Visualizzazione post con etichetta Modellismo. Mostra tutti i post
Visualizzazione post con etichetta Modellismo. Mostra tutti i post

sabato 16 agosto 2014

Romani tardo - imperiali: altri arcieri a cavallo

Tempo fa, in un precedente articolo, avevo descritto la realizzazione degli arcieri a cavallo per l'esercito romano del III - IV sec. d.C. della Hat (http://magnaacies.blogspot.it/2011/04/un-po-di-cavalleria-romana.html); nell'articolo, avevo espresso il pensiero che i cavalli hanno posizioni troppo statiche per unità che facevano del "colpisci e fuggi" la loro unica tattica possibile.
in precedenza, avevo anche evidenziato i problemi di dimensioni di questi modelli, troppo piccoli rispetto ad altre realizzazioni per il medesimo esercito della stessa Hat (http://magnaacies.blogspot.it/2011/01/la-scala-e-un-opinione.html).
Bene, mi sono messo al lavoro e, utilizzando "cavalloni" della Miniart (presi dai cavalieri germani), ho cercato di dare ai poveri "equites sagittarii" della Hat più dinamismo e maggiore dignità!










venerdì 24 gennaio 2014

Roman velites

According to my new basing system, some days ago I've finished to retooling my old Roman III - II cen. b.C. army.
I've improved the number of my velites, placing them on narrower bases (4 per base) than the rest of the infantry in order to show that the velites acted as a narrow screen in front of heavy infantry, preventing it from enemy fire.
Each base of 4 skirmishers (or archers, or slingers) shows 500 real men (instead, each base of regular infantry shows 1000 men).
I used mainly Zvezda figures, but also some worse (but not so bad) Hat colleagues.
Enjoy.




martedì 5 novembre 2013

My new basing system

Since the beginning of my wargame activity, I thought that placing figures on large bases is for sure the only way to move masses of little soldiers without spending your entire life in each game turn, but the base makes the soldiers looking like "counters" and not like little individuals.
For this reason I tried rulesets like Warhammer, which saves the individual figures, but I don't like their way to placing them on "trays", because they are too much noticeable.
After a lot of tests and many inventions, now I'm converting all my 20mm soldiers to a new basing system, which is a development of the previous system that I've described in an old article in this site (http://magnaacies.blogspot.it/2010/12/ma-come-imbasetto-gli-172.html). 
I preserve the individual soldier: what I do is just gluing them on a very thin cardboard, then I cut the cardboard a bit off the original base of the soldiers, in order to obtain a oval shape.
After painting the soldier, I "glue" it with a touch of plasticine on my old glassy bases, made from a plexyglass (or acetate) foil 0,8 mm thick.
Obviously the system is non perfect: under direct light you see the bases shining a bit, but the overall impression is good: an army looks like a mass of individuals, and not like some "little dioramas" placed near each other.
Judge by yourself!








venerdì 8 febbraio 2013

Turcopoles: the Crusader's light cavalry

It's time to try one of the most challenging test in the Crusader's army: the Turcopoles! 
They're difficult to paint because probably each real individual was very different to each other and because in the Strelets kit you find 12 different figures.
Furthermore, Strelets models are very full of details, so finishing them  has taken me a lot of time.
I'm not entirely satisfied of the result, but they are not too bad ...  





venerdì 1 febbraio 2013

Crusaders: first painting efforts!

Hospitalier infantry

Templar infantry

Light crossbowmen

Military Orders elite infantry

mercoledì 30 gennaio 2013

Starting to build a 20mm Crusader Army

After my last experience in medieval warfare, I planned to begin the construction of a Crusader army of the end of 12th century.
First of all, I've taken a look at the Plastic Soldier Review site in order to choose the soldiers.
I decided to use the Strelets.
Well, I know they aren't the best plastic soldiers ever made: they are fat, chunky, rude, more similar to a low level 15mm metal soldier than to a perfect 20mm Zvedza figure, but it's strange, they have a special charme.
First: there are a lot of Strelets kits dedicated to the age of Crusaders, with a lot of opportunities to reproduce different types of soldiers.
Second: in each kit you get many soldiers in different positions, and this widely improves the variety.
Third: Strelets figures have the old flavour of hand made items, not perfect but with a lot of passion!
The quality is very different from a kit to another, but the main problem is that Strelets has strangely decided to don't reproduce mounted Military Orders Knight, I can't understand why. 
They make foot and mounted sergeants, foot knights, crossbowmen, levy and so on, but not mounted knights!
It is as reproducing the Romans without the Legions!!!  
You could argue that other manufacturers produce this particular subject, so there is no need for a new kit; this is an inconclusive assertion, because the Caesar, Italeri and Zvezda figures don't mix well with the partticular Strelets' anatomy.
Anyway, turning back to speak of quality, the mounted Military Order Sergeants (kit 088) and the mounted Crusaders in oriental dress (kit 104) are medium - low quality.


Military Orders Sergeants
 
Mounted Crusaders in oriental dress

The mounted Turcopoles (kit 090) are wonderful, and so are the foot Military Order warriors (kit M012); the mounted Norman Knights (kit 0085) are good too.


Turcopoles

Military Orders warriors

Norman Knights

But the Medieval Crossbowmen (kit M025) are only average and the foot Military Order Knights (kit M015) are too much simple and quite low quality (I tend to suppose mr Strelets has some private affair against Military Orders Knights ...).


Medieval crossbowmen

Foot Military Orders Knights

In order to complete my army, I just need some Strelets Medieval Levy (kit M005 and kit M006) reproducing the bulk of the Crusaders' infantry.

So ... Strelets: this is my first experience with this company; I have to admit that when you unbox the soldiers the first impression is quite ugly: figures are firmly cast to a massive sprue, and you need to corrode your knife in order to obtain your soldiers!

Typical Strelets sprues

But the figures themselves are quite clean, without excess plastic and for the main part full of details; their garments and armours are very complex; they are difficult to paint but the result is satisfactory due to variety of subjects and poses and to the "overscaling" of some items.
Last reccommendation: the Strelets box arts are the second - worst in the 20mm market (the first are the Odemars ...).
Stay tuned: I will post very soon the first results of my painting work and of my partly new concept of basing!
 
P.S.: pictures in this article from the Strelets website
 

venerdì 13 aprile 2012

Casualty markers

In "Magna Acies!" you need to count the casualties until you reach the normal "Morale factor" of the Units which compose the Division, then you remove a single base; for instance, if you have a Division composed by ten stands of Warbands, you remove a stand only when you take three casualties (because three is the "Morale factor" of a Warbands stand); before that, you need to remember the one or two previous casualties.
Until now, we used red (plastic ...) gems for this purpose, but now we have made much better.
Take a look!

Normal figures
Modified poses









Draw area on card
Fill with acrylic pumice









Insert figures
Cut cardboard









Paint grass
Prime figures









Paint figures
Finished casualties










 
Casualties on the battlefield

domenica 25 marzo 2012

Roman and Alamannic command groups

I'm at the last steps of my work regarding the battle of Strasbourg.
Now it's time to show you my last effort: the commanders.
As I have explained in my last post, I have had to "invent" the generals, due to the lack of specific figures of commanders related to the IV century a.D..
I have used some pieces coming from the Italeri set "Gothian cavalry" both for the Alamannic king (Cnodomar) and for Julian himself.
I have also created a Roman standard bearer carrying a "vexillum" with the portrait of the Emperor Constantius II: at the time of the battle, Julian was "caesar", and not still "emperor".
So, the following is the result of my work: take a look!

Caesar Julian with his "staff"

King Cnodomar and "staff"

Roman sub - General 1
Roman sub - General 2


Alamannic sub - General