54mm Prince August Knight

Here is a picture of one of Prince August's kights from their 54mm Medieval range.   The horse is one of the nicest 54mm horses I have painted- although it took a lot of lead to cast!

Ancient Greeks - old and new

"Because we fight close to the enemy." King Agesilaos when asked why their swords were so short.
Here is the beginnings of my Spartan Army which I have been adding to for some time now. Originally I was thinking of getting together 300.  It is a somewhat eclectic collection of figures from many ranges and ages. Featured are figures from Hinchcliffe, Ral Partha, Foundry, Immortal, Essex and some other unknown brands. They are largely being based to play Field of Glory, but I have based some individually, until I decide what to do with them.  I have another 60 odd figures to paint from Wargames foundry and Immortal Miniatures along with some Persians. I was only halted in my painting efforts by a crisis in confidence- did I really want a Spartan army or another city state??  This happenned because I read the excellent booklet which came with the plastic box kit form immortal miniatures which is one of the best accounts of Ancient Greek armour and and uniforms that I have seen. Recent works on my Union ACW has also slowed things down a bit too!

The General

A Base of Foundry Hoplites

A Hero with a Trident!!!??

A hinchcliffe musician.  Pretty basic sculpt but a paint job makes a difference!

Comparison of makes: Foundry (L) Immortal (C) Ral Partha (R)

Ral Partha Hoplites from the late 70s!

Essex Slingers



Essex Crossbowmen

 "Either with it or upon it." Spartan mothers to their sons in regards to their shields.

MOBILE INFANTRY - ON THE BOUNCE!

What a great miniature! I think that this one captures the image of the Mobile Infantry as they are described in the book Star Ship Troopers very nicely. These are die cast models about 100mm tall. It is from a Japanese company and the only ones I have ever found have been on eBay. I have removed a rocket launcher on his left shoulder - this looked to me to be a bit awkward for the photo composition but was actually pretty much as described in the text of the book.

Duryee's Zouaves 5th New York Vols.

These are some of my 25mm 5th New York Duryee's Zouaves. The figures are by Wargames Foundry.

Prince August 54mm Napoleonics

The most recent Prince August moulds are a far cry form some of the simpler ones of the 80s.  Their 54mm Napoleonic range is fantastic. I bought these as an impulse buy in one of their online sales.  The price was too good to refuse! They are well proportioned, mutipart with plenty of detail.  They could fit in as wargames figures or toy soldiers. Below are some pictures of my efforts. I have tried to paint them simply. 

Some Flights of Fantasy

Brother Brian the mad messianic monk from a long running early medieval campaign ~ a Reaper figure. The golden hand on a pole is Brian's icon. The hand has a story attached to it that goes back to the very first days of the campaign during the early 1980s! Reaper make wonderful miniatures and they are a delight to paint. As you can see from the following images I have quite a few of them.

The Dark Lord has harsh words with a recalcitrant Yeti! The Dark Lord is a Games Workshop figure. I am not sure where the Yeti came from, but I enjoyed painting him.

One ugly Orc! A Reaper figure.

A "beautiful" Reaper Ettin.

A Yeti confronting some hapless peasant! "Leave my sheep alone!"

Brother Impious ~ fear naught!

Brother Raggius ~ woe be unto the sinful!

THE ALAMO IN 25mm

Here are some photos of various games of the Alamo I have hosted. The rules I use are my own and I am quite happy to share them with anyone who is interested. The model of the Alamo is by Hudson and Allen - painted by myself. The figures used are all Cannon Fodder Miniatures. The game uses about 260 fgures and has a strict two hour time limit. If at the end of the two hours one Texian is left alive they win! Mexican losses are automatically replaced for the first one and half hours, but Texian losses are not replaced. It is a good fast moving, easy to learn and great participation game. I'll be hosting it again next January at Cancon.