Irregular Wars Wargaming

In conjunction (and kind of in parallel) with the Antioch project, I have been putting together a collection of 15mm gladiators. At first it seemed that there was only a very limited range - but then I looked closer and found quite a few different companies. Much to the confusion of Mrs Hotspur - who knows full well my opinion of the Romans - I embarked on a mission to sample them all; and I very nearly succeeded. Below I firstly outline my general impression of the different sculpts and service of the manufacturers, and secondly, compare the same types of gladiators from the different ranges. The names of each manufacturer are clickable and should take you to the said gladiator range. At least the links worked at the time of posting... Donnington (UK) Donnington's gladiators fall within their 'originals' range. This can be either a blessing or a curse. The figures can be bought individually which is great, but the sculpts are quite variable in size and quality. This...

With the fresh arrival of Wills OO Scenic Series Pantiles (as recomended by Margard on The Miniatures Page  forum ), I have been able to press on with the first of the tiled building for my Little Antioch project. Pantiles alongside a Penguin Classic for scale I had originally tried to purchase tiles from Plastruct but they wanted to charge me £15 for postage... from the UK to the UK... less than impressed. I ended up buying my pantiles from Gaugemaster who are also here in the UK - very reasonably priced for a pack of four small sheets (A6? - I bought two packs) and with decent postage rates and quick service. Very happy with that purchase indeed. Here are a few pictures of my first tiled building as a work in progress. Rather than a canonical rectangular temple, I've decided to build a squat little temple based on the proportions of numerous Hellenistic and Roman structures found from the Aegean to Ai Khanoum (Afghanistan). Including the front portico and pilasters, ...

Its hard to believe that we are now more than half way through February. As all good 10mm wargamers know, February is the month of the Pendraken painting competition . I entered last year and miraculously scooped a first and a second prize in two different categories. With my £30 pounds of prize credit I fitted out  a whole new set of paints (Vallejo) and bought a bunch of figures from the Pendraken Late Roman range to play Dan Mersey's Song of Arthur and Merlin - a great wee game using the Song of Blades and Heroes mechanics. This year I'm entering said Late Romans painted with said new paints. Due to the conditions of the competition, I can only enter these guys into the Open category . This category has so far drawn the most entries and also some of the best. Not sure about my own chances this year, but with appropriate prayers to Saint Neot the Lesser, perhaps... perhaps. The first five photos below constitute my entry. the remainder are just re-...

With the strong winds and very Wintery weather we have been experiencing lately on site, I have been too tired of an evening to make much progress on Antiocheia Mikros. Hopefully, I will get a couple of hours this afternoon when the wee lad has a nap to get cutting and gluing. For now I thought that it might be useful to post a couple of shots comparing different companies' take on Greco-Roman civilians. My itty-bitty city will be populated by passive civilians who are activated by certain triggers to either run away or stand up to injustice with a bit of mob violence. I knew that I wanted a dozen or so to be placed around the table and went on a wee bit of a civilain hunt/glut. I now have more than 50... and have had to impose a self regulating monthly budget to stop the rapidly growing lead pile. Here are just a few of them: Figures of authority from left to right - Xyston Seleukid officer, Xyston Rabbi, Donnington New Era Roman in Toga, Corvus Belli Roman engineer an...

I knew that I wanted to build a nymphaion, a public fountain house, for my Antiochene suburb but I didn't know exactly how I was going to represent it. Then I found a great little article by Rick Bonnie and Julian Richard (2012) discussing two first century BC/AD nymphaiai from Magdala on the Sea of Galilee (Israel), birth place of Mary Magdalene, and Sagalassos in Pisidia (Turkey). The pictures below have been lifted from their article without permission; I hold no copyright over them. Remains of the  nymphaion at Magdala Plan of the nympaion at Magdala Reconstructed remains of the nymphaion at Sagalassos Plan of the nymphaion at Sagalassos Both nymphaiai were built to resemble a pi-shaped stoa, the standard civic space/shopping mall of the ancient Greek world. Seeing the style of them, the date, the geographic spread (the the south and to the northwest of Antioch respectively), I figured that they might just be the template I was looking for. Co...

A small update for my Antiocheia Mikros (Little Antioch) project. First off, this great isometric reconstruction of Roman Dura-Europos to give a little inspiration. This is a great image as it shows the sorts of domestic buildings that will bulk out most of my city. The staggered roof tops are just the sort of thing to stage stealthy missions and pursuits across. Keeping with a Dura theme, the first of my new buildings was inspired by the early third century synagogue at the city. Unfortunately I haven't been able to source a high resolution plan, but this one (to the left) will have to suffice. Room 1 is an open courtyard with a colonnade along two sides, room 2 is the hall of assembly. The synagogue itself was originally a house, modified to look like the plan shown probably in the late second or early third century, and then altered again in AD 244 into a larger, grander building. The building was excavated in 1932 and revealed some of the most spectac...

As part of my new project, I need to put together an ancient streetscape. Not being one to shrink from an interesting challenge, I spent much of today starting the construction work; the aim, to build a suburb of Late Hellenistic Antioch. I seldom have days when I can indulge so much but I'm still off work until next week, today Hotspur the Younger started at his new preschool and I happened to have a birthday which meant that Mrs Hotspur was happy enough to let me skulk around the house and play with sharp knives. I have spent several happy weeks in and around Antakya (modern Antioch) as part of mid-season breaks while digging in Syria so I have a real enthusiasm for this project. However modern Antioch, for all of its charms, is more than 10 metres above the ancient city due to successive earthquakes, floods and a couple of thousand years of continuous occupation. That means that while I have some great source photos to base my   streetscape on, none of it is reflective of the ...