Zenobia

Forged in Battle make a nice little pack of 15mm Legendary "Dark Age" Commanders, and one of the most legendary is Zenobia, Queen of Palmyra.

The set she is in is the WE-SG01 Dark Ages Assorted Speciality Figures Generals Pack

She has been painted in Contrasts, with the camel being done with the fabulous Aggaros Dunes one. 

Successor Hit Markers in 28mm

I'm gradually assembling specialist casualty markers for many of my armies, and the latest set are for my 28mm Successors

Luckily Victrix include a lot of extra shields in their packs, especially for cavalry figures, and of course over the years I have accrued many metal and plastic ones from other sets so I have a lot available to make these three types of marker

In a rocket-science level bit of planning I use 3 shields for 3 hits, 2 for 2 hits and a single shield for one hit.

I've even splashed out and used up some un-needed LBMS transfers on some of them - possibly the most expensive casualty markers in the world!

 I always give them a few thick coats of liquid poly varnish before finishing in matt varnish, as they will inevitably get chucked in a bag somewhere - so a few coats of poly tends to make them pretty scuff-proof 

The Anglo-Saxons invade .. Southend!

The first ever Southern League ADLG event to take place in Southend on Sea took plce recently, and was appositely themed around the year of the Battle of Benfleet, in which the Anglo Saxons kicked the Vikings out of Essex - at least temporarily - and so I decided this was an omen worth embracing by taking an Anglo-Saxon army myself! 

The army was made up of a load of 15mm Anglo Saxons/Vikings/generic Dark Age geezers that I'd rebased during lockdown, and a 3-game event where they would be thematically appropriate was ideal, especially as they were not likely to be all that good.

The event being at Southend also gave me an opportunity to inflict multiple references to both Billy Bragg and Danny Dyer on an unsuspecting wargames population and viewership - a gift that keeps on giving throughout the 3 videos in this competition report. 

Having decided that a night out in Southend on Sea was unmissable, there is also some local tourism involved in the reports

Many thanks again to the Southend Wargames Club for hosting us in their fabulous games bunker too!

 (You'll also no doubt be pleased to know that the Essex branch of the McHugh Carpet Empire also get a welcome plug). 

Enjoy the videos! 

Pisan Baggage

I finally got around to buying some 3mm buildings from Brigade Models recently, and paired them up with a tourist tat Pisa tower that I originally bought way back in 2004 (!) after the Pisa team DBM tournament.

Turns out they fit really well together scale-wise, and now I have an ADLG camp element on a 40x80 base.

Better get looking at that Pisan Italian City State army list I guess !!

Here's the "before" picture. 

ADLG Renaissance: The Basics

 I've finally gotten round to recording a few ADLG-R videos with Simon LeRay-Meyer, in which we look to work through the basics of the system with a particular focus on explaining the differences to ADLG Ancients.

They are now all posted on YouTube and also here on my website 

The main areas covered are to do with how double-width bases for infantry formations in the Renaissance version actually work. 

This is all pretty simple once you get your head around how they work but can trip up someone who is familiar with ADLG Ancients if you are not mindful of what and why they are deemed necessary in Renaissance ADLG

The videos are a bit of an experiment using my webcam and recorded very simply on Zoom, so the quality isn't exactly top notch - but hopefully we manage to be chatty and engaging enough to carry you through that, and in so doing manage to get across the key ways in which these double units actually work and operate on the battlefield.

Here's hoping you make it at least half way through ! 

Camelphracts

Is it even a real word?  

Who knows in all honestly, but surely every Ancient wargamer will have considered adding a few Parthian Cataphract Camels to their collection at some point in their life? 

Well, at Warfare last year I had a voucher to spend and not all that much I actually wanted, so Forged in Battle ended up being the lucky recipients of my virtual cash and I became the owner of a pack of Camelphracts - which have finally been painted and added to the Bisely cabinet of shame.

They come in a pack of 8 models, which is readonable compared to the normal FiB sets of 12 cavalry as they are much bigger beasts than regular horses.

I then managed to obtain a couple more figures from Dave, as he had some spares allowing me to paint up the 3 bases that you'd need to field a max-sized Camephract force in a 300 point Parthian army for ADLG.

Of course the idea I would ever use a 300 point Parthian army in ADLG is pretty far fetched, but hey, having 9 Camelphracts is much better than having 6 and 2 spares eh?

The odd man out got based up a command stand

All done with contrasts plus drybrushed standard metals. 
 

Medieval Baggage

 I can never resist a chance to get some more baggage elements, and my 28mm armies are now starting to be the main recipients of this habit (as I honestly have way too much army baggage in 15mm!).

Earlier this year at the PAW show in Plymouth I picked up these couple of vignette sets from John at Athena Miniatures - as a trade for a Russian hat I had originally planned to sell on the Bring & Buy. 

They are "Vignette 7 Nobles and Merchants" and "Vignette 8 Drunk Soldiers" on the Athena website - I  did however mix one of the Merchants into the Drunkards base to give the happy fellows some context and dissapproval.

"You bring shame on our army with your drunkenness  - especially you Sire, a Priest!" 

The figures are a tad stylized compared to some ranges, but the animation and entertainment value of these little sets is still top notch IMO!

Begging for alms...  or perhaps just begging ?

All done in Contrast Paints, based up on 60x60mm square MDF with tufts from Warpaint Miniatures. 

 

It's all Greek To Me!

 Back in February of this year, when the weather was chilly and damp (unlike this balmy almost-May Springtime we're getting in the UK right now...?) I headed off to Athens to take in some local gastronomy, hit a few museums, drink some local beer and wine, attend a Greek Super League football match ... oh, and play a bit of ADLG at a "Crusades" themed event held by the Strategikon Club in Athens too!

The gaming parts of this epic weekend saw a rather unusual Later Crusader army take to the field, based around the army commanded by Richard The Lionheart ("Coeur du Lion") at Arsuf and other rather defensive battles, taking on a variety of Feudal opponents across 5 games over 2 days. 

This saw a wall of well protected Crusader spearmen, supported by crossbows attempt to lure successive opponents either to their doom in a vain and futile charge, or to stunning success as the enemy rode down the quivering Crusader sergeants at lance point!

In all cases the action was epic and brutal, and (of course...) the post-game criticism from Hannibal was even more so! 

In a post-event coda, these reports also feature a video walk-through of the Athens Archeological Museum (with some stunning Mycenean stuff), the Greek Military Museum (from antiquity to the near-present day) and a pop-up museum with relics and remains from the decisive battle of Charonea, where Philip established Macedonian control over the Greek peninsula with his defeat of the other Theban-led City States. 

All of the reports, including the usual captions and nonsense are now posted on Madaxeman.com

The Plastic Crack Podcast

 I was kindly invited onto the Plastic Crack Podcast on Monday night as a guest, and had a great time chatting nonsense about all things wargaming-related to the guys.

During the chat quite a few "Madaxeman" and also "Britcon" things came up, so I thought it might be handy to try and pull together some links here so that anyone who hears or sees the podcast and then stumbles across this site will not have to rummage around in the metaphorical bits-box that is Madaxeman.com's menu structure to see what on earth I was taking about!

In no particular order therefore:

28mm Successor Phalanx, a painting and building guide

A recent battle report, featuring the army of Spartacus, plenty of speech-bubble soldiery, and with commentary from Hannibal as well at the end of each report

A mercifully short "highlights package" from the Madaxeman Podcast in which we run through an episode of "I'm Sorry I think You're An Arse" while discussing whether GW paint names have just gone too damned far.

Who Played What, the 2023 review of the UK Ancients competition circuit

A link to the Madaxeman YouTube Channel 

Evidence that I do base AFVs in 10mm and below, (in what was also perhaps my last ever Arrowhead order..)

Rigging Hell! , the Windy Ships starter set and a lot of black cotton

Victrix Galatians, with waterslide transfers from Battle Flag

The BHGS/Britcon stuff is also here:

• The Britcon Web Page on the BHGS site
• Gaming Systems on offer at Britcon 2024
• If you are interested in having a chat about bringing your game or group to Britcon, email me via the BHGS 

You can also listen to the episode on Spotify or watch it on YouTube as well: 

Enjoy!

Roll Call 2024 - The Hittites and their opponents

 This weekend I took part in the 15mm L'Art de la Guerre competition at Roll Call, finishing in a creditable 7th place with a Hittite army which was salvaged from the last knockings of Clive McLeods' collection. 

The army was painted pretty well originally, but had suffered a LOT of battle damage so the end result I think was somewhat of a demonstration of the power of repairing and especially rebasing. More of them can be seen here on this site in an article from a few years ago.  

Over the weekend I played against:

• New Kingdom Egyptians (won)
• Assyrian & Sargonid (won)
• North American Forest Indians (mutual break)
• Mayans (mutual break)
• Achaemenid Persians (narrow loss)

and all the army lists are posted on the ADLG Wiki, so just follow the links to see them there.

My Hittite list was rather driven by what figures I had ended up with, and was:

Strategist

3 Hittite Guard Chariots Heavy Chariot Impact Elite

1 Syro-Canannite Chariot Light Chariot Armour Bow ------

1 Hittite Warriors Medium Spearmen ------

1 Guardsmen Medium Spearmen Elite

1 Archers Bowmen Mediocre

1 Syro-Canaanite & Bedouin Light Infantry Javelin ----

==

Competent Unreliable

1 Hittite Guard Chariots Heavy Chariot Impact Elite

2 Ugarit Chariots Heavy Chariot impetuous ------

2 Hittite Warriors Medium Spearmen ------

1 Slingers Light Infantry Sling ----

1 Bowmen Bowmen Mediocre

1 Levy Levy ------

==

Competent

1 Scout Light Cavalry Bow Mediocre

3 Gasgans Medium Swordsmen Impetuous ------

1 Hittite Warriors Medium Swordsmen ------

1 Syro-Canannite Chariot Light Chariot Armour Javelin ------

1 Syro-Canannite Chariot Light Chariot Armour Bow ----

1 Syro-Canaanite & Bedouin Light Infantry Javelin ----

This list worked essentially an HCh delivery system, with support from the Light Chariots (ie HCv with wheels). 

My theory was that 3 Gasgans are as good as anything else they are likely to come across in terrain in a Biblical period so they would at worst always manage to fight their opponents to a standstill while the Chariots got into contact, and on occasions they would also be able to scare the bejeezus out of any mixed spear or mixed swordsmen they might hunt down and find. 

The Mediocre Bow are cheap and always sat between the 2 Spearmen in each command, keeping any enemy mounted honest with the whole mini block acting as flank guards for each set of Chariots, and doing a bit of long range shooting too in the meantime. 

Medium Spear are a fairly rare troop type usually, but they are decent enough in a Biblical period at standing up to most things, especially the Elite Guard unit. Standing to receive they even have half a chance against Heavy Chariots with Impact, and they widen the two blocks of Chariots considerably for anything facing them. 

I used the Armoured LCh to support the archers shooting, go into any MF alongside the Heavy Chariots, and I found in conjunction with the Gascans the 2 LCh in that command could often charge enemy infantry shooters who had been careful to stay just out of range of the Gasgan infantrymen but had missed the Chariots as a result. 

I was always prepared to commit the troops at evens or sometimes worse odds to pin an enemy in place so the Chariot strike force had enough time to arrive. With only 4 skirmishers in an army of 24, there is more staying power than it looks.

There was no real logic behind not having the Strategist with at one of the groups of Impetuous troops, bit was just a list I had cobbled together a couple of years ago to use these figures at the club a few times to give clubmates Biblical practice games - and as it had seemed to do OK, I hadn't really looked at it properly before submitting it. 

However in all honesty the Ugarit Chariots always wanted to go down the middle and were happy to charge anything anyway, and the MF Gasgans often found they were not Impetuous due to the presence of enemy mounted, so it didn't seem to matter much - and having extra pips for the Strategist command meant it could really motor across the table in wide flanking moves if needed. 

There won't be any reports from this one however - I have a lot of stuff in the hopper right now and I didn't think I could do this one justice so I only took a couple of photos... which are in this post. 

(and when I say I "nearly" beat the Persians, this is what I mean - the only time I've ever seen an army squeeze itself into such a tight space before this has been when their general has been packing them up  into the biscuit tin to take them home at  the end of an event!!)