This might be the Truth.....

Refused are Reforming !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is huge, but I have to check this out more I don't want to Fan the Flames of Disappointment......

Details pending.

Can I scream?

New Numidian Minions

Evening I hope this finds you well, my frequent accomplice Ella came by and brought her camera and took a couple snaps of a nearly completed Battlegroup I was working on. Sure they are WIP but since I don't really own a camera, bear with me. And I made 8 bases, not sure where the other three went in her pics, but they exist, I swear. There are also 4 lights, (tehe).

I was in a hobby shop awhile ago, rummaging through the Old Glory 15s section, looking for well priced Carthaginians or Marian Romans. I didn't find any in the OG section ( I would assume this is also where Ice Cube is seated ) so I took a gander at the Corvus Belli selection. And they had tonnes of stuff I could use. Now people in the 15mm ancient wargaming circles hold Corvus Belli in very high regard, these little Spanish made wonders are very detailed and beautifully sculpted, the more you look at them the more details you see, and the paint jobs on their website.......wow. But my previous temptations have been tempered by the fact that alot of the models in their range are rather, well, thin. They seem slighter and narrower than other manufacturers, which I seem to notice more so then others. Add this to their rather high price and limited range, ( ie: their Marian Roman range lacks Command or Cavalry models), and I have been less then tempted, but sometimes a loud bar quiets, and the lights darken around all but one single angel, and you just know.

These models are beautiful, the tunics look great and painted better, they are thick armed tough nutters like they would have been, there is a total of 8 different poses out of 16 models, and most importantly a goodly number of them have beards. And in all honesty, making an BG out of 2 $5 dollar bags of minis is pretty cheap. My only complaints are there was a fair bit of flash on these bad boys (but it came off super easy, nice malleable alloy I would assume), and one of them suffered some sort of arm injure en route from Spain, but that I didn't mind so much as it forced me to use Green Stuff, which I hadn't done in years. I was pretty nervous about GSing in such a small scale, but now I can't even tell which of them I did it to. Which is likely what I was going for.

So just who are the Numidians? Well if you look at a map of the northern coast of Africa you will notice that across from Sicily there is a hump of land that sticks far into the Mediterranean. Numidia was basically that chunk all the way to Morocco, but aside from a name it doesn't appear to have ever been a particularly unified place. It seemed to have been a rather fluid collection of principalities within likely several highly mobile and nomadic societies. This internal tension and the tough life that they lived (desert nomads prior to the introduction of Camels was likely close to being a Fremen from Dune on the leisure scale), made these people some of the toughest and most respected skirmishers and light cavalry in the ancient world. They are referenced in Roman accounts of the Punic Wars happily engaging in close combat, something light troops where not even expected to do. These guys were so damn good at what they do that the Romans happily snapped up their services as mercenaries during their wars with Carthage and long after. Almost a hundred years later they are mentioned in Caesar's recount of the conquest of Gaul, during fighting in what is now Belgium.

Which brings me to my next point, I can and intend to use these bad boys in both my Carthaginian army and the Marian Roman one I intend to make immediately after. So it is with much pomp and ceremony that I induct these handsome chaps as the inaugural members of my "Multi-Army Model Pool", wherein they will be called to duty by the standards of many nations.

Welcome home boys, I will try and get some of your mounted countrymen next to you soon, and you can likely expect to meet some Thureophoroi, mercenary Hoplites, Gauls and Iberians too.

Have a good one.

Team Tunic pics, son of typing.

Evening, hope this post finds you well. Canada advanced to the next round of Olympic hockey so I am pretty happy myself, thanks for asking. My friend Ella came over to watch the game with me today and she brought her Camera. After some initial mess ups with me embarrassing myself with it, she took over and snapped some amazing pics. She selected the top 11 and emailed them to me after some cropping, and I threw them on as soon as I could. I jury rigged up a craptacular background by bending a sheet of computer paper and bracing it with a tube containing vinyl record cleaning equipment. I hope it helps the light look more like, well, light.

Ok so they still need static grass, and the basing gets kinda watery in spots but all and all I am happy with the results, and more than a little surprised. My motor skills have never been my strong suit, and for baby steps this is a pretty good start. I really like the fact that this unit can easily pull double duty in a Early or Late Carthage army, as I secretly wish to try both. And as for the static grass, this is my first time using it and as such will try it out a couple of times before putting it on the miniatures.

So there they are my first Field of Glory Battlegroup, more to come. If I can find the drill bits for my wee drill then the elephants will be next, but failing that I will go for Team Linen Cuirass.

But then again, there is all this sweet hockey over the next couple days........

Team Tunic pics

Late Republican Roman list.

As you may or may not know, brewing up crackpot armylists is one of my favourite aspects of the hobby. I don't like it nearly as much as playing, but it is ahead of painting although no where near as rewarding. And since I can't sleep tonight I brewed up a list to help get my eyelids heavy. So here is a Late Republican Roman list at 800pts (which seems to be the going rate for tourneys and pick up games alike), when entering the hobby I was really tempted by this army and am quite sure that they will be my second list, soon as I am done my Carthage list. Although the Carthage list was settled on cause I could actually get them in a store, I am very glad I did start with them as the variety of troop types and cultures represented within their ranks will make for a more interesting army to build and learn the game with. In hind sight the Romans would be alot easier to paint, haha.

Anyway here is what I came up with.

HQ:

Inspired commander, two Troop Commanders and a pre-requisite Fortified Camp.
Grand Total: 174 pts

- Inspired might be over kill but I like the idea of an initiative bonus.
- Two Troop Commanders seems like a good idea too, with all the different types of movement.
- I don't mind Fortified Camp eating up 24 pts in the least.
- Not only is it historically accurate, I would likely spend the points anyway.

Core Troops:

2 BGs of Elite Legionairies.
- 4 bases each
Grand Total: 136 pts

- Don't care if this is overkill, these BGs are a primary motivation for playing this army.

3 BGs of Superior Legionairies.
- 4 bases each
Grand total: 168 pts

- Can't ever get too much of an almost as good a thing.

2 BG of Armoured, Superior Heavy Cavalry.
- 4 bases each
Total: 128 pts

- Again extra points on upgrades seem worth it, shame they aren't drilled.

One BG of Javelinmen.
- 6 bases
total: 24 pts

- If you have to pick either these gents, slingers or archers as a core choice, you might as well get guys that can strike at a distance and in melee.

Optional Troops:

One BG of Light Cavalry.
- Light Spears and Javelins.
- 4 bases
total: 28 pts

- Extra horse, fragile but mobile, able to strike far and in melee.

One BG of Cretan Archers.
- 4 bases
total: 24 pts

- Not a bad price for some crack shots, drilled too.

One BG of Syrian Horse archers.
- 4 bases
total 32pts

- Cause I am bound to face horse archers, it might be fun to have some.

2 BGs of Thureophoroi
- 6 bases each.
84 pts total.

- Quality MF and Offensive Spear and drilled to boot.
- Love Old Glories models.
- No idea how to pronounce this word.


20 bases of awesome to better than awesome Heavy foot.
12 bases of quality drilled, Medium foot. Two mobile, terrain dancing scrapers.
18 bases of shooting,
-8 of which is mounted,
-10 can fight and shoot
-(4 of which are mounted)
16 bases of horse.
-That and the inspired commander give me a plus 2 in initiative. You don't get that action until 4th level as a mage in D&D. Party on Wayne....


My math is usually suspect at best, but if I am right I am actually two points short of 800, which seems frugal enough. The list is a bit scattered, with troops of many different use and capabilities but I feel there is enough duplication in these Battlegroups individual tasks that a workable (read: Mad enough) plan may emerge. Admittedly I do suspect only having 20 bases of Legionairies is close to the lower limit of what is likely wise at this point level only use will tell. What this army does sacrifice in bashing power it makes up in uncharacteristic mobility, and what heavy foot it does have seems to be among the best in its period.

Fun thought experiment if nothing else.
Night

Team Tunic ready for basing pt:2 The Typing......

Evening hope you are well.

As you can see by the title of the last two posts and the photos below Team Tunic is completely painted and done. They only need to be flocked, but they are still drying so I am not pushing my luck. I even have 6 extra dudes to use in a camp or command diarama. It took me awhile to just say ok and put them down and not keep touching them up. Its important to remember when building miniatures for wargaming that they are supposed viewed from a table which is basically alittle more than arms length. With this in mind it isn't just a matter of stepping back from over detailing a mini, but to also project the details like an unmiked actor on stage.

Admitatly this is my very first attempt into 15mm models, and there is at least an outside chance that I will be embarrassed by them in year. But I thouroughly enjoy working in 15mm, its more rythmic and as a result suprisingly meditative. It covers your mistakes, and doesn't ask alot for attention to detail, but still is impressive when ranked up and very rewarding. But I am alittle intimdated by the next units Linen Cuirasses and the Celts being clothed entirly in plaid, and as such have decided to paint 4 bases of Elephants. Yup Elephants, got them on sale with a gift certificate 4 in the bag for $15 thats cheaper than the website. They are huge with big broad angles and surfaces, many textures to play with and guys in Hoodahs with crazy long pikes. I already started knocking them together and will get at them as soon as I am able.

I will also endevour to take better pics when the basing is done.
Take care.

Team Tunic ready for basing.