Casualty Markers

Now I don't know if you are like me, but I don't spend ages painting the little chaps just to take them off the table as 'casualties' within minutes of starting a battle. Seeing as I am only having 3 bases to a unit it seems a tad visually imperfect...hence the casualty markers. 

I actually 'borrowed the basic idea from another blog (the name and author of which completely escapes me), but the fella wanted some period specific bases to represent a given number of casualties for the unit. He had even gone as far as painting numbers around the edge to show how many casualties said unit had lost. 

All I did was to 'dumb-down' the idea and make the bases more generic. So, on the way home from work the other evening I 'found' some more pieces of ornamental slate just lying around; luckily I had a plastic bag in my pocket and promptly picked them up. 

The basic idea is that each little textured 30 x 40 base has either one or two pieces of slate on it to represent a like number of bases 'missing'. Problem solved, job done, balls in the net etc. Now I have some nice little markers that fit in with the terrain as well as serving a very useful purpose.

Next time I will try to take some pics to give you an idea of the visual aspect. 

Sweet

Mick

Finally, the weather has broken

Sun came out today so I dashed into the grounds for some picture taking. Here are the results.

The command element for the levy infantry; the second unit of light cavalry and the first unit of Byz cavalry. (See what I mean about the colour combo?)

Hope you like 'em.

Mick   

PS If you are into the number crunching aspect of wargaming, since early October last year when I bought this lot, the running total of painted figures now stands at 31 infantry and 46 cavalry  -1 infantry and four cavalry units. Yeah, yeah, I know it's not exactly speed painting but so what, I'm doing it for my own enjoyment and there isn't really any rush on; not yet anyway. I set myself a target of next October to 'finish' both armies and it still looks good...even including the Hunnic Mongols.

PPS The 'rocks' I use on my bases were appropriated from a garden up the road. It's the ornamental bits of slate that people use because they are too posh to use wood chippings like me. All I do is give them a couple of increasing lighter grey dry-brushes and then a thin wash of Vallejo Smoke just to take the starkness off of the grey.

PPPS The first 7 Hunnic Mongols are nearly done. Obviously no pics of them yet because I have to paint another 56 of them first!

Unit 1 Complete

Not long finished the last base of the Cataphracts; made a slight change in the bases in that on the small bits of foliage stuff I have dabbed little drops of paint to represent some kind of flower. Had a St Paul's Moment...use this method to differentiate between units. So there will be some quite colourful unit bases in the table when they are all done. Spotting them shouldn't be difficult, after all a base of red flowered levy infantry are hardly likely to line up with two bases of likewise be-flowered cataphracts now are they?

Next up is a unit of Skirmishing Cavalry of a nomadic persuasion, (Picture F1 in the Osprey book), faithfully reproduced in miniature by Lancs Games. Nice little chaps but the horses have a tendency to have slightly bendy rear legs if one is not careful. Four of them half done as of this moment in time.

What to do after these, I don't know, see what happens.

S'nuff for now.

Mick

Post the 1st

Derby, eh, cor what a show. I lke it; nice size, nice venue -not the aircraft hanger of one I could mention- but a goodly size. The only downside is that it is not that non-driving fraternity friendly. For me a bus inito Brum, train from New St to Derby, 15 min walk to town centre (bloody city designers) then another bus out. Eventually got fed up walking so I hailed a passing taxi. 

But back to the show. The title of the blog is a bit of a giveaway as to what I bought so there are no prizes for any correct answers.  I decided to make this years project 15mm Sassanids, late Sassanids to be precise, mostly from Irregular whose new(ish) range is rather tasty -well up there- but also some from Lancashire -those with the Mr Elastic from the Fantastic 4 bendy spears. There's going to be some serious spear replacing there I can tell you.

So far I have painted eight of the little Cataphracty fellas and I am mightily impressed with my painting. No trumpet blowing or anything but I would rate them as the best 15mm I have ever done. Bet you can't wait for the piccys. They will follow as soon as the unit is finished and based.

Now I am not a great lover of DBA-Z or Warhammer Ancients so I am still writing my own period-specific style rules, based mainly on the Mongol period (see my other blog  thewordsofsubedai.blogspot.com/ for more info), but they will be very adaptable for all Ancient and Medieval armies. To face them I also pur-chased some Maurikian Byzantine army wallahs. the point of this paragraph is to say that I am basing everything on 60 x 40 mm bases. Therefore 4-5 heavy cavalry, 8-10 heavy infantry or 3-4 skirmishers and so on...you get the idea. The base frontages will be identical for my current and any future armies so there won't be a problem there. Also, using a system of 3 bases to a unit they can still be used for the Warmaster system.

Piccys when the sun shines.

Mick