New Year’s Day Parade

One of the things that has been said, over the years, about this blog is that it cannot be a proper wargames blog because there are so few pictures of my toys on it. And it would be a fair criticism, both of my camera skills and my ability with a paintbrush.

Of course, the blog is designed to consider more the idea and concepts behind wargaming, rather than pictures of wargames real estate. Where else, for example, could you find such considerations of the use of models in rules, or the ethics of colonial wargames? Still, it might just be worth trying to convince any passing viewer that this actually does connect, in my life, anyway, with some wargaming.

Another issue is that I am on record as having written that I do not like painting, and this is true. Painting, to me, is a necessary chore to be done before a wargame. However, for someone who does not like painting, I seem to spend a lot of my time doing it. Actually, the purpose of this post is to show off the painting that I achieved in 2014. Not, I hasten to add, because it is particularly good, nor because the camera ability is up to much. My hope is the one will obviate the other and you will simply receive a nice, if somewhat blurred, impression of what I have done.

First, a general view of my New Year’s Day parade. Of course, the review was not carried out on New Year’s Day precisely. This is, after all, a militaristic dictatorship, and in keeping with most totalitarian regimes, it ran late. Not that the above bases were not finished by New Year’s Eve, of course. It was just that the propaganda unit was not charged up until well afterwards. Still, in keeping with the rules of dictatorships the world over, I have simply decreed that the date of the parade was New Year’s Day, and run with that.

Now, you can perhaps see the reasons why I am rather over-pleased with myself. In the photograph there are 116 bases of soldiers. Yes. One hundred and sixteen. For me and my painting speed, that is a lot.

From the left, there are five bases of Early Persian Immortals, and then two of cavalry. Next are the Macedonians in all their glory, thirty three bases of them. Then the Later Persians, another thirty something bases (34, I think, but I am not going to count them again). Finally, to the right, are forty two bases of Indians, including twelve bases of those pesky chariots.  

Now, there is one thing. A Polemos: Greeks army is twenty bases. So, by a bit of dodgy maths, I should have five armies, and nearly six. So how come there are only three armies in the picture? I suppose the true answer is that I simply painted what was in the box, which in each case was a Baccus 6 mm, 15 mm ground scale DBM army (which are no longer produced). I actually have a load more Macedonians, but I am sure you get the idea. The rational answer is that with the rules in development I like to have a fair bit of choice about what goes into an army, so I tend to ‘over paint’ to coin a phrase.

Now, for those of you who can stomach it, some more detailed views:

The Early Persians flanked by the Companions and then other Macedonians. I painted the Immortals because you cannot really have an Early Persian army without them, even though they were not at Marathon.

A slightly fuzzy shot of some slightly fuzzy Macedonians.The pike blocks are sixteen figures to a base, which is a huge number for me.

Some equally fuzzy Later Persians. They would, of course, make up the numbers with Hoplites, as, indeed, so would the Macedonians. Still, the rear ranks seem to be in focus.

Finally, some of the Indians. The blocks to the right are those chariots. Remind me not to try painting such again. Not only were they fiddly, but I almost permanently attached myself to them with superglue.

Overall, I have calculated that I painted 768 objects last year, plus, in fact finishing off two Roman villas and a Roman marching fort. I have not counted infantry, cavalry, chariots and elephants separately because, I fear, that counting the finished bases  is sufficient obsessive / compulsive behaviour for one year. Nor, in fact, do I have any idea how this quantity compares with previous years, because firstly, I did not count, and secondly, I cannot remember.

I suppose you are all now (those of you who have made it past the dodgy pictures; I suppose I should practice a bit more) wondering what this year has in stall. Well, I am not wholly sure that I know myself, but it does involve Seleucids, and a return, hopefully, to the doubling project for my Roman era armies. I did briefly flirt with the idea of Punic Wars, but the estimable Mrs P advised that I probably had enough on my plate as it was, what with work, commuting, rule writing, painting and blogging all going on.

Which reminds me, I wonder if I could create a mobile painting table for use in the car, when stuck in traffic?