*
Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.
March 19, 2024, 11:12:39 AM

Login with username, password and session length

Donate

We Appreciate Your Support

Members
Stats
  • Total Posts: 1685086
  • Total Topics: 118008
  • Online Today: 935
  • Online Ever: 2235
  • (October 29, 2023, 12:32:45 AM)
Users Online

Recent

Author Topic: Atheling's Early Byzantines- Made the Cover of "Slingshot"- Page 31. 23-04-2023  (Read 62156 times)

Offline Atheling

  • Elder God
  • Posts: 11896
    • Just Add Water Wargaming Blog
Atheling, have you looked at Simon Miller’s “To the Strongest”? They are now my “go to” large battle ancients/medieval rule set.

Yeah, we played quite a few games at the club when Simon released his rules quite a few years back. I really enjoyed the games as they were quick, easy to pick up (and I'm certainly no card counter!). They ran very smoothly too. Very enjoyable. I think the greatest asset of TtS is that they are eminently suitable for very large games as Simon has so amply demonstrated at Partizan and Salute on many occasions.

I'm not quite sure how I missed TtS off my list as they really don't requite any specific base sizes.

Talking of which, there are a few pics of my Byzantines in the latest army lists pdf. :)

Offline SJWi

  • Mastermind
  • Posts: 1622
Atheling, I will look at the book and try to spot your brushwork. I am waiting expectantly for release of TTS version 2.

 TTS has been a godsend during COVID. Thanks to the gridded table layout I have managed to run about 25 games via Zoom for up to 7 players.

Offline Atheling

  • Elder God
  • Posts: 11896
    • Just Add Water Wargaming Blog
Atheling, I will look at the book and try to spot your brushwork. I am waiting expectantly for release of TTS version 2.

I think the pics are in the Medieval Army Lists updated 30/09/2020.

TTS has been a godsend during COVID. Thanks to the gridded table layout I have managed to run about 25 games via Zoom for up to 7 players.

That's one thing that I have really missed out on. I really ought to have thrown myself into it but  felt a little intimidated by it- oddly enough!

EDIT: I forgot to say; I'm thinking of entering one of the TtS tournaments (not really a tournament player as such); I think in 2022(?). Have you played in any and if so what do you make of them SJWi?
« Last Edit: April 20, 2021, 08:44:23 PM by Atheling »

Offline James Morris

  • Mastermind
  • Posts: 1581
    • mogsymakes
These are fabulous. Very clean and stand up to close scrutiny!  It would be great if you could clear that gaming table for an army shot.

Offline SJWi

  • Mastermind
  • Posts: 1622
Atheling, I too am not a tournament player but did attend the TTS "World Championship" a few years ago to help with the pre-release demo game of FK&P . All I can say is that everyone had a lot of fun and the banter was more about "ancients and medieval" history more than rules and army lists.

By the way Simon Miller has just released a short supplement for TTS plus a new QRS. This is seems to tidy up  all the old "Even Stronger" changes into a more coherent document with all the rule clarifications, amendments and additions.  I guess it is available as a free download from the BigRedBat  website or if you PM me your e-mail address I can forward you the links.

Regards

PS I have just finished re-basing my Gripping Beast 10/11th century Byzantines.  They go on the table for the 1st time Thursday the 29th vs either my 1st Crusader/Normans or Seljuks.   

Offline Atheling

  • Elder God
  • Posts: 11896
    • Just Add Water Wargaming Blog
These are fabulous. Very clean and stand up to close scrutiny!  It would be great if you could clear that gaming table for an army shot.

Thanks James. :)

As soon as I can remove the rubbish from the top of the bow with the table in I will get to it  lol. Lockdown left everything in chaos in that room  o_o

Atheling, I too am not a tournament player but did attend the TTS "World Championship" a few years ago to help with the pre-release demo game of FK&P . All I can say is that everyone had a lot of fun and the banter was more about "ancients and medieval" history more than rules and army lists.

That's excellent news and, knowing Simon, it is kind of what I expected so it's very encouraging to have that confirmed. Might I see you at the next one? Fingers crossed and all that. :)

By the way Simon Miller has just released a short supplement for TTS plus a new QRS. This is seems to tidy up  all the old "Even Stronger" changes into a more coherent document with all the rule clarifications, amendments and additions.  I guess it is available as a free download from the BigRedBat  website or if you PM me your e-mail address I can forward you the links.

I wonder if that's where my pics are situated? I really can't remember. Simon just contacted me and asked me if he could use them. I am always happy to help promote the hobby so naturally said yes. Of course, it's a bonus that Simon given most of his stuff away for free.

PS I have just finished re-basing my Gripping Beast 10/11th century Byzantines.  They go on the table for the 1st time Thursday the 29th vs either my 1st Crusader/Normans or Seljuks.

I love the Mecedonian and Komnenid dynasty armies. I will certainly be putting together an army from that period. Not sure what mini's I'm going to use as of yet and have been pondering it quite some time now. I like the Crusader stuff the most as I don't like the Gripping Beast horses armours since they were redone by Robi. For Seljuks I would certainly be using a mix of Gripping Beast, Footsore and Perry Miniatures.

I'm planning a display game of Battle of Dyrrhachium 1081 at some stage which will allow me to use my rather large Norman army along with the Komnenian Byzzies :)

Offline Hincmar

  • Bookworm
  • Posts: 50

Wonderful painting - so inspirational.   I've yet to pick up the more recent cavalry packs but plan to do so in the next few weeks.   The Aventine Byzantine lead pile is mounting up!

Another shout here for TTS from one of the beneficiaries of SiWi's Zoom game hosting.   I eagerly await V2...

Offline SJWi

  • Mastermind
  • Posts: 1622
Atheling, your photos aren’t in the TTS supplement which is only a text document. By the way if you don’t know Simon has now released two volumes of army lists which cost I think about £10 each. I don’t begrudge paying as they are professionally produced and have lots of additional detail.

 My 10/11th century Byzantines are all Gripping Beast. Not their finest work but nothing else was available at the time. My Seljuks are all Perry which are beautiful figures.

I may overcome my aversion to competition gaming to attend the next “World Championship” albeit I suspect that it may start as “UK only”.

Offline Atheling

  • Elder God
  • Posts: 11896
    • Just Add Water Wargaming Blog
Wonderful painting - so inspirational.   I've yet to pick up the more recent cavalry packs but plan to do so in the next few weeks.   The Aventine Byzantine lead pile is mounting up!

Thanks- appreciated :) My pile is huge! I bought two of every unit for the infantry, one of everything so far for the cavalry! Buying more cavalry ASAP!!  lol

Another shout here for TTS from one of the beneficiaries of SiWi's Zoom game hosting.   I eagerly await V2...

TtS is played a lot at my old club, not so much at the club I currently belong to though it was given a very good and prolonged outing five or six years ago. Time to resurrect the when we can get back into the rules methinks  :)

Atheling, your photos aren’t in the TTS supplement which is only a text document. By the way if you don’t know Simon has now released two volumes of army lists which cost I think about £10 each. I don’t begrudge paying as they are professionally produced and have lots of additional detail.

I hadn't realised. Simon sent me a preliminary copy but I can't locate is on my laptop- which must mean I've saved it in a weird place!  lol

My 10/11th century Byzantines are all Gripping Beast. Not their finest work but nothing else was available at the time. My Seljuks are all Perry which are beautiful figures.

Funnily enough I preferred the older Byzantine horses and armours as sculpted by Soapy as they were neater. The Perry stuff is always sublime.

I may overcome my aversion to competition gaming to attend the next “World Championship” albeit I suspect that it may start as “UK only”.

I'm hopeful but I'm keeping one eye firmly set on the variants of concern. I just couldn't risk attending unless I knew I was as safe as I could be.  I think you're right though, it f it goes ahead it will almost certainly be UK only. As i alluded to earlier, I'm really not a tournament gamer but they do have their place. If the players aren't too uptight about winning that is. I've had some very weird experiences many years ago in WAB tournaments. I managed to then decided to just stick to the campaign days. That way I was assured the players were all playing in the right spirit :)
« Last Edit: April 21, 2021, 09:40:39 AM by Atheling »

Offline Atheling

  • Elder God
  • Posts: 11896
    • Just Add Water Wargaming Blog
I've been messing around with some conversions  for two Command Bases to go with the two units of Unarmoured Skutatoi I already have under my belt.

More on these when I have them painted up but for now, here's a few pics to give you some sort of idea of what I have in mind:

Charging Command:
Repositioned arm on a spearman for the banner bearer.


Cursory view of how I would like the base to look and the miniatures to interact with one another.


More Static Command:
A more lazy looking command base  :D


A "sketch" of how i want the miniatures to interact, or not as the case may be


I'll do a full write up once the miniatures are painted up.

Offline Atheling

  • Elder God
  • Posts: 11896
    • Just Add Water Wargaming Blog


I keep wanting to call the Torsion Engines Bolt Thowers, which they might well described as, but the image conjured up in my mind is that of my 1980's Citadel Orc and Goblin army which it does not sit well with my idea of what an Early Byzantine force ought to look like!  :lol:

As you can see the second in a series of four Torsion Engines is now complete. I am not suite sure what is is but out of all the Early Byzantine units I have painted up so far I think I have have enjoyed painting the Torsion Engines and the command bases the most. Certainly being able to play around with the composition and interaction of the miniatures has been a big part. I suspect that getting a unit table ready at speed, four miniatures per unit as opposed to 24, makes the four miniatures a strong candidate for such indulgent pleasure. I have a particular penchant for vignette style basing that dates back to when the Perry's released their metal Agincourt to Orleans range in metal, long before the plastics were available.

I am pleased to say that I managed to avoid the varnishing annoyance in the unit painted prior to this one.













The Torsion Engines together in a battery; two thus far but four planned for the whole army. Who knows, it may be even more by the time I am finished!! I have painted the Engineers in the colours of the two Unarmoured Legions tunics painted thus far, off white/red and green/yellow respectively. I now have plans for four Unarmoured Legions and the next two bases of war machines will reflect the uniforms as they do in the picture below.



Lastly, just a quick picture (and a very large file!) to show how the uniforms of the Legion reflect that of the Engineers on the base.


Offline Little Odo

  • Mastermind
  • Posts: 1810
    • Little Odo's Grand Days Out
Lovely painting - the colours you use are so rich. The torsion engines are nice little vignettes as well as playing pieces. Looking forward to seeing more...many more.
Little Odo's Grand Days Out
http://littleodo.blogspot.co.uk/

Offline HappyChappy439

  • Mastermind
  • Posts: 1043
Lovely painting - the colours you use are so rich. The torsion engines are nice little vignettes as well as playing pieces. Looking forward to seeing more...many more.

Agreed! Big fan of how bold the green is especially!

Keep up the great work

Offline Tonhel

  • Mad Scientist
  • Posts: 570
Beautiful! :-*

Offline Atheling

  • Elder God
  • Posts: 11896
    • Just Add Water Wargaming Blog
Thanks you guys :)

Lovely painting - the colours you use are so rich. The torsion engines are nice little vignettes as well as playing pieces. Looking forward to seeing more...many more.

The models were just so nice I had to buy three with another one to come soon, though I wonder how they will do on the table top? Hopefully they will pin cushion a Sassanid elephant or two, but with my dice rolling  ???  lol   ???

Agreed! Big fan of how bold the green is especially!

Keep up the great work

Beautiful! :-*

The "secret" of the green is to start with the third darkest green from the Andrea "Green" set. Very rich creamy colours. I think they're often overlooked by us folks in the UK. Their paint is superb.

More soon. Something I'm quite excited about too :)

 

Related Topics

  Subject / Started by Replies Last post
3 Replies
2000 Views
Last post February 18, 2015, 08:59:46 PM
by wulfgar22
29 Replies
5163 Views
Last post January 05, 2023, 06:42:37 PM
by Atheling
0 Replies
422 Views
Last post January 16, 2023, 03:17:55 PM
by Things from the Basement
3 Replies
1547 Views
Last post June 30, 2023, 10:46:01 PM
by mikedemana
1 Replies
1130 Views
Last post July 26, 2023, 01:41:16 PM
by **GS**