Painting an Army for a King (of Kings)

I have been slowly painting up my 10mm Persian army for To The Strongest and I have shown a few of the initial updates previously here and here.

I am pleased to announce I have completed the infantry for this army and have moved on to some of the cavalry and exotic units. While not complete, I decided I should post up some pictures so here we are.

First on display are the Greek hoplite mercenary units led by a Greek mercenary general. With these three bases, I now have six total Greek hoplite bases (the other three serve in my Macedonian army) which gives me flexibility to field other armies (like a Greek hoplite army). I decided to paint these fellas similar to the original three holite units I painted. I should mention that the figures are Old Glory (like most of my TTS armies) and the shield decals are VVV. 

Some pictures showing them from the rear so you can see the linothorax armor. 

Next up are the domestic Persian formed foot troops. I based three units as Kardakes which can be rated as "raw hoplites" which are "deep" units. The other three are normal sized "javelinmen". 

The color schemes are in muted pastels and the ink wash gives them a slightly gritty look. I painted these fellas before the light infantry and came back to these guys and added a few stripes to tunics later.

Next up are the light/skirmishing infantry which are small units. First up we have the slingers. I felt like I painted these guys and the archers to look more "persian" with the stripes and trim in comparison to the formed infantry. I was rather pleased with the stripes and trim and went back and added a few to the formed infantry.

Next up are the archers, ready to blot out the sun with their volleys. I have four bases of slingers and four bases of archers. I think that's enough.

And now some cavalry, these are the extra heavy cavalry with the scaled armor. I gave these guys some stripes and tried to paint each unit to look uniform but varied. I went with two tunic colors and a consistent stripe and cuff color for each unit. I varied the bronze armor a bit as well. I am pleased with the look.

These units are classified as "deep" cavalry and are the first cavalry I have based up like this with a second rank. The remainder of the Persian cavalry will be regular sized units or skirmisher/light cavalry. I still have quite a few of those that I need to paint.

And last up is my first scythed chariot base. They are a bit boring even if brightly colored. No designs or variations. The Old Glory kits are a bit rough but they are fine enough for wargaming pieces. I will paint up two more scythed chariot bases and perhaps I will jazz up the other chariots a bit more on those two bases. My plan is to depict my Persian general on a chariot similar to Darius III on the famous "Alexander Mosaic". 

I took a break from this army to work on the 6mm Italian Wars stuff from Podrek Miniatures. I plan to revisit the Persians when I finish up the pocket-sized Italian Wars armies. I still need to paint up the remaining scythed chariots, light and medium cavalry, command bases and even a single elephant base.

Fall In 2026

It's been quite some time since I posted on here. Quite a bit has happened between the beginning of August and now (beginning of November) both in terms of hobby and personal life. I think, I know the loss of my dog is a factor, as is my retirement. It's amazing how quickly time can fly by, especially when you aren't paying attention. 

I will get around to posting some of the hobby progress that has yet to be documented (mostly 10mm Persians and 6mm Italian Wars). In the interim, I wanted to post about my brief visit to HMGS Fall In which was held in Lancaster, PA. 

I had originally planned to attend the full weekend but my coworkers informed me my retirement party was planned for Friday, November 6. I cancelled my weekend attendance completely and only decided a few days beforehand that I would travel up Saturday and spend the night to return Sunday morning.

I arrived in time to visit the Saturday afternoon Wally's session and it seemed quiet. A trip to the vendor hall was more successful, I managed to go on a bit of a spending spree. I purchased more 6mm 3D print Italian Wars from Podrek Miniatures and the proprietor Chase didn't have to convince me too hard to purchase a Hussite Wars starter set. 

Other purchases were a few shirts from TR Historicals, some Wargames Atlantic hobby tools, Wargames Atlantic 10mm Horse Lords, a Carlist War scenario book and boardgame for the Russo Japanese War aptly named Port Arthur. 

One of my guilty pleasures for Fall In is the Toys for Toys raffle. I continued my winning ways by having my ticket chosen once more. This time I won a started set for The Chicago Way by Great Escape Games. 

Sunday morning came soon enough and I was on my way home with a bag full of newly acquired hobby goodness. 

I have included some photos of various games I walked by. Some of my favorites were a snowy late 17th century New England village battle scene during King Philip's War and an Arabian desert raid on an Ottoman train during WW1. 

I didn't get a chance to play in any games; I felt like I arrived at the convention soon after the climactic point. It felt like everyone was a bit fatigued by Saturday afternoon and most intense gaming and shopping had already occurred. The conventions are never quite as enjoyable without my good friends Rob and Bill. Hopefully the next convention we will all be in attendance. 

Persians Kardakes and a personal note...

Years ago, my good friend and gaming buddy played To the Strongest at one of the conventions and really enjoyed the experience. As luck would have it, we stumbled upon a large lot of unpainted 10mm Punic Wars figures at the convention flea market. That began a project in which I ultimately completed Roman, Carthaginian and Macedonian armies. I still have Persians, Indians and Gauls unpainted. 

Shortly after Historicon, I had to say goodbye to my beloved dog after an unsuccessful fight with cancer. It has been devastating and I will miss her dearly. She and her sister helped me cope with the loss of my wife and for the last 11 years she was a massive part of my life. 

After her passing, I didn't really feel like painting much. My painting is a form of meditation for me and I feel like I'm a happier person when I get to indulge in this aspect of the hobby. In an effort to shake things up, I pulled some of the Persians out and decided to tackle them. 

In general, the figures from the 10mm  Old Glory ranges are pretty fun and easy to paint. I would describe them as "wargaming sculpts". They may not be the most beautiful figures out there but they paint up fast and they paint up easy and I think they look good when painted. 

I had previously painted one unit of levy horde and wasn't terribly pleased with the result. They aren't the This time I was a bit happier. 

Here are two completed units of Kardakes which some believe were the Persian response to Greek hoplites (although they also hired those as mercenaries and I have 3 bases of them that I need to paint). The figures are Old Glory 10mm like most of the figures from this project. 

I prefer to depict my Persians in the soft pastels displayed in the Mosaic of Alexander. I gave these fellas soft green, peach, blue and reddish brown. I look forward to painting more of these Persians, especially the scythed chariots. 

And lastly, here is a picture of my sweet little Bisou. She was beautiful little girl. She demanded to be the center of attention, she lived life at full speed and was non-stop until she collapsed from exhaustion every day. Incredibly intelligent and one of the toughest dogs I've ever known. She never once quit and refused to let anything stop her from living and loving life. Rest in peace Beezy.

Tiny Italian Wars

I had previously mentioned that I made a purchase of some tiny 3D print, 6mm (Baccus are a bit bigger) Italian Wars armies and quick-play rules from a new company called Podrek Miniatures at Historicon. I painted up some before that project stalled a bit due to personal matters (more on that later).

Anyway, because I haven't posted recently I decided I would post some pictures of those tiny Italian Wars figures. 

Here you can see what I've painted up. Everything are on 1 inch bases as per the corresponding rules, Battle-Axe, suggest. It's enough for a French army for the rules although I have more figures for the French army that will need to be painted (in addition to a Spanish opponent and some Italians and Lansknechts).

First up are the Swiss Pike. In the rules they are pretty deadly. Each base has 4 strips of pile and I decided to place the strips with flags in the middle. I think it's historically accurate and hides any sloppy painting. 

Next up are the cavalry. From left to right: stradiots, mounted crossbowmen, "light" cavalry (think francs-archers or demi-lancers) and gendarmes. The gendarmes are also pretty deadly in the rules. 

Missile troops. In this case handgunners, my crossbowmen are half-painted. 

Artillery. As you can see the "sculpting" style is a bit cartoonish and simplistic. I like that. They paint up rather easily with a black prime, a light drybrish of tan or grey and block painting. I didn't give these guys highlights, everything was painted bright and I didn't ink them.

Commanders. I have one gilted armor. The sculpts remind me of the craftee wargames figures some people make with bits from the craft store. My old gaming buddy Matt Kirkhart used to make some really awesome armies and host incredibly fun games. Anyway, I look forward to finishing this project when I get back into the mental groove to paint them.

Battle of Cascina dei Santi

Alex and I decided to get together for a game and we decided to give Field of Battle 3. Originally I had planned to pull my 10mm Crimean War figures out but realized that I hadn't painted any Ottoman artillery and that would be problematic for a proper game.

I opted instead to try out my 6mm stuff for the Franco Austrian War of 1859 (or second war of Italian Independence). I had just enough to give us a small game with three brigades a side. 

 (Left: Overview with French on left and Austrians on right)

The scenario centered around an Austrian delaying force under Field Marshal Montenuouvo trying to slow the advance of the French as the remainder of the Austrian force retreated to the safety provided by fortresses of the Quadrilateral. 

For the French commander, General LaMotte-Rouge, the French objectives were to 1) drive the Austrians forces from two farmsteads and 2) push the Austrians from the field of battle. To accomplish this, the French had two brigades of infantry (one of line and the other comprised of zouaves and foreign legion) with artillery attachments and a small brigade of cavalry. 

The Austrians began the game with two brigades of infantry with supporting artillery and on turn 5 would get a small cavalry reserve led by General Zichy on the table. 

 (Left: Austrian jagers deployed in San Matteo)

I assumed command of the Austrians and devoted one brigade (Brigade Hodlitz, pictured above) to the responsibility of the roadside farmstead Cascina San Matteo in the center and the left flank. San Matteo was defended by an elite battalion of jagers with three line battalions and an artillery battery in support. 

 (Left: San Martini with Austrian defenders)

The other brigade (Brigade Reznicek, above) was assigned to secure the hilltop farmstead Cascina San Martini on the right. Jagers screened in front of San Martini with a battalion of line fortified within the walls of the farm. Two other line battalions and artillery provided support. 

Alex assigned the 2eme Brigade, under General Castagny (above), comprised of zouaves and foreign legion to advance upon San Matteo while General Lefevre's 1eme Brigade and the General Villaine's cavalry moved towards San Martini (below). 

It didn't take long for me to realize the dice gods weren't in my favor when my first 3 die rolls were ones and the fourth roll was a two. That trend of poor Austrian rolls would continue for the remainder of the game. 

2eme Brigade advanced slowly through the vineyard rows towards San Matteo while the cavalry had some great movement rolls that saw them bolt forward and threaten the Austrian right flank and rear. The Austrian defenders of San Martini unloaded an enfilade volley into the flank of the French cavalry only to see their  efforts produce no casualties (below). 

I moved an uncommitted infantry battalion in march column from Brigade Reznicek through a valley between two hills in my rear in an attempt to block the threatening French cavalry. Unfortunately, bad rolls and card draws doomed them to inactivity and doom. 

1eme Brigade advanced uphill (above), brushed off an ineffective volley from the jagers screening San Martini and routed the "elite" Austrian light infantry who fled into the same valley as the Austrian battalion trying to march to meet the French cavalry (below). 

Meanwhile, things weren't much better on the Austrian left flank an infantry battalion Brigade Hodlitz routed from French rifled artillery fire (above). 

Back on the Austrian right, the French assaulted San Martini and forced the Austrian infantry to fall back from the farmstead. They joined the mass of panicked and confused infantry in the valley to the rear (above).

On the left, Austrian artillery from Brigade Hodlitz finally struck home and caused casualties to a French zouave battalion, forcing them to route. Unfortunately for Field Marshal Montenuouvo, another zouave battalion for the better of a firefight with the jagers in San Matteo and drove them out of the buildings (above). 

At this point things were looking fire for the Austrians but reinforcements arrived in the form of a light cavalry brigade. Sadly, they wouldn't get a chance to make an impact on the battle. 

The next roll for initiative saw the French win by 8, allowing them to draw at least 8 cards before the Austrians would be able to counter. Alex finally got the cards to allow his cavalry to change formation and charge into the panicked Austrian infantry masses in the valley to the rear (below). 

Two disadvantaged Austrian infantry battalions (one in March column and one in rout) were destroyed by the French cavalry by this point, the Austrians were left with zero Army Morale Points and would need to roll for break on the next Army Morale card they drew. 

Finally, it was the Austrian turn to try and stabilize the quickly disintegrating situation. On the first of the eight cards to be drawn, the Austrians turned over the Army Morale card (above) and promptly rolled a 1. With that, the Austrian army retired from the field, having been driven from both San Matteo and San Martini. It was a smashing victory for Alex's French.

I rolled poorly and drew the wrong cards from my army deck at the most critical moments. I don't think that was the reason for the Austrian defeat; Alex was aggressive and took advantage of Austrian malaise. 

Despite the thrashing, I really enjoyed the game. It felt (and looked) like a battle from the 1859 campaign. Alex and I forgot some of the rules but that's only natural when you haven't played a ruleset in over three years. We both agreed out next battle of FOB3 would have to happen sooner than the last time.