The world has become a much darker place in the last few weeks - but that twilight has been deepening for years and years, and looks to have a lot more darkening to happen. It is looking as though we're losing the human race. It has got to the point at which I start to ask myself - just quietly so far - why do I war game? The heart isn't really in it.
So, rather than fight battles, I've been working towards completing (for a given value of 'completion') a couple of projects that have long been waiting for work to be done. I gave priority has been with my Mediaevals - Armies and Enemies of Byzantium. Here is the story - well, the Byzantine part of it:
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Command elements. Another has gone walkabout
- dunno where... |
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| Toxotai - bow armed psiloi light infantry |
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Blue shield Thematic kavallarioi. My convention is
that 'round shield' cavalry are thematic (militia)
'kite shield' are tagmatic (imperial regulars). |
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Light horse: prokoursatores leading
hyperkerastai, with trapezetai following |
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| More thematic heavy cavalry |
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| Tagmatic heavy cavalry |
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| More of the same |
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| My third unit of thematic cavalry... |
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| ... and my third unit of tagmatic. |
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The super-heavies: kataphraktoi - a.k.a
klibanophoroi. |
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The figures so far have been 'Tin Soldier' from
Australia. These green shield guys are of different provenance.
I sometimes rope them in a Georgians, though strictly
speaking they aren't quite the thing... |
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| The Byzantine right... |
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| ... Byzantine left... |
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Skoutatoi. The command element carrying the icon
is the Emperor's Own. The single element with small
shields are the 'semi-light' menavlatoi -
carrying heavy throwing weapons |
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| More skoutatoi |
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The other large unit of skoutatoi with its element
of menavlatoi. |
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From front: akontistai javelin light infantry
Varangian Guard, my last unit of
skoutatoi |
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Psiloi - light infantry:
akontistai and sphendonistai.
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The whole Byzantine army.
 | | Whole army, rear view. |
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This whole army comprises 160 foot and 100 horse, not counting the command elements and the green kite shield fellows.
Since this platform has been playing silly beggars with the ordering of my pictures (which I decided was too much work to correct), I'll do another posting for the 'enemies' of Byzantium.
Wargaming contains many different facets. If the actual gaming holds little interest (for now) painting and collecting is still a viable outlet. Good to finish up those lingering projects.
ReplyDeleteActually, it has been a fair amount of work, and it's nice to get the thing done.
DeleteI agree about the world but not about my reaction. I see no limp I between me having fun painting and playing with toy soldiers and the real thing. If the fact a real war was going on affected whether I played wargames, I would not have payed a game for the last twenty years at least, from the start of the first Gukf War till the very recent end of the war in Afghanistan!
ReplyDelete"I see no LINK..." !
DeleteFor mine the link, however tenuous, is history. War games - even in my view fantasy war games that I don't play - have some link with history. And I love history - always have. I very rarely use 'love' in this kind of context, but it's heartfelt here.
DeleteBut human history loses a deal of its allure if there is to be no human future. It loses its meaning. And how much future there remains to humanity is looking right now to be very problematical. The future of our history hangs in the balance.
What a fantastic looking army! Simply a joy to behold.
ReplyDeleteWhy do I wargame? Well it's a mix of history, scenarios, friends, painting, modelling etc. In short it's something I've done or been interested since a very early age. I can still remember receiving my first Action Man figure back in the 1960's, which may have been the fuel to the fire.
Modern conflicts and pretty much anything post-WWII hold little, if any interest to me. They are too recent, the technology too advanced for my liking in terms of using it in a wargames setting.
But wargaming is my hobby, my 'me time' and something that I can easily separate from current World problems and conflicts.
Thank you for your warm response, Steve. Until just a few years ago, I set my limit to 1945 - which stretched a little with a war project that never really got off the ground, set in a fictitious South America using WW2 surplus. That might yet happen. Then I was persuaded to join in a friend's 'Harad' project, an 'alternative world' set about 1980 in the Middle East. That the invitation was accompanied by a fair amount of kit made it hard to refuse! My 'Long Live the Revolution' campaign purported to be a 'back history' of that project.
DeleteThe separation between hobby and world events is not usually a problem for me, either, but this time...
That’s an impressive host. I know virtually nothing about the Byzantines so the fact you know all those (to me) strange sounding Greek troop type names is impressive.
ReplyDeleteAs for Armageddon, if it’s coming, to me there are two options. Prepare for it, if by any chance you do survive; or, do what you enjoy doing now.
That sounds like a pretty fair way to go! On the Greek troop nomenclature - I have a good strong memory for certain types of things. I find it also adds a little 'tone' to an army, to have names for units or troop types!
DeleteHi Ion...That is a very impressive army to say the least. The best thing about our hobby is that it incorporates a host of different activities. We are therefore able to enjoy whatever aspect takes our fancy. As for Armageddon, the advice above is good unless you live in the UK which would end up as a cinder in the North Atlantic !!!! As I have no way of influencing events, for the sake of sanity I must remain confident that a peaceful solution of some sort will appear over the horizon, just like the 7th Cavalry coming to the rescue. !!!!! Regards
ReplyDeleteI do so hope you're right, Tony - and not of the type attributed to Tacitus: '... they make a solitude, and they call it peace'.
DeleteA very impressive army there Ion, something to be proud of. 👏👏
ReplyDeleteI especially like the super heavy cavalry - they really look like a unit I can easily imagine the enemy would want to avoid. It’s also good to see your Varangians are armed with spears - too many people just go with double-handed axes. The Tin Soldier figures are decent castings and your painting really does them justice.
I’ve a feeling the “green shield guys” may be the old Tabletop Games (TTG) figures, now sold by Alternative Armies in the UK. The good news is that AA do sell their figures as singles, which is great news if you only need, say, a couple of skirmishers or whatever.
What with the situation in Ukraine and (hopefully the tail-end of) Covid19 it is often difficult to drum up much enthusiasm for hobbies, as that is something we associate with normality. The current situation is, however, far from what the vast majority would consider normal.
As far as hobbies & leisure are concerned I believe you should do what you feel like doing, when you feel like doing it. Wargaming is meant to be an enjoyable hobby, but there’s much, much more to it than the “war” aspect. We research armies/campaigns/wars, we plan what we want/need, we collect (buy) the toys, we organise them & then we paint them to match the information we’ve gathered. But then, sure, there’s hopefully going to be some table-top action.
Cheers,
Geoff
Cheers, Geoff -
ReplyDeleteThe Varangians I got from Tin Soldier did indeed have axes, but it seems that 'the axe-bearing guard' as described by Anna Comnena, really dates from the latter third of the 11th century, many of whom were exiled Englishmen after 1066 (The VG were known to hail the Emperor in English). The Rus, and the Varangians who took them over, tended to favour the spear, and so I removed the axes and substituted spears.
I guess that perhaps what I've been feeling lately is really just a manifestation of the 'blahs' that assail one from time to time. Noty helped by depressing current affairs...
Well... rip, snort or bust, I'll get some war gaming done this week!!
Cheers,
Ion
Looking at the army, I can see why you persevered with it, Ion - it's lovely. I know that the Warhamster players feel the same about their little green fungus people, and I feel much the same about an old mountaineering jacket that looks sooo cool but isn't waterproof anymore.
ReplyDeleteRegards, Chris.
Hi Chris -
DeleteI was considering selling it, a few years ago, since it was getting no action, I wasn't interested in it and I hadn't even looked at it for years. Then I hoiked it out and had a look - and hadn't the heart to sell it.
But I'll have to do something about the 'barbarians'. They need ... erm ... 'fattening up'.
Cheers,
Ion