It is with some shock...

"Low Tech" 15mm Sci Fi force in build, 2014.... 

 ....and in action

....that I realise this blog has not been touched in some 15 months. The problem has not been lack of wargaming, more too much happening elsewhere plus my regular Imagi-Nation opponent moving away c 12 months ago, followed by a dearth of Imagi-Nation gaming, which this blog was mainly set up to do.

On the plus side, over the last 12 months, the original army this blog was set up to produce, New Byzantium, is all but complete, just the last cavalry units to do. In addition, all the other armies mentioned here that were in build, are now built and operational.

Further to that, in the last year I have got into DUST (Weird War 2 in 28mm - I did Chinese, and that's a story in itself) and In Her Majesty's Name - not Imagi-Nations but Imagi-Companies in a Victorian Sci Fi World. New Byzantium features strongly there, as you can guess......

Byzantium....better Late than Never

As always, real life (and a diversion into Dystopian Wars) gets in the way of painting plans, but the Later Byzantines are finally nearly done - just been varnished, spears on next.(except for the Pechenegs, Peltastoi and Klibanophoroi still to be painted, but this gives a good starter army!).

Skirmishers in the front, line infantry and archers next, Latins, Turkopoloi and Byzantine horse behind, then Tagmatic cavary and Varangian Guard behind that.

Real Byzantines

Real Byzantines are Go - a bunch of new rulesets coming on stream* has meant our club is starting to get its Ancients out again. I bought most of the models for a decent 28mm DBM 12th century Komnenan army c 10 years ago, but we stopped playing DBM soon after so they have been sitting in the Shelf of Despond ever since - but now, onto the workbench they march, in proud ranks:

Cavalry:

- A Tagmatic unit
- A down-at-heel Thematic border unit
- The Latinikon (aka Kniggits)
- Turkopoloi
- Skythikon

Infantry

The Varangian Guard
2 units of spearmnen (skutatoi)
1 of light archers
1 of light javelinmen
1 of light staff slingers

Over August this shall be transformed into a painted, based, flocked, flagged and functional outfit.

Kyrie Eleysion! 
 
*Trying to base them to be able to work with Impetus, War & Conquest, and Hail Caesar has been a challenge :)

The Real French & Indian Wars

Haven't posted for a while, but that is because much has been happening on the gaming front - Sci Fi, WW! and WW2, and of course 18th Century warfare.

In the 18th century we have moved to playing "Real" French & Indian Wars, i.e The French & the British with the Rajputs and the Moghuls and anyone else we can rope in, using Black Powder for some big games. The variety of forces is huge (and we have been painting huge forces), and all the fast moving cavalry, various odd weapons, plus variable leadership and lots of inconsistent troops make the games unpredictable and exciting. Here are some pictures of some forces and games:

Moghul Cavalry, the man front left has clearly jast been shot off his horse!

One of our games - the French line (bottom) thought themselves safe from the Indian cavalry (top, centre) owing to their guns (centrre bottom), but did not count on the Hand of Fate (left) decreeing that there will be a dreaded Black Powder 3 move charge of lancers and wild horse into the raw French Sepoys (white turbans, bottom). Ouch! 

 

Real Indian Warfare also has wild tribesmen who will lop your head off, albeit with a wider variety of weapons than a tomahawk - but also has rockets, camel-guns, medieval cavalry, elephants, and a large assortment of colourful and motley infantry from trained European line to hordes fighting for loot. Above, left: Dare-to-die Rathor light horse prepare to charge rocket-men on a hill

Camel-Guns take aim (left, middle)) as the Rathors charge over the hill at the Thin Red Line in the distance while in the foreground Rajput horse moves up,

The Thin Red Line stands awaiting the onslaught

Imagi-Notions

I have just finished painting this Reaper Miniatures figure as the 2,000 year old Egyptian Priestess Ayesha (aka She Who Must Be Obeyed) from the Rider Haggard novels, to head up my Darkest Africa/Lost World army for Victorian Sci/Fi and Fantasy gaming. It also explains my tardiness in completing my 1848* and 7YW projects, but She appears in my first game of Kings of War next week, and a game in the hand.....

Nothing to do with the Imagi-Nations I know, but she leaves other things open to the imagination :)

* First game in a mini campaign in January, watch this space for revolutionary activity!