Full Force

I AM glad I decided to take stock of my biblical forces as it turns out I have quite a bit more of a collection than I realised.

This is what comes from buying and painting in dribs and drabs, rather than following a plan.

Some troops, eg the bulk of the Egyptians, have such a distinctive appearance that it would be difficult for them to pass as anyone else's.

However most troops, especially open-order archers, slingers and javelinmen, are much more interchangeable.

Here are the unit totals:

Close-order infantry 16

Open-order archers 15.5

Close-order archers 4

Chariots 12

Camels 9

Open-order slingers 6

Auxiliaries 7

Open-order javelinmen 3

Close-order cavalry 2

Open-order cavalry 12

Close-order infantry with spears and bows 3

It seems the one troop-type I am definitely short of is open-order javelinmen, and I am taking steps to rectify that.

I fielded massed chariots at Kadesh, but perhaps a few more squadrons for my collection would also come in handy

More Chariots

10mm-scale Syrian chariots

The figures are from Tenth Legion (formerly Magister Militum).

I have painted them with Israel and Judah's Syrian enemies in mind, but they could also form part of a Canaanite or Philistine army, or, indeed, a Hebrew one.

Midianite Archers

10mm figures from Tenth Legion (formerly Magister Militum)

Midianite Slingers

Two units of Midianite slingers

They are Tenth Legion (formerly Magister Militum) 10mm figures, and I have based them as part of my biblical project, which will probably mainly use Neil Thomas's rules from Ancient & Medieval Wargaming.

While I have painted them specifically for a Midianite Arab army, they could just as easily appear in the ranks of just about any other ancient army in that part of Asia known today as the Middle East.

Here are the slingers, with Midianite camelry, the latter figures being from Newline Designs

Important 10mm News

MAGISTER Militum, which announced its closure last year, has at last revealed to whom its 10mm ranges of historical figures, including extensive ancients, have been sold.

The new owner is Baccus 6mm, who, as the name suggests, is famous for its 1:285-scale figures.

The company has set up a new website to sell the Magister Militum ranges under the name Tenth Legion. 

More Auxilia

I HAVE painted two more units of 10mm Hebrew auxilia.

Mostly Newline Designs, but with some Magister Militum

Mixed Auxilia

TWO more 10mm units of Hebrew auxilia.

Figures are mostly Newline Designs, but with some Magister Militum

First Hebrews

WHEN I started my Biblical project I planned to buy the vast majority of 10mm figures from Magister Militum.

But after I completed my Egyptian army, designed to fit in with Neil Thomas's rules, the owners of Magister Militum announced their retirement.

That meant no more casting of figures, at least until a buyer of the business was found.

I held on for some weeks, but while parts of Magister Militum were sold, the company's extensive range of 10mm ancients was not among them.

In the end I bought figures for an Early Hebrew army from Newline Designs, although I will probably be mixing in some spare figures from my Magister Militum purchases.

Hebrew slingers - all from Newline Designs

As can be seen, I have painted in what might be called an understated style - vivid colours were not a feature of most upland-based tribes.

Egyptian Army Complete

THANKS to finishing a unit of yellow-shielded spearmen, I have completed my 10mm Egyptian army for Neil Thomas's Ancient & Medieval Wargaming rules.

The figures are by Magister Militum

My Egyptian forces now have three units of chariots, four of spearmen, including a unit of marines, two of bowmen, again including a unit of marines, and one of Sherden.

The Egyptian infantry generally have light armour, but the Sherden have medium, and one unit of spearmen - the marines are the obvious choice - are allowed medium armour.

The full army

Under Thomas's rules, an Egyptian army fields 1-3 units of chariots, 2-4 of spears, 1-2 of bows and 0-1 of Sherden.

By painting all 10 possible units, I will have full flexibility in selecting troops for a battle.

The Archers

REGULAR archers are the latest to join my 10mm Magister Militum Biblical Egyptian army.

"Heavy Archers, Light armour"

The classifications, which come from Neil Thomas's Ancient & Medieval rules, need some explaining.

"Heavy" means in close formation, while "Light armour" is the lowest possible level of protection, so perhaps "unarmoured close-order" would be a better way of expressing their attributes.

Be that as it may, my Egyptian forces now have nine units.

Three units of spears, three of chariots, two of bows and one of Sherden

More Spears

HAVE finished painting another unit of spearmen for my biblical Egyptian army.

10mm figures from Magister Militum

It has taken longer than I anticipated, but the army, to be used at first at least with Neil Thomas's rules, is starting to take shape.

Left to right: royal chariots, marine spears, blue shields (spearmen), Sherden, red shields (spearmen), marine bows and ordinary chariots

Marine Spears

HAVE completed painting a unit of Egyptian marines armed with spears.

The figures are 10mm from Magister Militum

Because most Egyptians lived close to the Nile, it was from the river that the kingdom was controlled.

This meant marines were the elite of the army until the appearance of chariots, and even then were held in high regard.

My marine spearmen have leather body armour and helmets, as well as shields, which allows them to be classified as having medium armour under Neil Thomas's rules.

Other Egyptian spearmen, and close-order archers, are classified as having light armour.

Marine spearmen with their marine-archer colleagues

The marine spearmen are equipped with short spears which could easily be called javelins.

The spears of regular spearmen (right) are much longer, presumably because marine spearmen could be called on to fight in confined spaces aboard ships and because short spears are easier to handle when assaulting from ship-to-land

More Chariots

HAVE completed my second unit of Egyptian chariots for my Neil Thomas-compatible biblical project with 10mm Magister Militum miniatures.

Royal chariots

Taking Stock

AM off on a trip to Bavaria tomorrow, so will not be doing any painting for at least 10 days.

That makes this as good a time as any to recap the state of my Egyptian army for my biblical warfare project.

Left to right are chariots, Sherden, spearmen and marine bowmen

As classified under Neil Thomas's rules, the chariots are light, bow-armed, elite; the Sherden are auxiliary infantry, medium armour, elite; the spearmen are biblical infantry, light armour, average; the marine bowmen are heavy archers, medium armour, elite.

Sherden

THE New Kingdom Egyptian army in Neil Thomas's biblical warfare rules is allowed, but not forced to have, a unit of Sherden Guard.

The guardsmen count as elite, medium-armoured auxiliaries (Thomas's updated term for warband).

I have accordingly painted a unit of 10mm metal figures made by Magister Militum.

Close-up front view

Distant rear view

Book & Bows

I HAVE finished reading the Ancient Egyptian Warfare book I spotted at Foyles in Charing Cross Road and have painted my first unit of ancient Egyptian archers.

A nice double

The book shows all the signs of having been spell-checked but not properly proof-read, has rather too many unexplained technical terms, and also has the occasional eyebrow-raising moment (contrary to what the author states on page 98, the khepesh or khopesh sword was sharpened on the outside of the curve, not the inside).

Those are the disappointing parts; the rest was all good: entertaining and informative, and excellent value, in my opinion, at £9.99.

The archers are marine bowmen, part of my recent order from Magister Militum.

First Chariots

I HAVE completed my first unit of Egyptian chariots for my biblical project.

Front view

The figures are 10mm from Magister Militum, and have been based on the assumption I will be using Neil Thomas's biblical rules from his Ancient & Medieval Wargaming book.

Side view

As usual, I have to make a disclaimer about my painting skills and, in this case, my modelling abilities.

But as with my 10mm War of the Austrian Succession project, I am expecting the massed effect when whole armies are deployed to be rather more impressive, or at least more pleasing on the eye.

Bible Bashing

FOR quite some time I have been pondering a biblical wargaming project on rather an ambitious scale.

To that end I paid a visit to Hannants' store in Colindale, North London, and bought a box of Ancient Egyptian Infantry by Zvezda.

The box

The contents

It led to my first time in many years painting 20mm plastic figures, and I felt I was getting on quite well.

Coming along nicely

But it became increasingly clear I was going to have problems sourcing many of the figures I needed, and at the back of my mind was always the fact I have limited space to field wargames armies.

So I have started again, this time ordering a goodly selection of 10mm metal Egyptians from Magister Militum.

My latest recruits