More 15mm Arab Conquest Swordsmen and a Few Slingers

I feel as though I'm stuck on a rat-wheel of Arabs at the moment but nevertheless have managed to complete another forty-four elements of Arab swordsmen, this time with four to a base to represent 'blade' as opposed to the earlier twenty-eight three-to-a-base elements of warband:

That's one hundred and seventy-six swordsmen completed in this batch, and two hundred and sixty in total including the warband:

Since they are the same figures as the earlier warband I won't linger on them too long, but here are a few pictures of the new recruits:

Needless to say, I was glad that there was so much variety in the figure poses with eight different poses:

I also managed to complete ten elements of slingers, which make an appearance in the Arab Conquest army list but will also be useful for the forthcoming Ghurids, which I swore I would never do until Phil from Toy Soldiers Studio https://15mm25mm.blogspot.com/ put the idea in my head and which I then found I couldn't get out:

Just a small group of twenty figures but again with a satisfying amount of variety:

That makes three hundred and eight-two figures completed for January and February so far with another thirty-seven nearing completion, which is my best start to a year ever and the momentum would have continued if I hadn't dropped an army containing two hundred early Carthaginians and their allies on its end while trying to get the A3 storage box out of the back of my car. 

They had just suffered their worst defeat ever after my gaming partner lost five 50/50 melees in a row by managing to roll nothing but ones against our opponent's fives and sixes and resulting in five holes in our line, only to be followed by two more in the next round. So when I first heard the clatter of lead upon lead, my first thought was 'serves you right, you bastards', until I realised how much work would be required put them back together. Eighty shields and around sixty spears and javelins detached, numerous paint chips plus half of the wire traces I had originally painstakingly attached to the chariots broken off:

If you can imagine putting three hundred figures into an A3 box, shaking it a little, and then thumping it on its end, that is roughly the effect. 

I took me around eight hours but things now do appear to be back as they were. To be honest, it wasn't the worst experience as I again got up close and personal with the figures again.

Now on to the last of the Arab cavalry, which I hope to have completed by the end of March.

15mm Medieval German Crossbow, Bow and Foot

While I have been enjoying significant progress on my ECW project, the arrival of a recently placed order with Khurasan meant I had to return to the Medieval Germans to complete that project. I knew that if I didn't, then it would be left hanging indefinitely and I do want to be able to field the Germans at some point over the coming months. 

Strictly speaking, I didn't really need the additional troops as I had already completed the core and most options for the DBMM army list, but more detailed reading meant I had to have these particular options, just in case. All part of the obsessive nature which I am sure many wargamers identify with, and my storage boxes are full of "options" which have never again seen the light of day.

First off, twelve elements of mercenary crossbowmen:

Lovely figures and I really hadn't intended to paint any more crossbowmen after having painted so many for the Spanish and French, but thought the Germans deserved their own contingent:

There are four different poses which is, as usual from Khurasan, perfect for four figure bases:

There is an option in the DBMM army list for some light bowmen. The nice thing about these is that they can stand behind certain other troops and add a +1 to dice rolls. Given that they only cost 2 points an element, in a typical 400 point army list they should provide a useful option:

Not the nicest figures in the Khurasan range I have to say, and perhaps some of their earlier sculpts as there was a fair but of flash, but they are functional enough:

Next, on to the foot. These are more of the same figures which I completed at the end of January, although the latter were based as 'knight-killers' whereas these troops will unfortunately be rated as 'Inferior' if and when they make the table:

I painted the shield designs the same as the earlier knight-killers as most troops were raised from the same cantons:

 

While I was in the clearing-up frame of mind, I also managed to complete two medieval organ guns from Essex miniatures:

I had actually completed the crew a few months earlier and they had been languishing in my 'completed, but yet-to-find-a-home' pile, so it was nice to at last complete the artillery piece they deserve:

Last, but not least, I recently found myself short three early Carthaginian chariots in our 'Biblical' games. I placed an order for three more to bring the total complement to eleven, and completed them last week as a C-in-C, sub-general and ordinary chariot:

 

This little segue reminded me how much I enjoy painting Xyston figures. And how bad I am with lighting when taking pictures:

That's about it for now. The above notwithstanding (a word not used enough, in my opinion), I have a few more German medieval figures to do, before returning to the Royalist ECW regiments.

2019 Final Tally

I only record broad figures, but 2019 was my most productive year so far with the completion of three armies in 15mm, and getting to within seventeen figures of a fourth. The three completed were Gauls, Spanish and Carthaginians, although the Gallic project also consumed the last four months of 2018, and the fourth is a Numidian contingent of around three hundred figures with the last handful being based at the moment.

The final tally was as follows:

Foot and mounted figures               1191
Horses (including 13 elephants)     278
Wagons and chariots                       28
15mm buildings                              29

Buildings and wagons aside, this represents a grand total of 1469 15mm figures completed, which exceeded my original goal of 1200.

Looking back, I was happiest with my efforts on the 15mm Gallic and Carthaginian chariots:

The Carthaginian elephants:

Xyston Spanish light cavalry:

The Hovels Gallic village buildings:

And the 15mm Baueda bridge model:

The most satisfying aspect of 2019 was that most of the painted figures saw at least one game, with around a dozen or so DBMM battles throughout the year as well as two Napoleonic 15mm games, one of which went for several months over a series of successive Monday evenings.

I also managed to restrain expenditure to a reasonable amount (at least when compared to other years), although 2019 did include the addition of 28mm Renaissance TAG Polish and Muscovite armies and a 15mm Khurasan Tibetan army to the pile as well as approximately 50 of the Cruel Seas German and British boats.

As for 2020, I have targeted a 15mm Xyston Republican Romans and Tibetans for completion as they should get some game time, as well as working on some 28mm Foundry French and Front Rank Russians. While 2019 was very productive I found my interest levels flagging a little in completing the Numidians, so I am also hoping to dip into some stockpiled Ancient, Napoleonic and WWII naval projects along the way, to mix things up a little and hopefully provide a little more variety to the painting side of the hobby.

15mm Carthaginian Army

The completion of the eight Carthaginian heavy chariots means that I have now finished the ancient Carthaginian project, so I thought I'd haul them all out for a few group photographs.

The project gives me enough options for the DBMM early and late Carthaginian lists, spanning just over four hundred years of history, so there are figures here that will never actually be deployed on the table together. The term "army" is therefore probably a bit of a misnomer, but nevertheless I thought I'd assemble them for the sake of posterity.

Here are some early citizen militia based as auxilia, with the Poeni cavalry and Libyan heavy chariots immediately behind:

A close-up of the Sacred Band on the opposite flank:

With Carthaginian generals and chariots behind them:

A closer view of some of the elephants, which I thoroughly enjoyed putting together:

Some Libyan skirmishers:

With early Libyan spearmen behind them, followed by the veteran Libyan spearmen and city militia:

An overview of the entire assemblage:

The project took around three and a half months, and was comprised of the following:

         12 Libyan javelinmen skirmish stands

         18 Libyan spearmen elements

         18 veteran Libyan spearmen elements

         7 cavalry elements (including 3 generals)

         8 Sacred Band elements

         12 city militia spearmen elements

         8 city militia auxilia elements

         5 command personality stands

         10 elephants

         8 heavy chariots

         2 bolt-shooter artillery pieces

All up that is 363 foot and cavalry figures, 53 horses, 10 elephants, 8 chariots and 2 artillery pieces.

Next up I have a few 15mm wagons to complete, and then I'm hoping to get stuck into some more 15mm Numidians I have prepared and which are next in line in the queue.

15mm Carthaginian Chariots

This is the last of the Carthaginians, which presented a bit of an obstacle to overcome. Given that eight heavy chariots means having to paint thirty-two horses and affix thirty-two pieces of fuse-wire for reigns, I knew that this would take some time.

The chariots themselves come in six parts and required gluing together, which is quite fiddly in 15mm, but I am quite pleased with the results:

The Carthaginians had phased out chariots by the Second Punic war, although they did use them for chariot racing. They featured at the battle of the Crimissus River where the Sacred Band were also wiped out.

The crew figures are Libyan rather than Carthaginian, which fits in with the theory that the chariots were actually supplied and crewed by Libyan mercenaries:

The DBMM Early Carthaginian lists lack a but of punch, so the chariots appear to me to be an essential addition to give them a chance against other armies of the period:

That's it for the Carthaginians. Quite pleasing in that I managed to get them finalised in just over three months:

I'll assemble them all and do a final headcount over the coming week, and try to post a group shot or two of the completed project.