Legio Wargames

The 2027 Society of Ancients Battle day will feature Bannockburn. So it is time to get painting Robert the Bruce’s retinue. I always use a white undercoat as it brings out the colours better, even with troops who have lots of armour. Then I apply a black ink wash over the armour. See Painting Armour for more detail on my method. Usually I paint from the inside out but when it comes to armour I do this first as my technique tends to spill over onto surrounding areas Next come

There is a villa somewhere in Etruria circa 390 BC. It looks like rich pickings for a marauding band of Romans. Learning of the Roman incursion, the Etruscans march out to stop them. The Etruscans send their slingers forward in front of their force, hoping to pick of a few of the enemy and give time for the close combat troops to deploy. The Roman equites quickly ride them down, scattering them to the four winds. The opposing lines begin to square up. The Roman levy taking a

Last weekend I had the pleasure of taking part in a late 17th Century game hosted by Pete O’Toole. This was an attempt by the French to relieve the English/Dutch siege of Maastricht circa 1693— the 9th game in a long running campaign which I had not previously participated in. The game was played on two tables representing the Eastern and Western approaches to Maastricht. We were free to allocate our forces to either table and hold others in reserve to play in later. Bellow

I have just returned from a brief trip to Constantinople (aka Istanbul) mainly re-visiting some of my favourite historical sights and adding a few new ones. Theodosius’ Obelisk (AD 390) stands in the middle of the Hippodrome. At its base is a frieze of the Emperor and Empress watching a chariot race surrounded by Roman notables and flanked by guardsmen. The guards are certainly Germans judging by their neck torques, long hair and clean shaven faces as opposed to the bearded,