I ride a light horse...

Out of the corral today ride the Numidians.  To pop off of the brown basing and horses, I went with a lighter skin tone that what I suspect the ancient Berbers had.  If I've learned one thing painting 15mm, it's that you can't be subtle.

These West Wind figs get a big thumbs up for the variety of poses.  The hair is nicely modeled with a look that could be described as proto-dreadlock. Big shields are a plus for scratch shieldwork.

I'm reaching into the Way  Back machine for this, all the way back to my very first blog post.  In it, I adapted Woody Guthrie's classic, “I Ride an Old Paint”  to the ancient battlefield.  

I ride a light horse, 

I lead a fast pack, 

I’m heading round the flank,  

I got a camp to sack,

We feed on stragglers,

We water in the draws, 

Our tails are all matted, 

Our opponents are raw,

Old man Giso, 

He had two sons, 

One joined the cavalry,

and the other went wrong, 

his boy, he died on the plains of Cannae, 

but still he keeps singing all of the day

Ride around light horse, 

ride around real fast, 

hold the enemy by the nose and 

kick 'em in the ass

Below are the Numidians  who couldn't afford a pony.  These skirmishers have plenty of variety as well.  Now I'm onto the Spanish and then Carthaginians to finish out the project!

I've had a great run of luck at The Miniatures Page lately. Last week, I scored an unpainted 28mm Gallic army by Foundry.  8 chariots, 150 foot and 30ish cavalry = a BIG fall/winter project. I'd like to paint and base them for Impetus. I'm thrilled that I get to paint Foundry and ancients in 28mm for the first time.  Finally!

This week, I've been painting to the superb audiobook Lost to the West by Lars Brownworth.  As Fortuna would have it, I also found a large unpainted Thematic Byzantine army by Gripping Beast. Even though I don't have a solid plan for them, I couldn't pass up on the opportunity.  With this, I can now muscle up to the painters bar, hold my head up high and brag about my lead hill!  

All Brushes Lead to Rome

If you're painting ancients you have to paint Romans at some point.  So why not give in to the dark side and paint them first? This Mid Republic Roman army is from West Wind's new War and Empire range.  At the finish line, it's a whopping 60 cavalry and 532 foot. So, what do we have here?

Velites: With the extra room on the bases, the skirmishers get a chance to shine! The wolf cloaks are well modeled and a nice touch.

Hastati:  The hastati were the first up in the Legion and not as well-kitted as the principes or triarii behind them.  There are 192 figures here, making it a bit of a challenge to shoot in one go. Somehow, I only got a group photo of them walking away.  West Wing puts command figures in every bag, allowing you to sprinkle them throughout as I did here and still save some for the command stands.

Principes:  When the hastati wore down or couldn't get it done, the principe went to the front. These are modeled in chain mail and yes, it's another 192 figures.

Triarii.  When all else fails, these tough bastards were the last and best hope for the Legion.

All ranked up and ready to conquer the world!

Roman cavalry.  Roman cavalry wasn't particularly good in this era.  At times they dismounted and fought on foot.

Commanders.  There is a wide variety of command figures in this army, with old baldy being my favorite of the bunch!

Now I'm on to Numidians, then Spanish and lastly, Carthaginians. All these figures are destined for Historicon and the Battle of Zama. I wish I could see it in person but that's looking like a long shot.  

I can't really complain though because I made it out to the Big Show at Adepticon.  You're probably wondering, was it fun?  Oh yea! Here's me hanging with Stephen the Viking from Kansas City. Fabulous players, hosts, tournament, armies and terrain.  If I could use only one word to describe the event, it would be 'epic.'  I'll try to use more than one word to describe the event in another post. Until then, skol!  

Everything's Coming Up Ravens

This week, I'm off to Adepticon for my first big tournament.  It's been great fun building a list, brainstorming scenarios and hoisting beers over practice games.  Adepticon shared a picture of our Grand Melee swag and its sweet!  To wear all the Dark Age T-shirts I packed for this trip, I'll need to change after each round of the tournament. Is there an award for "Most Costume Changes?"

I told my buddies this magical raven T-shirt only works with Norse warbands. My friend John replied that any warband fighting under the raven T-shirt is destined to win but the bearer is doomed to die.  It's this kind of banter that makes our SAGA group shine! Despite John's warning, I added a raven war banner to my Norse-Gaels list.  Banner bearers, beware!

My friend Hugh is painting a Carthaginian army in 15mm and we've traded emails on how I paint in this scale.  He's kindly edited them into a "How To..." painting guide.  I'll share it once I figure out a form or format for that.

I've got some work in progress shots of Mid Republic Roman army I'm painting. West Wind's War and Empire range goes live in mid-April for the UK and mid-May for everybody else. If you're an ancients gamer, take a look at these for your next army.  They've got lots of armies and the excellent sculpting makes them easy to paint up.  As a painter and player, I'm thrilled to have another superb choice.  These are the days, my friends!