Tuesday 29 December 2020

More 15mm Gauls

When I completed my Gallic army at the beginning of 2019 comprising just under 600 figures, I swore I'd never paint any more 15mm Gauls, so here they are:











Fifty-two figures in all, including 48 warband. I essentially did this because I had based all my previous Gauls on 20mm deep bases which was the mandated size for earlier revisions of DBMM, only to subsequently find this had been reduced to 15mm in DBMM 2.1 which is the later version our group plays. Rather than re-base the whole lot at this stage, I decided to do a small batch who can now form the first rank of future encounters:





















I found the chariot down the back of my painting desk three or four weeks ago, just in time for it to join the queue. That means I now have a baker's dozen, although the chariot rider on this model is from the Xyston Gaesatae range whereas all my other chariot riders are clothed Gauls. If I was that chariot driver I'd probably be doing what he's doing, keeping my eyes fixed firmly ahead and not turning around suddenly in case I got a faceful of bare arse:











That's definitely it for the Gauls now, and just about it for ancients for the time being apart from a few DBMM camps which I should have completed within the next couple of days.

18 comments:

  1. Never say never, Lawrence! Your Gauls look great!

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    1. Yes, you'd have thought I would have learned by now. Thanks Jonathan.

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    2. We are creatures of habit thinking we can muster restraint.

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    3. Yes, it's not easy especially when there are beautiful new figures emerging all the time, and so many potential subjects to pique one's interest.

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  2. Splendid Gauls...and promising camps, already waiting for them!

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    1. Thanks Phil. The camps have been a lot of fun to date, and I am looking forward to being able to show off a few pictures of them.

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  3. Great work Lawrence and a nice nod to Spike Milligan and his war memoires (after my last book I swore I would never write another ...this is it). Nice find down the back of the painting desk...A Bakers Dozen - I wonder if that is a uniquely British Commonwealth term?

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    1. Thanks Keith. I thoroughly enjoyed those Spike Milligan memoires and wish I knew where I had put them as they are worth a reread. My brothers raided my book collection when I left home so I suspect one of them still has them. Yes, baker's dozen; you never really hear it much any more and I suspect anyone in their twenties would have no idea what we were talking about.

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  4. Splendid looking Gauls! We've all done it,never more,here's some more!
    Best Iain

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    1. Cheers Iain. Especially with certain troop types, such as Gauls, Romans, Napoleonic French. There always seems to be a reason to add mor.

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  5. Considering that painting Gauls well, like you do, is sort of like doing Napoleonic Highlanders, that was a lot of ambition to paint more having already done so many!

    The fuss over 5mm of base depth (because of the push back effects etc) is part of why DBX never appealed to me.

    "Baker's Dozen" was commonly used and well understood term in the US in my parent's generation and mine.

    A more general and colorful and even less often heard term is the French/Creole "Langniappe".

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    1. Thanks Peter. I think baker's dozen is more of a generational thing which I used to hear my grandparents use, and less so my parents, but has largely fallen out of usage. I can't remember ever having been given thirteen of anything when I have ordered a dozen rolls from a bakery, which is possibly part of the reason.

      I do like DBMM, but it does at times feel very geometric and I wouldn't have liked to have played it in a competitive environment where I could see quite a few arguments developing over measurements and angles. I also find at times there can be a bit of post-explanation when trying to make sense of certain situations, but we have had more enjoyable games than not which is a good thing. I just hope that in 2021 I'll be able to convince my group to give TtS a go!

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    2. As long as you have fun with the games, that's all that really natters about the rules, isn't it?

      TTS! is very easy to pick up, but do try a solo game before running it at the club! Due to the card activation system, it plays well solo.

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    3. That's a good suggestion Peter, and will help in my trying to impart the rules. I find we often don't get a second chance with new rule sets, and that unless people take to them quickly they tend to discard them.

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    4. If you give it a whirl solo, which I strongly encourage, ask me for the file for my much improved QRS for TTS!

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  6. Splendid, simply splendid Lawrence. A find achievement.
    Regards, James

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