Celtic Invasion of Macedonia - Hail Caesar Setup

Here are some photos of a setup for a hypothetical battle between invading Celts and Macedonians. Hypothetical in that the Macedonians are led by Pyrrhus and not Ptolemy Ceraunus or Sosthenes. Historically, Pyrrhus was still having a great time in Italy and Sicily during this invasion. However, didn't want to give the Celts too easy a time as they did with Ptolemy Ceraunus or outnumbering the troops Sosthenes had. The photos are a bit dark as I took them at night, and the flash only helped out a little.

As it appears we may be getting back to normal soon here in Washington State, figured I had better refresh myself with the rules for Hail Caesar, Black Powder and Bolt Action. Part of this setup is to inventory and familiarize myself with the units. I also wanted to see how they'd be grouped into divisions.

For an actual game, I'll add a bit more terrain and the units won't be so bunched up. It's easier to get them into the picture this way.

Looking forward to hosting this Hail Caesar game in the not too distant future - probably in the summer.

Below is the Macedonian-Epirote army. From left to right: Companion heavy cavalry; Hypaspist elite heavy infantry; behind the Hypaspists, 2 units of Samnite Warband light infantry; a light artillery bolt thrower; Mercenary Hoplite phalanx heavy infantry; 3 Macedonian-Epirote Pike phalanxes heavy infantry; interspersed with 2 Elephants - with Light Infantry archers screening them; another Mercenary Hoplite phalanx heavy infantry; behind the Mercenary Hoplites, 2 units of Light Cavalry armed with javelins.

Next, the Celtic army; left to right: 4 units of Light Infantry skirmishers with slings screening main body; 6 units of Warband armed with swords and javelins - 2 of these units are nobles in army and classed as heavy infantry; 2 units of medium cavalry armed with javelins; in the rear, 4 units of Light Chariots.

ADDENDUM: (some closer-up shots of the units)

Macedonian right: Companion heavy cavalry; Hypaspist elite heavy infantry and 2 units of Samnite warband light infantry.

Macedonian center: Mercenary Hoplite heavy infantry phalanx; Macedonian pike phalanx heavy infantry and elephant - screened by light infantry archers. Army general (Pyrrhus with standards in the center).

Macedonian center, continued: Epirote elite pike phalanx heavy infantry with elephants on either side and light infantry archers screening.

Macedonian left: Macedonian pike phalanx heavy infantry and Mercenary Hoplite phalanx heavy infantry. 2 units of light cavalry with javelins in the rear. Division general is an "actual" Pyrrhus figure by Relic Minis 

Celt left: 2 units of Noble heavy cavalry with javelins and swords; unit of light infantry slingers screening a unit of Warband medium infantry and a unit of Noble Warband heavy infantry - both with swords and javelins. Chariot squadrons in the rear.

Celt center: 2 more units of light infantry slingers screening 2 Warband medium infantry with swords and javelins. Army general Bolgius to the right with raised shield. Boudica's great, great, great aunt Hazel commanding the center. Chariot squadrons (total of 4 with 2 chariots per) in the rear.

Celt right: Warband medium infantry and Noble Warband heavy infantry, screened by light infantry slingers; chariots to the rear.

I think I have enough units for a 4-player (2 per side) game. Probably going to hold off on larger groups for awhile. On another note, my Perry finally arrived a day ago - no fault to the Perry's as the shipping label shows they mailed it out on April 13th. Their website does say "within a month" for orders being sent to the USA. I was just spoiled from my earlier orders which arrived within 2 weeks. Thanks again for dropping by and wishing you all the best.

Amati 120mm ECW Pikeman

Added highlights after the Minwax staining; I like the way the stain defines the details before going over with washes and highlighting.

Next to a stand of Warlord Games 28mm pikemen below.

Used a 12" bamboo skewer for the pike - the pike head and butt spike came with the kit.

I'm likely not going to add a wooden base below the one with the figure as the pike makes it hard to fit in the display case already.

This was a fun kit to paint up and seeing it going for under $15 USD on ebay made it hard to resist.

As I liked the finish on the armor left by the Minwax stain, I masked those areas before spraying the figure with a matte finish.

Just a quick diversion while awaiting the arrival of Perry figures. Thanks for stopping by and wishing you all the best!

Amati 120mm ECW Pikeman - WIP

Not a gaming figure, but something to pass the time until my Perry order arrives (hopefully soon). Picked this resin kit up off of ebay for under $15 USD and free shipping, so couldn't pass it up. I see there a still a few of these still on ebay for the same price. It's painted in the usual method of block painting followed by a stain of Minwax.

Incidentally, I also picked up the OOP Warhammer ECW book off of ebay for a bargain price too. When it was in print, I hadn't an interest in the period - boy how times change.

Above image shows it with the basic blocked painting. As for my Perry order, I'm a bit surprised as it's been about 3 weeks since it was shipped. Maybe I'm just spoiled as I've had most of my Perry orders arrive within 2 weeks - the website does say approximately a month for orders to arrive in the USA. In any case, thanks for stopping by and checking out the blog. Best wishes to all of you.

Warlord Games Fallshirmjager in Tropical Kit

Finally finished these guys - actually started on them a couple of weeks ago and then got distracted from picking up a brush until last night. They were actually quite simple to paint up using only two colors for the uniforms (except for the two in splinter camo). The pants and helmets/caps were painted with Vallejo Iraqi Sand and the shirts Vallejo Dark Sand. The equipment was painted in varying drab/khaki colors - can't really go wrong here. The camo smocks were painted following the old Resistant Roosters method which I've used in past.

The were given the Minwax stain treatment over very basic block painting. I think the stain works great with WW2 figures wearing drab clothing. The only highlights I added were to the face/flesh - figured they should look grimy and weathered.

Plan to use them mainly as Ramcke Brigade guys who served under Rommel at El Alamein. However, the scarves are painted blue with white polka dots which are associated with the 5th Parachute Regiment which served in Tunisia.

These are nice figures and each in individual poses. Pictured below a comparison with a Victory Force figure in the middle. Victory Force guys are fairly tall, but should work fine on the table alongside Warlord figures.

Glad to pick up a brush again - I haven't gone without painting for this long in a while. Probably will start on the 120mm ECW Pikeman figure next. I was hoping to get an order of Perry WW2 figures already, but still waiting for their arrival. Well, thanks for stopping by and sorry for not stopping by your blogs for a couple of weeks too.

Blitzkrieg Miniatures 1:48th M3 Grant in British 8th Army Service

As with the earlier Panzer II and Panzer III, still need to at a tank commander from a Perry order. The camo is based upon an example I found on the internet. Used an old can of Tamiya OD for the basecoat, and then applied brush on Vallejo Dark Sand for the other major color. Outlined the sand color with with and the OD with black - as per the online example.

Very light weathering; just a light stain with a Future/Pledge floor wax mixture and some pin washing; followed by light dry-brushing - mostly on the sharp edges.

I want to add some unit marking later - if I get some appropriate decals.

The turret is magnetized like the Panzer III, and can rotate 360 degrees. The tow cable looks more like a rubber hose; may have to streak it with some metallic/rust.

The Grant flanked by Tamiya 1:48th kits - a Matilda in front and Crusader to the rear. These will be the tanks for the 8th Army force. I may add an armored car too.

A comparison with a 1:50th diecast Corgi Sherman - the Grant is slightly taller overall, and also dominates the rivet count.

Next up is the Warlord Games Fallshirmjaeger squad in tropical uniform. Thanks for stopping by and wishing you all the best.

Blitzkrieg Miniatures 1:48th Panzer II & Panzer III

Awaiting the arrival of some Perry metal tank commanders, but the resin Panzer II and Panzer III from Blitzkrieg Miniatures are done. I dry-brushed on Vallejo Iraqi Sand over a base coat of Vallejo Green Brown. According to the DAK paint set the Green Brown was used up to 1942, but looked too dark, so I went over it with Iraqi Sand - which the set indicates was used in 1943. A sepia-tone wash mixed with Future/Pledge floor wax was applied and then sprayed with matte.

These tanks are supposed to belong to the 15th Panzer Division which used single numerals to identify vehicles. The decal sheet I got from Warlord had the famous DAK palm trees, but didn't have the symbol for this division. Might add them later if I ever pick some up.

As mentioned in a previous post, these are scaled at 1:48th, since the rest of my vehicles are either this scale or 1:50th Corgi diecasts. Nothing against 1:56th scale, but I had started in 1:50th-1:48th so stayed with it.

I used some spare magnets for the Panzer III turret, but used a washer and magnetic tape for the Panzer II. The large magnet would've been a bit too powerful to spin around the smaller II's turret.

A few comparison shots with the plastic/diecast OOP New Millennium Panzer IV I painted a while back.

I think the Panzer IV is around 1:48th scale too - appears to be close, in any case.

Next up is the Blitzkrieg M3 Grant in 8th Army service. Until next time, best wishes to you all!

Artizan Spartans Ready to Suppress Helots

With the arrival of the very nice "lambda" shield decals from Veni Vidi Vici, managed to complete the Spartan project. Here are the 64 spearman along with the earlier completed command.

I ordered sets of black and red "lambda" decals. Jay at VVV was kind enough to locate some red ones which are currently shown out of stock on the website. Initially, I had planned to have the two units with the same colored shields, but decided to mix them up to give them a more varied look.

Ranking spearmen in thrusting poses takes a little bit of work, but pays off in the end.

The white linothorax gives a simple, but striking look when coupled with the crimson red tunics, IMHO. Interestingly there are two figures from one of the overarm thrusting packs wearing the older style bell cuirass - maybe a lucky family heirloom.

I took a lot of pictures from different angles - as I'm quite pleased with how they turned out.

Pardon the indulgence - they may look like the same photos, but I promise I moved the units around (movement trays are the bomb!).

And finally, a shot of the rear rank guys in underarm poses - just showing a little love for them as they're hidden behind the overarm posed guys on the trays.

Okay, glad these guys are finally done - I can get back to some Bolt Action projects now. Thanks for stopping by and wishing you all the best in health and hobby pursuits!

Hobby Desk Update

Just a quick post to show what I've been doing for the last week or so. Still waiting on the VVV lambda shield decals to finish the Artizan Spartans. In the meantime, built a few more movement trays - now have a total of 20 for 24-man units, and several others in different sizes - including two for the 32-man Spartan units. Also picked up a couple of 1/48th scale Blitzkrieg resin tanks and a box of Warlord Games Fallschirmjager in tropical uniform. The tanks are a Panzer II and an M3 Grant - both will be additions to the Western Desert Campaign. I picked all of these up from Sherwood Games on ebay. As you may already know, Sherwood Games is run by a Phil Vernon, who I had the fortune to meet at the WAB GT in 2013.

These are my first Blitzkrieg models, and I'm quite impressed with them. In fact, I went ahead and ordered a Panzer III to compliment the force.

And whilst malingering on ebay, I also picked up a couple of 120mm resin figures - couldn't pass them up as they were only about $12 each and with free shipping. I actually have the German knight figure already, but had modified him so wanted another to build up per the kit.

Update to the update - A couple of 1/48th Blitzkrieg resin tanks, a set of Warlord Games Fallshirmjager in tropical uniform, a couple of 120mm resin figures and finally, 64 Artizan Spartans awaiting shield transfers.

So much for now - just wanted to stay in touch with my blogging brethren. Until next time, stay healthy and keep enjoying the hobby!

Greetings from Lakonia - Artizan Spartan Command

Painted these up while awaiting the arrival of the VVV lambda shield decals. These are from the Artizan Spartan Command pack - less one other figure. The "lambda" are hand-painted on the two shields; not hard to do, but didn't want to do this 64 times over.

The guy holding the plastic broom bristle spear originally held a sword. It looked a bit over-sized and figured a spear would balance the stand better.

Too bad the guy holding the staff with his cloak wrapped around him didn't have a transverse crest on his Corinthian helmet - like that famous statuette. I think Artizan had two command packs - and the other one had a guy wearing a helmet with transverse crest; as well as including a piper.

Anyway, these are a nice compliment to the spearmen; the braided Spartan locks are nicely sculpted.

Just a little update and wishing you all a Happy Easter!