Partners in crime

Old school.

Spoils of War

I was very good on the day and made myself put back a lot of stuff. These included the Perry's fantastic French skirmishers. I have so many French Skirmishers I couldn't justify any more, no matter how good the Perry's are. I also put back a few boxes of Warlord Games ECW Cavalry, I figure I can buy these nearer the time when I finally start on the era. So I saved myself a pretty penny or two.

I did go and visit the nice chaps on the 'Great escape games' stall and discovered a rule set for adding extra armour to your games, which I didn't even knew existed. I also picked up a few packs of cheap SS to complete my platoon.

The other figures I acquired were two packs of Renegade ECW which for £4 each for 8 figures I thought was a bargain, that is until afterwards when I worked out that Renegade are selling their figures for 46p each anyway. Oh well at least I have them now. My favourite buy of the day though has to be the dice tray, little things please little minds. I think this will be invaluable in games to come and stop dice carnage on the field.
Salute also saw the release of the NEW Warhammer ancients game, which my friend was very excited about. We had a very interesting train journey back after that. So far the rules seem to be an improvement. The Roman army lists are quite basic in the back but I think this is so they can actually release separate books covering the different periods. They are run by Games Workshop/Forge world now, so this is to be expected.

Great day out!

Last year Greg requested a few Napoleonic drawings I had made for the Blog, which I sent to him in France, but knowing he would be at Salute; I couldn't help deliver another to him in person. Also alongside me is 'Big Red Bat' who had put together the award winning 'Battle of Zama' game pictured below. When I started this Blog I never would have dreamed I would make friends from It but I have and It's great.

A great looking game and again I was amazed at the painting detail of every figure on the board, very inspiring stuff.

Salute 2010

Remote controlled German armour.

Salute 2010

Clever modelling here with these rocket firing planes.

Salute 2010

Lovely stuff going on here, I did like the French Artillery with their supporting waggons.

Salute 2010

I loved this game, It was very close to what I have planned in the distant future and so was very inspiring. Centred around the farm house of La Haye Saint with all the drama of Derlon's Corps and the charge of the Union Brigade. Of course I can never match this combined effort but It was great to see.
I was amazed at the level of detail in the painting and the large units. It was being played using the Republic to Empire rules and the big battalions were impressive.

Salute 2010

Two things that are very close to my heart, Lego and Star wars. This game made me laugh and I had to get a picture of It.

Salute 2010

This was a rather impressive futuristic game, the detail in the scenery was staggering. A very nice layout with actual neon lights for streets lamps.
There were lots of tall buildings and oil works everywhere...and of course, snipers too. Lovely looking game.

Roman Revenge

No one does revenge quite like the Romans...remember Carthage?

Sound Retreat...SOUND RETREAT!

Death in Dacia.

Caratacus and the Catuvellauni

Are all Celts revolting?

Heavy Legionary

This Legionary is armoured for the Dacian wars, I used these heavy Legionaries to represent enlisted Gladiators.

Auxiliary Troops

A Gallic Auxiliary man.
This man illustrates my German Auxiliaries.
A Roman Cavalry trooper. As well as his thrusting spear he also carries a javelin.

Roman Legionaries

Many years ago, long before I had even heard the word Blog, I set about drawing and cataloging my Roman forces. These pictures were going to be coloured and act as a visual guide to my armies on their stat cards. This way when looking through the piles of units I could find a unit quickly. I found all the old drawing again while cleaning out a draw and I was surprised at how many I had done. Not all of them made it to be coloured but they are still nice studies. Drawn from the actual figures themselves they gave me the chance to try out shield colours and designs before getting the paints out.Gallic Legionary. This man illustrates my III Gallica Legion.
Eastern Legionary wearing Lorica Hamata(chain mail). This man illustrates my XXI Rapax Legion.
Western Legionary wearing Lorica Segmentata. This man illustrates my II Augusta Legion.

Ancient German Warrior

The red shielded Catuvellauni

Angry warriors rush forward to spread death amongst the Roman settlers.
I have to say there is no evidence to the colour of tribe's shield colour, I just do this to add character to the Celtic army and the gaming board alike.

How to get a head in Wargaming

The Catuvellauni Tribe

Celtic champion

A noble Celtic Champion looks down his nose at the new Roman settlements springing up in his homeland.

Matt varnished and ready for shields

The matt varnish is the most important stage of the dipping process. I was a little disappointed that many of the helmets lost their cool shine but these can be easily touched up again. Also I've found that there is sometimes a strange cracking and rippling texture on the dip once matt varnished. This doesn't bother me too much as it looks like fabric. The more you practice the better you get and I always try out new things as I go, after all dipping is a lot more fun I find.

painted on dip

More Celts join the throng

Another 30 angry Celts take up arms against Rome. Learning from the last batch, I tried out new colours and patterns on the tunics. If anything, I spent a little more time painting checks and stripes on the clothes, this always pays off on the finished model.