Reading List: Soldiers & Ghosts

Soldiers & Ghosts by J. E. Lendon is a psychological review of why the ancient solder fought and how he approached his fighting.  The book is in two sections:  Ancient Greece and Rome.  While I enjoyed reading both sections, I find the Roman portion a bit more enlightening and well documented.   The coverage of the Greeks reads more like mythology than history.

The soldiers of Greece are described as heavily influenced (almost dominated) by the legacy of the Iliad.  The super competitive warriors of Greek attempt to display their bravery by their commitment to stand their place in the citizen phalanx. By testing their resolve in the ordered warfare of the phalanx battle, each warrior publicly attempts to live up to their mythical ancestors.

The soldiers of Rome are subject to two conflicting requirements:   virtus or martial courage and disciplina or unit discipline.  The Roman soldier was every bit as aggressive and reckless as his Celtic opponent, virtus demanded that each man demonstrate his willingness to fight.  At the same time, army leaders imposed disciplina – the requirement to work as a team.  Often harsh punishments were used to keep the soldiers in their place and working for the benefit of the unit.  Ironically, the same centurions responsible for disciplina are found at the front of the charge expressing their virtus.

Of note for early Republic fans – the Roman section opens with an in depth review of the maniple system and how the Romans came be be ordered in that system.

The Military indebtedness of early Rome to Etruia by E. S. McCartney is a linguistically review early Roman practice dating to 1916.  In summary, the author attributes most things Roman to the Etruscans.  Reading between the lines, Rome appears as an Etruscan city gone rogue rather than an independent Latin state.  I have no idea how valid these ideas are – I would think an additional 100 years of research would produce better results.  At a minimum, the 40 pages of this document do provide a primer of terms and concepts from the early Republic which games should fine useful.

Notes:  document page number

pg 125:  Romans rejected the use of the bow and arrow, however the Etruscans continued in its use for much longer.

pg126:  Romans originally used a square shield.  The dual lobed ancile shield may have been ceremonial only.

pg 129:  Axe – used by Oscans during the Punic wars.  Etruscans used long after sword and spear were common.

pg 139:  Etruscans equipped with Bronze shields and heavy, metal tipped spears.  600 BC

pg 159:  Eagle, Wolf, Minotaur, Boar and Horse standards in use by the Romans before the time of Marius.  With Marius come the primacy of the Eagle.  Etruscans may have introduced the animal standards to the Romans, a figure from 600 BC is shown with a Bull standard.

pg 160:  Cavalry – mounted infantry rather than full fledged horse back fighters.

pg 162:  Chariot – status symbol of the King (600 BC).    Transport to the battle?  Driven during the battle?

Etruscan 2nd Class spearmen

Etruscan spearmen from Gorgon.  The figure line is set for 500 BC, but these figures will be incorporated into my Republic Roman army as Auxiliaries for the Punic wars.

Painting Notes:

Skin tone – tried for dark Mediterranean look using GW Graveyard Earth as the base, then working up with standard  Sand Brown and Ivory (both Vallejo).

Shields – based with Vallejo Cam. Medium Brown, wet blended with GW Kommando Khaki and Ivory.

Armor – GW Shining Gold.  Not the new fangled yellow gold, but the old hex bottle green gold.  Waited 10 years to find a use for this color – finally found what the color belongs on.

Bases – Americana Desert Sand rims.  Sand inked GW Brown, then given a mix of Graveyard Earth and Folk Art English Mustard.

Warhammer Giant

An old model which finally received its paint job.

Adepticon 2010: Hobby Seminars

Adepticon 2010 is rolling out a strong line up of hobby seminars.  Top of the line instructor are available to help take your hobby skills to the next level.  Be sure to register early, the most popular seminars sell out early.

The Hirst Arts terrain seminar will be returning.  I always have fun teaching this class – the seminar is all hands on and very approachable.  Rest asured, I am no Golden Demon winner – working with Hirst molds is a skill anyone can learn.

More Gorgon pics

A re-do on the Etruscan Captain picture, the face should actually be visiable this time.  Also posted are pics of the 2nd class spear men from Gorgon.  The figures are easy to prep, with just a bit of drilling needed to open the spear hand.  A few of the figure angles are a bit odd, with one leaning way back and one leaning far forward.  I know some folks like action in their figures, but I could do with smaller angles.

After musing on using the Etruscans in the WAB Ancient Greek List, I’m having a second thought.  Instead (or additionally), I may them under the Republican Roman list as Italian forces fighting in the Roman manipular style.  Not 100% how to pull that off, but its an idea I’m kicking around.

 

 

Republic Roman Army Project

Republican Rome Army Project – Wargames Factory birthed a thousand Roman armies from their $9.99 sale.  I picked up 3 boxes – 150 Romans should be more than enough for any project.  The army list below will be used as an opposition force to my Carthage army.  Its not 100% legal, lacking a 2nd Hastatus unit, but its primarily intended to be used on the demo table.  If I should chose to play the army, I’ll convert the Italian Spearmen into Hastatus to meet the army list requirments.

Military Tribune, Sword and light Armor, 69pts
#16 Hastatus, Full command, 144pts
#16 Princeps, Full command, Pilum and light armor, 176pts
#16 Princeps, Full command, Pilum and light armor, 176pts
#12 Triarius, Full Command, light armor, 180pts
#10 Velite, 70pts
#12 Italian Spearmen, Full Command, 99 pts
#8 Cretan Archers, 80pts

Armor Options:

• Mail armour – first used by wealthy citizens, then in general distribution after 123BC when furnished at public expense
• Pectorale – 22.5 cm square bronze chest plate.  Inexpensive armor option, pre-dating mail.
• Muscle cuirass – archeological evidence of use into the 1st century BC.
• None – light gear increasingly worn by Hastati in the years following the Marian reforms 105BC.

Plume vs. Feathers:  various sources are giving contradictory information about head gear.  A reference to the Altar of Domitius Ahenobarbus indicates Republican soldures wearing plumes from the time of the Punic Wars up to the time of Ceasar.

Cavalry:  Polybuis notes that the cavalry were armed in his day in ‘Greek fashion’ (i.e. with linen corslets, strong circular shields and long spears), but he observes that perhaps up to 190BC they had lacked body armour & carried only a short thrusting spear and a light shield.

Colors: Crests could be white, red or black. Tunics could be white, sand or red. Shields red or white.

Time Line:

• Servian Constitution – 580-530BC.  Established the 5 class system and introduces Hoplite style of warfare.
• Maniples Reform – 390-340BC.  Wars with Gauls and Samites motivate a change from phalanax to Maniple sub-units.
• Marian Reforms – 105BC.  End of the Maniple system.  Standardized equipment for all members of the legion.

Resources:

Republican Roman Army 200-104BC by Nicholas Sekunda, Osprey Publishing

The Making of the Roman Army by Lawrence Keppie

Chronicle of the Roman Republic by Philip Matyszak

Colour Guide Republican Romans by Michael Farnworth

Figures are WarGames Factory Romans combined with Numidians.  Metal shields from Gorgon, wire spears from On Military Matters.

Velite

Triarius

Hastatus

Etruscan Captain

Etruscan Captain from Gorgon Miniatures.  For now, the figure will play as a command character in my Carthagian army.  Perhapes the figure will one day have a full Etruscan army to lead.

Etruscan Captain

Gorgon Etruscans

Gorgon Miniatures released their new line of Etruscan figures.  I was lucky enough to pick up a few blisters this weekend & plan to work various figures into my Carthaginian and Roman armies.  But what about playing the Etruscans on their own – who are the Etruscans and how do the figures translate to a WAB army?

The Etruscans were a group of city states in northwestern Italy who existed as an independent culture from 900 BC through 100 BC.  They are most famous for being the original rulers of Rome.  The final king was over thrown in 509BC, leading to the legendary attack on Rome by Lars Porsena.  Little is known about the military structure of the Etruscans other than that they were strongly influenced by the Greeks and, in turn, influenced the Romans.

Weaponry:  Swords were rare.  Spear and axe (used as both a battle axe and for throwing) were the most common weapon.  Archery was practiced & bows are commonly found in Etruscan tombs.

Armor:  Bronze cuirasses of Greek influence.  Shields commonly round, but rectangular also used.

Organization:  The main body of the army was arranged as Hoplites in the phalanx formation.  Light infantry, unarmored and armed with spears, attack from a distance & attempt to provoke the enemy.  Cavalry were used for skirmishing and to peruse routing infantry.  Chariots have been found in Etruscan tombs, but it is not known if these were used as transports or fighting platforms.

Army List: The Ancient Greek list from the WAB 1.5 rule book can be used to create an Etruscan army list.  By selectively choosing units, a conservative representation of the Etruscan army may be fielded and stay “tournament legal”.

• Etruscan Hoplite played as Hoplite Phalanx
• Etruscan light infantry played as Peltast with javelin & shield.
• Archers played as upgraded skirmishers.
• Skirmishing Etruscan cavalry played as Light Greek Cavalry with upgrade to Thessaly/Thrace cavalry available.

What about the “fun stuff”?

• The Etruscan Chariot was used more for racing than for fighting.  While it’s most likely that the racing chariot descended from a military weapon, it is unlikely that the Etruscans continued its military application in the time period of the heavily armored hoplite.  Citizens able to afford a chariot would instead be in the phalanx.
• The Etruscan Axe was largely a ceremonial weapon by the time of the phalanx (Connolly).  In addition, neither a battle axe nor a throwing axe is compatible with the hoplite fighting style.  If the axe must be included, Thracian Peltast rules can be used with halberds standing in for the battle axe, and skirmishers can have the standard javelin play as the throwing axe.

Sources:

Rome and her Enemies, a complication of Osprey titles.

Greece and Rome at War by Peter Connolly

A discussion on building an Etruscan list for Field of Glory.

Catalog of the Etruscan Gallery by Jean MacIntosh Turfa.   Notes:  See page 29, Chariot racing.

Carthage Army – ready to play

The first 1000 points of my Punic Wars army is painted and ready to play. Basing is a simple coat of paint, with sand & grass coming at some future time.  Paint plan is  super simple – block colors as a base, a wood stain dip followed by touch ups in the same base color.  The army list is still a work in progress & has under taken a few changes from my first posts.  The Gallic light cavalry are gone, done in twice by Macedonian spears in as many games by the warband rule.  In their place are more skirmishers and a third Gallic warband.

MDS – Design Challenge

Miniature Design Studios is hosting their second Design Challenge.   Send MDS an email at info@miniaturedesignstudio.co.uk with your idea of what miniatures they should create.  Sounds  like they are looking for both figure ideas and a bit of motivation.  One entry will be picked at random – then MDS has 21 days to produce the figures and get them into their web cart -or- give you a £25.00 credit.

Here are the rules of the challenge:

The scale will be 28mm
The troop type must be rank and file infantry
The subject must be either Biblical, Ancient or Dark Age (we don’t sell WW2!)
The figure will be designed in three variant poses (To be agreed)
Only one entry per person (I will check!)
All entries must reach MDS via email by 12.00pm, Friday 9th October 2009

My entry to them is for Hannibal’s Veterans.

The Veterans of Hannibal’s 2nd Punic war should be a rag-tag band of killers who spent a decade marching up and down Italy.  Isolated and cut off from the home land, the army was forced to “resupply” in the field.  Other companies produce Veterans who are cookie cutter copies of each other.  Instead – I want to see 1 African, 1 Celt and 1 Iberian in looted Roman mail each with a unique helmet and shield.  Figures are armed with long spears and swords at the belt.  Spears are held upright & figures should rank cleanly on a 20×20 base.

Extra credit – make the heads on a separate sprue for additional figure variations.

I base this vision of the Veteran units on a paragraph from The Fall of Carthage by Adrian Goldsworthy which describes Hannibal’s warriors as a diverse and ill-provisioned group.  Any other credible sources out there?

Beastmen Conscripts

Ever have a project that seemed like a good idea at the time?  I built a unit of 20 Beastmen for Imperial Guard using the lower half of the WFB Ungor with the Cadian torso & arms.  Now that I look back on the unit – I must have been crazy.  For those of you who don’t play Fantasy Battle, Ungors come 6 to a box with 8 Gors.  Meaning I’d have to buy 3 boxes (and steal 2 more bodies from somewhere) in order to just get the beastman parts, the Cadian parts would take 2 more boxes.

But they are pretty sweet looking!

Celts/Iberians: WIP and Reading List

Starting to get this dip thing figured out. The key was diluting the stain with mineral spirits to get a shaded effect without coating more than 50% of the model. The current mix is 1 part stain to 2 parts spirits. In the photo – the back rank was dipped at full strength & the front rank was dipped using the diluted mix. I’ll need to come back at a later date & clean up the excess shade. Probably re-paint the shields also as the grain from the dip is very noticeable on the flat surface.

The second photo displays the simple paint job under the dip.  Its so nice to be able to work through a unit of 10 in only two nights.  With my current time constraints – the dip make for a marvelous alternative to the grey legion.

For game play in WAB, these Numidians are going to fill in for just about every spearmen in the ancient world.  Ultimately, I think they will fit well as a Iberian tribe in Barcid employ.

Reading List

Barbarians Against Rome:  Rome’s Celtic, Germanic, Spanish and Gallic Enemies by Peter Wilcox and Rafael Trevino.  Published by Osprey.

Gallic chapter plates contain excellent painting references.  Illustrations are an obvious resource for the Wargame Factory Celts.

Spanish chapter plates display a variety of Iberian tribes.  Most warriors carry the scutum shield of Celtic origin (long and oval), or the caetra – a small round buckler.  The Lusitan tribe is depicted as carrying a large round shield with boss.  Tunic is sleeveless and earth tone.

The Celtic World by  Cunliffe, Barry W.
Contains photo of WF Celtic ornamental shield.

The Ancient City:  Life in Classical Athens & Rome by Peter Connolly and Hazel Dodge.  A focus on Athens and Rome – how the cities operated, how common & noble people lived, how buildings were designed and created.

Beastman Battle Standard Bearer

Converting my 6th ed Beast of Chaos army into a 7th ed army lead me to adding a Battle Standard Bearer.  Wanting something quick and inexpensive, I converted a Chaos Warrior body with Beastman arms, legs and head.  Most of the work was done with side clippers & exacto – with the warrior cape covering up most of the damage to the knees.  A small ball of putty supports the head, together with a few strokes of the sculpting tool to blend in the new neck.  All told, I may have spent more time digging in my bitz box for parts than working on the figure.

Beastman Battle Standard Bearer

Testors Dull Coat

Absolutely amazed by Testors Dull Coat, I’ve never had a spray sealer so completely kill the shine on figures before.   The units I’m currently working on are dipped in wood stain, which leaves a heavy duty shine on the model.  One coat of Testors returned the figures to a perfect dull finish (almost too perfect – a little bit of shine can help hide painting imperfections).

Picked up my can at the local Michael’s Arts and Crafts for about $4.50.

The Only Good Space Wolf…

is a dead Space Wolf.

No need to go into the vile details, but I have no love of the Space Wolves.  Here’s hoping for a good nerfing in their new codex.

The terrain piece is Armor Cast based on plastic card with a few Mordheim bits.

GWpertinent: Old School Mini

GWpertinet is holding a old school 40K mini “contest”, looking for the oldest, painted GW figure in people’s collection.  This kicked off a trip to Stuff of Legends to see what I had in my collection.  I started playing in 1997, but most of my old school minis have been picked up second hand.  My oldest figures come from the Eldar command unit from the March 1988 catalog – including the harpist, Champion and both standard bearers.  I even have the back packs for the standards – I always figured they belonged to the harpist, not the meta gunner!

However – the contest calls for painted figure.  Once again, I was surprised to find the Space Marine Commander ranks with the oldest and dates to the 1991 catalog.  The figure was painted in 1998 or 1999 and was probably amongst the first 50 figures I painted.  Good to see I’ve learned something in the past 10 years – like how to high light and to always under coat metal with black.

Speaking of history.  In my collection, I found 3 beaky marines with 1987 stamped on the tab.  In only 4 years GW managed to jump from the bent over, scrawny proto Space Marine to the commander pictured above.  While the over all style has change a bit over the years, this commander shares more similarities with Marines of 2009 than 1987.  I don’t know if that’s a sign of a strong design or stagnation…..

Carthage Army WIP

Plastic figures are a wonder to work with, but they sure take a lot of time to assemble.  After a lot of work, my 1000 point Hannibal in Italy WAB army is assembled.  All figures are  Wargames Factory kits.

1000K WAB Punic army WIP

Army List:

• Gallic Cavalry
• Spanish Heavy Cavalry
• Trained Africans *
• Gallic Infantry
• Gallic Infantry
• Skirmishers
• Army Commander (not pictured)

*The Numidian spearmen kit will stand in for Trained Africans until I can purchase mailed spearmen.  Once replaced, the figures will be used as Spanish Infantry.  Yes, yes the figures have round shields.  More on the shields later.

Reading List: Classical World

Book Reviews

Warfare in the Ancient World edited by General Sir John Hackett – the text provides an over view of various periods in ancient history including Assyrians, Hoplites warfare, Persians, Alexander the Great, the Successors and about 5 chapters on Romans.  Each chapter is 20-30 pages long and written by a different author.  The book provides a good introduction to a periods arms and methods of warfare, has adaquate battle diagrams but does not contain any painting references.

Fighting Techniques of the Ancient World by Simon Anglim, Phyllix Jestice, Rob Rice, Scott Rusch and John Serrati.  An overview of the fighting men of ancient times.  The book is organized by type (infantry, cavalry, command and control, siege and naval) rather than by region.  Sadly, the book reuses prints by Peter Connolly for most its illustrations – only the battle maps are original.

Greece and Rome at War by Peter Connolly.   The book is a re-working of three earlier titles now out of print.

• Hannibal and the Enemies of Rome
• The Roman Army
• The Greek Armies

A massive work overflowing with Peter’s color illustrations of ancient troops- Greeks, Macedonians, early Italians, Celts, Spanish, Numidian and lots of Romans.  Most of the illustrations are reproduced, although a number of the panoramic war scenes are missing.  In addition to troops, the book also contains prints of fortifications and sea vessels.  Out of all the books I’ve reviewed from the library, this one goes on my buy list

Liguria

Online Research

Ligurian Warriors in the Hannibal WAB list caught my eye for the combination of javelins (mixed weapons) and light infantry.  Information on the tribe seems sparse, but it may be possible to rep the unit using Celt figures.

Per Wikipedia Liguria is a northern region of Italy.  The tribes of Liguria mostly allied with the forces of Carthage. Photo source Wilipedia, used without permission.

Britannica Online :

No ancient texts speak of Ligurians in southern Gaul as nations or attribute definite racial characteristics to them. Such authors as Strabo and Diodorus Siculus described them as a rough and strong people whose piracy the Romans deplored. These views, however, appear in late texts and refer to the Celticized Ligurians (Celtoligures) between the Rhône and Arno rivers. Strabo declared that they were a different race from the Gauls or Celts, and Diodorus mentioned that they lived in villages and made a difficult living from the rocky, mountainous soil. In any event, their reputed boldness caused them to be in great demand as mercenaries. They served the Carthaginian commander Hamilcar in 480bc and the Sicilian Greek colonies in the time of Agathocles and openly sided with Carthage in the Second Punic War (218–201 bc).

Carthage Army List & Figures

Carthaginian Army list: 2nd Punic war, Italy

Subordinate General with light armor and shield 88pts
Trained African #24 full command, 255 pts
Gallic Infantry #24 full command, 159 pts
Gallic Infantry #24 full command, 159 pts
Skirmishers #10, Musician, 45 pts
Gallic Cav #6 full command, 129 pts
Spanish Hv Cav #6 with light armor,  full command, 165 pts
1000 pts

The army list is roughly based on Hannibal’s army, 2-4 years into the Italian campaign.  Gallic Infantry makes up the majority of the infantry units, with Spanish and African units completing the formed units.  Cavalry is a mix of Gauls, Spanish and Numidians.  Units missing in the 1000 point list will be added at the 2000 level.

For this first phase, all figures are from Wargames Factory.  My first order included not only the Celtic horse and Numidian I ordered, but bonus sprues of Roman Cav, Zulus and Ancient Germans!  Multi-part plastic might be a bit more work to assemble, but they open the door for easy conversion.  I like the Roman mail bodies with Numidian heads and shields as Spanish Cav.  The standard Numidian spearman is servicable, but I’m concerned that the spear is too short.  The Zulu with a Numidian head was an attempt at an additional skirmisher – but the smaller head looks funny on the well muscled body.

I’m interested in feed back from people on the following configurations.

• Trained Africans = Numidians with spear and shield
• Gallic Infantry = Celts
• Skirmishers = Numidians with javelins
• Gallic cav = Celtic cav
• Spanish Hv Cav = Roman cav armored bodies with Numidian armored heads and shields

Zulu with Numidian head, Ancient German x2, Celt, Numidian Spearman, Numidian Skirmisher

Birch Tree Leaf Litter

Turns out a popular type of leaf ground cover is nothing more than filler in the birch tree seed pod.  An article on the Reaper forums provides a summary of how to preserve and color the leaves.  I was fortunate enough to find a cluster of these birch trees in a local park (apparently they are quite rare in the Chicago region).  The time to harvest the seed pods is now; one week ago the pods were green on the branch, today the pods are dry and releasing on the wind – one good storm and the season will be over.  To look for these trees in your area, look for the paper like bark on the trunk.

First efforts with the leaf litter return so-so results.  The “leaves” are a bit big for scale & a little difficult to paint.  Excuse the bright green, I need to find a better color for the next project.  This example was painted after application – perhaps next time I’ll follow the recommendations on the Reaper forums and pre-color the leaves.

leaf litter on Hirst Arts wall

Leaf litter on baking pan

Reading List: Rome/Carthage

The local library is invaluable when conducting research when building/painting  historical armies (or I should say, my wife the librarian is invaluable when conducting research).    Be sure to check the juvenile section of your library – many of the well illustrated volumes are located in the kids section.

Several books that I have/am reading to get me up to speed for my new Punic army.

Warfare in the Classical World by John Warry – the book covers the whole of the classical world, with only 3 chapters dedicated to the period of the Successor Wars/Punic Wars.  The strength of the book are color prints of solders from the various armies – limited to one or two per chapter, the prints provide a strong reference for army building/painting.  For the Punic army: solders typically dress in white tunics with purple trim.  (Per Goldsworthy, the purple trim was for Spanish soldiers only.)

Roman Warfare by Adrian Goldsworthy – a rise to fall overview of the Roman military.  Battles are well mapped and well diagrammed.

The Fall of Carthage by Adrian Goldsworthy – in depth history of the Punic wars.  Text with limited battle maps.  The author borrows text from Roman Warfare in the overview of the two powers.

pg 207:  Hannibal’s army at Cannae August 216

10,000 cavalry: 4K Gallic, 2K Spanish, 4K Numidians

40,000 infantry:  8K skirmishers, 20K Celts, 8K Libyan and 4K Spanish

Generals: Mago (brother of Hannibal), Hasdrubal – hv cav, Maharbal- Numidian cav

pg 208:  “Our sources were most struck by the diverse dress of the enemy army.  On the one hand were the Libyans, dressed in Roman helmets and armour, and with oval scuta, then the Gauls stripped to the waist (since this is probably what Polybius means by ‘naked’), and the Spanish in their white tunics with purple borders, to which we might add the unarmoued Numidians with their distinctive hairstyles and riding their small, shaggy horses.  It is uncertain how accurate this picture is.  The Spanish had left home two years before and one may wonder how many still wore their native garb and had not replaced it with what ever was available locally or could be made in camp.”

215BC and 214BC – Hanno leads smaller armies of local troops from south-west Italy:  Bruttians and Lucanians with Numidian cav support.  These smaller forces were routinely defeated by the Romans while Hannibal was unchallenged.

pg 242:  Hasdrubal 207BC attempts to march reinforcements into northern Italy.  Defeated at battle of Metaurus.  Hasdrubal killed & army destroyed.

“Significantly” fewer than 40,000 men.  Spanish and Gauls.  10 or 15 elephants.  Little cavalry.

pg 243:  Mago 205BC lands near Genoa.  2800 cavalry, 18000 infantry, 7 elephants.  Forces drawn from Balearic Islands, Ligurian tribesmen and (presumably) Libyan/African forces.  Army defeated in 203BC, Mago dies of battle wounds, and army is withdrawn to Africa.

Roman Fort by  ??? – a fully illustrated overview of a typical Roman fort based on findings from Hadrian’s wall.  The pictures are a good source of information for terrain projects.  (lost track of the author’s name)

Washed Celts

Round 2 of the Celt paint plan test.  This test set uses 4 washes:

• GW Badab Black
• GW Devlan Mud
• Wonder Wash original (black)
• Wonder Wash Dirty Dark Brown

The GW washes dried matt with even/smooth shading over the whole figure.  Black and Mud returned very similar results with the black darker by a hair.

The Wonder Wash washes dried with a high shine.  Shading is uneven with puddles at the feet and at the bottom of shields.  The Dirty Dark Brown is very red and produces a very unpleasant effect on light under colors.

Conclusion:  I will be using two washes on the army models: Devlan Mud on cloth/weapons and Gryphonne Sepia for skin.  The skin tone with Devlan Mud is far too dark for fair skinned Celts, but could be perfect for a more Mediterranean look.

Badab Black

Badab Black

Devlan Mud

Devlan Mud

Wonder Wash Brown

Wonder Wash black

WAB classical campaign: Adepticon 2010

We are launching an online Warhammer Ancient Battles classical campaign.  Results of the campaign will feed into concluding events at Adepticon 2010.   Rules of the event are free and easy – its more of way to get a few games in than a simulation of the Successor Wars/Punic Wars.  If your interested in signing up, visit WAB.Adepticon.org for all the details.

As an aside – the web site is my creation.  I’ve been reading about web design for the past year & this is my first chance at a live site.  The base of the site is a template used as a starting point.  Version 2.0 should come later this summer (after I get my campaign army finished!) with a whole new, and original  layout.  If anyone has feed back on the design, I’d love to hear from you.

New Miniatures Company: Gorgon Studios

Gorgon Studios launches with their first miniature;  Temperance, a 40mm collectors scale figure.  Soon to follow are two line of Classics miniatures sculpted by Steve Saleh:  early Spartans and Etruscans.

I know the folks behind Gorgon Studios.  I’m both excited to see what they have to offer and confident that they can deliver quality productsto the gaming community.

Dipped Celts

Playing with two new toys – Wargames Factory Celts and WoodSheen by Minwax and I’m slowly warming to both.

The Celts are plastic 28mm figures for historical wargamming.  The figures are cleanly cast, without significant mold lines.  Assembly is a bit of a chore – the models are intened to be dynamic, which makes it a bit hard to sort out what angle an arm belongs at or where to hang a shield.  Sculpting is adaquate – hair stands out as the one area that needs improvement.  The figures are true to human scale, which means they fit with with GW’s Empire humans but are dwarfed by Chaos Maurauders.

Celts are played in a hoard – my tentative 1K WAB list has about 90 warriors.  There is no way I’m painting that many figures by next Adepticon.  The solution is dip.  I chose WoodSheen:  Rose Wood as an alternitive to the standard stain products as it advertises a 2 hour dry time.  I applied the dip by brush and with 24 hours of dry time, the figures were slightly tacky (which is still better than the huge stink and 2-3 day dry time of stain).  After two layers of matt spray sealer the figures were presentable.  The biggest adjustment in using this product will be the choice of base colors.  All subtle shades are lost under the dip, I’ll need to add more whole colors such as grey and white to my color scheme.

This figures need a bit of touch up on facial details and the shields need to be fixed.  But other than that, any other advice?  I’m thinking the dip is too heavy on the skin tones & that I might want to try a better brand of matt sealer to completely kill the shine.

Inspiring Sources

Terrain building is more fun with a constant stream of inspiring sources.  Look outside the typical hobby forums for photographs (and photoshops) of real life.

Source: bpkelesy photo used without permission

Could this become a Hirst Castle on an ice peak?  Why does our gaming terrain always have to be flat!

It does not take Photoshop to make something incredible, history is still in the world around us.  Travel logs are rich in photos of castles, forts, churches and abbeys.

• Cities of the Roman World
• Russian Forts
• Travels in Scotland
• Tynemouth Priory

The world of architecture has plenty to offer:

• BldgBlog
• Subtopia
• Unusual Architecture
• Modern Factories

Deviant Art is a constant source of images, both real and imagined.  Search by Urban and Ruin for a world fit for any battle field.

Painting decay, rust and ruin can be difficult to master.  Look to real examples to get the tone right at Smashing Magazine.

Source: daniel cheong photo used without permission

Finally, web design sites provide a plethora of textures.  Look at steel, stone, marble, rust and bone for real world color.

Gaming on a Budget

From the Warp asks:  if it’s a money saver, let’s hear about it

Financial Budget:  keep a record of all hobby spending.  Its not so hard to do – keep a spreadsheet with all your hobby cash in and cash out.

• Set a yearly budget
• Keep a running total and wait to be surprised by your expenses after six months or so
• For those of us with families its easier justify large purchases (new armies, air brush, convention trip) if the hobby expenses are under control

Time Budget: gamers are notorious for starting (and not finishing) too many projects.  Stop wasting money on products which never make it to the gaming table.  Only buy figures and supplies that will actually get used.

• limit yourself to 2-3 projects at a time
• set a due date for each project – if you have no plan to finish, will you ever finish?
• clean out the back stock – paint 2, buy 1

Quick Links: TableTop-World

Table Top World is a new resin terrain company creating fantasy buildings.  Not only do they have 3 three very nice kits to launch their web store, but their build style is completely unique.  When creating a stone effect, they literally use stone to create the model.  Read all about the method in this interview with the owners/sculptors on Cianty’s Tabletop Wargames. Additional images posted to photobucket.

Ruined Castle – Complete

Took about 10 weeks of hard work, but I’m rather satisfied with the result. In the end, the 8×4 table was consolidated into a tightly packed 4×4 table – perfect for a skirmish game like Legend of the High Seas. The event organizer was please with the terrain & apparently the castle was a hit with the players.

Looking at the finished project, I would to add a few taller pieces.  The jungle plants are nearly as tall as the castle structures – I’d like for the castle to break through the forest canopy.  Guess that’s a project for next year.

Pirate Castle Series:

1. Ruined Pirate Castle
2. Its a Jungle out there
3. Ruined Pirate Castle – layout
4. Ruined Pirate Castle: paint list

Pirate Castle At Play:

1. Cursed Treasures:  Cursed Isle at Adepticon
2. Plastic Legions:  Give it up for the Pirates!!

Ruined Pirate Castle: paint list

Adepticon is almost here & the castle is nearly finished. For this project, I’ve spent a lot of time painting with a sponge. Its a great little tool which completely eliminates any brush marks. With the highly textured surface of the Hirst blocks, the sponge quickly applies paint to the surface & leaves shading in the crevices unmarked. Wet blending is a snap – the sponge easily blends from color to color.

All that is left is a bit of static grass on the bases and creeper lines on the walls with flock.

Paint List

Field Stone:

• tan house paint base
• Dark Brown with hints of Light Red Oxide & Hunter Green (Folk Art)
• 80/20 brown/black wash with water, future wax and white glue mix
• Desert Sand top coat (Americana)

Chipped Stone:

• medium grey house paint base
• Medium Gray (folk Art) & Dolphin Gray (Apple Barrel) undercoat
• 80/20 black/brown wash with water, future wax and white glue mix
• Medium Gray top coat

Soil:

• medium brown house paint base
• English Mustard (Folk Art) 1st dry brush
• Desert Sand top brush

Ruined Pirate Castle

The pirate castle for Adepticon is finally coming together (and with 2.5 weeks to go – it better!).  25 pieces cover a 6 foot by 2.5 foot table space.  When combined with jungle plants, the whole set up should fill a 8×4 gaming table.  I have a lot of painting to do, but a big brush should cover a lot of ground in a hurry.

The castle layout begins with the two large round towers with the gate house ruins in between.  Next is the open court, presently occupied by pirate booty in the form of wine barrels.  Past the loot is  the armory on the left and to the right, the chapel.  Next comes the remains of the grand hall, now little more than an entrance way & a few pillars.  Finally, the oldest part of the castle stands with a watch tower on the left and the corner keep on the right.  The broken remains of the walls surround the fort.

Both towers below have full floors at the 4 inch level, making them fully 3D gaming pieces.  The ground cover is Hirst Arts Cavern Accessory Mold #85, wooden craft barrels and resin cannon balls.

Corner Keep

Corner Keep

Armory

Watch Tower

Its a Jungle out there

It is an old concept, but damn if plastic plants don’t make for super easy terrain.   Take a trip out to Michael’s or Hobby Lobby stock up on:

• a few types of plastic plants
• a bag of 40mm round wooden disks
• hot glue gun

After a few nights work, you’ll have a jungle worth of terrain to cover the gaming table.  I’ve never been a fan of hot glue, but the product does a fine job of holding everything in place.  25 stands/150 glue points and I’ve had to re-glue one plant frond.

Look for this jungle to be part of the ruined pirate castle playing at Adepticon 09.

Quick Links: Jons Mini Blog- Saracens

Wonderful unit of Saracen infantry at Jons Mini Blog.   Even if you not into historical figs, you’ll want to check out the brush work.  Strong unifying color with individual accents to both bind the unit and keep each figure unique.

I’ll be sure to return to Jons blog when I get back to my own Arab army project this summer.

Photo credit:  Jons Mini Blog

Review: Terrain Putty

Terrain Putty is a two part resin marketed by Kraftmark as a terrain builder’s solution.  The product is light weight and produces a dough like putty when mixed.  Combining the resin and hardener is a messy job, frequently getting putty all over one’s fingers.  The resin half is a bit “lumpy” and requires careful attention for a smoothly mix.  The baking analogy continues with the combined product as  the putty feels and acts in the fashion of a sugar cookie dough.  The putty pushes and shapes very well, but has limited ability to pull or stretch. Water functions as a tool lubricant & smoothing agent.  While working time is advertised as 2 hours,  I had no opportunity to work the putty past 90 minutes.

Three Tests

Sculpting: Terrain Putty did a fine job of taking and holding sculpted detail.  The putty is very receptive to finger shaping and able to hold a respectable edge with little work.  Care needs to be taken with the uncured putty, as it has little strength.  Only after 24-48 hours does Terrain Putty develop its full durability.

Patching: As a gap filling product for a resin kit, Terrain Putty does poorly.  The lack of elasticity in the putty makes working a “sausage” into a gap a bit of a chore.

Molding: Terrain Putty does take a texture stamp with some success, although the putty does leave residue on the stamp.  The putty can also be used as a casting material in an RTV mold (such as the Hirst Arts molds).  Terrain Putty is adequate at taking detail & could be used as a substitute for a limited number of pieces if casting resin is not available.

Over all I rate the product a B. The ultra small grain of the epoxy holds detail and takes compression molding very well.  Finally, the price does seem a bit high when compared with other product s on the market.

Project photos: Terrain Putty on the gaming table.

Infestation Area Terrain

The alien has arrived & its hungry.  Prepare to be infested!

5th edition 40K brings strict line of sight to the terrain rules.  The solution is area terrain with defined places for all objects.  A 1/4 MDF board is drilled with sockets for 60mm and 40mm wooden disks.  Look for this terrain system at the upcoming Adepticon convention.

For these two terrain sets, each disk holds a mini-diorama built from Hirst Arts blocks, PVC pipe, a plastic Easter egg and lots of Terrain Putty (light tan) & Apoxie Sculpt (light gray) epoxy putty.  In addition to standard sand flocking, the MDF board is also coated with a mix of play sand applied wet & saturated with white glue.  The ridges represent underground tentacle growth from the infestation, hopefully the effect will be more noticeable once painted.

Ruined Pirate Tower

First installment in a rather large project for Adepticon:  a ruined pirate castle. The table will be used for the group Legend of the High Seas game on Friday and Saturday night.  Plans for the rest of the castle include a second round tower, one or more square towers, a fallen main  hall, a few grand facade and lots of jungle foliage.

The ruined tower is built from Hirst blocks with a floor tile carve as the second floor and wall paper texturing the base.  The open side and missing upper floors represent the damage done to the fort when sacked by the British navy – but in reality are a nod to playability, giving easy access to the structure.

Quick Links: Favthumbs

Favthumbs is a handy mashup site which displays a site thumb nail for each of your Delicious links.  You don’t even need to have a Delicious account – the interface will display links from any user.  Only draw back I see is a 100 thumb nail limit – but a little bit of tag browsing should get around that.

Do you use Delicious?  Link up your Favthumbs/Delicious account in the comments.

March 12-2009:  Favthumbs is gone.  The owners were not able to support the site & have turned the address into an ad site.

Too bad – I really liked the ability to see the bookmarks as thumbnails.

Hirst Pipe Mold Terrain

The 5th ed 40K rules put a new spin on terrain building.  LOS now strictly governs what a model can see.  Area terrain, the abstract fuzzy space of trees or ruins on a platter, is gone.  The solution adopted by Adepticon is to place all terrain objects on 3 inch disks with matching sockets in a MDF base.  The Hirst Arts Pipe molds, along with the Sci Fi molds, provide an excellent resource to build all the required objects.

Pumping station made from 5/8 Pipe mold, 3/8 Pipe Mold, Station Builder, Star Ship Wall mold and the Star Ship Deck mold.

FTW contest: Figure Base

From the Warp is sponsoring a best base contest.   Getting motivated was a bit of a problem until I needed a proof of concept test for a pot topper.

What’s a pot topper?  It is a 6 inch disk of static grass used with silk flower arrangements that can also be cannibalized for miniature ground cover.   Look for pot toppers at Michaels Arts and Crafts – mine cost $1.99.  Opening the topper took a sharp scissors and a bit of patience.  The static grass sheet is stiff and full of texture.  When cut apart, the clumps are between 4 & 6 mm tall.  At this point, I’m not certain if they are any improvement over loose static grass, but I see great potential for the grass on larger projects such as terrain.   In any case, the clumps are a much cheaper alternative to Silfor.

The rest of the base is made from more conventional materials:  a bit of bark for the stone & field grass for the tall plant spikes.  Painting is a simple combination of dry brush and wash.  The whole project took about 2 nights of puttering around time in front of the TV.

Quick Links: Okko

Okko is a two player game of samurai warriors based on the comic by the same name.  Published as board game with paper figures, the game was originally intended to be played with pewter miniatures.  YIU (who did such an excellent job with the Alkemy jungle board) created a set of terrain features to support the 3D aspect of the game.

The French language Okko forums contain two WIP threads:  tower and compound. Additional notes in English at the Wyrd forum.   Check out the Fortin and Okko galleries on Photobucket or the unofficial Okko blog.

A handy trick to create rocky ground using a heat gun over insulation foam.  Finished effects shown above in the display bases.