Tools of the Year

Being thrifty, I'm slow to upgrade my hobby tools. When I do open my wallet to make an upgrade, I rely on the reviews and recommendations of my fellow bloggers to help me find the good stuff.  To that noble cause, I've compiled  a list of my favorite tools and upgrades in 2013. The envelope please!  

Daylight Triple Bright Lamp:  This was my top upgrade of the year. The Triple Bright lamp puts out 250W of high-powered wide-area lighting. For painters over 40, you'd be surprised by how quality lighting can improve your painting! The lamp is very adjustable and I angle mine so my minis are top and front lit.  The first time I used it for miniature photography, the quality of my pictures improved. Literally, this lamp is brilliant!

Pro Arte Series 107 Spotter Brush 2/0 and 3/0:  The Pro Arte series is made for miniature painters and it shows.  The point is very short and the effect is like using a micron pen for applying small, precise detail.  I can't find a US distributor at the small sizes but I did find a UK eBay store that ships to the US. I use these for 15mm and 28mm detail work. Since they're not Sable brushes, the tip does curl under heavy use.

Raphael 8404 Kolinsky Sable Brush 0:  In my collection of Kolinsky Sables, the Raphael beats all others by keeping a perfect tip month after month.  It's my go-to brush.

Dremel drill + the 225-01 Flex Shaft:  I've been using a pin drill for years.  Drilling out hundreds of 15mm Xyston hands is grueling and painful work.  This combo lets me drill out a hand in seconds and the flex shaft gives me a smaller, lighter and more precise tool.  I can't believe I took so long to come around to this solution.  It's so good, I could use it for dental work. The Dr. of Brushes will see you now!

Tamjima Grass Tufts:  I used to be a Silflor tuft guy but I like Tamjima's better.  No gluing required. Peel a clump from the backing paper with tweezers and place it directly onto the base.  I keep a variety of heights and colors on hand for all of my basing needs.

Paint Stand: This is actually a nail polish stand but for $22, who cares? It goes together in minutes and holds 78 Vallejo paints comfortably.  Foundry paint pots fit comfortably as well. I have one up and I'm going to get a 2nd for Christmas.  The obsessive compulsive part of me highly approves of this upgrade!

Vallejo Paints: My paint collection needed a refresh and I was looking to make a big paint buy in something other than Vallejos I use. I like Vallejo but with so many choices, I wanted to shake things up by buying a set in a different line.  I did try other paints this year but each came up lacking. After much thought, the hunt ended with me back where I started.  I picked 70 new Model Color Vallejo paints from The War Store and set them up in my new paint stand. 

Robart Hobby Paint Shaker:  At 5000 shakes per minute, even John Henry couldn't beat this machine. Don't forget to buy replacement straps as they do wear out.

Alibris Books: Yes, Amazon is THE online book seller.  For out of print, hard to find and expensive military history books, give Alibris a spin.  They're an online network of independent booksellers. With such a deep inventory, I've locating hard to find titles and occasionally, they come up cheaper than Amazon.

Core Sec Omni-Ruler: Cor Sec is a US company that makes (among other things) measuring stick in 1" segments. Each segment is threaded and colored so you can quickly custom build to any distance you like. I mixed and matched colors to build 2", 4", 6" and 12" sticks. Now that I've been using them, I'd never go back to a plastic ruler!

I'm sure there are many great tools I haven't heard of or thought of yet. I'd love to hear about the ones I missed.  What were your favorite tools this year?

The Dailami army

With my 28mm lead pile depleted, I've been working on 15mm projects. First up is a Dailami army for Field of Glory. The Dailami were highly prized mercenaries who served the Sassanids, Samanids, Buyids, Fatimids, Saftarids and Ghaznavids and later the Seljuks until the end of the 12th century.  That means these fellows can be ported into many other lists. The Dalaimi were the premier Islamic infantry of their time, earning praise from their enemies. Their standard arms were a sword, a brightly painted shield and a javelin. They also used axes and bows as well. While they usually were equipped with round shields, teardrop shields came into use when they were employed by the Fatimids. 

I used the Old Glory Syrian warrior line because the figures come with chainmail, a good mix of weapons and shields.  You can see from behind I kept the tunics to blues, greens and reds. A poem from 1048 described the Dailami shields as "similar to a wall and painted in 100 colours."  I didn't hit 100 but I did use a lot of colors here.

I'm taking elephants in my Dailami army, of course!  I used Old Glory Sassanid ellies, filing down the bulbous helmets and using greenstuff to create turbans. 

Bedouin Light Horse and foot in black.  Black is tricky to pull off in 15mm so I used 2 rounds of gray highlights.  

4 command stands rounds out the lot.  

I still need to paint up Ghilman, Kurdish lancers and a camp. I've got lots of Arab cavalry I can substitute in until I get back to this project.  This gets me just enough to be able to bring the Dailami to the tabletop.

This post has run quite long but I'd like to share a account of what made the Dailami special.  They were described as "all foot-soldiers, each man carrying a sword and a shield and three javelins in his hand" and as exceptionally nimble in mountain country. Agathias described the Dailami in the context of a night attack and ambush: "The Dailami are among the largest of the nations on the far side of the Tigris whose territory borders on Persia. They are warlike in the extreme and, unlike most of the Persians, do not fight principally with the bow and the sling. The carry spears and pikes and wear a sword slung across one shoulder. To the left arm they tie a very small dirk and they hold out shields and bucklers to protect themselves with. One could hardly describe them simply as light armed troops, nor for that matter as the type of heavy infantry that fight exclusively at close quarters. For they both discharge missiles at a distance when the occasion arises and engage in hand to hand fighting, and are expert at charging an enemy phalanx and breaking its close-knit ranks with the weight of their charge. They can reform their own ranks with ease and adapt themselves to any contingency. Even steep hills they run up without difficulty thus seizing in advance all points of vantage, and when they are put to flight they escape with lightning rapidity whereas when they are the attackers they press the pursuit with perfect timing and co-ordination. Well-versed as they are in practically every type of warfare they inflict considerable harm to their enemies. They are accustomed for the most part to fight alongside the Persians, though not as the conscript contingents of a subject people since they are in fact free and independent and it is not in their nature to submit to any form of compulsion."

It sounds like they were, after all, THE premier Islamic infantry of their time! 

Whiskey in the morning -a SAGA AAR

I met up with my buddies Brent and Jack for a game of SAGA over breakfast. They ran the Irish against my new Anglo Danish warband in the Clash of the Warlords scenario.  This is a straightforward match where killing the enemy warlord wins you the game. Barring that, the game ends after 6 turns and the two sides count casualties to determine a winner.  Fast and furious, just the way we like it.

Brent won the setup and made sure the Irish had loads of terrain to hide in & shoot out of. To avoid the Irish ability "Sons of Daina," where rough terrain come alive with missile fire, I squeezed my troops into the open ground.  It almost looks like they're forming square.  There was hardly room enough to swing a Danish axe!

The Irish opened with a double move into the woods with the wolfhounds, hearthguard, 2 Irish heroes and the warlord. Two flavors of breakfast whiskey appeared and soon, everything seemed a bit funnier. One of the great things about SAGA is you can tip a bit and still play.  I don't normally drink whiskey, or this early, but it was the weekend and I was playing a new warband.  Reason enough to celebrate!

The first 4 turns of the game were slow played by both sides. The Irish wouldn't come out of the woods or move into charge range.  I wouldn't move within 4" of the woods. I used the Danish ability Trapped to stack fatigue on 3 Irish units a turn every time I could.  With no obvious target, I waited for an opportunity.

Then Brent and Jack had a stroke of luck. Rolling well, they turned 6 SAGA dice into 8 on their battleboard and maxed out their 3 shooting abilities.  They stacked all 3 of the abilities on a unit of Irish hearthguard, who wiped out my hearthguard in single volley despite my Shieldwall defensive ability.  This was stunning blow and one I calculated would cost me the game.  I hit back in my turn but I was way behind with only 2 turns to pull a rabbit out of an Irish hat. Smelling blood, the Irish went all in on their next turn, destroying a unit of warriors and shredding my levy slingers. The loss of units reduced my SAGA dice from 6 to 4.

Insult to injury, they unleashed the Irish wolfhounds as well!  The dogs were the only combat I won in the turn.  Look closely at the shot  below to spot a narrow path to victory for the Danes. Deep in the woods stands the Irish warlord and his champion.

I can see your warlord from here! 

Barring my way were wolfhounds and a champion.  To have a chance, I needed to throw the equivalent of consecutive 6s to turn my 4 SAGA dice into more dice for activation and abilities.  My rolling was red hot and I turned 4 dice into 8. I went from "I don't have a prayer" to "I can do this!"  After loading up my battleboard, I sent my warriors in. They made it through the wolfhounds, through the hero and to the warlord.  They lost and bounced back exhausted. My hearth guard followed in their wake and took the Irish warlord down, earning my very first win against the Irish.  And to think, I almost conceded the game!

Never did get a shot of me from the front, you idiot!

My gaming opportunities increased greatly after my son went off to college.  SAGA, Maurice, Dux Britanniarum, Field of Glory and even Lord of the Rings have all been on the menu of late. As we head into the Thanksgiving holiday here in the US, I have many things to be thankful for.  One is that I get to see and participate in the Golden Age of Gaming.   These are the days, my friend!