Cataphract

One thing about 'new' projects is that current projects tend to get put to one side. In this case, a build up of my Garrison Macedonian/Seleucids was halted when I got Harry's stuff. I had already made a cataphract conversion by simply removing the bowcase from the Sarmation cataphract and adding various sidearms, even painted up a few prototypes and, last August, the first unit - though basically listed as Parthian rather than Seleucid.

Finally got round to producing the second full unit.

Personal view on these figures? crude compared to 'modern' figures but I still like them.

Hail Amun

1st Division of Egypt, Destroyer of Vile Kush and Victorious Defender of the Frontier.

In celebration of the Victory over the Vile Kush Pharaoh honours his own Division.

Pharaoh approaches the border fort with his guard as the Amun Division acts as a Guard of Honour

The defence of the fort by 4 companies of light archers is credited with a major part of the victory. The Regiment, brought back to strength, awaits Pharaoh.

Pharaoh  honours the Commander of the Regiment. As the 1st Division is often under the direct command of Pharaoh it has not got a 'dedicated' General itself - the Leader of Hariots usually does this job - however, this will soon be corrected as Pharaoh's bodyguard increases in size.

Pre Division approaches the fort. Amun takes a well-deserved leave, job done.

Pre is given responsibility for the border from Pharaoh.

Due to the greatly increased perceived threat from Kush the garrison has been substantially increased.

The Kushites are coming Part 3

And the main battle is about to start...

The battle lines are drawn...

In this battle, both sides just want to attack.

I allow archers a 6" firing range, so cavalry need to close quickly.

This is true of the Kushite cavalry as well.

Things aren't going well for the defenders in the fort.

The cavalry attacks didn't go well - the Egyptians ran away and the Kushites were stopped dead in their tracks.

The end is in sight here...

As the main battle develops, the Kushite centre is looking fragile.

The Kushites continue their attacks and some Egyptian right flank infantry turn to block an outflanking move.

Having cleared the fort the Kushite attackers stream out to  join the main battle.

When the Egyptian chariots broke the cavalry they were facing, the surviving element eventually took a Kushite chariot with it - and another one died in combat. The hard battle for the fort obviously left a mark on the Kushite warband from the fort - they broke on contact with the spears.

Feeling a bit lonely, the Kushite general calls it a day... time to regroup and come back later...

A very enjoyable battle. As to rules... a bit of a mish mash of DBA, WRG 4th Edition and RY 'that's seems about right'. I speeded combat up a bit treating them as units if everything the same but separate elements at other times - for example, spears v warband 1 dice roll for the whole unit, chariots separate rolls as the general was present and he gets the plus 1, the others don't - so 3 separate combats instead of 1.

The Kushites are coming - Part 2

So the cavalry are off to get help while the fort gets to see some action.

The fort is under siege whilst the main Kuskite army bypasses it and starts to form up a battle line.

One problem with the fort is that you can't put the bases on the ramparts - they fall off.

This could take a while as the action swings back and forth. Here, some Blemye have broken into the fort but the Kushite warband has been pushed back. Under DBA the garrison should have a plus 4 but I've ony given them a plus 2. My game, my rules.

The Amun Division has (mostly) arrived - some still on garrison duty elsewhere.

The Blemyes are inside and fighting the garrison. Meanwhile some warband are still at the walls, the rest sit out this move having been pushed back (unlike 'standard' DBA where they would be straight back in - I feel that that wouldn't represent the siege nature as well as having a delay). For all, enemy scoring double on dice means a kill, but I've also said 2 pushbacks running will kill a defender.

The defenders win the battle inside the fort and the attackers are pushed back outside.

Meanwhile, in the main battle both sides are advancing towards each other.

The Kushites are coming Part 1

Seemed like a good idea - Egyptian haven't had an outing in ages, likewise Kushites...

So, this one is basically a Kushite incursion into Egypt, possibly the incursion that led to the overthrow of the ruling Dynasty and founding of the Kushite 25th Dynasty. The defenders are the Amun Division.

The scenario also lets me use my ancient Airfix Foreign Legion fort. It's rather old, having bought it when they first came out, and seems to have lost it's gate, but, can't have everything.

First sign of trouble is when a cavalry patrol rides back to the fort screaming things like 'The Kushites are coming! The Kushites are coming!

Now, the fort is there more as a customs house rather than somewhere designed to stop actual armies...

I've set this one up length ways giving me a battlefield 6' long and 4' wide. The Nile forms a boundary quite simply A4 and A5 MDF sheets sprayed blue. As the battle proceeds I'll move the terrain/action up and down the table as required!

The original idea was to use my Ptah Division as the Kushites, but then thought - well, got a perfectly good dedicated PB Kushite army so...

The Kushite figures cover quite a range of 90s era Minifigs Egyptian/Blemye figures. The chariots are a reasonable paint job, infantry are mostly black undercoat and drybrushing - not sure, think the warband are actually supposed to be Old Kingdom Egyptians!

Nothing much to see

Well, not yet.

I've been looking round and done a bit of switching.

I had 3 Assyrian chariots part done with undercoated cataphract horses and crew plus a load of spare Indian cavalry horses.

So...

Three of the Assyrian tin plate chariots will now get the S Range cataphract horses and crew...

While the chariots and Indian cavalry horses are in Dettol to get rid of the paint - and also so I can remove the Assyrian chariot wheels and replace them with ones from one of the Rose 20mm cannons. The chariots themselves are nor really Indian but everyone else seems to use them for that!

More orphans

Getting a bit bogged down in some areas but still gradually getting on with sorting the 'orphan' units...

Can't remember where these came from but 'neglected' because there's only 12 of them.

Nice figures though.

This lot have been around a while. No real reason for the delay in basing them.

Meanwhile I've also gotten round to finishing this lot.