Libyan Warriors

 

Here are two units of Bronze Age Libyan warriors that I've just finished painting. The figures are a mix of Foundry, Old Glory and Newline. I'll use them for a Libyan Chariots Rampant force to start with but need to finish painting more warriors, archers and chariots. The back drop photo was taken in Egypt in 2009, near the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut in Luxor.

One really annoying thing that happens with Libyans frequently is the ostrich plume(s) in the hair snaps off, either in the mail or even in storage. I have literally dozens of these figures that have lost their plume but found a method that seems to work quite well to repair them. I drill a hole in the top of the head angled back slightly and super glue in a 5-7mm wire off cut from a wire spear (have hundreds of these). I then take some green stuff and fold it around the wire so it is enclosed and then using a sculpting tool (a toothpick would do) mark in the lines of the ostrich plume and leave it to dry. The front rank figure (with tats) on the far right in the photos above and below is the one I repaired.

The Stillman & Tallis WRG book, Armies of the Ancient Near East, 3000 BC to 539 BC, makes the following point (p.116):

This plume was considered very important, and may have indicated tribe or status. The inscriptions of Merneptah record that a defeated Libyan chief was deprived of his plume by his followers as a mark of disgrace.

Hittites versus New Kingdom Egyptians ADLG Game

 

View from the Egyptians' side

View from the Hittites' side

Egyptian chariots charge on the left flank

Egyptian chariots charge on the right flank

On Sunday afternoon out in the shed I played a solo L'Art de La Guerre (ADLG) game with my 15mm New Kingdom Egyptians and Hittites. I haven't played these rules for quite a while but ordered Version 4 from Northstar when it was released recently. It was a small 100 point game, with two corps and commanders a side, the Hittites were the attackers. I was a bit rusty but fortunately the QRS is very good and I didn't have to look up the rules too much, although there are a few changes from Version 3. 

The two forces lined up and got stuck in with the Egyptian chariots charging on both flanks in the first turn. The Hittite infantry charged in the centre with casualties mounting on both sides. The Hittites infantry managed to punch through the Egyptian infantry despite being out numbered. Both Egyptian commanders were killed and the Egyptian army was soon routed. In my opinion one of the big advantages of ADLG is its smaller army sizes, you get more bang for your buck and as it says in the Overview it requires about half the miniatures as most other rule sets.

Hittite infantry charge in the centre

Casualties mount on both sides

View from the Hittite lines

Egyptians rout

Sea Peoples Chariots and Warriors

 

Here are some Sea Peoples from the archives. The Pelset and Lukka chariots above are by Cutting Edge/Warlord Games and the Lukka warriors below are by Wargames Foundry. These are the two best ranges around, for Bronze Age armies.

Numidian Command and Cavalry

 

Here are some Numidian cavalry and a command stand that I've just finished painting. These are all Victrix figures, some with LBM shield transfers. The horses are a bit over sized for slender Numidian ponies, Victrix seem to use the same three basic poses for all their cavalry sets. The recent release of the Osprey book, The Numidians 300 BC-300 AD, by William Horsted has got me thinking about my Numidian army again. There is a review of this book in a recent issue of Ancient Warfare magazine.

I have four command stands, quite a few cavalry units and two Victrix elephants painted, with two Crusader elephants nearly completed. I have made a start on some of the infantry, mainly Crusader and Renegade figures and this will be the bulk of the painting required. The plan is for an army of King Juba I (with his 'legions') but suitable for earlier armies as well.

Late Romans versus Sassanids Dux Bellorum Game Two

 

Armies deployed 

Sassanid right flank

Sassanid infantry in the centre

Sassanid left flank

Late Roman right flank

Late Roman centre

Late Roman left flank

On Tuesday afternoon out in the shed, I played another solo Dux Bellorum game with Late Romans and Sassanids. This was quite a small game of 24 points a side, nearly half the size of the first game. I made a few changes to the unit stats, reducing the Savaran shooting from two to one dice and added darts for the Roman shield wall infantry, 2 BW range and one dice for an extra point. The Late Romans also had an extra unit of equites (noble riders), and these tweaks seemed to give a more balanced game than the first one.

The cavalry on both flanks became locked in combat early on and eventually the infantry joined them in the centre. We play a house rule in DB that no more than two leadership points may be allocated to a unit or group a turn, as it can cause grid lock in the game with hits being continually cancelled and no result possible for many, many turns. This was precisely what happened in my game before the Late Romans finally prevailed and the Sassanids routed. Two Roman units managed to hang in there in combat while on their final cohesion point.

Armies advance

Sassanid cavalry charge

Late Romans retreat 

Cavalry fight it out on the flanks

Sassanid infantry charge

Fighting continues for many turns

Sassanids rout

Legio XX Valeria Victrix

 

Here are some Early Imperial Roman legionaries that I've just finished painting. These have been stuck on the painting desk for a very long time, so it's good to see the back of them! They're all Victrix figures and shield transfers, from the advancing legionaries set. The Legio XX Valeria Victrix was stationed in Britain from the time of Claudius' invasion in 43 AD and were involved in the construction of Hadrian's Wall from 121-125 AD. The back drop photo was taken about ten years ago, on a trip to the UK, on a day walk along Hadrian's Wall, from Chollerford to Caw Gap. See post on Walking Hadrian's Wall for more photos.