In an unaccustomed bout of decisiveness, I placed an order for 2 legions' worth of Romans, as described in the last post, plus a similar sized force for Carthage. I was teetering on the brink of ordering an equivalent number of Macedonians, then nearly swapped them out for more SYW figures and pondered ordering various odds and sods for an Ottoman army*. It all proved too much for me and my usual prevaricatory side returned. So just the Romans and Carthaginians then.
* H&R don't do any Ottomans, but I might try some Zouaves, Tartars, Cossacks, Pancerni etc. Irregular do by the way, so that's an option.
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| 18 packs ordered (8 Roman, 10 Carth. incl some elephants naturally). £90 for 2 small armies, not bad. |
Once they arrive I'll have a play around with different sized card bases to get a sense of what they will look like, before ordering some MDF ones. Then begins the search for some painting guides. I'm trying to save the pennies for future troop expansions so I'll probably avoid splashing out on books. Any recommendations for on-line guides?
From a terrain point of view, I'll stick with my green felt cloth and not go down the 'arid' root that seems to be favoured. I got some spray paint recently with a view to lightening the cloth a bit. Hopefully we'll get some dry weather soon so I can spray outdoors.
Well done on not prevaricating Chris! I tend to think about an order or project, pretend to myself that I'm taking time to decide whether I really need this 'stuff', when in reality I've already made my mind up. I should just place the order there and then, but feel the 'delay' somehow makes the purchase seem considered!
ReplyDeleteNo idea on guides etc, but I'm sure there is plenty of stuff online, often images from Osprey books etc. As for the cloth, I use my 'green' one, as the areas fought over were much greener than today. Years ago at a local museum, there was an interactive map of the Mediterranean and North Africa, that showed how it had dried out over time. So for your period North Africa being the bread basket of Rome, had to be more 'green' to be able to do this. Also one could argue that it would be hard to campaign in very arid areas, aside from the heat.
I think we’re on a similar wavelength Steve. A psychologist could have a field day on this.
DeleteI nearly said what you did about the climate and vegetation, but wasn’t confident of my ground.
Chris
You fellas are both very funny. Planning is a fun and useful activity but we all know the end result, don't we?
DeleteI think it’s cultural Jon. Steve and I are similar age. Probably both grew up on stories of rationing, getting an orange for Christmas etc, so just getting stuff on a whim, seems wrong somehow.
DeleteWe’ve got to have our little rituals so we’ve ‘earned’ our toys 😃
Chris
https://youtu.be/VKHFZBUTA4k?si=6D1telIzdOcjVA9h
Probably find more detailed info here:
ReplyDeletehttp://theminiaturespage.com/boards/topics.mv?id=137
Basic terms lots of white / off-white!
Romans, could have red, but more likely white. Far less "regular" than later Roman armies. I'd use shield colours to distinguish .
Carthiginians - citizens red or purple recorded along with white shields, Spanish white tunic with faux purple strip (woad + madder not true Tyrian purple from murex snails), Numidians off white, hide sheilds, Libyans or Pheno-Libyans red recorded, celts flesh and lots of different colours.
Suggest googling specific troop types for pictures...
Neil
Thanks Neil. That’s really helpful. So it’s pretty much off-white as you say. Like European armies of the Ancien Regime. I’ll feel right at home after the SYW then 😃
DeleteChris
You can always mix in some "linen" to break up the monotony.....☺
ReplyDeleteNeil
😆
DeleteActually your name is Chris and I claim my five pounds! Well done on the prevaricating. It’s good to know others agonise in exactly the same way I do. Interested to see how these turn out!
ReplyDeleteWell done! To claim your £5, just send a SAE with a postal order for £10 to:
DeleteThis Sceptred Isle Ltd,
PO Box 1966,
2 World Wars House,
1 World Cup Lane,
Much-Grifting-in-the-Wold,
Essex, DO0 D4H
On its way…
DeleteMy kind of thought patterns exactly! I know you're not getting books but Peter Conollys the Roman army and Hannibal and the enemies of Rome which are children's books are excellently illustrated and would cover everything your talking about if you got them cheap enough! The Roman army book was the first uniform book I bought with my own money at 11 years of age!
ReplyDeleteBest Iain caveadsum1471
Wasn’t Peter Connolly the guy who did the experiments with Macedonian style phalanx and pikemen?
DeleteI need to renew my library ticket to see what I can get books wise. They are more likely to have books on Romans than the SYW or ECW. And they did have a good ECW book the other year.
Chris
I think most of us take a bit of time to part with our hard earned cash Chris, but it is always an exciting feeling when the deed is done!
ReplyDeleteMust be the Presbyterian/Methodist in us.
DeleteChris