After having completed the Ghaznavids a couple of weeks ago I thought it time to take a few pictures of the assembled army:
As DBMM armies go, it packs quite a punch. Even though it is ostensibly cavalry-based, the limited infantry options are quite effective and the ability to field up to eight elephants can be very handy, albeit expensive:
Some of these figures, such as the horse archers, Daylami infantry and four elements of allied Arab cavalry will find their way into other armies now that I have decided to press on with Daylami dynasty and Arab Conquest projects:
This is my first complete Forged in Battle army. I have done a few of their lovely buildings in the past and various camp and baggage figures, but never a whole army. They have a great range and the figures are well-proportioned with a nice amount of detail:
A couple of minor quibbles in that some of the mounted figures don't have a large contact point to affix them to horses and the sculpts require a little but of cleanup, although nothing too onerous:
The army consists of 283 foot and cavalry figures, 110 horses and eight elephants, making 401 figures completed in total, and took just over two months:
They have already lost their first outing against some Nikephorean Byzantines, primarily due to an appalling run of bad dice throwing rather than anything I would have done differently. When you field a line of six elephants against skutatoi and essentially all you have to do is beat them on a D6 to kill them, but fail to do any damage for two rounds of combat, you know it's not going to be your day. Hopefully that means I have got all the bad luck for them out of the way in a single game though.
I'm nearly halfway through the Daylami so will probably save any posts on them until they are completed. In the meantime I'll try to post a quick AAR of a recent Napoleonic battle, if I can remember what actually happened.
This is a fantastic looking army! I am always amazed at the speed at which you crank out figures and armies. Superb quality too! Well done! Hopefully they will fight better next time.
ReplyDeleteThanks Jonathan. I'd be keen to take on the same Byzantine army again on the basis it would be unlikely to go so wrong a second time.
DeleteIt's traditional to have your newly painted army lose terrible on it's first outing.
ReplyDeleteExactly Dave, although I thought I had the bases covered and had almost eliminated the possibility of adverse luck.
DeleteImpressive collection sir!
ReplyDeleteThanks Michal, it came together nicely.
DeleteA very impressive force Lawrence, unlike you recent die rolls!!!
ReplyDeleteCheers Ray. My dice rolling has improved over the past couple of years but I definitely took a backward step with this one.
DeleteFantastic work Lawrence and an impressive sight. Always nice to get a whole army done 👍
ReplyDeleteIt is always a great feeling of satisfaction to complete an army, and I'm hoping I can get the Daylami finished before the New Year..
DeleteI think the Arab conquest has the potential to be an excellent period for war gaming and very under represented on the table top.
ReplyDeleteIt is a great era and makes for some interesting games. It has only been the last couple of years that I have really started to appreciate it.
DeleteAmazing looking army, Lawrence. So good to see your whole project on display.
ReplyDeleteThanks Richard. I'll have to do the same with my recently-completed AWI stuff, but every time I look at the seven boxes full the thought of trying to reorganise them again afterwards puts me off.
DeleteYour Ghaznavid Army look awesome! a lot of work but,as you wrote, with satisfaction and gratifying once Completed, I know how you feel! :o) ever tried a off board flank march with one of your sub general with a small force of cavalry (8 elements) during your DBMM game? ...anyway... congrats completing your Ghaznavids!
ReplyDeleteThanks Phil. What happened to the flank march? Did it fail to arrive? Thankfully that hasn't happened to me yet. We used to use them all the time, but less so over the past couple of years. I suspect it is because one of our group has become quite fond of using a sea to limit the gaming area, which also cuts down the option for flank marches.
Deletesometimes I use flank marches and sometimes they arrive and not :o) but never use an ally command for flank attack, they arrive and turned on me! :o) yes I know one can try to flank your apponant on the table top with light cavalry in column (6-8 elements) formation and zip through flank gap(s) if available....anyway,, back to my painting more Arab conquest infantry slingers,bowmen etc.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to them. I recently purchased some more figures from FiB to make up an Arab Conquest army. There seems to be quite a lot of infantry required.
DeleteExcellent looking army , a great finish rapidly done too! It would be nice to see your AWI force and a Napoleonic AAR, what rules did you use?
ReplyDeleteBest Iain
Thanks Iain. We are currently on to our sixth game of General dÁrmee and thoroughly enjoying it. Just enough meat in there for us without being overly complex.
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