Parthian Army in 6mm - Done (Challenge Submission 3)!

My third submission for this year's Painting Challenge is complete - a 6 6mm Parthian army in 6mm.  The figures are from Baccus (of course) and where a lot of fun to paint up.  Looking forward to getting these chaps on the table top when the lock downs begin to ease.

As with the earlier Republican Roman force these are all based for the Age of Caesar rule et and use 40mm square basing.

While one first thinks of cavalry when considering Parthians, they did field some infantry.  My little force has 8 bases of foot archers and 2 bases of skirmishers.

and 4 bases of medium, spear armed infantry.  Maybe not the most fearsome of foot borne troops but they'll be effective speed bumps.

The workhorse of any Parthian force are mounted archers and this little army has 20 bases of them.

The armored fist for the Parthians are cataphracts and this force can field up to 10 bases.

Lastly, just for a bit of fun, some armored camel cataphracts - because who doesn't want camel borne cavalry.

I'll add to the infantry when the Baccus cart opens up.

Next up for the Challenge - a return to work on the 15mm Stalingrad project

Parthians Coming along nicely and preparing to return to the Stalingrad project

 

A 6mm Parthian forces has been painted up and based.  All that's left is to scenic the bases and these chaps will be ready for the tabletop.

These figures are part of the Baccus miniatures Hail Caesar Army Pack plus one pack of 36 armored camel cataphracts.  The Baccus army packs come with a nice discount and do give you a very broad set of troop options.  As with my Republican Romans these are based to be used for the Age of Hannibal ruleset but the basing is flexible enough to use with just about any ancients rules set.

I'm still fiddling with the color scheme for the base scenery - I want a more arid look than the standard "European Field" I used on the Romans.

I  am looking forward to getting these guys on the table soon as cavalry heavy armies are a lot of fun to play in just about all ancients rule sets.  My track record as a commander of horse armies is actually pretty poor but I always have fun zooming around the tabletop.  Plus who doesn't dream of commanding a charge of cataphracts mounted on armored camels?

Once these gentlemen are finished, I think it's time to return to my Stalingrad project, roughly 40% of the table is done and using my AMAZING math skills, I am able to calculate that implies there is 60% remaining to be done.  I'm hoping be able to put this game on at Historicon this year.  I know it's a pretty iffy proposition on the chances of Historicon being held but let's think positively.  Perhaps a more precise way to set the deadline is the earlier of Historicon'21 or the next HMGS convention.  

A picture of the North section of the map, which is bounded to the North by the January 9th Square /  Pavlov's House / Grundin Mill area.  I'm thinking of darkening the road sections as they look a little too "bright" to me.  The game table will cover most of central Stalingrad down to the Univermaf Dept store and Red Square.

Republican Roman Army with Italian and Spanish Allies (Challenge Submissions 1 & 2)

 

My first two submissions for Challenge XI consisted of a 6mm scale Republican Roman army along with some support troops from Spain and Italy.  The figures are all from the Baccus 6mm line and were a joy to paint.  

These chaps netted me 610 points and consist of 150 mounted figures and 920 infantry of various types.  The troops are based on 40mm square bases which is the standard used for "Age of Hannibal" at the club.  These rules were written by a club member and are a very nice fast play set of rules that allow player to recreate entire battles and finish them in an evening.  They're a lot of fun and I enjoy playing them a lot.

On the left side are the Spanish troops:

- 4 Bases of Scutarii medium infantry with 24 figures per base)

- 6 bases of Caetratii light infantry with 8 figures per base

- 9 bases of Spanish light cavalry with 5 figures per base

15 Mounted Roman generals.  The different sized command bases denotes rank with the larger the base, the higher the rank

The heart of any Roman army - heavy infantry.  8 bases of Hastati, 8 bases of Principes and 2 bases of Triarii, all with 24 figures.  In the back are 6 bases of Balearic slingers and 2 bases of scorpions for a little fire support

On the right side are some Italian allies - generic hoplite infantry in the front. Italian medium cavalry.  In the rear are 12 bases of Roman Velites.

The final group are 4 bases of Samnite infantry.

I'm planning to also use the Spanish and Italian troops as Gauls and maybe even Germans if the need arose.  We don't have a full Gualic at the club but could probably cobble together a respectable force with pieces from peoples various collections.  

As you've seen in a previous post, next up on the "Ancients Hit Parade" are some Parthians.  Depending on how hard Mr Berry cracks the whip at the Baccus Casting Furnace, there will also a medium sized Dacian force (with Sarmatians!) and a relatively large Successor Army (cause who doesn't want to paint Ellies?).

"And So it Begins" The Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge version XI.0 has started

This year's Painting Challenge has started and after a fairly long painting session yesterday, I've painted and based the majority of my planned Republican Roman army.  All in glorious 6mm with the figures from Baccus.  The bases need to be painted and have some scenery added which will be today's project. 

Along the left side of the picture is a row of partially painted Spanish and Italian allied troops and some Roman generals in the back.  I'll try to get those chaps finished before Christmas.  In addition to being Spanish, Italians or even Samnites, these figures can double for Gauls and Celts in a pinch.

All of the figures are based for the ruleset "Age of Hannibal" which uses 40mm square basing for all units.  Generals are based as single figures on round 25mm bases.  The rules are simple but very fun and allow one to play very large battles to a conclusion in an evening.  They were written by fellow club member Greg Wagman and I suggest you check them out.

There has been a rather silly logistical failure on my part for this year's Challenge.  I seem to have forgotten that is one is building several armies that all use 40mm square bases, one should check ones supply of said bases.   Let us just say the currently my demand for 40mm bases exceeds my supply.  Well my failure is the gain of those fine people at Litko as an order for a rather large number of 40mm bases was placed yesterday afternoon.  Let us all hope their base making machinery has not gone on Christmas break yet.  Crack that whip, Mr Litko - I NEED those bases!!!!!!

Ok, that last line might be a little over-the-top.

 

Picture Dump From the July 11th Liaoyang Game

 The last half of July has been crazy busy work wise so no time to post about gaming.  Thankfully, at least there was time to game!  Anyway here is a picture dump from the Liaoyong game I ran.  The commentary will be a bit sparse but will be amended over time.

Our Historicon replacement game day was featured in this video

Here's the initial set up from the Japanese left flank. 

A close up on the Japanese 6th and 3rd Divisions which make up the 2nd Army.  These formations would attack the hills directly in front of them for the entire battle.

You can also see the sabot bases I made for all the stands

The Japanese right flank.  Not pictured is the 12th Division, which started the game hidden from the Russians and already across the Taitzu River.

Opposing the Japanese are 14 Russian Divisions (12 Infantry and 2 Cavalry)

The Japanese force consisted of 8 Infantry Divisions, 3 Kobi (reserve) brigades and some independent artillery and cavalry regiments

The Japanese have a slight edge in quality and command but there are a lot of Russians!

Theres a lot going on this 8x4 table.  In hind sight, I should have played on a 8x6 table - I just didn't bring enough terrain squares to set it up that way.  The distance from the Russian front lines and Liaoyang was too small and should have been another 18 inches or so.  Live and Learn. 

We're using Greg's Altar of Freedom rules which I've modified for WW1 by introducing indirect artillery fire, machine guns and longer rifle fire ranges.  The command friction aspect of the rules (Priority Points) was unchanged as that's the heart of the system.  The artillery rules need to be modified but overall I was very happy with how the rules "mod" worked.

 The Japanese attack commences with their lone reserve division (the 4th) committed to attacking the extreme Russian right flank. 

Tony and Greg commanded the Russian forces while I commanded the Japanese.  About halfway through the game Josh was able to join and took command of the Japanese left half - finally getting some competent command to the Japanese forces.

The battle in the center was a see-saw affair with the Russians launching a counter attack that very nearly captured the 4th Army's HQ.  The red pins on the bases reflect fatigue points which is how the rules reflect battle damage.  The magnetic pins worked fantastically.  I'll be adapting a lot of game systems to use them.

The determined assault by the second army finally carries Hill 683, which is a VP location

We used the flashing smoke markers from the Trafalgar game to represent artillery that had fired indirectly during the turn.

The Japanese left flank continues to prepare for the attack.  In the upper right corner you can see parts of the 12th division which was revealed to the Russians - they are moving to cut the trans-siberian rail way (the grey road)

 Tony commanded the Russian right flank

 Finally Josh arrives and not a moment too soon!

 The Japanese Guard division carries the hill and allows the 2nd Infantry division to cross the river in support of the 12th

 2nd Army's attack stalls under the weight of Russian defenders but the 4th division continues to push back the Russians

 more commentary to come.....

WW1 French Corps Expeditionnaire d'Orient in 6mm: Done

 My contribution to the clubs upcoming Gallipoli game is complete - well I still need to seal the bases but I like to let the glue dry a few days before doing so.  I present to you the French Corps Expeditionnaire d'Orient in 6mm scale.  The figures are from Baccus.

1st division: 8 battalions of infantry, one artillery and one HQ unit.

2nd Divisions also of 8 battalions of infantry, one artillery and one HQ unit.  There's also a corps HQ/Supply Depot.

All the stuff behind the divisions is "extras" that came with the French Division set I purchased from Perter at Baccus.

This is the first time I've painted up 6mm figures in a long time.  How long - maybe all the way back to 2012.

I had forgotten how freeing painting 6mm minis are - there isn't a lot of detail that I can paint so rather than focus on individual minis one focus on the entire basing to convey the setting and time period.  It was a lot of fun.  I suspect you'll see some more 6mm in the future.

WIP: WW1 French Corps Expeditionnaire d'Orient in 6mm

A really messy "work-in-progress" shot of some Baccus WW1 French I'm working on for a club mate.  These are being painted up to be 2 divisions of the French forces used in the initial landings at Gallipoli.  The basing is at the Battalion level.

It's an interesting force with a mix of troops in French blue and a range of colonial and Senegalese troops.

I am not the most skilled painter in 6mm so am trying to make the basing look good - see the "barbed wire" to distract people from my really awful paint job.

I suspect Peter Baccus will see some additional orders from me for his WW1 line