Middle Romans- Transfer Tales

 

First, forgive the lacuna between posts. I have been very busy with one thing and another. Let us now press on.

Regular readers know I have been playing with transfers recently. The Prince of Transfers is Little Big Man Studios. Real works of art from them.  They have a reputation for being tricky to use.  That is because there application is counter intuitive. You have to put the image on face down. Gasp!

Luckily You Tube is replete with a squad of fine fellows who show you how everything should be done. Seeing it makes it very easy to follow and, oddly, more natural. I set to.

Having been instructed the application process worked splendidly. You have to cut out the transfer. Take care over this bit. Then peel of a layer of plastic. That bit is very easy. Place the image face down on the shield and press. Wet it with a water laden brush.  Then peel the paper off. Less complex or demanding than it reads.

Anything else? The pic's in descending order are Light Cavalry, Heavy Cavalry,  Auxilia and Legions. All figures are from Forged in Battle. They are intended as a start on opponents for my Picts. More on those lads soonish.

A final thing. Although the LBM transfers are custom made for specific figures don't expect a perfect fit. This isn't the end of the world as a look at the above figures will show.

Now for a Crimean War diversion. I have been reading The Crimean War-A History by Orlando Figes. Published in 2010 so not a new book. Orlando got a bit of a public hiding for anonymously giving himself an excellent review. Quite the scandal and it ended with the lad himself issuing a public apology. 

These days such antics would hardly cause a stir at all. In fact he might be knighted or made a Lord. Certainly he could expect a Quango.

Anyhow, the book.  Some of the political currents stuff it is well worth the readers attention. Some of the rest isn't.  The military stuff is on occasion good but mostly it is cursory. Almost lazily so. Surprisingly, to me, Figes is much better on strategic ideas and who wanted what and why.  Not a bad book then but not a must have either.

Consider Carthage in 15mm

 

You could always find mercenaries in a Carthaginian Army. Numidians, Spanish, Gauls, the odd Greek. Almost always Carthaginian Generals of course. The three above are from QRF. One might be Phyrrus of Epirus. He's the one with the Tanith shield., There were allies too, including those just listed depending on where and when. All the same actual Carthaginians did turn up on the battle field now and then. Over the years I have accrued a fair few of them.  Let’s have a look.

 

Chariot Miniatures Liby-Phoenicians. Single pose, once upon a time the latest thing. I remain fond of these figures. I have based them as Light Spearmen according to Civates Bellantes.  I need another base to complete the unit. A big ask with Chariot gone. Luckily 3 Donnington Carthaginians will fit right in to supply the requisite 5 figures per base.

Essex Veteran Liby-Phoenicians. The fellows who did the fancy footwork at Cannae. The usual strengths of Essex castings. Sadly single posed. Forged in Battle next to them.

Forged in Battle Veteran Liby-Phoenicians. Pretty much single pose too. The minor variant route. Nice figures all the same.

I have rated the veterans as hoplites, veteran of course and note the good armour. Six to a base.

Actual Carthaginian Citizens from Forged in Battle. 

These seldom appeared in the wars. For some reason I have rather a lot of them. It must have been an irresistible bargain offer.  On the plus side they are very nice figures. I have used VVV Shield Transfers to good effect I think.

I look at the simple Tanith design with fresh eyes these days. It proclaimed allegiance to the Punic State. Sacrifice of the first born and all it entailed. The archaeology is in. The small bones have spoken. It wasn’t just Roman propaganda after all. Did it chill the hearts of the foe?

No one suggests that the Carthaginian citizens were crack troops. These ones are well equipped as befits a wealthy city. 

Morale is average to my mind like wise weapon handling. Consider them rather average hoplites.

Another variation of the Libyans from Forged in Battle. This time as Civitates Bellantes “Javelin Men”.  Good quality heavy cavalry next. Liby-Phoenicians. In Civitates Bellantes we call these Cavalry. There are also "Shock" Cavalry.

These are from Forged in Battle. I calculate I should have another 3 of them. They must be somewhere.

For ease let us look at the Numidians too. Very effective soldiers. Mine are a bit of a mixture. Light cavalry first.  Apologies for the poor quality of the light on the pic's.

Enough for 4 units in Civitates Bellantes. 

Some Essex, some Forged in Battle and possibly something else. Single bases.

QRF, Essex and Chariot foot skirmishers. 

Somewhere there are more of these. Since writing this they have been found bringing the unit up to 8 figures.

As Adrian Goldsworthy noted in his epic history of the Punic Wars we don't know enough about the Carthaginians. The Romans intended that we shouldn't. They destroyed the Punic written records. Some texts on agriculture survive.