Last of the Ghaznavids and First of the Daylami

The last two weeks have been spent tying up the loose ends for my 15mm Ghaznavid army. This has seen a variety of troops completed and first up were three elements of artillery. The DBMM Army list only calls for one, but the Forged in Battle pack allows for three and they will no doubt come in useful at some stage:

Nice figures, although to my eye the bolt shooter itself is on the smaller end of the scale:

In the same pack there were enough figures to complete three elements of Naffatun, naptha-throwing infantry:

These are nice little figures carrying bags full of incendiary weapons:

The army list also allows a variety of pike, sword and bow-armed Afghan and Muslim infantry, although not a large amount as the Ghaznavids were primarily a cavalry-based army:

I also found that I had a couple of horse archers and six command figures left over, so I asked Forged in Battle if they would include a few extra horses in a recent order as it seemed a pity to waste them, and they obliged with a dozen free of charge:

Most DBMM armies allow the inclusion of a camp which strengthens the army, unless one's opponents manages to sack it. Baueda have some nice Arabic tents so I ordered a handful. In spite of three coats of Testors Dullcote the blue on the command tent is still reflecting under a harsh direct light, although less so to the naked eye:

Painting in the creases on the command tent was a pain, but I was generally happy with the result:

I was also pleased with the two smaller tents, although the brown one looks a bit like a chocolate in an assortment box:

Finally, the Ghaznavid army list also allows for up to nine elements in total of Daylami allies, a people from the mountainous area in northern Iran. 

There is a separate DBMM Daylami list which includes Ghanznavid allies so I decided to purchase enough to provide for a Daylami army in its own right. I have also purchased options for Arab Conquest and Seljuk Turkish armies and, given it is not yet summer, this is turning into a bit of an Arab spring for me. Here are the nine elements' worth of Daylami that can ally with the Ghaznavids:

And the completed Daylami contingent thus far, with a lot more of the same to come over the following weeks:

The Ghaznavid army is therefore now completed and I believe it has taken me around ten to eleven weeks, which I am quite pleased with. I'll try to haul them all out for a group photo over the coming week.

15mm DBMM Camps

 The holiday period has been quite productive to date, and to round out 2020 I managed to complete some camps for use in DBMM ancient games. 

For anyone not acquainted with DBMM, camps add a morale bonus when included in army lists but must be kept out of harm's way as they can have the opposite effect when sacked by an opponent. 

This provided me with an opportunity to use left-over figures and to employ them alongside some Baueda terrain pieces, which I particularly enjoyed painting. First up are a couple of Roman legionary tents accompanied by two Xyston Roman civilian figures (well, three if you count the infant clutching his mother's left leg):

Next up a Praetorian tent. Looking at it now, the woman holding the baby could be asking "Have you seen Regulus? I have something I need to tell him" while the other woman with her hands on her hips could be saying "Yes, he's my husband, and I think you need to tell me":

The Praetorian tent is an example of why I am so fond of Baueda models as the detail is just right, making them fun to paint (although the Dullcote appears to be a little reflective in this photo):

Here are the remaining civilians from the Xyston Roman pack who have formed a circle and grabbed the nearest clubs and spears to protect the family pig and chickens:

I also had a spare Julius Caesar, Brutus and Cicero figure left over from the Julius Caesar Xyston personality pack, so decided to place them on a stand together. 

This put me in mind of a school trip to see an amateur performance of Julius Caesar when one of my schoolmates shouted out "Look out, he's behind you" at the pivotal moment. It was a little unfair to the actors and he got the cane when we got back to school for his troubles, but it was funny at the time:

Next up are a couple of Forged in Battle stands, with a shepherd and a fellow tending some cattle and a goat:

Finally, a Baueda field kitchen with figures as supplied:

And two versions of the Bauda 'Camp Cooking' set:

The thing I like about these last few elements is they can be used for ancients right through to medieval, when I finally get around to completing a few of those armies I have ahead of me in the pile.

Well, that's about it from me for 2020 as it's New Year's Eve here in Australia. Thanks to all who have viewed and commented throughout the year, and I wish everyone a happy, healthy and productive 2021.

A Handful of Numidians and a 15mm Tibetan Camp

The recently-completed Roman command packs also included a figure of the Numidian King Massinisa and, as luck would have it, I found a spare pack of Numidian horse that had become lost in the Roman pile. This was perfect in terms of providing a couple of extra figures for another Numidian command element, with the others making up an additional element of light horse:

King Massinisa was the founder of the Numidian Kingdom and was initially allied with Carthage, marrying a Carthaginian noblewoman, although he later became a trusted ally of Rome (which is obviously why he was in one of the Xytson Roman personality packs).

While on the theme of utilising surplus figures, I also completed a couple of Tibetan camps using some left-over Tibetan figures, Forged in Battle livestock and a couple of Tibetan command tents I purchased from Baueda:

According to the Baeuda website, white tents were a sign of status and they were generally reinforced along the seams with strips of black cloth. I'll take their word for this as I am no expert in Medieval Tibetan military tent design, although I'm sure there is a PhD, or at the very least an Osprey, in there somewhere:

I have a fair bit more Baueda stuff to complete and really must do more of it as it is a very enjoyable diversion.

Now back to the Romans and the last unit in the form of some Itallian allied cavalry, which I should have posted by the end of the week.

15mm Baggage

I have had a number of Museum Miniatures lying around for the past eight years and am in need of some 15mm baggage for the gaming table, so I decided to move five wagons along with three Forged in Battle ox-drawn carts to the front of the queue:

The first of the Museum Miniatures models is an engineers' wagon:

Along with two large hay carts:

And a smaller single-horse version:

My favourite however is the beer wagon, complete with three barrels for a thirsty army. It puts me in mind of one of my locals which is the last pub in Queensland to still serve beer on tap from a wooden barrel although, to be honest, I can't really tell the difference and suspect it is brewed in the same steel vats as the rest of the beer they serve:

The Museum Miniature models fit together very nicely and are provided with two horses. I ordered four additional horses but found, after painting them, I preferred to stick with the original teams of two. The models are also available with a choice of solid or spoked wheels. The spoked wheels give them more of a middle ages/renaissance appearance, as opposed to the three Forged in Battle ox-carts which have solid wheels and a much earlier look about them:

These will do double-duty as combatants for the DBMM Ancient Spanish army list which also allows the use of flaming ox-carts as an expendable troop type.

I was feeling quite pleased with myself after having completed them, until I went back to the email confirmation of the original order and realised I have another four of the Museum Miniature carts packed away somewhere. I now have a small side-project for the second week of my Christmas break in hunting through a few dozen storage boxes to try to find them, although I am hopeful this will also allow me to locate a mislaid Peter Pig Parthian army and some 28mm Renegade Carthaginians.