Bucellarii

Saturday, June 16, 2018

Numidian Elephants

Here are two Numidian elephants and crew that I've just finished painting. The elephants and crew are from the Victrix African War Elephant set, with Victrix Numidian transfers. You get two ellies and a choice of four types of crew - Ptolemaic, Carthaginian, Numidian and Roman. These elephants are African 'forest' elephants, Loxodonta Africana cyclotis. Below are some comparison shots of some of the other African elephant ranges that are available.

African Elephants L to R - Victrix, Crusader, 1st Corps & Aventine

Victrix, Gripping Beast, Relic & Foundry

Monday, June 11, 2018

Hittites versus New Kingdom Egyptians ADLG Game

Hittites deployed on the left, Egyptians on the right

View from the opposite end of the table

Hittite right flank

Egyptian left flank

Hittite left flank

Egyptian right flank

The Hittites advance

Last Sunday down at the Vikings Club Garry and I played a Hittite versus New Kingdom Egyptian 200 point L'Art de la Guerre (ADLG) game. Garry commanded three corps of Egyptians and I commanded the same number of Hittites. The Hittites had some early success with their chariots on both flanks but once the infantry closed they suffered heavy casualties. The Sherden proved very tough in the centre and even the Egyptian bowmen proved surprisingly effective against the Hittite spearmen. Thanks to Garry for a fun game, it is always good to get these armies out and roll a few dice!

The Egyptians hold and use their superior bow fire

Chariots close on the Hittite left flank

Infantry in the centre exchange fire

Infantry in the centre close in melee

Egyptian light infantry destroy a Syrian light chariot unit

Hittite infantry suffer heavy casualties

Hittite army becomes demoralised and is defeated

Saturday, June 9, 2018

Hittite Chariots, Chariot Runners and Gasgan Warriors

Here are some Hittite Chariots, Hittite Chariot Runners and Gasgan Warriors that I've just finished painting. The chariots and crew and the chariot runners are by Wargames Foundry. The Gasgan Warriors are by Cutting Edge Miniatures, from their Later Anatolian Highlander pack. All these figures will get a run tomorrow down at the club as we have a Hittites vs New Kingdom Egyptians ADLG game lined up.

Monday, June 4, 2018

Yazilikaya

Chamber A Twelve Gods of the Underworld and a Mountain God

Chamber A

Chamber A (reliefs nos.25-33)

Chamber A Relief of Great King Tudhaliya IV

Chamber A

Chamber A female deities (reliefs nos. 49-50)

Chamber A female deities (reliefs nos. 51-54)

The rock sanctuary of Yazilikaya (= rock with writing) is about 1.5km northeast of the Great Temple at Hattusa. Although it was in use from the 15th century BC it wasn't until the 13th century that the reliefs of (mainly) deities were carved. There are 65 reliefs in Chamber A and 15 in Chamber B. It is hard to see the detail in some of the reliefs because of the level of light and shade. There are optimum times of day for viewing them. It is also hard to identify what some of the reliefs are actually of, in the photos, so I have just labelled these with the relevant chamber - Chamber A.

If you're interested in the reliefs at Yazilikaya a great book to get is Gods Carved in Stone The Hittite Rock Sanctuary of Yazilikaya by Jurgen Seeher. This is a beautifully produced book with 205 pages packed with text, colour and black white photos, drawings and plan diagrams. Two highly recommended Hittite site travel guides are Hattusha-Guide A Day in the Hittite Capital by Jurgen Seeher (this covers both Hattusa and Yazilikaya) and Anatolia: On the Trail of the Hittite Civilization by Ali Kilicaya and Erdal Yazici (this covers a very wide range of sites and museums in Turkey).