HaT Gallic Chariot Element

Here's my latest addition to my Gallic DBA army. Just two more of these babies to go - one more regular light chariot, then a LCh(Gen) as an alternative to the 4Wb(Gen).
 I'm pretty pleased with this set from HaT; the figures are relativley well sculpted, the horses are nice, and the chariot fits together well. My one problem was with the softness of the plastic. And you get 3 chariots for 5 bucks - can't beat the price. Plus each chariot comes with two options for the guy in back.

All 8 Gallic Warbands

I have finally finished all eight elements of Gallic warband! My psiloi is also in the bag, so now I just have three chariots and a general element to paint. Then on to the Marian Romans.

New Gallic DBA Elements

So, after endless pictures of the same old 3Wb Gallic elements featuring the same poses in endless repetition... here's something new.

On the left a 3wb element with a one-of-a-kind pose at the fore, and on the right the lone psiloi element called for in the army list

Here's what I've completed so far for my Gallic army:
7x3Wb
1x2Ps

Now I just need to finish up the last warband, the general element, and the two chariots.

Element of Gallic Conversions

So these are my first attempts at conversions. It was really easy, if a little time-consuming. All you gotta do is cut off one guy's hand and glue it on another guy's stump. The only hard part is holding the amputated appendage in place while the glue dries.

The guy on the left is newly equipped with a spear in place of a sword; the guy in the center swapped out his spear for a sword; and the guy on the right (my favorite) replaced his sword with a spear.

Second Element of Gallic Warband

 So, over the weekends and on snow days (of which there have been quite a few lately) I've painted up some more figures. Here's my second element of Gallic warband (3Wb).

This guy with his red and black striped pants reminds me of a character from the Asterix comics. In fact, it's nearly impossible to paint these figures without thinking of Asterix.

Without meaning to, I made this guy into a Christmas elf. He's got green pants and a red tunic, and a green and red shield. Face palm.

Note the blood on the front guy's left flank. Got a little nick from a sword, or something. Also note the blood on his spear. Blood always makes figures that much more epic.

My Hobbylinc Order Arrives

I placed a relatively large order to Hobbbylinc.com for a bunch of new miniatures for my various wargames that are in some form or other of progress. For my first DBA army, Italeri Gauls.

For a fantasy DBA wargame that I am going  to work on simultaneously (yes, this is in all probability more than I can chew) - Orion Light Alliance Dwarves Set #1.

For my ongoing World War III wargame, Caesar Modern British Army.

Unfortunately, the set does not come with many figures to begin with, and three of them are the relatively useless jumping-over-the-wall pose, in the center.

Most of the figures were gray, but some came in a light brown color.

This guy is completely baffling. He is not one of the poses listed on PSR, and looks like a mistake of some kind. His left arm is a rounded stump, and I have no idea what he's holding in the other one. In another modern set I got from Caesar, the Modern US Elite Force, one of the figures was a Navy SEAL from the Modern Special Forces Worldwide set. It seems to be a Caesar trademark to insert a random figure into each box! In the case of the Navy SEAL, he was a nice addition, but this guy is 100% useless. He doesn't even look like a casualty, otherwise I would use him as a wounded soldier. 

And lastly, Imex Confederate Infantry. These guys are for an American Civil War diorama that I have been commissioned to make for a middle school classroom. All expenses paid. The diorama is going to be for the battle of Hazel Grove. I'll post on the details of this project as soon as I can. 

So, if anyone is keeping track, I am juggling no less than four projects: an ancient DBA wargame, a fantasy DBA wargame, a World War III wargame, and a Civil War diorama. Chances are, knowing myself as I do, I will end up immersing myself in another project of some sort before I complete any of the current ones. Oh, well. I don't have a deadline of any kind, so I'll just keep plugging away.

First Gallic Warband Element

Here's my first warband element for my Gallic army (II/11). The army list is as follows:
 1x3/4Wb or LCh (Gen), 2x LCh or 3Cv, 8x3Wb, 1x2Ps. With the Italeri set I just got, I have enough figures to make all the warband elements, the warband/general element, and the psiloi element. Plus quite a few guys left over for some extra warbands, if I feel like doing BBDBA. (Here are two links to the lowdown on BBDBA, if you're unfamiliar with it. BBDA Strategy Basics and Big Battle DBA.)
 For a 3Wb element, the base is 30mm deep. I guess the smaller number of figures and the deeper bases are supposed to simulate the loose order of Gallic warbands. My bases are cut from 1/8 inch plywood bought from a local craft store. This is a good basing material - of course, everybody has their favorite basing method, but thin plywood works well. It's heavy enough to provide a firm, steady base, and its also cheap - for a 12"x12" sheet, I only paid about $3. Also, it won't warp or chip.
The bases were finished quite simply, but I like the effect: I painted the base in dark tan, then brushed it with a wash of glue, water, and black paint. When this was dry, I drybrushed it in buff to bring out the details, then flocked it with two types of Woodland Scenics flock; light green static grass, then clumps of darker green flock.

One problem with the Italeri set: there are  only two types of shields, and these two patterns get really boring. So for this guy's yellow shield, I painted over the raised pattern until it was obscured, then painted on my own pattern. 

One down, seven more to go.

Stuff for my Gallic DBA army

So my first DBA army is going to be II/11 Gallic Army 400-50BC. I already ordered the Italeri figures and am waiting for them to come so I can start painting them up. Of course, the Italeri set, while well-sculpted and life-like, contains only warband figures, so I will have to get at least another one or two sets to complete the army. I still need either chariots or cavalry, or both, as well as psiloi and camp followers. These sets: HaT Gallic Chariot, Italeri Celtic Cavalry, and HaT Gallic Command will more than complete my army - except for the psiloi. But it seems a trifle on the ridiculous side to buy a whole set just to get 2 figures!
So, anyway, for a DBA army you need a few things: either a camp, BUA (built-up area) or both, as well as a moving stick, wheel stick, and ZOC (zone of control) marker, which are all optional but helpful.

This is my BUA, the idea taken from the the Fanaticus resource page here. By the way, Fanaticus  is the best site for getting inspiration for DBA armies, terrain, and other pieces. Their galleries are full of great ideas and projects.
I made this BUA out of three pieces of cardboard glued together and sealed with filler. The stone wall was made from porous styrofoam stuff, also sealed with filler, and stuck full of toothpick halves. To make the palisade fences look like real logs, I carved the top of each toothpick and stuck the point end into the styrofoam. The huts were made from a towel paper roll. The thatch effect was made by covering the roofs with filler and using a toothpick to create lines in it.

 This is my ZOC marker. It was made from three pieces of Styrofoam glued onto two layers of cardboard. It was given a dark wash and then drybrushed to create the stony effect. I used a combination of static grass and flock on the base.

Some more Zvezda Greeks

Here's my latest two batches of Zvezda Greek infantry.

All ten of 'em. Assorted psiloi, spearmen, and swordsmen.

This guy looks pretty good with his white-on-red shield, I think.

This guy is easily my favorite. You can tell from the lamda symbol on his shield that he is Spartan, and that automatically makes him awesome. Also, the pose is really cool and his muscle cuirass helps with overall coolness, as well.

Zvezda Greek Infantry (5)

This is my second batch of Greeks. I'll get around to posting the first batch sometime.
The reason I do such small batches (of five figures) of these Greeks is because each one's different - they don't all have the same uniform. This necessitates a greater amount of time spent on each one, instead of going through them factory-style.
I'm painting the entire army in red colors - there is red somewhere on every figure. This is just in case I end up getting a second set of these Zvezda Greek Infantry to make a Peloponnesian Wars-style wargame - Greek vs. Greek. Then the only way to tell them apart would be color difference, so I would paint the other army in blue colors.

This batch has only 1 psiloi figure - the guy with the javelins. Psiloi were Greek light infantry.

I really like the white-on-black effect on this shield.

This is my favorite guy.