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 Ancient Spanish Army Completed

The weekend saw the completion of this project, so I took some time out to gather the troops for a few group photos as it is unlikely they will ever see the table all at the same time and it helps to remind me what I have completed:

The figures are all Xyston, and the shield transfers are from Little Big Men Studios. Here are a few shots of the scutarii, with caetrati in the foreground and some Celtiberians in the rear:

And a few gratuitous shots panning of the infantry panning left to right, which I hope nevertheless serves to highlight some of the marvelous detail of the Xyston figures:

Looking at these pictures reminds me of how many individual shields, javelins and in some cases arms I have had to glue together. I like the effect but found that even pulling them out for a group shot like this inevitably means I have to glue some back together and I wonder at times whether the old one-piece figures may be less bother. Then again, the trade-off with one-piece figures is that the spears can often end up bent and wavy and in some cases snapped off completely:

Next, a few close-ups of the cavalry:

With my favourites being the light horse with caetrati pillion riders:

And a closer look at the armoured Spanish cavalry with some C-in-C and subordinate general elements immediately behind:

Finally, the twenty-eight balearic slinger elements (as opposed to the twelve actually allowable under the DBMM Spanish army lists) and the remaining light horse:

And one final group shot:

In total, the army is comprised of the following:

              67 elements of scutarii

              40 elements of caetrati

              30 elements of light and armoured cavalry

              28 elements of slingers

              16 elements of celtiberians

providing a total of 72 horses and 469 foot and cavalry figures, or 541 individual figures in total.

I completed the first experimental unit of scutarii in February while I was awaiting the arrival of some additional Gauls, but really only got started in mid-March so in effect this army took me four months to complete, which is around the same length of time it took me for the Gauls. At least I know I'm working at a reasonably steady pace.

That's it for the ancient Spanish. I have a few Carthaginian spearmen on the painting table at the moment so will try to get through them at a reasonable pace, before moving back on to some 28mm French Napoleonic figures.

15mm Celtiberians and Balearic slingers

The last two troop types for my 15mm Spanish project now completed. First, another twenty elements of Balearic slingers:

I had actually completed another eight elements earlier thinking they were Gauls, so that makes twenty-eight elements in total which is now quite a few more than I need. I also realised that what I originally thought was a headband is in fact representation of a spare sling that  Balearic slingers often used to carry tied around their heads, as seen here on the figure on the left:

There are four figures in each pack of eight, and they are fairly simply dressed so easy to complete:

Finally, I completed sixteen elements of Celtiberians as an allied contingent:

These are classified as Fast Blades in DBMM so should provide a bit of variety alongside the Iberian scutarii and caetrati:

They were fierce warriors and proved difficult for the Romans, defeating several attacks until Scipio prevailed at the brutal siege of Numantia:

Each Xyston pack of eight has six different designs, so there was a fair bot of variety to play around with:

That's it for the 15mm Spanish project. I'll try to get the completed army together for a group shot and final head count over the coming days, then on to some Carthaginian figures I have prepared. I also have some French Napoleonic cuirassiers crying out for attention, but am on a roll with the 15mm ancients so might keep going for a bit longer with them until I finally run out of steam.

15mm Spanish Unarmoured Cavalry and Generals

Rather a long post as I have managed to finish the remaining ancient Spanish cavalry sooner than I had expected. Even though May was a relatively slow month on the painting front I finished the bulk of the cavalry horses so only had the riders to complete, and pleasantly surprised myself how quickly I was able to get through them.

First off, a group shot including some of the earlier-completed armoured cavalry:

The latest batch includes six elements of generals and some armoured nobles to augment the armoured cavalry:

The figures are all Xyston, and I mixed the generals in with some figures from the musician and standard-bearer packs:

Next up, twelve elements of unarmoured Spanish light cavalry:

That should have been more than enough for my requirements, but Xyston released a new pack of Spanish light horse with caetrati pillion riders, in line with DBMM v2.1 where the light horse gain a bonus if supported by caetrati.

Although the actual caetrati elements are mounted on separate bases and more than adequately covered by what I have already completed, I couldn't resist these models and am glad I didn't as they are among my favourite Xyston purchases to date:

The figures are supplied with a separate sprue containing additional javelins, which I thinks is a nice touch and round out some of the figures perfectly:

Two more group pictures, showing all thirty elements of cavalry assembled:

That's seventy-two horses and eight-four riders in total, and the completion of the army is now in sight. I have another twenty elements of slingers on the painting table at the moment, (another over-purchase, this time due to miscalculation) which I hope to complete in the next couple of weeks, clearing the way for the final batch of sixteen elements of Celtiberian allies.

15mm Spanish Armoured Cavalry

I knew that May would potentially be the least productive month this year in terms of painting output (the reasons for which I have outlined at the end of this post), but I managed to progress my ancient Spanish project in the form of some armoured cavalry:

These are again Xyston figures but appear a little different to some of the others in their range, not least because they have cast-on spears:

This reminded me a little of the old Miniature Figurines sculpts, and how I could never completely remove the waviness:

And usually ended up snapping one or two along the way:

They are however great figures, and the four different poses in each pack provides sufficient variety:

May turned out to be a busy month with my daughter's wedding, which was wonderful; my father's eightieth birthday, which was great and was thoroughly enjoyed by all; a trip to New Zealand, where I got to spend a very pleasant hour catching up on the last thirty years with Mark Strachan; and the end of the university semester leading into exams.

I wonder on occasion why I am persevering with a law degree at my age, but it is something I have always wanted to do and I find it keeps my mind active. Besides which I am now just slightly over two thirds of the way through, so will keep plugging on.

I have also already made a good start to June, and hope to have a few more posts up before the month is out.