Commanders, camp & the whole Gallic army

At the finish line, I realized I didn't have any naked Gallic commanders so I put in an order for Xyston Gaesati.  The Xyston figs are a touch bigger than the Old Glorys but they seem to mix well enough. I love painting Xyston and considered doing this army with their figs, but .75 a figure is spendy for a large 15mm army.  If I were to paint Gauls again, I'd use the Blue Moon line.

Now, about the fellows with clothes.  Other than Lady Godiva, horseback riding and nudity don't mix well. It's also possible that the fellows with pants suffer from a condition known as "never-nude."  Lastly, the historical accounts of Galatians fighting naked says "all but the tribal leaders generally fought naked." There you have the truth of it.  Even in 250BC, management preached from the "Do as I say, not as I do" gospel. Some things haven't changed in 2,000 years!

The Gallic camp is composed of an Essex cart, Old Glory civilians, a Splintered Light dog and a Xyston Gaul.  It was a full-on sweep of my shrinking ancients pile.  

I can't wait to bring the Gauls down to The Source for a game.  I don't expect to win but I do hope there'll be a good amount of walk-up traffic and comments.  When I'm losing badly, those visits can be the best part of a game. To put it another way, my friend Klay once said, "Monty loses a lot but his armies always look great running away!"    

Saturday is the local ReCon in Coon Rapids.  I plan on going early and staying late for a full day of gaming. Last time I went, a fellow introduced himself by saying, "Aren't you the guy who keeps the Twin Cities Gamer blog?"  I almost fell over from surprise to meet someone reading my blog AND recognizing me from my avatar. If you're a local reader and you're going to be at ReCon, look for me at the Saga tables. And game on!  

128 Gauls streak across the finish line!

With a bit of fortitude, I managed to push an additional 32 bases of heavy foot warriors across the finish line for my Gallic army. Multicolored pants and shirts didn't hold me back but the 2-tone shields with 2 - 4 squiggles each were quite trying. It was more work than pleasure to finish this bunch.  As Vercingetorix is my witness, this is the last time I paint Gauls in 15mm!

While I can run these fellows as any Gallic tribe in Field of Glory, they're especially suited to be Galatians. I'll let Philip Matyszak explain why from his great book, Mithridates the Great:

“It appears that the Galatians still fought in the traditional Gallic style. Though skilled metalworkers, all but the tribal leaders generally fought naked.  The Gauls made excellent shock troops, as it took experienced opponents to stand firm against headlong charge by hundreds of large sword wielding warriors who were nothing but spiky line hairstyles and ferocious expressions. The bad news was that the Galatians had only a rudimentary grasp of military discipline and tended to regard setbacks as an invitation to go home.”

The bonus in running them as Galatians in Field of Glory is that they're all rated as superior heavy foot. This plus their impact bonus I'll have a fighting chance IF I can win on impact.  That's really all I'm looking for in a game. I'm a sucker for the "Lost Causes" of history.  As I told my friend Mark last week, when I run Gauls, it is indeed a lost cause.

Here's all 48 bases of heavy foot ranked up. I kept the palette a bit tight by repeating color combos. I think it achieved an irregular look without being hard on the eyes. Front or back, they provide an interesting view! While they were a trial to paint, I'm happy with the look of them all massed up.

Once I finish the Gallic camp and 4 command stands, the Gallic/Galatian army is done! And then, finally, back to Saga.

English Knights for Hundred Years War

Quick post up of the last of my HYW figs before I hit the road. These are Perry metals from their Agincourt line. Did I mention that Perrys come in small black boxes, with the figures swathed in cotton?  No? Unpacking them felt a bit elegant so I did it with my pinkies raised.  Seriously thought, it's a nice touch that sets them apart from the crowd.

The heraldry was sourced from the Joan of Arc's Companion in Arms website.  In this round, I cut the AP dip with mineral spirits to keep the knights a step brighter than the foot levy.

Two historical bits for you.  As a huge fan of ancient history, and Roman history in particular, I was fascinated to discover that Vegetius' De Re Militari and Frontinus' Strategemata (Roman classics on military strategy and tactics) were widely read and discussed by knights during the HYW.

Also, men-at-arms fought on foot as often as on horseback. Sometimes, it was due to the loss of a mount but often it was a tactical choice. English armies were generally horsed during the HYW but as a tactical choice, knights and men-at-arms generally dismounted for battle.  

The fellow I'm painting HYW for is a hardcore medieval reenactor.  In a meetup in France this year, three fellows were knocked out cold and had to be revived with smelling salts.  Even a metal helmet can't save you from a hard knock upside the head! Helms off to the crazy fellows entertaining the crowds here.