Welcome

To the new followers:

• Christopher (aka Axebreaker) 

• Kingsley Park

• Captain Richard's Miniature Civil War 

• rousell68

• Prufock

and any other new followers who haven't been welcomed to this blog.

Hope you find the content interesting and worthwhile.

Cheers for now

Plans within plans within plans

As the last units of Spartans are slowly taking shape the creative spark is drawn to other sources. The impetus driving the Spartans was the Battle of Mantinea with the 400 point army depicted and painted representing the victorious force of that bloody day. The inspiration that will drive the Macedonians on will be taken from Arrian as below:

But to this Alexander replied, "I recognize the force of these arguments, O Parmenio; but I should feel it a disgrace, if, after crossing the Hellespont so easily, this paltry stream (for with such an appellation he made light of the Granicus) should bar our passage for a moment. I consider that this would be in accordance neither with the fame of the Macedonians nor with my own eagerness for encountering danger. Moreover, I think that the Persians will regain courage, in the belief that they are a match in war for Macedonians, since up to the present time they have suffered no defeat from me to warrant the fear they entertain."

Having spoken thus, he sent Parmenio to take the command upon the left wing, while he led in person on the right. And at the head of the right wing he placed the following officers: Philotas, son of Parmenio, with the cavalry Companions, the archers, and the Agrianian javelin-men; and Amyntas, son of Arrhabaeus, with the cavalry carrying the long pike, the Paeonians, and the squadron of Socrates, was posted near Philotas. Close to these were posted the Companions who were shield-bearing infantry under the command of Nicanor, son of Parmenio. Next to these the brigade of Perdiccas, son of Orontes; then that of Coenus, son of Polemocrates; then that of Craterus, son of Alexander; then that of Amyntas, son of Andromenes; finally, the men commanded by Philip, son of Amyntas. On the left wing first were arranged the Thessalian cavalry, commanded by Calas, son of Harpalus; next to these, the cavalry of the Grecian allies, commanded by Philip, son of Menelaus; next to these the Thracians, commanded by Agatho. Close to these were the infantry, the brigades of Craterus, Meleager, and Philip, reaching as far as the centre of the entire line. 

The actual army list has still to be finalised but the above passage will provide the historical basis of the army as well as the inspiration to paint it. At first glance this force will have at least six phalanx in it, so there will be a good few pikemen to paint as well as several units of cavalry. This doesn't include the skirmishers and light infantry mentioned as well. Oh the joys! When the full list is completed it will be posted to the Macedonian page.

Cheers for now.

Basing the Peltasts

The following pictures show how the Peltasts and the previous units of Spartan cavalry have been based. This is actually a step backwards in that an additional process has been added back in to the sequence for basing; this is the creation of raised and textured ground effects by using milliput. This has returned for two main reasons:

• it improves the over aesthetics of the base
• it helps to reduce any warping that may occur in the later stages of basing

The stages that are currently being used are as follows:

• use milliput to create raised and texture ground effects
• glue figures in place
• fill any gaps with milliput and allow to dry for 24 hours
• cover entire base with a liberal coating of PVA glue
• cover with sand and gravel mixture and allow to dry for 24 hours
• wash textured base with acrylic inks and allow to dry
• dry brush using Foundry Sand triad
• glue Silfor tufts/static grass in place
• dry brush silfor tufts with Foundry Boneyard C

The following pictures show this in stages

At present this base has no static grass on it, which is not in keeping with the rest of the army, so it will probably be added in at some point.

The first unit of Allied Hoplites progresses slowly as does a unit of cavalry for the Rise of Macedonia army that is being worked on in tandem to the last of the Spartans. Will hopefully get some work in progress pictures in the near future.

Hope that you enjoy the pictures and find the ramblings on basing of some use, although there is nothing new about the method used.

Cheers for now

Interesting distractions

For those of you interested in the Great Northern Wars and Basic Impetus Baroque have a look at the blog below. Its in its early days but will grow in content knowing it's owner; a fellow member of Legion Games.

Anyway here's the link:

mylittlewargameblog

More updates to follow shortly.

Cheers for now

Pro et contra

Mixed feelings today about a variety of things.

Firstly, welcome to the most recent new members, glad to have your support and hope that you find something of interest in this blog.

Secondly, past the ten thousand hits mark yesterday which is great! However, feeling slightly cheated due to the massively increased number of hits over the last week or so. Not sure what is causing this but ten thousand plus hits is ten thousand plus hits, so thanks for all your support over the last year. Hopefully, the blog will continue to grow and maintain your interest.

Thirdly, the venue that Legion Games meets in closed last Sunday as numbers of other visitors - British forces veterans  - have been dwindling to the point that it is no longer economic to open the Legion in the afternoon. As a club this present several problems, the foremost being finding another venue that meets our requirements and that isn't too expensive. There are several options for a new venue at present, so fingers crossed something will present itself.

An alternative is to use the facilities already in use by another club. Whilst this will allow the club to continue meet, the identity of the club will be gone as an independent entity. There are pros and cons to this and only time will tell.

On a more positive note, the peltasts are nearly finished and the first unit of Allied Hoplites are undercoated and taking shape. These figures are all from Gorgon Studios range of Spartan Ekdromoi and were selected to look like poorer troops in older equipment than the majority of the other Spartans in the army. A unit of cavalry for the Macedonians has been started as well. Pictures of all to follow shortly.

Thanks again for your support.

Cheers for now.

Spartans on the Hoof 2

A few pictures of the last unit of Spartan Cavalry for the Impetus army.

The next few pictures show both units together and how the texturing on the bases fits with each other.

Thats all for now as the club meets today and still have kit to pack.

Cheers for now

The terrible business of the push of pike

Gathering a few images to help with the next units for a new Basic Impetus army - Early Macedonians for either Phillip's or Alexander's reigns.

P. Connolly 1975 The Roman Army

Alexander 2004 O. Stone

The actual painting hasn't started yet but the preparation is well under way with the figures selected, filed and under coated. Sources for colour reference and images being gathered as shown above. This is as important as the actual painting as it allows a theme to be started for the army. This develops a feel for the period being painted and the army being represented. Whilst not all the sources used will be considered authentic, they all help to gather a variety of interpretations of what the actual units may have looked like.

There will be a further update later this week with some more progress on the peltasts and Spartan cavalry.

Cheers for now