More Iberians and the start of a new project

So I finally managed to paint up the last of my Punic war figures, namely the Iberians. These are all 3d prints from Cromarty forge. They are a second unit of Scutari, some Caetrati skirmishers and a third unit of light cavalry. My only issue is with the Scutari, while basing the figures they got caught on my clothing before falling to the floor. Though minor damage I will need to replace a couple of spears on one of the bases. 

It is great to get these done and cross off another project as complete. Now to get in a few more games of Midgard and hopefully a practice run of Zama.

With finishing one project, time to start another. This one will be a bit of a slow burner as I aim to get enough figures done for a game before gradually adding to the collection. The Project is the Pony / Plains War, Native Americans against the US army. The idea will be to use Fistful of Lead bigger battles as most at the club are familiar with the rules and gave a good fun game, very Hollywood like which suits me. I did look at the Pony War rules, but they require what seems like thousands of native Americans and a lot of table space. I just don't have the space to store such numbers or paint that many figures.

The initial plan is to put together about 4 companies of US cavalry, supported by 3 or 4 companies of US infantry with a few Crow scouts and some civilians. The US cavalry will all need dismounted figures, so keeping each company to 10 figures. Scouts and civilians will be smaller units. I'll also need various wagons and pack mules as I intend the games to be scenario driven. Thankfully I already have a number of buildings from my ACW collection that can be used for settlers cabin's.

Now facing these I'll need initially about 40 or 50 mounted and 20 to 30  foot Native Americans, I can always recycle these during games as I build them up. So plenty of orders have gone in. Thankfully I already had some figures I picked up a couple of years ago, enough to make a start, a couple of units of US Cavalry and enough Native Americans for 15 bases of mounted and 10 bases of infantry. They are a mix of Peter Pig, Tabletop and Hovels. So far they all seem to mix well together.

So on order, I have a third unit of US Cavalry, a couple of mounted commanders, a supply wagon and Crow scouts from Peter Pig. From Friekorps I ordered some US infantry, another supply wagon. From Tabletop some extra civilians and lastly from Hovels a few extra mounted Native Americans, some villagers and tepees.

To get the project off the ground I completed two companies of dismounted US cavalry from Peter Pig. I have guidons on order to add later.

 I did paint up 6 Native Americans as a bit of a test, just waiting for some bases to get them completed.

Now I'll just wait and see if 'blogger' is playing up again. The last post from 2 days ago seems to have been delayed or not showing on feeds. Significantly down on views and comments. Fingers crossed this one goes through smoothly.

Spanish Scutari

A quick post as I near the end of the Punic War collection, I just have a few Spaniards to complete. These are the first of two units of Scutari. They are 3d printed from Cromarty forge, Mitch up-skilled them from 10 to 15mm. The spears will hopefully be a bit more robust.

I quite enjoyed painting these and look forward to getting the other unit done. I did notice some excess static grass that I'll need to brush off before I pack them away. I can hopefully finish the last 3 units and can start on my new project.

On Thursday we have our 6th Franco Prussian game, the Battle of Jarny. Looking forward to it.

Libyans and Elves

So in between work and a new puppy, I still managed to get a few things painted up. Firstly was another unit of Libyan javelin men. This brings me up to 4 units and are the last of my Carthaginian figures. These are a mix of Forged in battle and Essex miniatures.

The other figures completed were 4 more of the Oathmark Elven bowmen. These have been sat half done for a number of months so it didn't take much effort to finish. This finally roundouts my Elven force for Warhost.

So now I find myself at a bit of a loose end on what to paint. I do have a few 28mm Gladiators to finish, inspired by the free sprue from Wargames illustrated. I also have a few Spanish to paint up for the Punic Wars, enough for about 4 units, but that is it. So time to have a think on a new project to keep me busy for the rest of the year.

Oscan cavalry and extras

In between work and the new puppy, I did manage to steal a few hours at the weekend to get some painting done. These were two units of Oscan heavy cavalry from Forged in Battle. These nicely round out my Italiotes. Really happy with how these have turned out.

As with all projects, I couldn't help but add some period specific scenery. I picked up a couple of Celtic roundhouses and some Roman tents from Debris of War. I'm quite taken with the idea of adding a temporary Roman marching camp and some north african buildings to add a bit to the Zama layout.

The two buildings and tents were nice and quick to paint up, just successive layers of drybrushing. All I have left for the Punic wars are a few various units of Iberians and some Libyan skirmishers. Though I may add some more Numidians in the future.

The Romans are done

So I finally completed the last two units I needed for the Romans for Zama, namely two units of Roman trained Numidian infantry. These figures are from Forged in Battle and I really like them, may even pick up some more to expand the Numidians for the Jurguthine War.

I deliberately went for a mix of shield colours to keep them looking more irregular than their Roman counterparts. I even used the two left over figures for a level one commander. The other figures I managed to complete over the weekend were a couple of units of skimishers, Gauls and Libyans and a Gallic commander. These are all Essex miniatures for the skirmishers and 3d printed Cromarty forge figures for the commanders.

So when packing the figures away I decided to get them on the table, more for a gauge on the frontage they will cover, will help Mitch organise the table size we will require for Border Reiver. They squeezed into 5ft, so will probably want a table around 8ft as the Carthaginians will have a longer frontage and gives us a chance to add some scenic items on the periphery. 

Left wing, Numidian allies

Left center, Roman legions

Right center, Roman legions

Right wing, Roman cavalry

So with the Romans done I can look to finish off the Carthaginians as I have some Spanish allies to add and Libyan skirmishers. Then there are a couple of units of Italian heavy cavalry to complete that force. I can then look to get some figures painted up to finish the Epirote army I have. Be handy to get them done and plan some map based campaigns

Roman and Numidian cavalry completed

So another part of the Zama project can be marked as completed. First is the Roman cavalry, I still needed a single unit to complete the force, I actually painted up two, simply because I had the figures and didn't want them to go to waste. Both units are fro Forged in battle and represent elements from the 5th and 6th legion I had painted up.

The other contingent I completed was the Numidian cavalry. The last three regiments are also from Forged in Battle, they are a good match from the earlier Peter Pig figures I had painted up.

L to R, Peter Pig and Forged in battle

L to R, Peter Pig and Forged in battle

So all I need to complete is two units of Roman trained Numidian infantry, which are actually already painted up. I just need to get the bases finished and that will bring my part of the Zama project to a close.

Roman infantry Complete

So as part of the plan for re-fighting Zama, I had needed to add two more legions to the four I already had. I've taken advantage of the Bank holiday weekend and good weather to get all of the infantry done. Here is the last batch off the production line. Hastati and Princeps for the 5th legion and the Princeps for the 6th legion. The figures are mainly forged in battle with a few from Essex mixed in. I even used a couple of spare figures for another champion.

I just need the two bases of cavalry done for a Midgard unit to complete the Romans. I also had an update on my order for the remaining Numidians, hopefully here shortly and I can crack on with them before I start on some Iberians.

Here are the two new legions minus their cavalry.

More Romans

I've made some good progress on the Romans for Zama. My box set arrived from Forged in battle so I set to work on the 2 legions I still require. First up is the 2 units of velites, 1 for each legion. These are slightly chunkier than others in my collection, but I really like the poses. For shield colours I went for a plain dark red for the 5th legion and a pale blue with some white shields for the 6th legion.

Next up was the Triarii, each legion would be a single base which I will combine to make up a unit for Midgard.

Triarii of the 6th legion

Triarii of the 5th legion

Combined Triarii for Midgard

The other Roman unit I completed was the Hastati for the 6th legion. These are mainly Forged in battle with a few from Essex miniatures mixed in. Despite the Essex figures being slender they have mixed in well.

Hastati of the 6th legion

I have also painted up the Princeps for the 5th legion, but ran out of time to get the bases finished. I did though use a few of the spare figures for a couple of heroes/commanders for Midgard. These include Scipio himself.

Scipio on the left

I haven't just been painting Romans. I managed to complete the last of the African spearmen for the Carthaginians. These are now at 6 units.

So looking at what's left for Zama. I need one unit each of Hastati, Princeps and cavalry to complete the Roman contingent. I have the figures just need to get painting. For the Numidian allies I need three more units of light cavalry and two units of peltasts, these figures are currently on order.

More Punic Wars

I definitely feel that my painting mojo is back. I managed to get 4 extra units done this week end with two more just needing their bases completed. First up is two units of Numidian skirmishers to support the Romans as part of the Zama project. These are from Essex miniatures.

The other two units I did were an extra unit of Iberian light cavalry and a Gallic warband. These are both 3d prints. The Gauls are up-scaled 10mm STLs but seem a little chunky. Still they will hide amongst the rest of the army.

On the painting table I have various Carthaginian units and the start of the Romans I need for Zama. I just need to get the bases finished on two units of Velites for these additional legions.

15mm Numidians and Italians

With agreeing to help Mitch out with the Zama game for Border Reiver next year, I needed 6 units of Numidian light cavalry as part of the Roman contingent. These are all from Peter Pig, lovely models and I much prefer them to the 3d printed ones I have for the Carthaginians.

I've also received a nice bundle of figures which should provide about 90% of the additional figures I need for the Romans. A starter box from Forged in Battle for the Republican Romans, Some Oscan heavy cavalry for my 'Italiotes', Numidian and Gallic skirmishers. I'm awaiting another order which will cover the rest of the Numidians that I will need.

I also completed a second unit of Carthaginian cavalry. These are also from Forged in Battle and are the last of the cavalry from the starter set I had. Just 1 unit of spearmen and some Libyan skirmishers and they are all done.

The other unit I completed was the last of my Italiote heavy infantry. These are all from Essex miniatures with the exception of the command figures which are from Old Glory. I also took the opportunity to get the Italiotes out for a photo. I just need to get the 2 units of Oscan heavy cavalry done and the contingent will be finished.

With these done it has me thinking about a Punic War campaign where these, Mitch's Iberian and the Gauls can be used as allies and enemies for both sides. I've even got some Hellenistic Greeks to finish that can be used for Epirus. Something to ponder.