Spain's Archeology Museum in Madrid - the Military Stuff

I've just posted a YouTube video of the photos I took earlier this year at the Madrid Archeology Museum . 

Unsurprisingly they focus on objects and displays with a vaguely military theme, including Classical & Roman era Iberian armour, weapons and grave goods, Greek artworks, and Successor coinage featuring some of those famous generals you've certainly heard of before.

There's also a medieval Persian helmet, a bit of European medieval wall-art, Visigothic weapons and other stuff, Ptolemaic Egyptian funery gear and a host of other mostly "ancient history" bits and pieces too. 

Accompanying it all is my often staggeringly uneducated and ill-informed commentary, but don't let that put you off, as if it does, just turn the sound down as I also took photos of most of the caption boards that accompany each display as well!

The video is available now https://youtu.be/L1kkzKt1Gl4?si=b9Z5fBBwoQEVOcvF

The Khurasanians go to Spain !

 In these 6 all new, all singing and flamenco-dancing battle reports you can thrill, gasp, gag and feel mildy queasy all at the same time as you read the epic tale of how a 15mm Khurasanian army fared as it took to the stage at an international ADLG event held in sunny Spain back in April of this year.

As usual there are plenty of nonsensical historical "facts" (ahem) about the armies in play, a smattering of vaguely related videos, and loads of pictures of 15mm toy soldiers verbally harassing both me, and one another.

This time however the Khursanian army is commanded by none other than Frank Zappa alter-ego Sheikh Yabouti, leading to some rather hippie-esque post match analysis, including almost enough 1970's references to make up for the near-total lack of self-reflection and self-awareness of his own role in his many downfalls. 

Nasty Medieval Hannibal also has his say as a counterpoint to the Sheikh's nonsense - and as usual he lands far more punches than he pulls. 

In a brand new, international-reader-friendly initiative I have (OK, AI has..) managed to translate all 6 of the reports into the languages of my opponents (3 into Spanish, 1 into German, 1 into Portuguese and 1 into....Australian!) 

So, pop a shrimp on the barbie, pull up a chair, slice yourself a chorizo, break open the Hob-nobs and pop a tinned sardine on top as you prepare to read through all 6 (or 7, if you also read the Australian one) Madaxeman battle reports! 

• Game 1 Khurasanian vs Ghaznavid    (also in Spanish)
• Game 2 Khurasanian vs Ottoman Empire     (also in German)
• Game 3 Khurasanian vs Mongol Empire    (also in Portuguese)
• Game 4 Khurasanian vs Wars of the Roses   (also in Spanish)
• Game 5 Khurasanian vs Mongol Empire   (also in Spanish)
• Game 6 Khurasanian vs French Ordonnance  (and also in Australian)

(Over the next few days and weeks I will also be publishing some Spanish Military Tourism videos, using photos taken during our trip to Madrid and the surrounding towns, so look out for that as well) 

More 3D printed Numidians

 I've finally finished off the 3D printed, 3D Breed-designed Numidians I started back in April, and what a jolly nice - but jolly brittle - bunch of fellows they are too.

I've based some up as "Cavalry" at 3 figures to a base, and some as "Light Horse" at 2 to a base 

They are great looking figures, but OMG these particular prints are really brittle.

So far I think I've completely broken 7 of the horses off their bases (ie legs snapped, superglue comes out..) simply in the process of painting and photographing them, and I've lost count of the number of spears that have pinged off, usually into god knows where.

The saving grace is that they do glue back together again very easily, but with this second batch I've deliberately attempted to position all of the figures such that they can be superglued to an adjacent model at some point, in the hope that it makes them a bit more robust.

Part of the problem is no doubt that they are so light, which means it's super easy to knock them off the table, or see them slide off a tray when you are carrying them around. 

I've also used far less magnabase on each base compared to metal figures, as otherwise I feared that I'd break them almost every time I tried to lift them out of the tin.

I suspect there are better, more flexible and robust resins out there that would make these a bit more survivable - and in future this will get even better as materials technology improves as well.  

I also saw that the eBay seller I picked these up from no longer has any items listed for sale, after what looks like a lot of negative feedback for late deliveries in recent months too. 

My guess is that suspect he's found the whole "setting up a 3D printing business" a little harder than expected, and has thrown in the towel - somthing I can imagine will happen with a number of other sellers on eBay and Etsy going forward.  Perhaps this brittle resin lead to a higher volume of returns than expected, and that also contributed to him stopping too - who knows? 

But, despite the missing javelin-ends, and bits nipped out of some of the horses legs, all in all they are still nicer looking figures than any metal 15mm Numidan range I've yet found. 

Whether I am confident enough in them to pack them up and take them to a competition though is something that needs much more careful thought! 

 

Trajan's Column

On a recent trip to Rome I kinda stumbled across Trajan’s Column - rather hard to do I know given it's sort of a big stone column in the middle of Rome, but there is a lot of construction work around there at the moment due to the new Metro line, and to be honest I'd rather forgotten it was there as there is just so much other stuff to see in Rome! 

Anyways, I took the opportunity to take some photos and videos of it to share, as for wargamers and modelers, Trajan’s Column is an near-legendary goldmine of first-hand information. 

The carvings provide rare, direct insight into Roman legionary gear—such as segmentata armor, scutum shields, pila, and helmets with varying crest styles. 

They also depict auxiliary troops in distinct dress and cavalry in motion, giving hints to tactical formations and battlefield logistics. 

Importantly, the Dacians themselves are richly portrayed, often wielding the distinctive falx—a curved, two-handed weapon—and wearing flowing garments and Phrygian-style caps, setting them apart visually and culturally from their Roman foes.

Erected in 113 AD in Rome, the Column is a monumental celebration of Emperor Trajan’s victory in the Dacian Wars. 

The 30-meter-high stone column has over 150 scenes depicting Roman legions in action: constructing camps, crossing rivers, engaging in battle, and interacting with both allies and enemies. These finely detailed reliefs offer one of the most comprehensive, near-contemporary depictions of the Roman military in the early 2nd century AD.

While some artistic license may be present, especially in the repetition of certain motifs, the overall fidelity and variety of military details make the column an essential reference for reconstructing units and skirmishes on the tabletop. 

Whether you're painting an army or designing scenarios based on the Dacian campaigns, a closer look at Trajan’s Column may well be useful - so hopefully these pictures (which you can click on the blog to see full size) and videos will be of interest and use.

I could have taken more, but at some point I had to get back to my actual holiday... so enjoy!