Of Chariots & Spies

6 x 4h 'Chinese' chariots Hch - converted from Early Carthaginians.  [the 'before' picture is two posts earlier].  No pretense at representing any particular dynasty they are just generic.  Of course there should be 3 crew but I cannot fit the extra bod in.

Next off the painting table will be 10 x Early Carthaginian 4h Hch (proper ones this time). 

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One of the Harry Palmer series but I didn't get the vibes of that character when I was reading it.  Not one of Len Deighton's best I fear. 

Unfortunately I am nearly out of , non-PDF, reading matter but have some on order - wait and see!

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Isolation has meant that I am doing various jobs that have been put off for years - clearing my garden for example.  Trouble is I have filled my garden bin - no collections until further notice and the tips are shut as well.  Bit of a log jam!

Sorting out my loft has shown just how many unpainted figures (metal and plastic) I have awaiting my attention.  Also a load of terrain pieces half done.  Have plenty of paints but many have dried out a bit.  Any suggestions as to how to resurrect them?

Anyway....on with the motley!

More New Arrivals

Received today another set of figures from Vexillia:

2x Mirliton RH 04 - Skirmishers with javelin and Italian shield (4 variants)
1x Mirliton RH 05 - Infantry command (4 variants)

As of today there are 2 more packs of RH04 available (and I'm tempted).  I only got 3 variants in my packs.   The infantry command is too distinctive to make it worth ordering some extras.

1x Mirliton RH 06 - Cavalry command (3 variants)
1x Mirliton RH 08 - Cavalry

The same horses are present in both packs.  In this case the command figures are not too dissimilar to the ordinary cavalry so may be worth ordering.

With my other recent acquisitions I can put together three early 'Italian' DBA armies - Latins, Romans & Etruscans.  Once painted I will be able to substitute more suitable figures into my DBM Latin army. 

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In other news I have been repairing figures/models - here is a sample of the 'before':

These are very old Minifigs 'strip' figures.  Sold as Early Carthaginian 4-horse chariots with driver I am re-painting them as early 'Chinese'.  Watch this space.......

A Bit of a Round Up

I thought it about time to do a round-up of things I have found on the net...................


(1)  After a break of several months Rod is back this year with seven contributions to the Jacobite cause:

British Infantry Sappers
British Siege Artillery
Cope's Supply Train
Dismounted Jacobite Cavalry
Dutch Coehorn Mortars
Lady Anne Macintosh
Siege Gun Emplacements

https://rodwargaming.wordpress.com


 (2)  Some Errata for two popular rule sets:

Chain of Command - Errata & FAs
http://toofatlardies.co.uk/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/CoC-Errata-FAQ-1.pdf

Sharp Practice - Errata & Questions Answered
http://toofatlardies.co.uk/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/SP2-FAQ.pdf


(3)  First published in the eighties it has now been revised.  Some of the text can be viewed on this site:

Armies of the Macedonian and Punic Wars Paperback by Duncan Head (Author) - £24.99 paperback
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Armies-Macedonian-Punic-Wars-Duncan/dp/1326256564

(4)  A Mission for Pikeman's Lament
https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/duxrampant/viewtopic.php?p=4253#p4253










(5)  "The Mill" Edition 2 - produced by Peter Pig

https://www.peterpig.co.uk/ - scroll down a bit to "New Things"

After the demise of Wargamer's Journal I was happy to see this new endeavour.

(6)  If you are looking for alternative wars for "Rebels & Patriots" you could start with this list on Wikipedia.  Plenty of scope for experimentation.

List of wars - 1800–1899

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_wars:_1800%E2%80%931899

(7)  Chinese War Wagons

Looking at the latest videos by Tony Aguilar I found two 'un-boxings' of 3d printed items from Rod Felderman:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pz2AVt5L20 - War Cart (hand pushed)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lq-zsE8DiVY  - Asian War Wagon

I have emailed Rod to find out prices, etc and will post the results when available.

Just a Trickle

Saturday 2nd July 2016 - finished another book.

"Eight Banners and Green Flag" (see Thursday 26th May for cover) by Michael Fredholm von Essen - Pub: The Pike and Shot Society  ISBN 978-1-902768-33-5

Subtitled "The Army of the Manchu Empire and Qing China, 1600-1850", it covers not only 250 years but also areas held by the Chinese (Ming & Qing), Mongols & Tibetans.  A pretty comprehensive book and well worth the £10.  I wanted more information on the Qing's enemies but I guess that you can't have everything. 

If you see the Pike & Shot stall at any show, and have any interest in Chinese affairs of this period, then go and buy it.


Monday 4th July 2016 - WDW

DBM - Nikephorian Byzantine v Communal Italian - off to a slow start (1-1-2-2) but luckily the ally was paying attention.  The game never really speeded up.  My (left) command was fighting against two others - one half creamed the enemy knights - the other half went down in droves.  Meanwhile the Georgian allies not only failed to break the opposition - they lost heavily.  The Byzantines may live to fight another day but will have to do some substantial recruiting.

On the only other table - Andrew & Jim played a WW2 tank fight with home-grown rules.  I got the impression that more work needs to be done to improve playability!

Very sparse attendance and no football excuse either.


Wednesday 6th July 2016 - recovering from my calling session at Barkstone Ash I finished off three more elements:

Left back - later Spanish Bd command - Left front - sword & buckler men (Bd)

Right - early Spanish Bd command

The blue and white flag looked ok from a distance but doesn't bear close inspection.  I will re-paint it in due course.  All these are for my DBA-RRR armies of course.

Some of my readers / viewers might be suffering a bit of deja vu.  With the acquisition of more Conquistadores I have been able to swap some figures around and substitute where appropriate.  This means more consistency regarding helmet / hat   types etc so that I can differentiate between Portuguese, Spanish and English forces.

Have been adding steel to my khaki and brown (WW1) hordes.  Wish I could paint as fast as Tamsin ('Wargaming Girl').

More Painting

Here are the 15mm figures:

Essex Chinese - painted here as Southern Dynasties Reg Bd(F).  

I first blogged about these in December last year.

On the left - hoplites (Asgard in front, unknown behind).

On the right - regular peltasts (Tin Soldier).

Still have many oddments on the painting board - including Carthaginian chariots.  Still progress is progress.

Polish Paholki, Chariot Horses & Southern Chinese

(1) Polish Paholki:

Thanks to Kadrinazi I now know that these figures (except one) represent peasants & servants [see comment on previous post].  So not directly useable as Polish troops but no doubt will find themselves as 'back-rankers' in a number of armies.

(2) Chariot Horses:

Whilst scrambling through my (overcrowded) loft I found 10 Early Carthaginian chariots.  Unfortunately 10 horses seem to have vanished.  So I ordered replacements from those kind people at Essex.

All I have to do now is paint the darn things!  And - Oh Yes - the rest of the army.  Ho hum!

(3)  Southern Dynasties Chinese:

I added 24 x Chinese swordsmen to my Essex order:

An illustration in the book ("Imperial Chinese Armies: (1) 200 BC - 589 AD") - E2 - shows a shield in the same shape as these Essex figures.  It is of a North-Western rebel of the Three Kingdoms period.  

The costume is, however, the same as Southern Dynasties so a much better substitute than the warband that I normally press into service.

It's just a pity that nobody does figures like the illustration in MAA 284 (H2):

The text says "The curved shield is associated with swordsmen in art, in contrast to the rectangular or oval types which would have been more suitable for spearmen accustomed to fighting in close formation."

Seems like an odd shape to me - and how would you make it?