From BenF: Kings of Kings and Kinsmen - 15mm Persian Guard and Commanders (Glorantha) (115 Points)

For this week's entry, I've managed to finish off the elite forces of my Later Achaemenid Persians. I do love an underdog. While armies of Napoleon's Imperial Guard, British Riflemen, English longbowmen, or Early Imperial Romans do hold a certain allure, I tend to be drawn to the side which might have been victorious if only a decision, a deployment, or just dumb luck been different. To that end, alongside the Persians, I'll also be working on early Napoleonic Prussians and Russians, and also some Remnant Imperial Stormtroopers this challenge. 

While the Achaemenid Persians are a much maligned force, a careful reading of the Greek sources show that some Persian troops and leaders, often fought bravely, if a little recklessly. Some might even say heroically. Xenophon tells of how in 401BC, Kūruš, better known as Cyrus the Younger, pretender to the Persian throne, led his kinsmen cavalry in a heroically doomed charge against his brother the King of Kings, Artarxerxes II at the battle of Cunaxa, being cut down at the moment of victory. 67 years later, on the Granicus River, Spithrodáta, the Satrap (military governor) of Lydia and Ionia, and his brother Raucaka, led another doomed, but ferociously reckless charge of Persian cavalry against the Companions of the Boy King Alexander of Macedon. I hope you will forgive me channeling my inner Ancient History Teacher, and handing over to Diodorus Siculus:

The Alexander Mosaic from the House of the Faun, Pompeii

[17.20.1] But the Persians resisted bravely and matched with their spirit the valour of the Macedonians, as fortune had brought together in that place the finest fighters to dispute the victory. [17.20.2] The satrap of Ionia, Spithrobates, a Persian by birth, son in law to the Great King Darius, and a man of superior courage, hurled himself at the Macedonian lines with a large body of cavalry, and with a guard of forty companions, all of the Royal Kinsmen and of outstanding valour, pressed hard on the opposite line and in a fierce attack slew some of his opponents and grievously wounded others. [17.20.3] As the force of this attack seemed critical, Alexander turned his horse towards the satrap and rode at him. To the Persian, it seemed as if this opportunity for single combat was god-given. He hoped that by his bravery Asia might be rid of its terrible menace, and the renowned daring of Alexander halted by his own hand, and the glory of the Persians saved from disgrace. He hurled his javelin first at Alexander with such a mighty throw that he pierced Alexander's shield and drove through his breastplate. [17.20.4] The king shook off the weapon as it dangled from his arm, then kicked in his spurs and, using the momentum of his charging horse, drove his lance squarely into the satrap's chest [17.20.5]...The point, however, snapped off against the breastplate and the broken shaft recoiled, and the Persian drew his sword and drove at Alexander, but the king recovered his grip on the lance in time to thrust at the man's face and drive the blow home [17.20.6] The Persian, fell, but then his brother, the noble Rhosaces, galloping up drove his sword down on Alexander's head with such a blow that it split his helmet and inflicted a scalp wound [17.20.7] As Rhosaces aimed another blow at the break, Cleitus the Black dashed up on his horse and cut off the Persian's arm.

Even Darius III Codomannus, whose moment of panicked flight at the battle of Issus was immortalised in the famous Alexander Mosaic, fought bravely and with distinction in the campaigns of the warrior king Artarxerxes III.

In case you can't tell, I'm a bit of a fan of Achaemenid Persians. The bizzare and ornately decorated pyjama clothing, the wide variety of troop types, and the 'foreignness' of this arm provides a painting, as well as a tabletop challenge, which only adds to the allure. 

These are all 15mm Forged in Battle figures, and they're rather spiffing. 

First off, the Hûvakâ, or the Royal Kinsmen Cavalry. Armoured, and led by a satrap, these are slightly converted figures, with a few headswaps and some moving of the spears to a more suitable charging pose. I went all out with this lot when it comes to the gold bronze armour, ornately decorated tunics, and other bling. I'm pretty satisfied with how they came out, and can happily report that yesterday they led a charge against my mate Steve's Companion cavalry in a game of Basic Impetus 2 - a game winning charge as well. So much for the curse of freshly painted figures. 

Hûvakâ guard advance under the Achaemenid Royal banner, led by a prince of the blood.

Next, a base of Bactrian cavalry. These capable light cavalrymen from central Asia fought with bow, sword, and javelin. They served with the Achaemenids, and then under Alexander and his successors.

Next, its the strangest of Persian innovations - the terrifying, if largely ineffective, scythed chariot. I used foil from the top of a wine bottle to make some reins for the driver. Despite his heavy armour, the strategy was for him to charge at the enemy line, then jump off before the whole thing contacted, hopefully causing a lot of destruction. I don't care to think about the survival rate of the drivers. I've scored this wierd beast as a 15mm vehicle and a 15mm foot figure for the crewman - I think I spent more time on the horse saddlecloth decorations for the chariot than I did on the Bactrians! I hope this is ok. 

Finally for this week's entry, its the commanders themselves. The chap in the chariot is Darius III Codomannus, the unfortunate King of Kings who had taken the throne and was attempting to win a civil war when the brilliant maniac Alexander III of Macedon invaded, intent on proving himself better than his heroic ancestor Achilles and conquering the whole of Asia. For the other bases, the chap with the standard bearer is a Satrap - or perhaps Kūruš the usurper. As with the Hûvakâ, I again went to town with the clothing decorations, reflecting the wealth and power of these leaders of one of the worlds first great empires. For the other general, I did a headswap to give him the plumed helmet, and he will act as a cavalry leader - perhaps Spithrodata or Raucaka, though hopefully more fortunate in battle. 

Darius in his Royal Chariot. The colours are from the Alexander Mosaic

The Satrap goes to battle under the banner of his house

Cavalry commander with a Hûvakâ guard escort

That's it for this week. I'm currently working my way through the last options of the Persian army - Thracians, and some Persian foot - slingers and the enigmatic Takabara and Kardakes, and perhaps even the Apple Bearer foot guards. 

Summary of Points for this entry

• 17 x 15mm mounted @ 4 points = 68 points
• 2 x 15mm vehicles @ 8 points = 16 points
• 3 x 15mm foot figures @ 2 points = 6 points
• Glorantha (Outer Ring) bonus = 20 points
• Millsy: +5 points for details

Total = 115 points

From Millsy:

Glorious work Ben! These are, to use your own words, rather spiffing! At first glance I didn't notice the scale and thought I was looking at 28mm stuff. I was impressed even then, which makes your work so much more impressive at 15mm. You've really gone to town on the range of colours and details which just adds to the overall WOW factor of these.

With the quadrant bonus and the extra points I'm awarding for the lovely detail work that's 115 points added to your tally. Nice work mate. Spiffing!

From Millsy - 40K Catachan HQ & Veterans (80 points)

After a week "off" working on Issue Three of Wargame Bloggers Quarterly whilst quietly coughing up a lung or two I'm back with some additions to my Warhammer 40K Imperial Guard Catachans.

This submission consists of a 10 man Veteran Squad lead by a chap who is clearly compensating for something with his "power fist". He's backed up by specialists armed with a plasma gun and demolition charge. The squad is rounded out by a further 7 squaddies armed with the ubiquitous lasgun.

As they are veteran troops I've spent more time on them and given them camo fatigues of varying colours (chestnut, mid-brown or black). They also sport white "veteran" headbands which kind of makes the idea of camo redundant. However, it's de rigueur for a Catachan to wear brightly coloured headgear and who am I to argue?

The second half of the submission is my HQ, comprising Colonel "Iron Hand" Straken and four bodyguards plus a one-man army in the form of Sly Marbo. Again we have camo fatigues and a selection of equipment befitting a HQ squad.

I've painted Straken's armour plating in a flat green as it seems more appropriate somehow than to have it a fresh-from-the-workshop shiny metallic finish. Sly Marbo is rocking a black Guns N' Roses t-shirt (see what I did there?) with the sleeves cut off so he can better swing his carving blade.

All up that puts me about 40% of the way through the infantry component of the army as it stands. In Challenge terms its 16 miniatures at 5 points a pop or a glorious 80 points total. Not exactly up to my previous volumes but that's the way of things now with real life well and truly back in the mix.

Next up? Probably more sweaty over-developed half-naked men. At least Anne and Tamsin won't be bored any time soon :-)


From Curt:

An excellent set of minis Millsy! Great work on the flesh tones on these guys. Sly's GnR shirt is ace and I really like what you did with Straken's bionic arm. All of the white headbands give these fellas an odd 80s feel about them, which falls in line with their vintage. Well done!

From SamuliS - 28mm French Middle Guard at Waterloo (243 points)

Another larger entry. This time the Middle Guard Grenadiers at Waterloo consisting of 3 Battalions and represented by 16 men each. I actually finished them last week, but being the clever boy that I am I forgot to take pictures in time...Well better late than never so here they are :)

They are all Victrix plastics. Not the best quality miniatures with a lot of soft detail and bayonets that snap very easily. Still they were extremely cheap coming at about 30cnt per miniature from a sale so that does compensate quite a bit for all the shortcomings. The flags come from GMB designs.

On most my Napoleonics I like to keep the paint job simple as there are hundreds of these little buggers to paint if you really want a proper large battle. These were basecoated blue with an airbrush and then block painted with the main colours. To add some variety I tried painting the backpacks in different colours and then added some extra detail by highlighting the skin parts as that's what people tend to look at first and it does seem to help give a better overall impression. All this was followed with a wash to add some shading. Finally some mud on the clothing to look like they've been trudging through the rain soaked field at Waterloo and to make the paint job look better than it really is :) Distraction is always the great asset when trying to make a quick paint job look better and mud is a great quick way to add something extra that most people don't seem to bother with.

I'm quite badly behind schedule and haven't been able to paint as much as I want, but I do have a "good" excuse as I've lately fullfilled a male dream as a wild red head has made it's way into my life. Probably not the beast that Gentlemens' magazines seem to promote though as this redhead goes on four legs, is very hairy and is actually a guy. Curt should be pleased to hear that we've settled on a Canadian breed with the Novascotian Duck Tolling Retriever and both the parents are imported dogs from Canada, so our family is now one third Canadian :) In the future he'll be accompanying me when hunting ducks and grouse and will hopefully bring some much needed skill to the hunt when I can only provide luck (albeit very bad luck at that) and wildly exaggerated success stories. In the meanwhile he'll continue what every Toller does best, and that is coming up with new ways to trick their unfortunate owner. Damages have so far been limited to a single shirt, but that is definately bound to change in the future as he is continuously figuring out new ways to delight us with his tricks. He already did manage to open one low cabinet containing prepped minis, but luckily I spotted the looming disaster in time and saved my minis from a horrible fate and the little dog from massive stomach ache and a trip to the Vet.

25cm 'Realistic' scale dog

From Curt:

This post is wonderful on all accounts! Your Middle Guardsmen are very nice. I've put together my fair share of Victrix plastics and can attest to both their ease of conversion but also how fragile some of their parts can be (especially the bayonets). As you say a bit of strategically placed dirt and mud seems to strangely elevate many figures.

Your new puppy is awesome! I love his face and white paws. Sarah and I spent conducted the necessary 'awwws' and had fun checking out the breed online. What is the little fella's name? I have no doubt he will propagate Canada's good reputation in your fine household (shirts, shoes and nummy figures notwithstanding). :)

From Millsy - 28mm 40K Catachan Imperial Guardspeople (255 points)

This is the start of [ahem!] yet another 40K army I have had on the boil for [ahem! ahem!] several years now. This time it is the hard men (and woman!) of the jungle planet Catachan in all their 90s Perry-esqe metal glory.

Get in line men. There's undercoating to be done!

You can see from the first photo there's quite a few of them to go. In fact, I've added to them since this was taken (Quiet there at the back. Yes, I am talking to you Campbell. If you have something too say, share it with the whole class. No? Really? I thought not...). That photo was taken in 2007 so at long last the undercoat is properly cured and I can start painting... :-)

The first unit is Alpha Platoon, consisting of a 5 man command squad, 2 x 10 man infantry squads and a 6 man support squad. I've kept the uniforms a bit on the plain side (i.e. no camo) as I'm building them as a more vanilla force rather than the elite "Deathworld Veterans". I will include camo but it will only be on the HQ and Veteran troops to distinguish them on the table top. Being the first platoon they get the honour of the traditional red bandanna as well.

The command squad is loaded out with special weapons of the assault variety meaning they can fire on the move. It includes the only female in the army and I've painted her as a ranga (that's a ginger for the non-Aussies amongst us). For some reason GW generally has an aversion to female figures which is a shame as it makes no sense at all and might encourage more female players if there were more female miniatures to choose from.

Fluff-wise, the Catachan military probably don't allow females in their ranks, or at least those who are recognisably female anyway. Think of the "Have you ever been mistaken for a man?" banter from Aliens and you'll know what I mean. Regardless, when a wild-eyed, buzz-cut red-head turns up at the recruiting office with her own grenade launcher and an 18" carving knife nobody is going to tell her to go away now are they?!?

The two infantry squads also include more special weapons in the form of a meltagun for AT work and a missile launcher for both AT/AP. Everyone else gets the traditional lasguns a.k.a. "flashlights of the Emperor" to be making do with.

The support squad is armed with the iconic Catachan artillery piece in the form of the heavy mortar. I love the chaps with the trigger device which I think looks more like a TV or garage door remote control than anything you could use to rain death on the enemy...

Lastly we have an Elite unit of Ogryns, a futuristic ogre analogue. These are absolutely marvellous miniatures and a perfect example of what Games Workshop was capable of producing at the peak of their powers so to speak. They're packed with character and the detail is astounding.

I spent 10 hours on these 5 guys and it went by in the blink of an eye. I've made some some additions to mine in the form of 1/72 scale plastic headgear and water bottles. The fact they are perfectly in scale gives you an idea of the size of these chaps which stand roughly 40mm tall. I'm pretty pleased with how these turned out and it reminds me that when I take the time I can actually paint OK.

In total that's 31 x 28mm miniatures, 5 x 28mm crew served weapons and 5 x 40mm miniatures (at 10 points a pop according to Curt when I queried him on them). 255 points all up. Ka-ching!

So that's it for stage one of the new project. Next up is a Veteran squad, the HQ and special characters so loads more interesting metal and plenty of camo too. I might even try and get the whole army painted during this Challenge. Stay tuned...