Phalanx For The Memories

I had the minimum Pike for most of the armies I could cover based on my Macedonian army but still way off the max, though I don't expect to field the max at any time. I did however buy a fourth small block to add options. However going through Martin's box  found enough Chariot/Magister to upgrade it to a 48 figure block. The only issue was than the pikes had all snapped off at some point (I think Martin planned to replace them so was probably intentional. I have recently bought a vice drill so my first use of it was to drill holes for replacements. This went rather well and quicker than expected.

Meanwhile I bought some movement trays as moving so many bases with big pointy sticks is a real pain So armed and ready to go all I needed to do was paint the little devils.

 

Purple People Eaters

OK I know the colour purple was in short supply and very expensive but I tried undercoating in Maelstrom Purple which ironically I bought really cheap and have shed loads of. The shields and a cloak are the only purple left from the priming so they are not terribly purple. Again the figures painted up really quickly but I expected the shields to take a few days to do as I expected much frustration and angst from this as I have had a bit of a job with this very task each and every time I painted up a block. Well this time it was a fairly fast operation and I found it pleasing (mostly done when no one else was in the house).

 

The movement trays are a little tight but work well enough, they don't loose casualties often enough for it to be an issue really. The Macedonian Star is as always not uniform across the whole block but I am happy enough with the finished unit so that's enough for me.

 

I really am proud of the commanders shield, it took just the one attempt and even blown up to this size from 15mm still looks the business. I am not sure how often I will use four blocks but I have them and I suspect if I ever get round to another campaign and use this army I will be looking to add as much pike as I can get away with. In fact looking through the rest of Martin's figures I also have another 114 pike figures and 24 hoplites so I will get these painted up at some point but not until I either need them or I have a good amount of the Romans painted up.  Having looked through what I have left to paint in 15mm that could be started before the end of March.

 

Here we have the four block all out at the same time and all snug in their movement trays. Hard to accept that these have all been painted up in the last year and a half. That's a lot of points standing on parade.

 

 

Not the way you would use in a game as you only count up to 4 ranks but impressive for a photo opportunity. The two blocks are the ones with command figures, the rear two are just pike men and I feel adding command makes the blocks look better.

 



 



I like this shot as it gives a nice slid block feel to them. Imagine coming against such a beast! Obviously I will rotate the blocks used in games. I can field all as they are or even four blocks but only 8 bases each instead of having 12 base blocks or a mix. I know one thing though, this block will be held out till I get chance to play with this army, it's one unit I at least will get on the table first.

 



 

A more traditional formation for these guys. I expect to have a commander attached and giving them double moves for all he is worth, just so the can get into the fight. Mathew I know is looking at his favourite army to rebase, this being Parathion I may have some time yet before they get to grips with an enemy.

 

On the table now are some more of Martin's figures but these are part painted but have suffered from moving around in the tool box and need a lot of touch up and repaints. I also want to get as much rebasing done as I can in the next two weeks.  really don't have a mass to do but they have hung round for ages. One lot are Kardrakes and these are surplus to my Persian army and will be sold on e-bay. I will use the proceeds for more bases as I will be needing plenty more before I am finished.

Ancient Tanks Sighted

I got six 15mm Elephants as part of the Seleucid army from Martin. One was finished, another had the elephant mostly finished  with the crew still in the packet whilst the other four had the skin painted on the beasts but with damage to the paint job so  stripped them back and started again. Martin did an excellent paint job on the elephants rugs which I did not even try and copy!

All models are Chariot Miniatures or Magister Militum as they are now known. I have just showed the five I have worked on. I did rush them a little as I wanted them all done so as to have them up and running for future games. In a few cases the pikes were either already broken or broke during the clean up stage. These have wire replacements from pikes from the same army.

 

I wanted them to look individual so each has a different colour scheme. I also added a couple of escorts amongst them just for a bit of character. One is a very old sample I don't really remember getting, the other was a single figure that has been lying around for years.

 

This elephant and escort are all my work. Honestly it's the escort that is really the main reason for the picture and the two that follow.

The casts had little flash on them and I have to admit I cheated with the elephant as all I did was prime it white and wash it in GW Nuln Oil which is a black wash.

 

 

Close up of the escort, very basic paint job but I wanted him to stand out a bit so I added a chequer pattern to his cloak. I resisted the urge to join up all the lines and was rewarded with a better result.

Greek Mercenary Thureophoroi Option One.

Field Of Glory often give you the options for some troop types to be Medium or Heavy foot. I have yet really to decide the best option most of the time. The added speed of mediums over the heavier punching power of heavy infantry. I am leaning towards medium infantry, well at least when you can add a little bit of terrain to spoil heavies fun that is. Here though I offer the heavy choice.

These are four figures to the base. Some of you may recognise the figures from an earlier post (6-12 months ago). Well at that time I just had 4 bases of them. I have now doubled them up to 8 bases.

 

As I could not get the shields the same exact match I have rebased all of them and mixed in the shields gaining a rather nice mix of shield colour. None of these figures have yet seen the table top as I needed the extra figures. The original two packs had been bought from Chariot Miniatures (now  Magister Militum) over twenty years ago!

 

The newer figures were bought about three months ago and have been prepped and waiting a turn on the desk. When I finally got round to them I dashed them off in a couple of sessions.

 

Other than the shield fronts I was able to match up all the other colours and so are ready for that first game. That won't be until I have a few more options sorted. The Alexandrian Macedonian army is getting close to being close enough to being finished as I need. I want another 8 base pike block painted up and then it's good to go. I have other options that will also get painted up but for the most part it's ready. It's already legal but for more points I need a few bits more. Not only is this army close to finish it also means I am a good way into my Seleucid army, though that has a few more options that need doing to allow enough different options to make it more fun to play.

 

Whilst I plan a fair amount of 6mm I will be inserting 15mm units every couple of weeks to keep everything interesting. I also will get cleaned up the last of my 20mm Numidian figures and get this army ready to fight.

15mm Macedonian Pike 2nd Unit

Well this painting competition is sure got me inspired to get the lead out. Having fairly recently finished off a 48 figure block I was eyeing up the three 32 man blocks a man with a heavy load looks at a steep hill. A little unfair as I enjoyed painting them but man 96!!! Since then I have received a further 96 but that's another story. But 32 figures is a fair amount of points so after doing the Cretans I wanted to get stuck in.

I obviously want each block to stand out from the others and had already selected the Blue shield finish before even cleaning the figures up. The shield is Prussian Blue by Valero but in a moment of madness I also decided to have a go at painting faces on the shields as per the FoG army list illustration. I was more than happy with the result, though like most painted items they look better from a distance. This is the only block that I will add this touch to with though I think, two reasons. 1. One stands out and as such best leave it at that. 2. The effect of massed Macedonian Stars is lost a little with a front rank of different shields.

I really like this shot Cath took, shame I did not have the patience to set it up on a cloth as it clearly was taken on my painting table. I mixed in a few blue helmets in an attempt to give it that campaign look. The front rank are a slightly different figure to the rear ranks. The helmet lacks cheek guards and the men all have bushy beards. The shield is positioned slightly further to the right and lacks the extra leather strap for the shield. Whilst this makes painting easier I liked the added detail.

The last block I painted the shield strap and sword strap in different colours but decided to go with the same colour. Not sure how I will do the two following blocks as I don't see that much of a bonus for the two colours and doing it this way is far quicker but it feels like I cheated!

So 20 bases of pike would allow me two BG's and a reasonable start. I need to get the Command stands painted, these are now cleaned and primed but waiting behind 4 German WWII figures I am working on for a project idea for ASL. Then I need to get the Agema and more Companion Cavalry done. I'd say a further 24 mounted after the command has been done and I am ready to try out the rules with a fair army. Though I still have the camp to paint and build which I have the components just need to get it started. But before that I am taking a little break. No not in painting!! I am going back to 6mm for a couple of Regiments.

Good Job They Are Immortal

I bought these Immortals when I first started to build my Persian Army 25 years ago but never got round to painting them as I knew I would not use them. Unfortunately I could have just ten figures (they also come in packs of 8!) and whilst they were fairly good the cost of the troops, the command points and the low number you could have always meant better options were available. So I always had something better to paint. That is till recently, still not sure I will get to use them but at least I had the time to paint them.

I can't be 100% sure but I think they are Chariot Miniatures. Fairly nice detailed 15mm figures that look to stay at the bottom of my storage as the Field of Glory army list does not give Immortals to the Late Achaemenid only the early and at this point I do not see myself doing this army. If anyone out there wants them you can have them for a couple of unpainted Magister packs for the Late period or any that will go with any Macedonian based list. Or drop me an offer for other figures you don't want.