Elmes love the Vines, the Vines with Elmes abide – a modular skirmish board set during the Second Punic War part I

Ageinst him where he sat
A goodly Elme with glistring grapes did growe: which after hee
Had praysed, and the vyne likewyse that ran uppon the tree:
But if (quoth hee) this Elme without the vyne did single stand,
It should have nothing (saving leaves) to bee desyred: and
Ageine if that the vyne which ronnes uppon the Elme had nat
The tree to leane unto, it should uppon the ground ly flat (Ov. Met. 14.661-665).

Publius Ovidius Naso (43 BCE to 17/18 CE) is famous for his  love poems (Amores) and his mythological narrative Metamorphoses. In the short piece above taken from the latter work he describes casually a then very common form of viticulture and uses it as a metaphor for marriage. He already uses this simile in his Amores in the well-known phrase “Elmes love the Vines, the Vines with Elmes abide” (Ov. Am. 2.16.41). The relationship of vine and elm tree (or growing wine on trees as a support in general) is a long-standing one and continued in Italy well into the 20th century (cf. Fuentes-Utrilla, López-Rodríguez & Gil, 2004).

Nowadays this form of viticulture is very uncommon, but nevertheless sparked my interest. More importantly it also spawned a new project – the very raison d’être for this post: a modular skirmish board set during the Second Punic War featuring a villa rustica complete with vineyard, olive grove and orchard.

In a multi-part tutorial I will guide you through the creation process from the early planning stages to the final piece. In this first part we will look at the design of the modules, historical considerations when it comes to depicting a Roman vineyard complete with villa rustica and finally we will also have a look at some Agema miniatures to provide some suitable skirmish forces.

Celtiberians – “They died with obstinate resolution”

The Battle of Great Plains or Campi Magni in 203 BCE was a disaster for Carthage, ultimately resulting in Hannibal being recalled from Italy to safe the day and finding his master in Scipio Africanus at Zama a year later (cf. Goldsworthy, 2003, 294-298).

At the first charge of the Roman cavalry both Carthaginian cavalry and infantry at the wings were driven from their ground, leaving exposed the centre formed by Celtiberian mercenaries. But it was here, faced with their imminent demise,  that they made a name for themselves and allowed the Carthaginian and Numidian commanders Hasdrubal and Syphax to escape:

The Celtiberian line, though stripped of the support of both the wings, stood their ground; for neither did any hope of safety by flight present itself, as they were ignorant of the country, nor could they expect pardon from Scipio, against whom, though he had deserved well both of them and their nation, they had come into Africa to fight for hire. [9] Surrounded, therefore, on all sides by the enemy, they died with obstinate resolution, falling one upon another; and, while the attention of all was turned upon them, Syphax and Hasdrubal gained a considerable space of time to effect their escape (Liv. 30.8-9).

This was not a singular event, quite the opposite: Diodorus Siculus explains that “the Celtiberians advanced far in fame and were subdued by the Romans with difficulty and only after they had faced them in battle over a long period” (Diod. 5.33.1). And indeed they were one of the last to be overcome by the Romans after 200 years of upheavals and conflict on the Iberian peninsular (for campaigns in the 2nd century BCE see Quesada, 2006b).

But who were the Celtiberians? How did their panoply look like and how did they fight? I shall give  an overview of the historical background of these fierce warriors, tactical considerations when using them in Field of Glory and finally some thoughts about sculpting and painting of my – now sadly OOP – Corvus Belli Celtiberians.

Männer allein im Wald – How to take scenic photographs of miniatures part II

Last time we focused on general advice if it comes down to taking scenic photos of your treasured miniatures. We covered the choice of camera, lighting, backgrounds, scene composition and photo editing. If you did not read part one of this tutorial I suggest to go back and have a look, as this part will be based on this general information.

We look at the initial idea, finding the right props for the job, setting the scene to bring the idea to life, framing the scene and finally photo editing. The last point will also include some falling snow effects.

Rough camping – Carthaginian Field Camp for Field Of Glory/DBX in 15mm Part II

Last time we built up the ground work and vegetation, added the tents and some first details such as fireplaces, the lean-to and shields covered by a tarp.

Now it is time to add more details and the miniatures to populate the camp. We will add two scenes: A Numidian and an Iberian playing a game of dice, while the fish their servant caught earlier in a nearby river is sizzling over the wood fire. At the same time a Libyan veteran is eating his porridge / puls seated in front of the fireplace.

We add further food items, such as bread and olives (all made by the talented Syl from ThePaintedRogue), ceramic jars, a basket, a coat for the Numidian to rest on, some leather pouches, where food and dice are contained in, the actual dice, a stack of firewood and finally a cooking tripod complete with a small situla (cooking pot).

This tutorial and the techniques covered are not only useful for a camp scene, but can be easily adapted for any of your projects and might also prove useful for bigger scales such as 28mm.

Iberian Scutati – “Esteemed to be the most warlike barbarians that now are.”

Ancient Iberia and Carthage had a long-standing relationship. May it be trading relations, cultural exchange or military support.  Even more so when Carthage expanded into Iberian territory in the aftermath of the First Punic war to establish a permanent presence and exploit its riches and man power for the dawning conflict with Rome.

The Carthaginians relied heavily on foreign contingents in their armies, with Iberian troops being no exception. They supplied both lightly armed and medium infantry and formed a major element of a great many Carthaginian armies throughout the ages.

In this post I will focus on my mix of Xyston and Corvus Belli Iberian medium infantry, commonly known as Scutati, named aptly after their oval shield, the scutum or its greek equivalent thureos. A historical introduction will be followed by some tactical considerations with regard to using them in Field of Glory. Finally the sculpting and painting of the miniatures will be expounded on.

Rough camping – Carthaginian Field Camp for Field Of Glory/DBX in 15mm Part I

Many ancients rule sets require players to depict a field camp as part of their army.  This is no different for Field of Glory or compatible systems (that is base size wise) like the DBX series.

Field camps are a wonderful occasion to be creative and add a vignette style element to one’s army.  While many gamers go for a free  interpretation of a camp element, for instance having a  ruined temple, villa rustica and so on, I decided to go down the more conventional route and actually built part of a field camp with tents and small scenes of camp life.

This tutorial and the techniques covered are not only useful for a camp scene, but can be easily adapted for any of your projects.

Part one of this tutorial will feature historical considerations, cover the basic layout of the camp  element and step-by-step instructions up to the point were only details and miniatures have to be added. Part II will then move on to converting the miniatures and placing all the details and bits and bobs.

Numidian Light Cavalry – the extended arm of the Carthaginian army

Hannibal’s Numidian cavalry was famed for its performance in battle, but also very apt in small-scale operations. During the battle of Cannae their conduct made victory for Hannibal possible, yet at Zama them changing sides helped along with his demise.

A Later Carthaginian army is unthinkable without them and in many rule systems they are an obligatory element of the army list. I decided to use Corvus Belli for my Numidian contingent and can say I don’t regret it.

I shall give  an overview of the historical background of these fabled riders, tactical considerations when using them in Field of Glory and finally some thoughts about sculpting and painting of the Corvus Belli miniatures.

 

Liby-Phoenician Spearmen – The backbone of any Carthaginian army

My Hannibal in Spain project is almost finished, but so far I only posted a rough overview and my army list.

In a series of articles I will now introduce the different units of my Carthaginian army, complete with pictures of the painted models and some notes about their usage in Field of Glory.

Battleline Miniatures Late Seven Years War French Infantry in Turnbacks – A review

Battleline Miniatures is the only miniature company in New Zealand that focuses on pre-modern historical miniatures  with a comprehensive 15mm ancients range, but also a good selection of Napoleonic, American Civil War, Medieval and even New Zealand Wars miniatures. Slightly hidden away under the label 18th century they also sell a range of Seven Years War miniatures, namely French and British.

In 2012 I got a prize voucher through one of the BattleCry tournaments Battleline Miniatures kindly sponsors and decided to give the French Seven Years War line a go.  This review focuses on the late French line infantry in turnbacks with command.

I present the miniatures in bare metal, primed and finally painted up as the regiment Royal Roussillon, complete with a list of colours used. I will also compare them size-wise with the Eureka Seven Years War line.

Carolus Theodorus Dei Gratia Comes Palatinus Rheni – Gaming the Reichsarmee during the Seven Years War

While a plethora of enthusiasts, may they be reenactors or gamers, engage with all aspects of the Napoleonic Wars, more and more gamers find also interest in a comparatively unknown conflict that preceded the changes in strategy and tactics brought by Napoleon: The Seven Years War. Often called the first “World War” this conflict did not only envelope Europe in war, but in equal measure made the struggling power’s colonial possessions a theatre of the war.

I got interested in this period realising that the region in Germany I originally come from, the Palatinate,  provided contingents to the Reichsarmee, which fought at Rossbach alongside the French, (almost) on their own at Zinna and finally with the Austrians in the battle of Korbitz amongst others. Thus there is not only a regional connection, but also a number of interesting battles and allies a force of the Reichsarmee could be based on.

In this article I will  focus on the battle of Zinna and the regiments of the Reichsarmee involved, including contemporary or reconstructed depictions of the uniforms and some ideas of how to model these contingents.