Sumerian Command 2

 

Here are two Sumerian Command stands that I've just finished painting. These 28mm figures are by CP Models and are the same range, different scale, as the the Museum Miniatures 15mm Z range Sumerians. They are more heroic than historic with some of the swords they're armed with, the scimitar type sword and the later Bronze Age swords, were obviously not around in the early Bronze Age! Still they're great figures and you could always remove the swords from the figures, if it keeps you awake at night, but I couldn't be bothered. CP Models generously included two free shield bearers with my order and I've included these but ditched the six boss shields as these should be nine boss shields as depicted in the Vulture Stele. I'm still working on a king in a battle car and despite the inaccuracies with some of these figures they are still probably the best 28mm Sumerian range around. Andrea Salimbeti's site has an interesting page on Greek Bronze Age swords and daggers:

The Greek Age of Bronze Swords/Daggers

Nikephorian Byzantine Klibanophoroi

 

Here's a unit of Nikephorian Klibanophoroi that I've just finished painting. These are all Crusader Miniatures figures with LBM banner and shield transfers. Most of the horses have red ox hide armour as per the Angus McBride illustration in Ian Heath's Osprey book Byzantine Armies 886-1118. I've also been beavering away assembling boxes of the brilliant new Fireforge Games plastic Byzantine cavalry sets, see the work in progress shots below.

Fireforge Koursores

Fireforge Horse Archers

Fireforge Cataphracts

Late Etruscan Command

 

Here are some Late Etruscan Command figures that I've just finished painting. The figures are by Aventine and Victrix with LBM and Victrix shield transfers. The Victrix figures are from the Republican Roman cavalry set which includes Etruscan helmets options and they have a lovely Etruscan shield transfer set as well. Garry has a really nice Etruscan army, that inspired me to start one of my own. You can see his Etruscans in action against my Samnites in a game we played at the club a few years ago:

https://bucellarii.blogspot.com/2018/09/samnites-versus-etruscans-basic-impetus.html

I have quite a few spare plastic Greek hoplites, so I'm planning to use some of these for my first class Etruscan infantry and have used the Victrix Greek slingers and Roman leves with spare heads to make up fifth class Etruscan infantry as javelinmen and slingers. Agema Miniatures have a Kickstarter Etruscan range too, that should be available soon on their website. I just received in the mail an order from Gorgon Studios of second class spearmen and Lars Porsena in a chariot - can't wait to paint that!

Sumerian, Hittite and Egyptian Reinforcements

 

Here are more 28mm Sumerian spearmen from Lagash, and a 15mm Syrian chariot, Hittite guardsmen and a New Kingdom Egyptian chariot that I've just finished painting. The spearmen are Warlord/Cutting Edge and Eureka Miniatures, the fifth unit I have painted, one more is planned for the army. The 15mm chariots and guardsmen are Gladiator, Peter Pig and Essex.

Last month before lockdown, we did a short mountain bike ride around the Glenburn Heritage Trail. This is a 12km loop for walkers and cyclists which has a suprising number of sites to see and is actually really interesting to visit. Some of the trees in the orchard at Colliers Homestead Ruins are still fruiting, including three prolific quince trees. From the Colliers Homestead Ruins the track climbs up gently to Atkinson Trig which gives a nice downhill run back to the cars.

North Buttress of Boorooomba Rocks

Glenburn Shearing Quarters and Shed

Glenburn Sheep Dip and Yards

Colverwell Graves

Glenburn Homestead

Snow on Mt Bimberi

Coppins Homestead Ruins

Colliers Homestead Ruins

Sumerian Spearmen of Lagash

 

Here are some Sumerian spearmen of Lagash, that date to c.2500 BC, a mix of figures from Eureka, Castaway Arts and Warlord/Cutting Edge. The appearance of these is based on the Vulture Stele, see the article, photos and line drawings of this on the Sumerian Shakespeare website. The spearmen of Ur with their distinctive capes with copper discs are based on the Standard of Ur and date to c.2600 BC. According to the Stillman & Tallis WRG book, Armies and Enemies of the Ancient Near East 3,000 BC to 539 BC 'the large, flat rectangular Sumerian shield, first illustrated on the 'Vulture Stela', probably hastened the abandonment of the protective cape. Made of dyed oxhide and having nine (not six as often stated) round, copper bosses on its face, each shield is shown as being carried by a special shieldbearer standing to the left of each spearman on the stela' (p.122 ). 

I have my Lagash units based with shield bearers in the front rank with rear ranks of spearmen, their spears projecting over the shield bearers. Interpretations of their appearance and how they fought are tricky, a lot of figure manufacturers have spearmen with capes, spear and shield and others with spear and shield. Some have six bosses rather than nine on the shields (Museum Miniatures and CP Models). There are a lot of nice Sumerian ranges available now with 15mm (Chariot Miniatures, Essex Miniatures, Eureka Miniatures and Museum Miniatures) and 28mm ( Wargames Foundry, Warlord/Cutting Edge, CP Models, Eureka Miniatures and Newline Designs). Interestingly the Museum Miniatures 15mm range, and the CP Models 28mm range are the same figures, by the Z sculptor but different scales.

Sumerian Command 1

 

Here are two Sumerian infantry command stands that I've just finished painting and a Sumerian king in a battle car and two straddle cars that I painted a while ago. I will use these as commanders for my Sumerian armies of Ur and Lagash and have two more infantry stands and another king in a battle car to paint. The figures are by Eureka, Warlord/Cutting Edge and Newline Designs. A great website to check out if you're interested in the Sumerians is Sumerian Shakespeare.

Carthaginian Elephants

 

Here are two Carthaginian elephants with mahout, that I've just finished painting. They're Agema Miniatures, with metal mahout, tusks and trunk and a resin elephant body. I have two massive 1st Corps Carthaginian elephants also with mahout alone but these figures are much better size. According to Mir Bahmanyar, author of the Osprey book Zama 202 BC, 'in general, the Carthaginian elephants deployed at Zama did not carry infantry in howdahs on their back' (p.42). Polybius and Livy do not give any details of the elephants' appearance in their accounts of the battle, so I'm not sure what this is based on.

Last Saturday we went on a cross country ski, day trip to Mt Selwyn. I'm not much of skier but this is a really nice area and about 20 years ago we did a winter ski park crossing from here to Guthega. The Mt Selwyn ski resort and much of the surrounding area burnt out in the 2019/20 summer bushfires. It was good to see a lot of new undergrowth on the smaller trees and at the resort they've built accomodation cabins.

The Big Trout Adaminaby

Lunch stop

Mt Jagungal hidden in cloud