the Seven Years' War has been reignited lately. I promise an update as soon as possible.

Campaign game: Wars were rarely won or lost by decisive battles but by grand scale strategy. So I tried my hand several times at planning campaign games and got lost each and every time. Recently, boardgaming has become a major source of inspiration. It gives me a bit of focus, while things like a little roleplaying could be easily added to this core later on. Furthermore armies for tabletop battles are rather optional and don't need to be assembled from the onset. I'm going to start with solo-play, either in an AWI / SYW or a High Medieval setting.

And that's it. Not quite a cunning plan, as I said.

Before I go, I'd like to wish all visitors, readers, followers and commentators a Merry Christmas - or whatever you prefer at this time of the year - and a very Happy New Year. Many thanks for your ongoing support, which has always been of great encouraging and inspirational value to me. Please stay with me - I'm looking forward to an exciting new year, ready to be shared with you all!

Cheers

Sire Godefroy aka Tilman

Hwæt!

2010-12-04T11:40:00.001+01:00

Despite being literally overrun by work recently, few weeks ago I had the chance to play some games with an old friend of mine. Mutual visits are scarse, so it's both a need and an opportunity to stage something special on these rare occasions.
This time I got inspired again by a film I'd seen a couple of weeks before, named "Beowulf & Grendel". The movie deals with the well-known saga not in a particular original way. However, it shows the heroes as real men, set in a quite authentic looking world. It immediately reminded me of John Howe's excellent artworks, who placed his vision in the Vendel or Viking era.

Anyway, the original legend is said to be set in the early 6th century AD. And here, it sparked my interest. As you might remember, a while ago we played a little campaign based on the German Nibelungensage, which, in turn, shares with Beowulf the migration period as its background. So quickly I came up with the idea to put together some scenarios for Beowulf's first adventure. And here I present to you the miniatures I digged out at Lead Mountain:

Wiglaf, Beowulf & Unferth (upper photo, left to right)

These figures had been dwelling in their cavern for quite a long time. I can't remember how they were originally called. Now they seem to be labelled as "Tanatus Miniatures", available exclusively from North Star. Excellent figures, top-notch quality both in sculpting and casting, and with very fine details. Admittedly, they are true scale models, their proportions differ significantly from other manufacturers.

Hondscioh, Ælfhere & Fryd (upper photo, left to right)

The miniatures are said to be inspired by carvings, which show a battle between Picts and Saxons. That's maybe also why they are all positioned in a similar way, with weapons raised or in a shieldwall-like formation. For some people that might be a drawback.

Scaife (left) & Fitela

Paintingwise, clothing follows Late Roman or Germanic fashion, and shield patterns are taken from various sources, most sporting generic Dark Age symbols. The Beowulf saga itself stems from a Christian background, but since the 6th century still was a period of religious transition, I interspersed pagan signs, like ravens and dragons, as well.

Example of homebrewn stat card

Last but not least, I had a hard look for a model that could represent Grendel. There are many different interpretations of what is given in the original text. Some describe him as a simply distorted man, others as a giant-sized monster etc. Eventually I chose to use a troll, produced by Otherworld, as portrayed in the D&D roleplay games. I opted for this model because of its deformed and brutish, yet brittle appearance.

Grendel

Basing was a real pleasure this time. I exclusively used tufts of grass (provided by MiniNatur) which come in different lengths and colours. To this clumps of birch seeds (if that’s the correct term) were added. The bubbling swamp on Grendel’s base was made of small silicate pearls, which you find normally in bags attached to moisture-sensitive products, and several coats of gloss varnish.

Game-specific encounter markers

The game played very well. We used, again, Rattrap’s Broadsword Adventures straight from the book, but stripped the magic. Unfortunately, I became so involved as a game master that I couldn’t take photos as well. Maybe I’ll re-stage a few scenes – as there were some quite dramatic ones with Beowulf panicking early on, Wiglaf saving his lord at the last moment from Grendel’s onslaught and so on. In the end we rolled for ‚dramatic value’ (a homebrewn feature) and at least achieved a ‚gripping story’ - second only to an ‚epic’. I take it as a good sign. ;-)

Painted in October/November 2010, models by Tanatus, Otherworld and Reaper.

Black Sheep

2010-11-20T14:43:00.000+01:00

First, a big sorry for the massive lack of major updates recently. Life simply got in the way, as well as some big projects that need to be finished. Okay, they're not necessarily big for most people. However, I'm not a fast painter, and my hobby time has become quite limited lately.

Anyway, since our participation game for next year's Tactica show has been confirmed, I think it's admissible to provide my loyal readers with an appetiser.

First off, sort of a scheme tester:

As you might notice, it's one of Immortal's plastic hoplites. The colours might also give a hint, what we're aiming at. Rest assured, here comes the real deal:

If you don't recognise the models: These are three Argonauts, taken from Foundry's Greek Mythology range. Excellent sculpts, very evocative and quite easy to paint. Their equipment is loosely based on costumes used in the old Harryhausen movie featuring "Jason and the Argonauts". And that's where the inspiration for our gaming project originally came from.

So, here you have it: A few mates and I are staging a small skirmish campaign set in Greek mythology. Players will have to find (and fight, of course!) their way to the Golden Fleece. Many more models still to come. I'll give a few further insights in due course - but if you can, please visit us in Hamburg!

Painted September/October 2010. Models by Immortal Miniatures and Wargames Foundry.

Я бегу сразиться с тенью лжи

2010-09-12T18:33:00.000+02:00

Hope you aren't too confused by the kyrillic title. I just wanted to create the right atmosphere for introducing one of my latest projects. You've probably already seen it 'growing' if you've followed my update-reports via Twitter. The coming thing - in a quite litteral sense - is the Second Russian Civil War (abbreviated to 2nd RCW).

It's all the fault of my dear gaming buddy Lt. Hazel. He came up with some fabulous looking miniatures for his so called Neo-Kornilov regiment earlier this year, and that sparked my interest immediately. Some emails cleared the ground: The conflict in question is set in a near-future Russia where constant struggles between democrats, religious zealots, oil multinationals and other factions have lead to open civil war.

Normally I'm not a fan of modern warfare. It's a bit too real for my taste, especially if you're 'refighting' conflicts that are still in progress. Nevertheless, I really like near-future themed novels, films and games, where all things have strong links to our present, but slightly advanced and therefore recognisably different. For instance I'm a sucker for movies like Blade Runner or Ghost in the Shell. Furthermore, in order to get a bit more abstract, I chose to field a neo-tsarist partisan force.

The Neo-Tsarists base themselves on the hereditary title of a long-forgotten heir to the Romanov family. At present there isn't much known but that they first appeared somewhere in the Azov region. The movement is dreadfully short of money and supply, but it's drawing more and more support from old monarchists as well as idealistic reformers and even some desperadoes. Until now they are limited to partisan warfare and acts of sabotage.

Miniatureswise, I began with digging out a few of Copplestone's polar explorers (no idea when - and why - I bought those) and used them as a tester. I had never before painted modern camo patterns, and I find it really difficult yet. Fortunately, a partisan isn't necessarily equipped to standards of modern warfare. So I let myself digress to rather 'mixed' uniforms, which are more interesting. The second addition came as an order of proper modern partisans from Copplestone's Neo-Soviet range. Sadly, some of them were clearly miscast (cf. the lack of supporting legs to the heavy gun), and that's not the first poor order with Copplestone. Never mind, nice miniatures they are.

Lastly, following Hazel's guide, I sought a vehicle to accompany the infantry. As much as I like the idea of walkers, I can't imagine how such a beast could be employed (not to mention, kept up) by partisans. Moreover guerrilla are rather in need of transport vehicles to quickly move their troopers and equipment from one point to another. Thus I decided upon a "Provider Transport", produced by Old Crow. And what a great model that is! The more if you are used to Forgeworld's overpriced junk, which needs a lot of preparation work - completely unlike Old Crow's stuff: clearly cast, perfect fit, loads of detail and altogether fairly priced. Highly recommended!

You may notice that I've tried my hand at a bit of 'super-detailing', i.e. adding handles and other equipment. (Inspiration was mainly drawn from this blog.) It's also been my first trial on effects like 'battle damage' and 'worn look', so please be gentle. The containers are removable in order to use this carrier as a troop transporter as well - although the soldiers will have a hard time to stay on the truck. I'm still searching for a clever solution. ;-)

And that's it for now. Please excuse the wall of text. It has already been shortened, because there's much more background to these guys. If interested, just drop a comment and I'll gladly answer to it.

PS: These were the last miniatures I spray-varnished. As you can see, some suffered badly. Please don't look too closely.

Painted June to August 2010. Models by Copplestone Castings and Old Crow Models.

Infanterieregiment von Mirbach

2010-08-27T20:44:00.006+02:00

Two AWI postings in a row might bore some readers, though it's my main interest these days, and I'm on a roll obviously. So, without further ado, here come the Hessian line infantry, the Mirbach musketeers!

The Mirbach regiment arrived as early as 1776 in America as part of the Hessen-Kassel subsidiary corps. Although taking part in many major engagements, the unit didn't play an active role in most of them. The attack on Fort Mercer (October 22, 1777) was to become their ordeal - since the assault, conducted exclusively by Hessian contingents under the inspired, but somewhat unfortunate command of Col. Carl von Donop, was ignominiously repelled. After this incident the Mirbach regiment was assigned garrison duty in Philadelphia and New York afterwards - a fate shared with many other Hessian regiments.

In 1780 the regiment changed its name to (Jung) von Lossberg. That's also why it is easily and quite often confused with another Hessian regiment called (Alt) von Lossberg. The latter was composed of fusiliers, and therefore the Mirbach troopers in Stephen Walsh's illustration for the Osprey volume on the Philadelphia campaign are erroneously depicted wearing small mitre caps. Furthermore, GMB sold the Mirbach flag sheet as "(Alt-)Lossburg" (maybe they've changed it meanwhile). Thus only thanks to Giles Allison's great help and advice an epic fail has been avoided here.

For a change this time I've arranged the figures differently. You will notice the two drummers on the unit's flanks - that's to resemble the "Rangierung" (order) adopted by Prussian battalions right before the actual fighting commenced. Drummers formed their own bodies to either side of the line, while the standards and the commanding officers went to the centre. As the Prussian regulations were introduced to Hessen-Kassel military in 1767, I thought that fit to further distinguish British troops from their auxiliaries. In addition, I've finally found a use for those drummer figures which become often supernumeraries given my style of basing.

Paintingwise I tried to limit the 'rugged' campaign look a bit. Once again my main reference for the uniform was the Von Donop website; there the Mirbach officer is seemingly sporting red pompons, whereas the private has blue ones. Maybe simply the artist erred here, but I've painted the soldiers' headware accordingly. For the flags, poles and tassels I chose this very helpful PDF as a guide. Finally, two caveats regarding the ensign models for those wondering: One of them is (by mistake?) equipped with an ammunition box, don't be confused! Moreover, both ensigns wear small (officers'?) sticks, stuck under their armpit - it took me a while to figure that out...
I also refused to varnish the figures, until I'll find something that's easy enough to handle for me, so not to spoil my paint job. Hints are welcome!

With Mirbach painted I've solved another task from my New Year's Resolution. Towards the end of 2010 I'll probably do the odd supplementary base for my existing resp. new regiments. Also, the rebels need a bit of care now. Maybe I will let you decide by opening a poll. Until then...

Painted July/August 2010. Models by Perry Miniatures, flags by GMB, tassels by Front Rank.

16th Queen's Light Dragoons

2010-08-02T22:33:00.000+02:00

To celebrate the sixtieth follower of this blog - never hoped for such a big interest, many thanks to you all! -, I'm going to make a confession: What makes the AWI setting so special for me? - Shocking answer: There are merely a few to none horses to paint!
Okay, just kidding. Actually, the horses were part of the fun as I recently painted up these fellows, to become the first (and maybe the only) cavalry unit in my British army, the 16th Queen's Light Dragoons:

The Perrys hardly ever fail to impress me with their models, and these sculpts are one of my favorites so far. Excellent, crisp detail, loads of charater in each single trooper. I'm really looking forward to add another pair. However, for most games the existing three bases could be sufficient, as the historical unit seems to have been chronically understrength, at least during the Philadelphia campaign. By 1778 the remaining troopers were transferred to the 17th Light Dragoons, their officers returning home. (Since I don't want to rehash what others have done far better, please refer to Giles Allison's condensed overview of the regiment's history.)

Regarding the 16th's uniforms and equipment I got mainly disparate, sometimes contradictory information. For example, Jim Bowen (painting for the Perrys' website) screwed something up, when he painted the musician's uniform in reversed colours - in fact, since it was/is one of the Queen's regiments, the musicians were allowed to wear the Royal livery. But guess what, I couldn't find a single reliable reference for that livery!

The same goes for other details, but the more I felt free to use a bit of artistic license. Furthermore, the 16th were one of two British cavalry units in the American theatre (who cares about loyalists?), so I thought it fit to accord them some elitist extravagancy. Therefore they're sporting blue canteens, actually not to be seen until the Napoleonic Wars, too. Also not very likely: The officer rides an appaloosa, a horse breed quite popular among European nobilites of the 17th and 18th century. These beasts were mostly reserved for parades or equestrian sports. Only a fool or a real gentleman would have dared to take such a costliness with him to America and right into battle. Anyway, it's a great display of British genteelness.

All in all, I'm quite happy with the way these guys turned out. Even though they might not be as accurately portrayed as it could be - lazy me, maybe next time. ;-)
Unfortunately, as you can see, the figures suffered not only from my poor photographic skills, but also from varnishing again. Both must not be done in a hurry!

PS: Finally, if I may call your attention to two new features of this site:

I have joined Twitter to provide my readers with more regular updates. Painting and posting takes a lot of time (the latter not least since I'm no native speaker). And even if non-painting-related stuff makes an appearance here at times, I want to reserve this place mainly for pictures of my wargaming stuff. Therefore minor updates of what I'm currently doing (if relevant for this blog, of course) can be found from now under the "Mountaineer's Log".
The "Rules Most Recently Run"-section has been replaced by a static page (see the tab above), where a few rulesets I own and/or have played are treated in some depth. Other pages are to follow, but still it's all in progress. So keep an eye out.

As ever, if you have any special ideas or interests, please let me know - by commenting here or on Twitter or anywhere you like. I'm always glad to get your feedback!

250th Anniversary: Battle of Warburg

2010-07-31T21:42:00.001+02:00

Another break in usual service, but I thought it nice to share my excitement here, too: Today I visited Germany's largest 18th century reenactment, held near the small town of Warburg, where on the same day, 250 years ago, a battle was fought between an Allied and a French army.
The whole event was a blast for me: Not only because I'm a sucker for the 18th century (you might remember), but also for it reignited the passion for my AWI miniatures. In anticipation I had just the other day dragged out the Light Dragoons I'd started months ago - and now they are ready for basing. So, expect them anytime soon.

I've prepared a small report (with a few of countless pictures I've taken) on the Lead Adventure Forum. Here are only some preview shots, that, if any, might be of interest for you wargamers: Two excellent displays by Rüdiger Fischer representing said battle as well as the Battle of Leuthen in 1757:

Next time, back to normal service, I promise. ;-)

A Question of Honour

2010-07-03T18:28:00.001+02:00

First, a big sorry to my readers who had to wait for an update for such a long time. After the last post's 'breakdown' I received a lot of encouraging feedback - thanks for that! Unfortunately, life got in the way in the meantime; not to mention the impact of the World Championship and a major heat wave rolling over Germany. Not the best conditions to get back to painting, you see. ;-)

But nevertheless I've managed at least to pick up where I left off: the mounted knights for Basic Impetus. So here they are in all their chivalric glory:

Sticking to the first base's theme, this one again portrays knights in Habsburgian service at the battle of Sempach. Placed here are another Grünenberg knight, one of Büttikon and an Eschenzer, each with his own squire. For this I got inspired by an illustration (taken from the old Funcken 'manual') which shows a somewhat stylised knights retinue, a so called 'lance':

I couldn't bring myself to portray a unit that is supposed to consist completely of heavily armoured noblemen by just one knight and his lesser followers. So I mixed and matched a bit, using the Perrys' Men-at-Arms as knights and some of the "mounted sergeants" as their supporters. The knights' pennons are purely conjectural; most probably each of the historical men were allowed to bear their own banner, not just a simple knight's flag. Again, the more impressive standards are spared for another occasion...

As you can see I've also added some baggage to the squire's horses to indicate that these fellows are just riding to battle. That is another resemblance of the Sempach legend, which tells about some knights fleeing the battlefield in horseback shortly after they had arrived there and had seen their dismounted comrades collapsing under the Swiss' onslaught.

The current climate caused some problems with the matt varnish - again. It produced nasty white sprinkles on the models. However, since they aren't really noticable from a distance, I decided not to care about them (for now).

Next up are some footmen again. However, there are other models waiting on my desk for ages; most likely I will throw in some of them first.

Painted June to July 2010. Models by Wargames Foundry (squire on foot) & Perry Miniatures (the rest).

Measure for Measure

2010-05-08T16:01:00.004+02:00

There are those days, when everything seems to go wrong. Unfortunately, I experienced quite a few in a row lately. Not only a stressful time at work and some other heartaches - I'm also out of luck with my hobby ventures. Main thing is that I've planned to update the Impetus troops as soon as possible since I got a lot of encouraging feedback on the dismounted knights. But the force is not with me as it seems. I had unexpected troubles to get supply from the Perrys and other manufacturers lately, and I really don't know why. Anyway, yesterday I received what seemed to be the last bit to finally start painting the next unit of cavalry. But far from it! Here's one of the packs I've got:

As you can see, the knights are lacking their shields. Nothing to despair, one might say. The more as the Perrys have shown great service and assiduity so far. But after all the faults and misfortunes lately, I'm completely demotivated now.
At least I could bring myself to finally get some alterations on the blog done. It's still under construction as I'm experimenting with some new features. Please feel free to let me know what you think or would like to see added here.

However, I cry me a river first. ;-(

Incoming Impetus

2010-03-25T16:23:00.002+01:00

I've done it: My first base of Impetus troops is ready. In the end it took me longer than expected to finish it; that's mainly because I wrestled quite a bit with the miniatures' final positions. Now you can decide if it was worth the trouble. Here are the dismounted knights in all their glory:

Originally I'd planned to do an Azincourt themed diorama - with muddy ground and dirt-covered men all around. But, as you might know, I'm actually not a huge fan of this so called 'battle damage' effects. At least all my experiments to date have failed and consequently spoilt some painfully painted miniatures.

Therefore - and for the army's shifted setting - I will stick to dry ground here: Dust normally becomes visible on polished armour and clothing only after a while (at least from a distance). So I'd call this one solved.

The diorama approach allows for some story-telling. I've kept it low here since this is my first trial to get the hang. Anyway, I wanted this unit to portray some knightly attitudes: So there are the impetuous warriors rushing forward on the right. There are the loyal fellows who prevent the enemies from looting their - perhaps not-yet-dead - fallen comrade. There are the cool-minded professionals of war in the back reviewing the situation from an improvised commander's hill.

Furthermore the wavering formation is a resemblance of the Austrian dismounted knights at Sempach who eventually collapsed under the Swiss onslaught. Hopefully not a bad omen for this unit...
All in all, I'm quite happy how these things turned out.

Some might notice a serious lack of flags. Medieval armies in particular were known for their flaunting colourful standards, and surely this look makes for some attraction of this period among wargamers and painters. Let me assure you: It's no mistake, rather a deliberate decision to spare these things for a set of markers, which I'll make for every single unit. Adepts of the Impetus rules might already have a guess, others should wait and see.

Now, only another ten to twelve units to go... ouch!

Painted February to March 2010. Models by Perry Miniatures.

From the Labyrinth

2010-03-18T15:23:00.004+01:00

I took a break from pondering over proper basing methods for my dismounted knights by taking up some Fantasy models, which were already waiting on my desk. Not much got finished as I experimented a lot with Foundry's all-new "Expert Flesh" range. As a sidenote, this set is a great addition, because it eases painting realistic gradients of flesh colour, which is in particular a major issue with female miniatures. Only drawback: Painting six layers is quite time-consuming!

At least I forced myself to finish off at least one model, that had been on my list for ages. As you might have realised already, I love miniatures from the 'good old times' that nowadays aren't appreciated by most people. This particular one is a very old Citadel Minotaur, and I spontaneously baptised him Brephos (meaning "baby" in Ancient Greek):

He's by no means as tall as you would imagine a minotaur should be; in fact, an average Gor is of the same height. However, I'll most probably use Brephos as a mascot, both for my Beastmen herd in general and any unit of minotaurs for potential games of Warhammer Fantasy (i.e. as a standard bearer). He's simply too cute...!

Next up might be a battle report retelling the beginnings of Gortyr's quest for world domination - if you're interested. I'm experimenting with possible varying contents for this blog, just let me know what you think!

Knights' Tale

2010-03-12T19:41:00.004+01:00

In 2010 there were quite a few 'anomalies' on this blog already: I bothered you with my New Year's resolution and, lately, a shameless advertisement. So I hope you don't mind, if I follow this trend by presenting a WIP-shot of a unit I'm working on.
What follows are the first miniatures painted for my "Impetus Army Project". As you might remember, it was one of the things I intended to start in 2010. And here's the first bunch:

These fellows represent a unit of dismounted knights, in terms of the rules it's just Heavy Infantry. Since they are all Perry sculpts, they are meant to be Western European men-at-arms of the early 15th century. However, I wanted them to resemble the knights in Habsburg service who fought - and were eventually defeated by - the Swiss Confederates in the famous battle of Sempach in 1386. Therefore I tried to stick with 'old-fashioned' armour and clothing styles. Fortunately, there's also an extensive list of knights who were killed during the battle, and their coat-of-arms are depicted in a chapel near the battlefield site. Thus I've added distinct heraldry to some of these knights, e.g. the 'command group' in the back are (left to right) an Ochsensteiner, one Herr von Bollweiler and a knight of Grünenberg.

I tried to provide a certain feel of movement to the unit, however, I'm not yet sure if I succeeded. For sure, proper basing will even out some of the optical issues, but still...
The miniatures aren't glued to their places, so I'd like to hear your opinions, suggestions and - if you must - criticism. Please let me know what you think!

Painted February to March 2010. Models by Perry Miniatures.

Return of the Pulp

2010-03-01T17:57:00.009+01:00

Minor update again, but at least something I've painted myself. So no more confusion. ;-)
The fellows pictured below made their first appearance in our latest Pulp game. In turn this was part of a campaign I'd scripted, taking place in the 1920s.

I cannot go into detail - since the walls have ears. Anyway, the story so far saw a team of B.O.I. agents investigating a drug-trafficking ring, which had its seeds & sources in the remote Central American banana republic of Ancuría. Following the shipments' trail back to Ancuría itself the agents were drawn into a larger conspiracy plotted by the local generalísimo. They barely escaped their own assassination with the aid of a (yet non)famous adventurer (picture centre).
We didn't take pictures of the actual game, but if you're interested I might stage a replay. Just drop me a line here.

The three chaps complement my already existing gang of city slickers, while adding a certain 'adventure style'. For my taste adventurous characters like the Not-Brendan-Fraser just look out of place when put on an urban base. So I decided to give them a somewhat generic outdoor basing. A few other miniatures that showed up as supernumeraries in the first scenarios are still to be based properly. I will post them here as soon as possible.

Painted August 2009 to January 2010. Models (first photo, left to right) by Wargames Foundry, Copplestone Castings and Pulp Miniatures.

Kind of an advertisement

2010-02-24T14:30:00.006+01:00

Advertisements are not my cup of tea - normally. But this post is just to advise you on a new miniatures range that REALLY caught my interest.
For sure, there are already quite a few figures available for the later 16th century, mainly from ranges covering the so called Border Reivers wars. But if one takes the effort of producing dedicated miniatures of a more 'Continental' background, I'm definitely sold for them.

Therefore I'd like to call your attention to Arsenal Miniatures, an all new enterprise undertaken by an Italian gentleman and fellow enthusiast by the name of Andrea Magnani.
He's put up some examples of a range to be - hopefully - released next month. It focusses on the great conflict between Christian Europe and the Ottoman Empire around the 1560s. They were sculpted by jack-of-all-trades Paul Hicks, and some of them have been painted by the very talented Tom Weiss. Here's a looted picture as an appetizer:

Fortunately, these European soldiers could be easily converted into participants of almost all wars that occured in the latter half of the 16th century in Europe. Thus among (28mm-)wargamers wrongfully neglected conflicts like the Netherlanders' struggle for independence, the French Wars of Religion or even the early campaigns of the Thirty Years' War are within reach.
My humble wish is that as many people as possible interested in this range shall support Andrea's effort by purchasing his miniatures. It's really a labour of love for him, but it also offers great possibilities for us wargamers to venture into a widely overseen period.

Okay, now back to regular service. ;-)

The Gor Effect

2010-02-13T11:41:00.012+01:00

Time for a first redeemed pledge. Okay, it was more about actual gaming, but at least some new miniatures are there to finally start up. So, may I introduce Gortyr and his fellowship:

Gortyr's story will be told another day, intended as battle reports. His headquarters is an ancient temple, where he also found armour and weapons to equip his retinue. Of course, Gortyr (right) reserved the best pieces for himself and his personal bodyguard. As mentioned earlier, I'm aiming for a particular 'Greek' look for these figures to resemble figures of ancient mythology (like sartyrs, centaurs etc.). Main source of inspiration was Titan Quest, one of my all-time favorite video games regarding setting and atmosphere.

Too add to the beastmen's 'mythological' appearance their original shields were substituted by aspides taken from Foundry's hoplites range. On the one hand, I thought it inapt for brute warriors like these to be completely equipped with highly decorated or polished shields; in fact they should look rather ragged. On the other hand, I wanted a reappearing colour to tie in all of Gortyr's warriors. So I chose teal blue as their common colour, which both was actually used in history for painting shields and provides a nice patina effect.

The warrior classes are also differentiated by hair and flesh colours. Elite braves have dark reddish skin and black hair, ordinary men tend to brown and grey colours, whereas the lesser men look almost human with their rosy skin and fair fur. Anyway, I will vary that a bit from time to time, unit by unit.

It was a real pleasure to paint these old GW miniatures. They have so many lovely details and aplenty of character; I very much prefer them over recent (especially the latest) incarnations of the Warhammer Fantasy Beastmen. Any surprise that these outdated chaps were sculpted by the Perry twins back in the days? ;-)

There are already many more in my lead pile. Next excavation shall be aimed at a shaman and his 'bodyguards'.

Painted July 2009 to January 2010. Models by Games Workshop (beastmen) and Grendel (temple ruin).

Character Creation III or Warpainting!

2010-01-17T16:06:00.006+01:00

Just needed a change from filing and trimming the first unit for Impetus. I've unfortunately found my latest Perry order heavily afflicted with flash and details spoilt by off-casts. I assume that's because of poor moulds which have suffered from permanent usage (which is anyway a sign of the Perrys' prosperous enterprise). However, I'm not amused.
In the meantime I'd like to show you some miniatures painted already months ago, actually for our Halloween game in 2009 - which reminds me of still having to write a battle report *sigh*. I was too late for doing the bases properly back then and completed them only recently. The finishing coat of matt varnish has sadly eaten up some details and produced a shiny effect which isn't visible under normal circumstances. Simply have to add that again in defence of my poor photographic skills. You know it. I'll shut up.

I've tried once more to capture the special look of Native American flesh. This time I used exclusively Foundry's Dusky Flesh 6. For now I'll stick with that, even if Foundry's latest additions to their Flesh colours range seem to offer a better solution. Darn...

Watching some very good Woodland Indian reenactors in 2009 gave me a lot of ideas for painting these miniatures' equipment. Unfortunately I'm not able to apply all those lovely but tiny figures and designs beloved by Native craftsmen.

I was also impressed by the menacing look of warriors fully covered with warpaint. So I decided to paint one of the men in attacking pose just like that. Really not what you would like to discover lurking in your vegetable patches in the morning.

For warpaint and clothing I double-checked my references. Natural colours like red, black and brown were most common, simply due to availability. However, since these warriors will be added to my French forces for the F&IW I allowed myself some extravagance like blue and green dye and the casual white shirt taken as booty from an Englishmen or traded with French merchants.

Still need to catch up with last year's output, so I've no clue what will be up next. In any case, please stay with me. :-)

Painted in November 2009. Models by Conquest Miniatures.

Not quite a Resolution

2010-01-01T11:53:00.010+01:00

I don't normally take pledges for a New Year as such things tend to blow over quite rapidly. However, I find it interesting what other people's plans & projects are, so here's my personal (hobby-related) list for 2010 - although it is more to be read as 'wish' than 'to do':

C. 1400s for Impetus (new)

During my (probably everlasting) search for the holy grail of all rulesets some time ago I discovered Impetus – thanks to JET at Geektactica. I'm still unable to give a gameplay review as my main reason to take a closer look was the 'aesthetic approach' of these rules. Impetus provides you with an opportunity to stage your miniatures on big (and I mean BIG) bases almost as little moving dioramas. You aren’t bound to a certain number of figures per stand, and that said there’s opportunity to save on models as well. For people like me, short of money, time and speed painting skills, this sounds rather ideal, and I decided to give it a try.
Fortunately, I convinced a fellow wargamer to start a concerted project using the Impetus rules. We settled on the late Middle Ages, i.e. the early 15th century, as a focus for our armies. It will be a welcome exuse to finally lay my hands on another excellent Perry range covering the later Hundred Years’ War. Though I’m still pondering over which army to choose: The Armagnac French seem to be an obvious choice because of their wide range of opponents in this period – not to mention my secrete sympathy for their cause. However, there are many other fascinating possibilities, for example my interest in the Habsburg Wars against the Confederate Swiss. That said, I’ve brought some reading materials with me into winter quarters, and a first bunch of miniatures will be ordered any time soon.

American Revolution (continued)

Some might have noticed (and even deciphered labels on) the Perry boxes pictured in my last blog entry. These will go right into British service since they contain Light Dragoons and Hessian Regulars. By now I've no clue which will be first, although there's a slight tendency to bolster von Stirn's allied command. Suggestions are welcome.
On the long run, as indicated by the title changed, I'm also turning towards the Patriots' cause. No one round here seems to bother with Americans (or this particular conflict at all), so it's up to me to care for them. There are already loads of Continentals and militiamen slumbering in my drawers; and with the Perrys on the verge to release French auxiliaries (something I've asked them for years ago), all excuses have vanished.

Greek Mythology meets Warhammer Fantasy (new)

I’m a bit behind with uploading pics of my Fantasy collection, so this is rather a continued than a new project. Having tested the Song of Blades and Heroes engine lately, the rules seem to be well adapted to solo play – an option that has become very valuable since there’s a serious lack of gaming partners in my new home area. However, I’m unwilling to dip my toe once again in this cesspool of vice named Warhammer Fantasy Battles. I don’t even know what edition is the current one, and I’m absolutely not bothered by tournament play, balanced army lists and official rules or miniatures. Nevertheless the setting and some of GW’s model ranges (old and new) are still in my favour, and I’m cherry-picking those things for my very own storyline. Currently planned are warbands that have a certain 'Greek’ theme, e.g. Nymphs/Elves and Beastmen, probably joined by some generic forces as Orcs and Knights/Human Warriors. Those will be also usable for Mordheim games – or, on the long run, even for a casual Warhammer battle (using an older incarnation of the rules, of course).

Rogue Trader (new)

The same as above applies to this project. I’m bored by Warhammer 40.000 as it is, and I’ve sold all of my (quite large) armies for this game years ago. Recently I came across the new Rogue Trader roleplaying game. I got fascinated by the idea of flamboyant starship crews browsing the battleworn galaxy of the 41st millenium, far beyond inquisitorial (that is GW’s) control: so many possibilities to enliven a colourful background... Rules of choice could be a home-brewed mix of Necromunda, old 40k and various other sources.

There are many other things waiting on the desk, and certainly some will cross my paths completely unexpected. For example, I have no use for longbows and billmen, but as soon as the Perrys will announce more 'Continental’ additions to their new plastic range, a long-standing wish of an army for the Swiss-Burgundian Wars could become true.
Whatsoever, these mentioned are currently on my screen and I’ll try hard to stay on target with them. Fingers crossed, please! :-)

And now, not to forget, a Happy New Year to all visitors!

Into Winter Quarters

2009-12-19T13:07:00.013+01:00

Now that 2009 draws to an end, work seems to be accumulating and time's flying. After all I've managed to finish off painting some miniatures and taking pictures. As promised before I returned to my AWI collection in order to bolster the already existing units.
With Washington leading his battered troops into winter quarters
today just 232 years ago, I thought it suitable to send the British onto parade ground for celebrating a successful year.

Admittedly, this view fills me with pride. By my standards the AWI collection has seen decisive progress since last year. You might remember the humble beginnings almost 12 months ago - since then it has grown to a nice little army with two regiments of the line, two light infantry units, one 'battalion gun' and two brigadiers.
The latest addition are the following stands:

A captain of the Lights, accompanied by an Indian scout and a trumpeter. The officer began his career as a sergeant from another command blister; I pepped him up with a gorget and a dandified white floppy hat. My only reference for this fashion is an illustration by Gerry Embleton. Looks cool, anyway.

Another stand for the Hessen-Kassel'sche Jäger.

A stand of firing soldiers of the 55th regiment. Nothing spectacular, too.

Soldiers of the 28th in marching order with a sergeant on the left exhorting his comrades to close ranks and keep in line.
With these additions I'm finally able to play a proper game using Crusader's Rank & File rules. Okay, my army still needs some reinforcements. But don't quail, they are already on their way:

However, now I'm off to my personal winter quarters with a lot of reading material. Hopefully I'll get a chance to post some insights into my plans for 2010. In any case, my valued visitors, I wish you a blessed Christmastide and may you all be well!

Painted in November/December 2009. Models by Perry Miniatures and Conquest Miniatures (Indian scout aka "Chingachgook").

Public Enemies and Friends

2009-11-13T14:22:00.008+01:00

Long time since the following miniatures were painted. Basing was an issue, and I decided to show them (as all figures seen on this blog) only after the final touches were done, just to keep myself motivated.
Obviously, these miniatures are meant to appear in a 'Pulp' setting, i.e. against the background of the "Roaring Twenties". Originally meant to tell stories of all kinds of gangsters, private eyes, cops, villains and heroes, there are also close links to adventure games (think of Indiana Jones) or Cthulhu-setting. I've planned to connect some of these aspects in a single series of games to be played in the forseeable future.

I started with some stereotypes, which make for an easy introduction into setting and story. First there's this infamous pair: Hardy "Twisted Heart" Olivier and his twin brother "Strange" Lorel.

Born from an old French dynasty exiled back in revolutionary days to the West Indies they became employed by one of the countless East Coast gangster bosses. Although at times rather... eccentric - maybe a hereditary problem - the Oliviers are said to be rising stars in the Unites States' ever changing underworld.
Any similarity to contemporary comedy duos is purely coincidental.

Adding flavour, I painted some city slickers, too. These men could be harmless passersby, helpful bystanders or even bad-tempered collaborators. Who knows?

The man with the white hat is a resemblance of the original Caribbean setting of my campaign. The 'Tintin lookalike' started his career on my painting desk as a wannabe Clark Gable watching from the stairs of his estate. Both were eventually pressed into service as streetcrowd. Perhaps one day I will rebase them.

Not yet decided which side to join, this young lady is dressed to fit into any surrounding, be it city streets or desert sites. In our last (fun) game she was introduced as Bolly Duster (not the best wordplay ever, admittedly), mistress of the Oliviers' boss. Maybe truth, might be disguise...

Note: I'm aware that beverage cans were introduced not before the 1930's; but maybe this girl is on the trail of something here...?

Where evil lurks there has to be a contender for peace and justice as well. Therefore I added these two policemen to my collection. They immediately appealed to me because of their seemingly differents tempers: There's this friendly veteran officer, cooled down by experience of countless razzias against organised crime; on the other side: his younger partner, a bit too enthusiastic for the older man's taste. A perfect pair?

My guide were contemporary NYPD uniforms. I used a dark blue undercoat and added highlights with blue grey (from Foundry's Napoleonic British range). It's not the exact tone, a bit too blue, but on the other hand I didn't want it to look rather dull on the table.

Finally, every gangster / adventurer soon or later needs wheels. These two beauties were purchased at Ebay and are from a model range by Matchbox called "Yesteryears". They are perfectly in scale when paired with average 28mm models, and they actually don't need a repaint. I tried it just to get away from their 'shiny toy' appearance, but I really don't know if it was worth the effort.

Anyway, now I'm humming about appropriate terrain. As said before, the original plan was to stage a pure adventure campaign. After seeing other people's ventures into this genre, and by basing the miniatures on 'urban' stands, I'm quite keen on building urban canyons and backyards as well. Storage problems hurray!

Miniatures by Copplestone Castings and Matchbox, painted spring to autumn 2009.

A View to a Kill

2009-10-18T10:34:00.009+02:00

A minor update today, but nevertheless an important one methinks. Once someone commented on a forum that "dead bodies enliven every gaming board". Sounds a bit grim, and I'm absolutely no fan of gory effects or 'realistic' representation of actual battle events, but for all that there's a deeper meaning. We all love to push our painfully painted miniatures around on well-crafted, realistic looking terrain (okay, most of us do). Only if it gets down to keeping track of morale status or casualties, we simply put lots of coloured chits or dice onto the table - and the whole effort is spoilt somehow.
Therefore (and for being a sucker for diorama bits, of course) I decided to use sculpted markers as soon as possible. So, here's the first pair:

Fortunately, the Perrys have taken care and have added casualty packs to all of their ranges. That spared some thinking and humming - put them on a base, and you're done. At least, after you've decided which format to use.

I've gone for an octogon, because it's most versatile. Admittedly, the idea was stolen from Martin at Befreiungskriege (a big thank you to SW-fellow Phobos for the advice!). I've altered it only a bit by not using pre-cut bases, adding 18th century font numbers (no visible change, I'm afraid) and by scaling down the bases so that they fit better with my 40x40mm bases.
Here are two examples how the markers can be used:

1) Counting casualties before removing a base.

2) Displaying the number of lost bases/miniatures.

You may have noticed that I painted the uniforms according to the regiments (of the line) in my collection. I'm planning to add at least one marker for every new unit as they come along. Furthermore there are some more ideas for other markers (morale status being the foremost) shaping - however, more input from my dear readers is most welcome!

Painted in September/October 2009. Models by Perry Miniatures.

55th Regiment of Foot

2009-10-11T17:38:00.010+02:00

Okay, understood, you came here for looking at miniatures - no wishy-washy chat, no bad excuses any more! Just miniatures. And here we are, back on track. After much ado and fiddling with bases and stuff I've finished another regiment for the AWI. No skirmishers, no foreigners, no generals, but some ordinary footsloggers of the 55th:

Once more, they are wearing the informal Southern dress as I want this campaign look for all my (British) AWI-forces. Here the soldiers are portrayed without their coats (in contrast to my version of the 28th Foot), which gives them a Light Infantry appearance.

That's also why I could use the "hatmen" as lined up Light Infantry by simply exchanging the command base. Well, some experts might take offence at the white belts and the regimental lace (which I painted although the sculpting wasn't clear in this point).

The 55th was assembled for service at the Scottish border (hence their nickname 'Cattle Reavers') in 1755. Since 1775 it was commanded by Gen. James Grant and saw some action during the American war, in particular taking part in the "Paoli Massacre" (September 20th 1777).

Therefore I gave them red plumes, a distinction worn by the men of the 46th, also involved in this famous skirmish. But that's a purely conjectural analogy.
However, if you want to know more: There's an detailed historical overview on the recreated regiment's website.

The miniatures were a great fun to paint. I simply love the mixed bag of uniform pieces and casual dress - you might have espied already the drummer in striped trousers. Poor guy, his comrade attending Gen. Grant obviously got the better part.
Regarding the figures themselves: Again, awesome detail and expressive modelling without becoming a caricature. The firing models are a bit fiddly, but be assured: you actually cannot cripple those Perry sculpts even by hasty paintjobs. Hopefully the detail shots give you an idea.

I plan to add at least one base to the regiments finished so far to bring them 'to required strength' for playing games with the Rank & File rules. This is by now my favorite system as it doesn't require too many miniatures per unit and extra-big tables (like recommended for all new Black Powder). Unfortunately, for both I don't have time and space.

Anyway, with the 55th I've achieved my aim of painting another regiment of the line. No later than at the end of this year I'll stage a little parade of what has been assembled for the AWI so far. Obviously, in the end this conflict/period got me hooked.

Painted in September/October 2009. Models by Perry Miniatures, additional stuff by GMB (flags) and Front Rank (tassels).

A New Home

2009-09-27T15:22:00.003+02:00

Believe it or not, a sign of life on this blog. After much ado I've finally managed to put up my desk and started actual painting again. Not that I have that much spare time these days - a new city, a new job, all the things one needs to get accustomed to. Whatever, I don't want to bother you with my apologies and alibies - I hope to take the promised pictures any time soon. For now, maybe as an appetizer, here's the setup:

Admittedly, I'm very happy with my new 'working place', as it has a lot of natural light, and it doesn't take ages to get the essentials ready: Paints and basing materials are stowed in the boxes in the background; the station itself can be deposited on a nearby rack. I'm still experimenting with the setup and adding features, but generally it's done.

For those not too sharp-sighted: I'm in the process of finishing the last models for my second regiment of British regulars for the AWI. However, the next heap (Hessian infantry) has just arrived - we'll see if they can get right out of the box and onto my desk.

On the move

2009-08-19T12:42:00.006+02:00

A quick note justifying the recent lack of updates: I'm moving house, so my wargaming stuff is packed and ready for lift-off. Fingers crossed, that the collection will survive the process unharmed. Hopefully, as soon as things begin to settle down again, I will be able to post pictures of my latest work - i.a. Pulp, AWI and Antiquity. Please, dear visitors, stay tuned! :-)

Gently down the stream

2009-07-28T22:13:00.006+02:00

To cut a long story short: Here's another entry featuring Napoleonic troops for our Sharpe & Aubrey games. This time I tried to stage a little levée en masse, that is painting two small units instead of single miniatures in a set time frame (1 week). Fellows who can build up an army litterally overnight may laugh at my trial, but I'm proud that I managed to do it. Now I have quite enough troops to stage the (hopefully) gran finale of our campaign. We will be using Triumph & Tragedy, a quite innovative rule set for bigger to large skirmish games (perhaps comparable to Sharp Practice in size).

So, here's the first bunch, five British Light Infantrymen and two Rifles:

The riflemen are once again Perry plastics (with the former ones I've build all variations of this kit), the Light Bobs are Foundry. Although the Perrys' style has changed - and improved - a lot since they worked for Foundry, I've to admit that even their earlier Napoleonics are looking still up to date.
As you can see, the rifles are of the 95th (of course!), and the Lights are painted as soldiers of Sharpe's imaginary regiment, the South Essex.

They are joined by a landing party, built up from Foundry's small Napoleonic seamen range. First I was disappointed by the physiognomy of these figures; some of them look rather distorted.

On the other hand their expressive (or better: aggressive) faces and poses just fit the bill. At last, these are angry sailormen, ready for boarding and beating the devil out of some Frenchmen...

Fantasy was my guide when painting the uniforms (one seems to have looted an army depot), since my Osprey books are already packed up for I'm currently moving house. That's also why I cannot post as regularly as I want to. Fortunately, painting is going well, so there are already some updates in the line, when things will be settled down again.

Models by Perry Miniatures and Wargames Foundry, painted in July 2009 (terrain by Grand Manner or scratch-built by me).

Todo va revuelto

2009-06-27T09:28:00.005+02:00

In order to continue our skirmish campaign inspired by the works of Patrick O'Brian & Bernard Cornwell, I had to paint some Spanish guerrilleros. Fortunately, the Perrys provided me with appropriate miniatures, taken from their Carlist range.

Guerrilla (literally 'small war') tactics weren't an invention of the Peninsular Wars. However, as the main form of resistance against the French occupation of Spain the guerrilla made its lasting impact on warfare. By blurring the boundaries of civilians and combattants it also led to a high degree of cruelties on both sides - depicted in Goya's disturbing drawings Los desastres de la guerra (The Disasters of War).

Although, in fact, there were more than a few bandits and other dark figures around, the guerrilleros are mostly depicted as proud Spaniards fighting for the just cause of national self-determination. Be that as it may, I chose the somewhat heroicized image (also seen in the Sharpe novels) for my guerrilla gang.
I tried to give them an appearance of civilians hastily equipped from different sources. For example, muskets with white straps and black pouches with white belts could have been borrowed from military funds, both French and British ones; other men are even wearing clothes propably made from uniforms or obscure foreign supplies...

As a common distinction I painted their sashes spotless white, as a reference to the Bourbon king of Spain, the deposed Ferdinand VII. I have absolutely no clue, if such colours/things were ever worn by Spanish guerrilleros - but I found it quite appropriate looking. Please feel free to advise me in this matter.

At last, I apologise for the shiny miniatures; I ran out of my accustomed matt varnish, and had to improvise a bit. Under normal circumstances one wouldn't even notice a difference, but the daylight lamp I'm using is quite relentless.

I will add a link here as soon as our report of these miniatures' first game is put online.

Models by Perry Miniatures, painted in May/June 2009 (terrain by Grand Manner or scratch-built by me).

Le Roi danse - La Reine marche

2009-06-15T20:19:00.013+02:00

As denoted several times before: For me starting a new gaming project is always an affair of getting in touch with the background - by reading books, watching films or listening to music. However, this approach was somehow reversed by the latest addition to my miniatures' collection. Since my early years I'm a great fan of baroque music, architecture and art. Therefore Louis XIV, known as the Sun King, an icon of this period, has always intrigued me. In consequence one of my first steps into historical wargaming was the search for appropriate miniatures representing Louis' famous army. Back then there were a few ranges, but all of them not my cup of tea. Imagine my joy (respectively swearing) when Mark Copplestone announced his "Glory of the Sun"-range! Immediately after the selling started, I ordered my first packs. And here's the result:

It's a kind of sample. I just wanted to try if I can handle Copplestone's style. I love most of what he did for Foundry and especially his adventure stuff. Anyway, the variation within his rank & file troops is a bit limited, and he tends to overdraw his figures quite a bit. On the other hand, that makes for expressive characters and clearly visible details. To get an idea take a look at the detail photos.

The miniatures are meant for the period between 1660 and 1680, the time of Louis' wars against the Spanish & German Habsburg and the Netherlands. It's a time of transition: Pikes become obsolete by the introduction of bayonets; battles are won by firepower, the more as the cumbersome matchlocks are substituted for reliable flintlocks; the army is reorganised by state officials, and as such uniforms (famous French grey-white) become common etc.
Unfortunately, other than for the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-1714) there's little evidence what the French army actually looked like at this earlier time. As said above, uniforms were already in use, but not clearly recorded. Therefore my version of the La Reine regiment is rather an interpretation based on the troopers' appearance a hundred years later.

La Reine fought in almost all field battles of the period - which aren't many since warfare was dominated by rather static sieges. But I'm not after trench raiding anyway, so I guess I'll start with some 'what if'-scenarios.
I didn't follow any special basing convention, just my usual 40x40mm bases (with a nice North-West European lawn as can be found in Flanders, Holland or the Rhine area). To date I'm not sure which rules to use for these guys. I've taken a look at Barry Hilton's Beneath the Lily Banners and Crusader's Rank & File, both have their strenghts and weaknesses. Perhaps decision comes when - if ever - my collection will have reached a 'critical mass'...

Some final thoughts about the miniatures:
1) You should be able to cope with Copplestone's style. Skirmish gamers might complain about the lack of variety. Indeed, the miniatures are a bit static, and I avoided boredom only by painting them in groups of 2 musketeers, 1 pikeman and 1 officer. Also the sculpts constrained me to omit painting the eyes, because it just didn't look right (not necessarily a downside).
2) A few miniatures are plagued by heavy flash, quite often in unreachable areas or, even worse, in the face.
3) A minor flaw: Splitting the command groups into separate packs of drummers and officers is quite strange. Furthermore the lack of appropriate weapons for the captains/sergeants (say partisans or halberds) is bothersome.
4) For all its shortcomings Copplestone's range is worth a closer look for everybody interested in this period. Clearly it's a labour of love from a very talented sculptor with attention to details. And, in general, you aren't spoilt for choice, especially for the pre-Marlburian period.
So from me it gets a wholehearted recommendation.

I don't actually know whereto this project is going. Please don't expect any additions too soon - there's also the AWI at hand that calls for another battalion.

Painted in May/June 2009. Additional stuff by GMB (flags) and Front Rank (tassels & scarfs). Film scene from Le Roi Danse (engl. The King Is Dancing), France 2000.

To Sail for Ol'England

2009-05-23T21:34:00.005+02:00

Minor update this time, but once again something "on public request" (regards to Regulator of Sweetwater fame): Two Napoleonic miniatures representing seasoldiers of the British Royal Navy:

Admittedly, I'm not a fan of Rob Baker's 'expressionistic' style. His models with their prolonged extremities, big hands and bulky faces tend to look more like apes than human beings. On the other hand the raised detail makes painting a lot easier. However, in my judgement, there are some mistakes or inaccuracies, mainly in combining uniform details from different periods.
[edit: As laid down in the comments, it was pointed out to me that these miniatures were, in fact, sculpted by Nick Collier (recently working for Renegade & TAG). It doesn't change my judgement, but Mr Baker is exonerated - in this case!]

Anyway, I'm not an expert at all, and these miniatures will just do fine for our skirmish games. (At least they are the only reasonably decent marines I can think of.) As mentioned before, we're in the process of playing a little campaign inspired by Sharpe & Aubrey novels. Have a look at the links in my previous posting to get an idea what's going on.

Models by Wargames Foundry, painted in April 2009 (building by Grand Manner)

British Brigadiers

2009-05-06T19:37:00.013+02:00

With a few units under my belt I decided to paint a pair of brigadiers for the British. I'm using 50mm diameter washers - a lot of space for little diorama effects. I've seen it many times before, and I like the idea of generals being portrayed 'in action' to create a certain atmosphere, maybe to tell a little story.

First one is a British brigadier to lead the Redcoats into battle. I painted this miniatures as wearing a 'mixed dress': His curled hair is poudered and his coat is laced in blue and gold according to British staff officers' standards. However, the coat is shortened and his hat uncocked.

The brigadier is accompanied by a drummer in the uniform of the 55th Regiment of Foot (who are said to have worn red plumes). This regiment's colonel, James Grant (1720-1802), commanded a brigade of Knyphausen's division at Brandywine. Although critisised for his (arguable) limited abilities as a field officer, Grant was a keen strategist and schemer. Methinks the model's dress, only slightly adapted to campaign conditions, looks just right for such a 'divided' character.

The second brigadier-base started as a pastime. From the very beginning I planned to integrate some "Hessian" units into my AWI collection. Due to public demand I started with the Jägerkorps, and more will follow some time in the (not so distant) future. However, since the historical "Hessians" were always led by their own commanders, I needed a Hessian brigadier as well. Thus the idea was born - and a quick bore at Lead Mountain quarried some officers, originally determined to be used along my SYW French...

After playing around for a while, I remembered this wonderful vignette (created by my gaming fellow Tellus) - and I felt enlightened! The scene of an obviously cool-minded brigadier, nearly stricken by a cannonball, and his puzzled companion provided an opportunity to get across the fact, that many Hessian commanding officers were seasoned veterans by the time of the AWI.
One of the oldest was Major-General Johann Daniel Stirn (1712-1779), who had served in the army since the age of 16. He was - among others - present as brigadier in Knyphausen's division at Brandywine. At the Battle of Germantown he received a wound, which led to his retirement and perhaps eventually to his death in1779. Stirn held position of Kommandeur en chef of the Erbprinz regiment, and I painted the miniatures accordingly in blue coats faced crimson. I found it quite difficult to find evidence for the drummer's equipment; hopefully there aren't too many mistakes.

Now, the only thing I need are some Hessian regulars...

All Perry Miniatures, painted in April 2009

"Who stands against force and intellect?"

2009-04-26T18:52:00.008+02:00

Remember enraged Menelaus claiming back his stolen wife? Agamemnon's call to arms in revenge of his brother's shame is answered rather reluctantly by the allied kings. In other words: I've let down that sidekick project for a while, painting sluggishly on the already undercoated miniatures. Fortunately, a friend presented me with a recording of the Iliad as a radio play mentioned before, and I was hooked once more. Therefore, here are at least two more heroes joining the Achaean army.

It's the fierce Aias Telamonides or "Greater Ajax"...

... and artful Odysseus, king of Ithaka.

I don't want to bore you with the details of their story. In case you haven't heard about them or their deeds yet: go and borrow/buy/steal yourself a copy of the Iliad and the Odyssey - IMMEDIATELY!

I painted the miniatures once again after illustrations from Connolly's "The Ancient Greece of Odysseus". This time the metalwork was done by a simple mixture of Foundry's Burning Gold 44 palette (save the highlight colour) and Vallejo's Sepia wash. It's less shiny than Menelaus' armour, but has a nice bronzed finish.
Furthermore, by listening to the Iliad I noticed that all the shields are said to be made entirely of rawhide. Maybe that's another fault in Homer's narrative (I would suggest wooden or wickerwork shields), but with Odysseus presenting the piece's interior I went for an 'agglutinated' look.

However, this project will go on, although I don't really know what's next. Maybe I can convince myself to finish the half done chariot lying around for ages...

Royal Artillery 6pdr

2009-04-21T21:12:00.008+02:00

Seemingly the 18th century has become main focus of my brushwork in 2009. Funny enough, at first my aim was to paint at least another regiment of the line, and that's almost all I'm still lacking... Anyway, here's what I painted lately - or in the meantime, so to speak: a 6pdr field gun of the Royal Artillery.

6 pounders were the largest field guns in most AWI battles. Therefore you don't need a lot (to none) of them in an average game. 'Battalion guns' of 3lbs (or less) were more common. In general, however, the use of guns in the field was rather limited - until a certain French artillerist introduced more effective tactics.

Obviously, the miniatures are Perry sculpts. The accuracy of the crew portrayed in Southern campaign dress has been questioned. For example, I found no evidence for the Royal Artillery adapting their uniforms to the Southern style; and some reenactors doubt the usefulness of wide brimmed hats when manhandling guns. Besides these objections, in the end I'm willing to trust in the Perrys' own research. And, of course, being a fan of this special campaign look made my choice much easier.

For the carriage I don't wanted a screaming blue but a pale, weathered appearance. So I painted it with Foundry's British Blue Grey 75, one of their Napoleonic colour sets. The same colour was used for the 'roundabouts', on a coat of Deep Blue 20A. The gun barrel is simply done with Burning Gold 44 and two layers of ink (Vallejo's Sepia Brown & GW's Gryphonne Sepia).

It was quite tricky to squeeze all crewmen onto a 60x80mm base as they all have set positions. Therefore I cheated a bit in turning the gun itself as well as the gunner behind. However, the shifted angles give a nice effect, too.

At first the large base seemed to offer some possibilities for a diorama. But as the positions of the miniatures are somewhat determined I had to abolish my initial plans. Unfortunately, there are no tiny bits like spare muskets, buckets, casualities or sentries in my collection. Furthermore, by a superficial scan of contemporary pictures I found the emplacements of 18th century guns rather 'tidy'. That's probably because the crew stored as much as possible of their equipment in the boxes fixed to the carriage? For now I let the base plain, but any idea for a nice addition is appreciated.

So, what's next? There are two brigadiers about to be finished. You might ask: Why two of them for just one brigade? - That will be revealed in one of the next entries.

Character Creation II

2009-04-10T20:39:00.007+02:00

As stated in February I had to create a few character miniatures for our FIW campaign. After some delay I'm now in the process of painting up some Native warriors. Here's the first pair:

They feature as villains in the campaign, and I had already finished them in a hurry for our last installment. Okay, they missed their appearance at last due to scenario rules - but there will be always a use for some Indians, for sure.

The miniatures are from Conquest Miniatures. The guy on the left is (unmistakably) meant to represent Magua, a character in the movie The Last Mohican. The figure really captures Wes Studi's appearance in this role, and for me it's one of the best models in the whole range. His companion is a generic Woodland Indian. The war paint pattern is inspired by photos of this reenactment group.
I had some issues with finding the correct skin tone. I tried my hand on classic Hollywood "red skins". That looked rather silly, and a quick research revealed that there's basically no difference in actual skin tones between American Natives and (Southern) Europeans. Anyway, to distinguish them a bit I opted for my tested "dark flesh" variant (Foundry Dusky Flesh with extra highlights), normally used for Middle to Far Eastern skin. Until someone tells me about a more convincing method, I'm fine with the result and will use it for the upcoming Indian bunch as well.

In case you've noticed the growing numbers on the "Painted" side on the Lead Altimeter and the continued lack of updates here: I'm working on a couple of projects that cannot be revealed until we played the actual scenario (the 'element of surprise', you know).
So, please be patient and stay tuned! There's a whole lot to be shown in a little while...

Hessen-Kassel Jäger

2009-03-13T08:36:00.013+01:00

Okay, don't want to tantalise you (and myself) any longer: Hereby I proudly present my version of the Hessen-Kassel Jäger in British service.

The Jäger (litterally: huntsmen) were originally formed from actual hunters and woodsmen as units of skirmishing marksmen, able to fight in open order and on broken ground. As such the Jäger corps were regarded as elite troops, and became quite common among German principalities after the Seven Years' War. Of special fame are the "Hessian Jaegers" due to their employment by the British in the American War of Independence. Actually there were several Jäger Korps, 'lend' from several German (not only Hessian) princes. Best known are the "Greencoats" from the landgraviate of Hessen-Kassel, since one of their captains, Johann Ewald (1744-1813), wrote a personal account of the warfare in Amercia.

Also the Perrys portrayed Ewald as a captain in their "Hesse-Kassel Jaeger command" blister, readily identifiable by his eyepatch (Ewald lost an eye in a duel in 1770). I think it's one of the most characterful miniatures Alan has ever designed!

Accordingly, I painted the soldiers as members of the 1st company (white/red pompons). The green waistcoats made of wool were part of their 'official' uniform, and were worn mainly - and understandably - in cold weather. 'Summer dress' had a lighter waistcoat of buff or off-white colour.

Most of the miniatures are modelled wearing rather irregular (gaiter) trousers. Officially the Hessen-Kassel Jäger were equipped with (off-)white breeches, stockings and gaiters. Mounted Jäger substituted boots for the gaiters. (Here's my source.) So only the Ewald figure is clad 'by the book'. I painted some of the men's trousers with stripes. Admittedly, I have no evidence for that fashion among the Jäger other than an illustration by G. Embleton in R. May's "The British Army in North America"; and it's not even very likely. So, please take it as artistic license. ;)

All Jäger units were equipped with rifled guns, enabling them to take aimed shots. There were attempts to introduce such weapons (and according fighting techniques) to the British army as well. However, these trials were abandoned shortly after the American war, not to rise again until the Napoleonic Wars.
By talking to an experienced shooter I've been told that I painted the aiming figures with the wrong (the right) eye closed. Anyway, I don't want to alter that now, because I'm happy with my total inexperience in wielding guns.

Now I feel the strong need to paint a unit of the line again - too many elite troops around so far. Though, I've to admit, it's a great relief having to paint only two miniatures per base. To date I'm not sure what AWI stuff will be next - but if you have any suggestions or wishes, you're welcome to post them here.

Tutorial on Hessians

2009-03-10T21:50:00.021+01:00

Some weeks ago I started a voting here on my blog which AWI unit should be next. Clearly the Hessian Jäger made the grade, and today I added the finishing touches.
However, to "thicken the plot" I will post the pics of the whole later this week. Beforehand, I'd like to give you a glimpse and try my hand on a tutorial how I painted these guys. So only one figure today, but more to come soon. Hope you enjoy it anyway.
Note: If not stated otherwise I used Foundry colours.

Step 1 - Priming

After the usual preparations I primed the miniature in black. I've tried some time a white undercoat, but (since I'm a lazy boy) the time spent on blacklining and painting again whole areas black afterwards seems wasted to me. So I'll stick to black undercoat anyway. Here I used

Matt Black spray (Army Painter)

but any primer will do. Any area not covered gets a touch of black paint before I go on.

Step 2 - Eyes & drybrush

Drybrushing is an ugly method and I don't use it much. Whenever needed I do it first not to spoil painted areas later. In this step I used for the

ammunition pocket, queue, shoes & tricorne: Charcoal Black 34B & 34C

For the latter, it gives a nice felty finish.
At this stage also the eyes are added. Here's my technique: Use a fine brush. Draw a horizontal line of white across the face (don't worry about any excesses). Then draw two black lines vertically through the eyes. It's important to decide first, whereto the figure should look, as you must draw the lines in the right angle. If you want a strong up- or downward look, renew the white line accordingly (a bit tricky to get it right). I almost always use black paint for the irides, but that's really a matter of taste. I just want these eyes to stand out from a distance.

Step 3 - Base colours

There's no rule when to paint which areas; mostly I start with the biggest parts and painting all the base colours. Here I've followed this standard procedure:

Skin: Dusky Flesh 6B
Hair: Beasty Brown (Vallejo)
Coat, waistcoat & cockade: Phlegm Green 28A
Laces: Scab Red (GW)
Trousers/gaiters: Rawhide 11A
Bag & rifle butt: Spearshaft 13A
Gun barrel & tin can: Chainmail 35A
Strap: Buff Leather 7A
Haversack: Boneyard 9B

Don't worry too much about blacklining - in my experience, most meeting areas will be already divided by the dark base colours. Black is quite often simply too strong and produces a rather comic-like impression. Never ever use black lines to differ skin from clothes or something!

Step 4 - Highlights

Now I get the chance to correct some mistakes and to make the miniature look almost like a finished one. Pay special attention to any wrinkels or foldings. Leave enough base colour to show through to strengthen the impression of actual crinkles. You can happily overdo this a bit as the final highlights will divert from it.

Skin: Flesh 5A
Hair (streaks): Buff Leather 7B
Coat, waistcoat & cockade: Phlegm Green 28B
Laces: British Red Coat 68A
Trousers/gaiters: Rawhide 11B
Bag (streaks) & rifle (grain): Spearshaft 13B
Gun barrel & tin can (only some strokes!): Spearpoint 35C
Belts, pouch & scabbard: Scorched Brown (GW)
Strap: Buff Leather 7B
Haversack: Boneyard 9C
And for the muddy shoe sole: Beasty Brown (Vallejo)

(Simply I forgot to paint the belts, the pouch and the scabbard earlier.)

Step 5 - Adding details

Or almost final - you could use the miniature for gaming at this stage already. It always amazes me how the colours finally blend together when applying the second highlight. However, some highlights are a bit harsh, so use them sparingly.
Skin tones for example: I only paint raised areas, mainly with dots of paint on finger tips, knuckles, tip of the nose/nostrils, upper lip, chin and some fine strokes around the eyes (by this you can add easily some laughter lines). The lower lip gets a stroke of wine red.

Skin: Flesh 5B
Lower lip: Madder Red 60A
Hair (end of streaks): Buff Leather 7C
Coat, waistcoat & cockade: Phlegm Green 28C
Laces: British Red Coat 68B
Trousers/gaiters: Rawhide 11C
Bag (streaks) & rifle (grain): Spearshaft 13C
Belts, pouch & scabbard: Dark Flesh (GW)
Strap: Buff Leather 7C
Haversack: White 33C

Step 6 - Final touches

This final stage is done very quickly, bringing the whole thing together. I'm just neatening some details, e.g. a last highlight on the skin or a straightening the highlights on the leatherwork. Also all the tiny metalwork is done now: Because it's too cumbersome for me to paint around buttons and the like from the beginning, I'm setting some dots of black paint after everything else is finished, and on top of this comes the metal colour. Furthermore I'm adding a final layer of appropriate washes; that's to blend the colours together and to darken the shady areas.

Skin (knuckles, upper eyelids, tip of nose): Flesh 5C
Lower lip (dots): Bright Red 15C
Trousers/gaiters (stripes): Rawhide 11A
Belts, pouch & scabbard: Vermin Brown (GW)
Buttons: Chainmail 35A & Spearpoint 35C
Rifle butt & scabbard plate: Burning Gold 44A & 44B

Step 7 - Varnishing & basing

The story of my experiences with different varnishing techniques is too long to be told here again. Let's say: I had my issues. By now I'm using a base coat of

'Ardcoat Gloss Varnish (GW)

let it dry thoroughly (at least over night), then spraying a layer of

Anti Shine Matt Varnish (Army Painter)

on it. You need a lot of patience when applying the Matt Varnish as you MUST NOT spray several layers at once, or it will result in the infamous "snow flurry effect" with white dots sprinkled all over your figures.
Only after this last touch my miniatures are based. I'm using very thin plastic card as I don't like those pedestals. The stand is covered with filler with some decorative pebbles pressed in. At last I add bird sand, model grass and optionally other decorative items (foliage, tree trunks etc). The whole thing is painted with

Sand & stones: Graveyard Earth (GW), Base Sand 10B & Boneyard 9C (inspired by Tarleton's Quarter)
Grass: Chestnut 53C & Ochre 4B
Wood: Bay Brown 42A & Rawhide 11A-C

And that's it!

For sure, it's not the be-all and end-all, but perhaps this "tutorial" gives you some insights into my way of painting. It produces nice looking figures, not to win competitons anyway - but to make a good impression on the tabletop.

Please tell me what you think - and perhaps tell me (and others) about YOUR personal painting style!

C'mon ye buggers!

2009-03-08T21:49:00.017+01:00

With the Perrys on the verge of releasing their Napoleonic Brits range they are adding a sprue of riflemen as giveaway on every order until the end of March. As a great fan of the Sharpe series (both books and TV) I had an easy excuse to take this chance.

No sooner the models arrived than they were set on top of my painting list. These figures are blatantly brilliant, easy to assemble, almost no flash, loads of detail and character. I painted them as members of the 95th Rifles (of course!), although this unit's uniforms are a bit dull. Therefore I "enligthened" the dark green coats a bit, using GW Dark Angels Green as base, GW Snot Green as highlight and a final wash with GW Badab Black for shading. Whoever is bothered by this might take it as "faded dye".

The riflemen will make their appearance in one of our next Napoleonic skirmish games. Inspired by Cornwell's Sharpe and O'Brian's Aubrey & Maturin novels I've laid out some scenarios which can be played as a little narrative campaign. Besides, the first two installments can be viewed here and here.

Mostly we're using the excellent Gloire rules, but I'll give the Triumph & Tragedy set a try for the final showdown. The latter allows you to field bigger units without sacrificing the skirmishing and role playing aspects.

TYW: Starting the campaign season

2009-02-07T23:49:00.008+01:00

In the last days of 2008 my regular wargaming partner and I decided to stage a little campaign in 2009. Mainly it is meant to finally combine our efforts at the painting desk. Until now everyone of us worked on projects he wanted to stage on his own - some took ages to be finished, most didn't even make it to the final.
Therefore we considered what theme/period/conflict would catch our interest and make for a good combined project (i.e. one part of it wouldn't depend on the other one: like a British army of the AWI almost necessarily needs an American foe).

Eventually we agreed upon the German Thirty Years' War (1618-1648) as our leitmotif. Both sides, Protestants and Catholics, were almost interchangable concering dress and tactics (particularly in the second half of the conflict). And with the release of plastic miniatures for this period announced by Warlord Games, bigger forces will become quite affordable.

As a warm-up I dug up a few miniatures purchased a while back from The Assault Group and sat them on my painting list. Admittedly, I'm not convinced by the sculpting quality; but they are not as big as Renegade and Bicorne, and that's a plus for me. Probably I can mix them into some regiments consisting of Perry miniatures (my favorite ones so far); if not, nothing is lost.

Anyway, here's "the start" of the army of Johan t'Serclaes, Count of Tilly, general of the Catholic League - two determined looking cuirassiers:

Once more, my apologies for the quality of the photographs.

Actually I wanted to start with a nice vignette, but there are still some pieces to be done, before it can be completed. Darn... Now there are some other painted miniatures, but these two guys were simply the first to get their base finished. Furthermore, did I mention my heavy distaste for horses - at least en miniature?

As we don't play regularly - and as we have way too much other stuff that shouldn't gather dust - we go for a campaign that doesn't require us to actually meet for every turn or battle. (Thanks to Iron Mitten for inspiration!) So the campaign will get its own site/blog, where we can coordinate our actions and present our progresses. In due time I'll tell you more. ;)

Character creation

2009-02-07T23:17:00.006+01:00

Lately, due to the lack of miniatures needed for a sequel of our "Halloween special" (mea culpa, mea maxima culpa), in the meantime we started another series of skirmish games set in the French & Indian War. It's a campaign as laid out in Rattrap's Among the Warparties supplement, and it has a base of only 3 figures per side. Although there are enough "proxies" in our existing forces for that conflict, I felt the need for some figures representing the heroes of this very campaign more exactly.

So here's Mattawan, experienced trapper and famous coureur des bois.

It's a Frontiersman by Conquest. I opted for a limited range of colours with different shades of brown, as it underlines this man's preference for convenient clothing. The only other colours, the blue & white patterned straps, indicate his relationship to the Native People. The last focus point is his rifle - it's a very fine weapon, and I thought it should look like one.

By now I'm still waiting for an Indian hero figure to arrive. A young French nobleman is already recruited from my Compagnies de la Marine. If all of them are ready an update will follow - maybe with a little report? Please let me know.

Mordheim: Yet another band...

2009-02-07T22:52:00.004+01:00

First of all, sorry for the lack of updates. I troubled myself with painting horses (some of which will appear in another posting), and had a busy time, job-related. Today I managed at least to take a few shots of my latest efforts. I was keen to finally show them here, and I took the pictures before varnishing them (which should be done over night). Admittedly, the pics are bit crappy, too - my excuses for that.

Anyway, to begin with the last one finished, here's the first Orc I ever painted. He was excavated at Lead Mountain these days and I simply wanted to paint him soon. He's one of those Mercenary Orcs produced by Wargames Foundry; and since I have a clear preference for the flamboyant Landsknecht fashion (see my other blog), he and some of his companions were a must-have.

The Orc is the first miniature of a warband for our Mordheim games. Already have a nice (I think) background story for them - not quite state-of-the-art regarding recent Games Workshop fluff, but I don't really care about that. Still a fan of that wound up 4th/5th edition stuff, you know...

Introducing the Lead Altimeter

2009-01-03T13:01:00.006+01:00

A Happy New Year to all visitors!

Just to advise you of a new feature of this blog: Inspired by the so called "Honorable Lead Horder Vow", recently taken by Thorbjørn Nielsen on the Lead Adventure Forum, I decided to introduce a painting counter, too. It's not to force myself to the painting desk (that just doesn't work), but merely to keep track of my efforts.

Since it's all about a kind of mountaineering, an altimeter fits the bill. Every painted miniature gets me +1 over 'sea level', any miniature newly acquired (by buying, trade or as a present) draws me back by -1, regardless of its type or size. In the extreme, a 28mm scale tank would have the same value as a 15 mm scale chicken (not that I own anything like that). I start from scratch, not taking the already hoarded miniatures into account. Well, mountaineers don't start exactly from sea level each time, do they?

However, progresses won't show up immediately on the blog all the time, as some will be spared for the next bigger update (unless I get too excited about myself, of course).

On this note: "Im Frühtau zu Berge..."

Light Bobs

2008-12-27T18:03:00.004+01:00

Over the (all to quickly) past holidays I've painted up some British Light Infantrymen, just days before discovered on excavation at Lead Mountain. These come from Wargames Foundry's part of the Perry range, and I chose them because of their skirmish poses.

Mostly the Light Bobs fought in close order as their comrades of the Line, but occasionally they were deployed in skirmish formation harassing the enemy with aimed shot. Then they were paired off in teams, one man loading or advancing while the other one fired. Since I'm a fan of dioramas, I've tried to recreate that.

Unfortunately, as I chose to paint these models quite spontaneously I was a bit short of scenic bits that are most useful on big bases with few models. Maybe the command base will be decorated at least a little tree trunk or a broken fence. Besides, officers are still to be purchased - I'm looking at Perry's standing command in roundabouts. As I'm going to use only two figures, I'll already have a starting point for my next regiment, the 55th.

Some of the models are obviously wearing wigs, but that seemed odd compared with their campaign dress. Hence I decided to give their curls the look of natural hair instead - no real improvement, but I didn't want to scrape around on these otherwise fine models.

Recently, I became to know (thanks to Brendan Morrissey) that green plumes weren't common along Light Infantrymen until the Napoleonic Wars, at least no more than any other colour, i.e. black, white or red. However, I wanted to distinguish the Lights a bit from other troops to come, that will be wearing white feathers. Red was left out, because the Light Bobs dyed their plumes red only after the skirmish at Paoli, some days after Brandywine (which is the focus of my project).

Hope you like 'em. :)

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-24T15:57:00.001+01:00

I'd like to take the chance to wish all people visiting - commentating, reading or just watching - my blog a very merry Christmas and, in advance, a successful, healthful and happy New Year.
God bless Us, Everyone!

("Tiny Tim" by Wargames Foundry)

There's something going on over the holidays at Lead Mountain. Watch out for some red&white dressed men...

Barbarian Invasion

2008-12-13T15:46:00.002+01:00

Long time since the last update. That has been mainly due to a project I've mentioned here before, which finally can be revealed now. My gaming partner and I participate in a battle report competition called at the Sweetwater Forum. Most of the miniatures and terrain were done exclusively for our entry, so I just didn't want to spoil our readers' joy.
Now the competition is on, and finally I can show you at least my part of the effort.

The Dark Ages (around here it's called Völkerwanderung) has been fascinating us for a long time: Romans fighting barbarians, eventually determining the Empire's fortune - that makes always for a good story! Some of our German Medieval legends originate in that "heroic age", e.g. the Nibelungenlied. And thus we had found our theme. We wrote a story of two heroes rivalling about Siegfried's favour and portrayed it in a set of three scenarios for Broadsword Adventures, Rattrap's latest rule system for small scale fantasy skirmishes, but easily adaptable to historical settings.

To cut a long story short: My men were outcompeted and joined Hagen's plot against Siegfried. Here they are - first comes Gaidemar the Laggard, followed by his subordinated Odalrich and Gundrhaban (left to right):

Miniatures by Wargames Foundry, buildings by Gripping Beast (also painted by me for the entry).

Next ones, Gaidemar's minions, Allowin, Hiuto the Scout and Ragnfrid, Man of Sorrows (again, left to right):

Miniatures by Wargames Foundry.

Furthermore I've painted some civilians and other stuff to enliven the battlefield. On the picture beneath, the damsel on the left was a freebie from Wargames Illustrated (meant to be clad Lady Godiva). Originally I chose her to represent Kriemhild, Siegfried's wife, but eventually she made no appearance as such. I'm also quite happy how the swine and the herder turned out; both a joy to paint, though I'm normally not a big fan of Gripping Beast stuff.

Miniatures by Gripping Beast.

And, finally, a cart used for transporting the Nibelungen treasure and some deer to contribute to the atmosphere of our Deutsche Wälder (especially needed for the final scenario laid out around Siegfried's last hunt in the Odenwald forest):

Cart and cases by Redoubt, deer by Mega Miniatures.

Next time, I'll show you some Romans we used in our game, who also lay the cornerstone of my Limitanei force for Warhammer Ancient Battles. Keep your eyes peeled!

28th Regiment of Foot

2008-11-17T21:31:00.003+01:00

Today's entry tells another little story. If you dare, you may skip the following passage and go straight to the pics. :-(

It started - like many projects on Lead Mountain - with a movie. Back in the 80s I watched a German TV-production which told the story of Hessian soldiers being sold to Britain and shipped to America to fight the rebellious colonies. It was the first time I heard of the American War of Independence, and being a Hessian by birth this particular story had an impact on me. Years later I saw Mel Gibson's "The Patriot" - despite being an infamous movie it contributed to my sympathies for the 'villainous' Brits and to my general interest in the (real) history of this war. Therefore, by the time a friend of mine came up with his collection of AWI-figs I'd almost dived into the period myself. In fact, I had desired the ever-growing range of 28mm miniatures by Alan Perry long before and had already pressed some Hessian officers into service of my Seven Years' War French.
Now, here's my first serious attempt on painting miniatures for the AWI only: the 28th Regiment of Foot.

Figures by Perry Miniatures, flags by GMB Design, (badly converted French) tassels by Front Rank.

Admittedly, those Perry miniatures are quite a challenge - I've never seen so many details on a model of this scale! That's also why I started with a humble 12 figure-regiment. Hopefully I haven't made too many mistakes. However, a big thank-you goes to Giles Allison whose inspirational AWI blog (see list) made life, or at least my research on uniforms and equipment much easier. I've learned a lot over there, regarding history/uniformology as well as painting techniques.

Note: The leading officer is clearly meant to be a sergeant, but with his regiment heavily understrength there's need for any additional shot.

In my interpretation of the 28th the soldiers are all clad in informal field dress, i.e. cut-down coats and uncocked slouch-hats. I love this somewhat dandyfied appearance, also caused by my special interest in the campaign of 1777 when these uniforms made their first official appearance. My first Osprey book on the AWI subject was Campaign 176: Philadelphia 1777. Taking the Capital, and it's still one of my favorites.

Its cover art depicts British Light Infantry firing from a defensive crouch while some officers are holding council of war behind their lines. A very dramatic scene, and one that got me hooked. I'll try to stick with the 1777/78 campaigns as for me they represent the turn of the tide. As said: I'll try - I surely cannot resist some units that weren't yet in service back then. (British Legion, anyone?)

As a guideline I'm using the battle order of Knyphausen's divison at Brandywine. The 28th was in the 1st Brigade and saw action at the very beginning of this particular battle. Next will be a unit from the 2nd Brigade, and so on. I'm not planning to do all the units, especially as I'm also required to paint the Patriots as well. In first place, I will be using my collection for What-If scenarios.

First AWI miniature ever leftmost; his skin tone is softened which gives a more realistic result, but I went for some strong lines that, in my opinon, work better at a distance.

Still, I haven't decided for a rule set, maybe I will be using some homebrewn rules from a local wargaming group for the Napoleonic era. But with 40x40mm bases for infantry it shouldn't be a great issue to play British Grenadier or the like.