Union Infantryman

A dusty 'Blue belly' takes a well earned rest after marching all day.

Bloody London!

Confederate Soldier

Union Sharpshooter

A marksman from the 1st Regiment of sharpshooters. The green coat and Sharps rifle became trademarks of the Sharpshooters and their gallant service made the Regiment a Civil War legend.

Book week continues

I have spoken to and met some lovely people since starting this Blog and received a few gifts along the way too. One of these gifts came the other week in the form of a book written by fellow History nut and blogger, Andrew Bronzyna. Andrew very kindly sent me his latest publication which tells the story of his Grandfather and his time spent in the Port battalions, US Army Transportation Corps, serving through England, Normandy and Antwerp. Thank you Andrew I look forward to reading this in the future, It was very kind of you .

I myself have seen something of a little press this week with the release of a new quiz book from Osprey. You may remember a while back I was approached by Osprey about my Blog illustrations, well a deal was struck and here they are in print. I can proudly say that now I can join my heroes Angus MC Bride and Peter Dennis under the Osprey banner...well almost I suppose.

Where it all began

On passing a book stall in London, I happened upon these two childhood classics. I remembered copying the illustrations from these Ladybird books as a kid, you could say It's where I got a taste for drawing battles. So In many ways I owe a lot to these old ladybird books.
Although I do think that since 1959, when the book was published, our knowledge of the Roman world has grown slightly. They are full of the most amazing, atmospheric paintings though that seem to have a kind of warmth and magic about them, or maybe it's just my own memories affecting my judgement. A great find all the same and they will take pride of place on my book shelf.

American Civil War!

This young hot head is part of the 4th Texas Cavalry. He normally prefers a shotgun to his regulation sabre in the cut and thrust of melee, but just to play safe, he packs both.
Picket duty sucks, mind you, a good Gum blanket can ease matters.

Batavian Auxiliaries

I treated myself to some new products from Silflor, namely some clumps of weeds. These are basically tufts with tiny leaves stuck on. They had sold out of the spring time ones I wanted, so I bought the Summer time ones and gave them a brown Ink wash, just to knock them back a bit. I quite like them and they look good on the bases. I see that Army painter are releasing more and more grass tufts, I think It's only a matter of time before they bring out weed clumps.

Batavian Cohort

Flocked and ready for battle.

Batavian Officer

The defeated General

There is no such thing as failure in the Roman army, every General knows that...

Batavians in progress

In the end I went for Brown Ink wash rather than dipping in stain, It proved a quicker drying time and allowed me to get on with the shields. Seeing the Batavians illustrated in the latest Osprey book proved too much for me and I decided I had put them to one side for long enough. I also chose the shield design that I have seen used by many illustrators and re-enactment groups alike, as Batavian.

Batavian Auxiliaries

I've finally started to paint again after a few weeks away and thought I would tackle my old fav's the Batavians. To give them a more Irregular look, I'm going to use some trousered Celts from Gripping Beast. As well as figures from Foundry and Warlord Games. I should have some results soon, although I do plan to paint and dip the whole unit in one go.

Kneel and kiss the ring of Rome!

Centurions and Officers

Centurion Paulus meets up with his old friends, Centurion kirkius Maximus and Centurion Barricus to cast an eye over the new recruits.
This is chart I draw up to add some extra character to the Centurions and officers with in the(WAB)Roman Campaign. It really worked and made the battles even more enjoyable. As Centurions had to earn their rank, their options on the table are advantages. However, The officers rank was often down to family connections or Political advancement, so some of their options on the table are less favourable. There's nothing like having a bad Officer in charge of your Army...It makes for a great Campaign story. After a long break the time to start up the Roman Campaign has come around again, so you may see a lot more Romans on the Blog.

Behind every great Centurion there's a great Optio

Roman Buildings

" Can we try it over by the entrance again, I think it catches the light better there"

>

Roman Buildings

Roman building

A couple of details of Paul's amazing work. I love the fact that each model is slightly different with it's doors and windows.

Roman Buildings from 'Touching History'

Today I received a big box of excellent models built for me by Paul Darnell of Touching History. I knew they would be good as I've seen Paul's work before, but the quality blow me away when I unwrapped them. Amazing stuff. As well as the two Greek/Roman farms I also ordered a Large Roman building and a 18Th Century type farm. The latter can easily pass as Roman and should fit in nicely to create a small settlement for the table top.