Heraclea Update - Phalangites and Cavalry

I've still been managing to find some time after work each day to chip away at the Heraclea project. I've been working on the Phalanx (closing in on halfway) and some Cavalry this week. All figures are from Victrix and are great to work with. I find Victrix to be so far ahead of the rest when it comes to plastics. From sculpt detail, size, to ease of assembly, these guys pump out great quality figures and I'd genuinely recommend them to anyone who asks.

Still unsure of how I'll base these up and have decided to leave shields out moving forward for the rest of the project and just sort them out at the end. I'll end up using LBM decals for most of em I'd say. Happy with how the project is ticking along.

Cheers, have a great weekend.

First Game of 2015! Saxon Dispute.

First game of 2015! Today my Daughter and I rolled out some Saxon's to fight a small territory battle somewhere in England around 920AD.

We used some home made rules which are a bit of a mash up of Kings of War; Viking Age, and Basic Impetus.

We lined up two relatively even armies and had at it. Once the exchange of missile fire had ended, and the opportunity to charge in presented itself, the two Shieldwalls clashed together in a massive roar! After a few turns going toe to toe, my left flank was busted and I was done for..It was a hard fought and bloody victory for Sienna.

An Awesome game to start of the New Year. I'll be going through my hobby area in the next day or so and decide on what projects are on for 2015. I have a bit of on idea on a few but will need to see what i've got sitting around to give me a head start.

Basic Impetus: Ayyubids

Finally, I've managed to base my Ayyubid army for Basic Impetus. These guys will be in action in the next week or so against my Crusaders. The Basic Impetus army list is as follows;

AYYUBID (Saladin) XII-XIII (VDT=19/10)

Nr	Type	M	VBU	I	VD	Notes
3	CM(*)	10	5	1	3	Mamluks - composite bow B
1	CM	10	4	2	2	Kurds or Syrians
1	CL	12	3	1	2	Beduins can be on camels
2	CL	12	4	1	2	Turcomans - composite bow B
1	T	6	3	0	2	Sudanese - short bow A
1	FL	8	4	0	2	Kurds - javelin

All the figures are from Legio Heroica's Holyland Range and are really well detailed. I purchased the pre-made Basic Impetus packs for both armies and now my 15mm BI 3rd Crusade project is complete.

Basic Impetus: Crusaders

I've now finished basing my 15mm Crusader army for Basic Impetus. The army list is as follows;

LATER CRUSADERS XII-XIII Sec. (VDT=14/7 or VDT=15/8 with option)

Nr	Type	M	VBU	I	VD	Notes
1	CP(*)	8	8	5	3	Military Orders
1	CP(*)	8	7	5	3	Knights and Sergeants
1	FP	5	6	1	2	Military Orders
2	FP	5	4	1	2
2	T	6	3	0	1	crossbow B

Option.
Change 1 T Unit with Military Order crossbowmen

Nr	Type	M	VBU	I	VD	Notes
1	T	6	3	0	2	Military Orders - crossbow A

All figures are from Legio Heroica's Holyland range and are greatly detailed for 15's. I bought both the Crusader and the Ayyubid army packs as a cost effective way to get two basic armies onto the battlefield. I couldn't be happier. Postage to Australia was reasonable and as mentioned before in another post, anyone from Oz looking to get some miniatures from Legio Heroica really should do so, they have outstanding international service.

I've just got to finish basing the Ayyubids and will post up their list and a few pics before the first battle.

Saxons!, On to Brunanburh!

I've finally managed to get the Anglo Saxon army finished (although i still may add a couple more units!) for our Impetus and Piquet game's coming up this Easter.  The figures are mainly Crusader with a few other manufacturers in there as well. I will probably throw together a camp and a command stand (or two) with the left over figures that I have. The Army (which has been scaled down) represents the forces of King Athelstan and his brother Edmund who fought a combined Norse-Celtic army led by Olaf Guthfrithson at the Battle of Brunanburh in 937.

I do have to say cheers to Matt from Storm and Conquest, I picked up the start of this army from him and he also helped get a few more units together. Go check out his Blog for more historical goodness!

Saxon WIP for Impetus

Today I got a bit more work done on my Saxon army for Impetus.
33 more figures have been mounted onto their 120x60mm bases and have had Pumice applied for texture. Over the weekend I'll add  a few coats of paint,flock and tufts to these guys, which will bring my army nearer to completion. I think once these 3 are complete I'll only have about 4 or 5 units to go!

These 3 units will all be part of the Mercian force led by Athelstan's brother, Edmund.

Photos from the Blackberry.

 Close up of a couple of Saxon Ceorls

 

 

Mixed Thegn and Ceorl Unit.

 

 

 

 

Most of the Figures from this batch are from Crusader Miniatures which are all great sculpts, and a treat to paint.

 Sorry about the photo quality, my phone does its best though in the absence of my Wife's camera.

Saxon Update!

Sorry for no updates in the last few months, I've been hooked on Magic: The Gathering and have been spending most of my spare time down at the local card shop. I've enjoyed my break from all the hobby stuff but am refreshed and keen to keep at it and finish this years goals.

Here's another unit of Saxon Thegn's and two units of skirmishers, all three are based for Impetus. Most of the painting is now complete on the Saxon project and I've just got to get through the basing.
Sorry for the poor quality pics, my camera is flat so I used the mobile phone. I just wanted to give some kind of update as it has been a while!

The Two Skirmisher units here were painted by Matt from over at the Storm and Conquest blog.

 

I'm also currently basing up my 15mm 3rd Crusade project as both sides are fully painted aswell.

My son Phoenix and I will be playing a small trial game of Kings of War this afternoon on the kitchen table, so I'll try and grab a few shots of the battle and give a few thoughts on the rules too.

 



28mm Saxons

The newest recruits to the Saxon army I am building for the Battle of Brunanburh project. It will be our big end of year game.

I painted these guys last night using mainly drybrushing and simple layering (2 layers) with the occasional highlight. I have a large amount of these to paint this year so the aim is to use quick and simple techniques that look good en masse and only going back to correct major botches.. I can live with the small ones and the occasional crazy eyes!

The figures are from Crusader.

Thegn Unit, painted and ready for basing;

These will be based on either 120 x 60mm bases or two 60 x 60mm  bases for Impetus/Basic Impetus. This basing will also let me use them for Piquet.