A New Purchase

I have played FOG(R) a few times but do not own a set of the rules.  So why have I purchased a copy of the above?  The answer, dear reader, lies in 'Steven's Balagan' - or rather his "DBA in the New World".

To avoid too much concentration on Auxilia Steven adapted some of the FOG(R) army lists.  I thought that I would look at all the New World lists (Ancient & Renaissance)..

"This book covers the armies of the Pre-Columbian Americas until shortly before the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors in the early 16th century AD."

The armies covered include:

Central America - Amazonian Forest Tribes (Anti, Chuncho, Muzu, Pausas); Aztec; Canari;  Chanca; Chichimec; Chimu; Chinantec; Hatun-Colla; Inca; Mapuche or Araucanian; Mayan; Mochica; Olmec; Tarascan; Teotihuacan; Tlaxcalan Confederacy; Toltec; Tupi; West Mexican (Ixtan del Rio, Huitzilpa, Teuchitlan, Ameca, El Openo) & Zapotec or Mixtec.

North America - Eastern Woodland Culture (Algonquin, Iroquois); Mound-Builder Culture (eg Natchez); Pacific North-West Culture (Athapascan, Salishan, Tlingit); Plains Culture (Arapaho, Assiniboine, Blackfeet, Cheyenne, Comanche, Crow, Gros Ventre, Kiowa, Lakota/Sioux); Pueblo Culture (Hopi, Pecos, Pior, Tano, Tewa, Tiwa, Zuni); South-Eastern Woodland Culture (Biloxi-Souian, Cado, Muskogee, Timucuan) & Timucuan.

Of course I need the following book - "Cities of Gold" and this is on order.  When I have both I will do a proper review.

A Short Note

Well the second 12 round DBM Ancients tournament came to a really dull end.

Lysimachus faced off against Seleucus but the pikes never got into contact (surprise! surprise!).  After 2, boring, hours a draw was offered on the grounds that neither side was going to advance into dangerous territory.

The standings at the end of round two left 'guess who' at the bottom of the heap -  7 points behind the leader.  A closer result than round one (where I was second).

So what conclusions can be drawn?

Wb(F) were pretty ineffective - regularly dashing themselves against (thin) walls of Bd(O).
Whoever chooses the first army can sneak a considerable advantage if they pick a time period when their major opponents couldn't recruit their best troops.
Trying to get through BUAs is a nightmare - it can effectively close down a flank.

Now we have two weeks off.  On the 3rd March I will take along my 20mm Renaissance figures for a game of DBA-RRR.   The following Monday is the AGM so nothing serious planned for that date either.

Maybe, just maybe, I will get some painting done in the meantime!

British Irregular Horse

After rummaging through my books I searched the net for information.  The results were not of a gigantic magnitude.  However here are the fruits of my labours:

  "In the foreground 'Northern Horse' in mail charge the typical Irish cavalry."  [Derrick print 1581]   RA p42

To me the English are reminiscent of certain Late Roman cavalry with their mail and shields.  The Irish have strange helmets (or helmet covers) more like Sassanids.  I need to raid my 'spares' box.

 

"Carberry Hill - forces of the Scots Confederate Lords." RA p45

"Carberry Hill (1560's) - Mary Queen of  Scots' troops."  RA p46

The illustrations don't help much - the descriptions are as follows:

"A very small component of most Scots armies....the ordinary gentry would wear corselet, jack or brigantine, bascinet helmet, gorget, 'splints' for arms and upper legs, and mail hand and knee protection.  Great nobles could have full plate armour....basic weapon would be the lance."  [RA p45]

"The cavalry had helmets and sleeveless buff-coats (though jacks were also permitted) and were supposed to carry either pistols and broadsword, or light lance."  [RA p45]

 Osprey book - 'Border Reivers' - which I must acquire asap.

 "Usually the chief mounted troops of Scots armies were 'Border Horse' armed with light lance, sword, and, by 1600, one pistol, with 'steel bonnet' - often covered by a cap - and corselet, mail or jack as protection: leather breeches and boots.  They were distinguishable, if at all, from their English counterparts only by chequered plaids and the saltire of St Andrew on breast and back."  [RA p45]

"The borderers who fought for their respective countries at Flodden were armed and equipped in a very similar way.  the man shown here wears a jack of steel plates covered in red cloth, mail sleeves, long leather riding boots, and a fine sallet with an articulated neck piece.  He is armed with a sword, an eight-foot lance, and a small hand-wound crossbow called a latch."  [Flod p24]

Sources:

RA = "Renaissance Armies 1480-1650" by George Gush
Flod = "Flodden , The Anglo-Scottish War of 1513" by Charles Knightly

It looks like my "Scurrers" can indeed be used as irregular light horse for Scots-English conflicts but not (sadly) for the Irish.  After Vapnartak I will, hopefully, be in possession of the Osprey book and able to fill in more details.

New Arrivals

On Wednesday I received a package from Hatfields:
                             
                             2 x  HaT 8192 Natal Native Contingent (64 figs, 8 poses)
                  1 x Red Box 72046 Scurrers (12 horses in 2 poses / 12 riders in 6 poses)

After 'chemical processing' I cleaned the bases of enough figures so that they would stand to be photographed.  I then had to wait for a non-grey day.  This afternoon there was a brief gap between deluges when the sky was actually blue.

The scale is similar to the 'Call to Arms' Zulus - that is on the small and delicate side.

The last 2 figures could find themselves being converted to Hereroes/Hottentots.

The Hat site has some pictures of painted figures:
 http://www.hat.com/currentM.html
(scroll down to 8192)

                             A mixture of armour and headgear - most armed with spear/light lance.

             I can't help feeling that the guy on the right
                             has a real hangover!

The horses - the flash is bad in some places.  Cutting the figures free of the sprue wasn't easy either particularly getting between the rider's legs (ouch!).

Although these are Wars of the Roses figures I am looking at them to supply irregular cavalry contingents to Scottish, English & (maybe) Irish armies of some 200 years later.

I look forward to the PSR reviews.

Progress Report

....Or Lack Of!

My music project is still hampering me - I haven't been able to do any painting for weeks.
However, with a Monday off I have time to sort out some of the mess and write a quick blog note.

Last week's DBM game was Ghaznavids v Nikephorian Byzantine.  The terrain fell to my liking with a marsh to left and some rough going to my right.  Placing my  (allied) Qarakhanid command in the centre I hoped to hold off the opposition whilst attacking on the left versus their (allied) Georgians.

My sub-general ably handled his troops defeating the Georgians.  The Qarakhanid Cv(S) helped against the enemy Kn(F) but this left the Lh(S) pretty exposed.  It was touch-and-go in the centre with only one casualty needed to break that command.  On the right nothing much happened.  Still we turned out 6:4 winners (unlike the previous weeks drubbing).

On the plastics front I see that PSR has taken some proper photos of the Polish Paholki (see their 'Awaiting Review' section).  I'm waiting for a delivery from Hatfield - more on that later.

Happy New Year!

Seems like I haven't blogged for a while so here's some edited highlights:

Just before xmas I purchased 2 boxes of Imex figures:
                                                  520 - Mexican Artillery at the Alamo
                                                  510 - Mexican Infantry
The artillery figures have plastrons but the infantry are very similar to various Napoleonics.  As I have plenty of old Airfix Naps transformations could take place (and I could have yet another painting project on my hands).

Yesterday's  DBM battle was a dower affair between War of the Roses (with Scots allies) versus Anglo-Irish.  A historical match-up that even after 3 hours looked no closer to reaching a conclusion.  Total casualties in single figures.  Mind you had one of our allied commands not sat still for the entire battle things might have been different.  Oh well!

Now, at the end of 2013, I can review my painting/modelling progress (which has been decidedly sporadic):

15mm  Hellenistics - save for the oddments I completed the refurbishment of my Greeks/Hellenistics tins including elephants, cavalry & infantry.  Additional figures were purchased and added where required.

DBA in the New World - 90 point armies of Maya, Tarascan, Colonial Spanish & Colonial Portuguese all painted and based.

Hopefully in 2014 I will be able to devote more time to wargaming.

Anyway to all my readers/viewers may I wish you A Happy New Year!

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?