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.

Ancient Spain

 

Here are my Ancient Spanish. Allies or opponents to Romans and Carthaginians depending upon circumstances. Ancient writers always gave their martial qualities five stars and a recommendation. Above Forged in Battle Light Horse and Minifigs slingers. 

Another variant on the theme. Forged in Battle Spanish Heavy Cavalry supporting young warriors from the same stable. The young warriors have slings but are eager to fight close to. Consider them a sort of long range Velite. 

The two units in cameo.

Forged in Battle heavy infantry. Five to a base in Civitates Bellantes and considered "Javelinmen".

More of the same below.

Once again. High morale and with some armour.

Old and new. Essex, Chariot and QRF.

More Spanish light cavalry.

QRF Slingers below.

Minifigs slingers. Old I know, but there is a lot to like. 

A final group of young warriors.

The last of the Spanish heavy cavalry.

Should you be Ancient Spanish inclined Forged in Battle are well worth a look. I'm also becoming interested in Cromarty Forge plastic/resin. I'm reliably told that they scale with Essex and that they do not break if they hear you swearing. Promising.

Macedonians-The Shield Transfers 15mm

 

This post is really about VVV 15mm Shield Transfers. I have been using them on figures for my Macedonian and Punic Wars Project. I'm obliged to say that I am impressed. The transfers are cheap to buy, easy to use and quite transformative in their effect. 

Above what I like to think of as my Ptolemaic Phalanx. Such troops seem to have favoured white plumes and helmet decoration. Not universally of course, crimson plumes occur too. I intend to add another 3 bases of this unit. 

A side  view of the same unit. all from Donnington Old Era. Note helmet variants. Very pleasing. You can see the transfers nicely. The eagle eyed among you will spot a Macedonian star variant. I ran out of the simple star. 

The business end of the Macedonian phalanx a terrifying sight according to one of the Roman officers who faced one. I needed to do some mercenary phalangites. I imagine that to allow for a range of shield decoration. Suitable transfers have been bought.

The last of the Old Glory Phalangites with varied shield designs.

Uniformity is the watch word here. These are Forged in Battle Hypaspists. I intend to field them as Ptolemaic Ageama. An elite unit protecting one flank of the Phalanx. I chose the cup design as indictive of the advantages of service in a Guard unit.

Another view of the same unit divided as sub units. You can do that in Civitates Bellantes.

The last pic' note the officer with kopis sword. A figure from Donnington Hellenistic range. Not a bad fit.

What next on this? I think another couple of Macedonian posts and then on to the Punic wars. First up the Spanish. Then the Romans and Carthaginians. 

More Hellenistic Units

 

A look at the cavalry this time and some light troops too. All for Civitates Bellantes. Above Forged in Battle Thessalians. Below Old Glory Xystophoroi.

Essex Companions from the days of single pose. It just about works with the officer variants.

Below, Antigonid Companion Cavalry from Gladiator. An interesting evolution here. No more Xyston, instead spear, javelins and shield.  A different style of fighting less impact, more protection and a bit of missilery. Tarantine cavalry are usually credited as the inspiration although they were all skirmishers. The new look was pretty much identical to Celtic cavalry in role and equipment when you think about it.

These fellows could be Tarantines. No armour, javelins and shields. Once more from Gladiator. As you can see I have opted for single bases for skirmishing cavalry.

"Asiatic" horse archers who might be Persians, Bactrians Scythians or some such.

Now, to some light infantry.

Forged in Battle Agranians. Often deemed to be skirmishers. That's not the whole story. Alexander used then for shock and storm. I decided upon " Javelin Men" under Civitates Bellantes. That means they can skirmish or close fight.

True veterans below. Bought from Belfast in the days of brittle metal. Frei Korps 15 Cretan Archers. Amazing that they have survived.

Bought at Border Reiver I think. Xyston  Macedonian Archers, a bit bigger than most.

Shall we see another unit of Phalangites? This one is in trousers although you probably cannot see it. QRF figures from their old Frei Korps range.

Any phalanx needs flank guards. Here are two unit of Thureophoroi. 

Figures from Gladiator. If you happen to know who currently owns the Gladiator Ranges do drop a comment.

A mixed group of Thracians with figures from Frei Korps 15 and Donnington. 

That's it for the moment.

A Hellenistic Miscellany

 

Regular Readers might remember that I reviewed Simon McDowall's Civitates Bellantes rules for the Classical Period here.  Those of a certain age might also recall an influential magazine article on matters Macedonian. 

It said that if you owned 48 phalangite figures you could do any Macedonian or Successor Army. The trick was to add smaller units as required. Some of the smaller units (Cretans) would do for any army. Others (Indians) might give unique flavour. Dizzy days of Diadochi diversion indeed. 

Very sound as a concept. It works too. Except I never managed to get past sporadic bouts of purchasing and painting. Until now. I have the figures, I have the rules. Time to begin.

I decided to take the Civitates Bellantes basing suggestions to heart. Therefore, my pikemen would be 8 to a base in two ranks. I like the look of this. 

By way of comparison Roman legions are 6 to a base. Thureophoroi or formed archers 5 to a base. True skirmishers 2 to a base. Roman Velites 3 to a base.

This project will cover a fair spread of geography and history. Persia to Cisalpine Gaul and Spain too. Eventually it will include the Punic Wars and Mithridates.

 Here are some pic’s of a range of manufacturers phalanx offerings. All 15mm as usual.

Old Glory

These are their Macedonian Phalangites. I find the shields a bit big. If I was buying from them now I’d go for the Argyraspides pike men. All the same these are OK. You do need to drill the hands but the figures can take it. No breakages. Added Steel pike.

Frei Korp 15

Currently in the Wars in terms of availability. That said I think Geoff will sort it out and we can hope for a triumphant return. These are the original Macedonian Pike men. A mixture of helmets and slight pose variation. Open hands permit gluing a plastic brush bristle pike in place. I like these figures, lots of detail. True 15mm.There is a Seleucid pike pack too with trousers. You will also see newer figures with cast on pike. I don't have any.

Ancient and Modern

Ever Donnington to me. These are very good. Open hands permit gluing a steel pike in place. Bare metal to bare metal will prevent losing pikes. Detail is good as is figure variation. I think 5 variants are available. The same for the trousered Seleucids.

Is that it? No, lots more to come in terms of units and then on to specific Armies.