Clubbing It! Sassanids vs Middle Imperial Romans!

The inability for me to for me find the time this week to write up the Bat Rep for the latest Sassanids vs Middle Imperial Romans has left me a little disappointed. The game was part of some experimentation and included alterations to the stats of the Sassanid Late Clibanarii which would effect the game in a new way which would reflect their use on the battlefields of the 5th/6thCE. 

I'm not fully happy with with the Sassanid list as it is written in WAB V.2, AoA V.2. In previous games, the Late Sassanian Clibanarii just weren't able to influence the game in a manner befitting their battlefield role. In truth, I don't think we have solved this at the time of writing.

I'll write a post in a day or two and discuss the problem with the lists, our attempt to solve it and my ideas on how to actually solve things going forward! 

In the meantime please enjoy the pictures of the game; and some wonky spears! 

Middle Imperial Roman Speed Painting/Wash Experiments

The pangs of existential angst as I get on in life are certainly present in my mind of late. I've got a lor of lead, and a finite time in which to paint and play with it. With that in mind I've been experimenting with some rapid ways in which to get miniatures painted and on the tabletop. 

I started with some of the A&A Miniatures Middle Imperial Romans. These have literally had one base coat painted on top of the silver basecoat (leaving the armours out), then a wash from a mix I have concocted for heavily armoured miniatures and one highlight. That was it. If you leave the half an hour drying time of the wash out of the picture, it took next to no time at all to complete them which is exactly what I wanted. 

I have to be honest, compared to my normal standard these fellows are not very crisp or tight, the colour saturation is dull and it was a little painful to paint this way. The pain though, must be balanced against the expectation of being able to play with them and this is certainly something I want to do.

I should add, I'm very much looking forward to Adam Smith's new middle Imperial Roman AD Miniatures venture and I'm not so sure I could paint up the new AD stuff in the same manner as these. The A&A Miniatures moulds are not fresh and could do with remoulding IMHO as there was quite a lot of flash and a heck of a lot of cleaning up to do. 

There will also be some Wargames Foundry Franks painted up in a similar manner but with a different "magic potion" wash as they're less heavily armoured. Again, the aim is to get these toys on the table!  :>)

There are some mistakes on the miniatures, that will be cleaned up ASAP. The flesh on the helmet of one of the legionaries is particularly galling!

Cheers

Clubbing it! Middle Imperial Romans vs Early Sassanids

After the last Middle Imperial roman vs Late Sassanid game, which left me very unsatisfied about the Late Sassanid Warhammer Ancient Battles AoA v.2 Army List (I'll get to why in a minute) we decided to try the Early List out against a similar middle imperial Roman force. I think both lists came to approximately 4444pts- so not too large and not too small for the game to be satisfying. 

The problem with the Late Sassanid WAB AoA v.2 Army List lies in the lack of bite from the Sassanian archers, especially from the Clibenarii. By the fifth CE the Sassanian army fought in a very particular manner, loosing clouds of arrows as they closed and fighting fiercely in hand to hand with their superior heavy cavalry. This is not reflected in then lists as they are played. In fact, the Sassanian Clibenarii, if  they are to have any effect whatsoever they had to stand still and loose arrows at close range from a position of weakness. this is not from all accounts I have read, how the Late Sassanids fought. 

It was with this in mind, and a view tom possibly changing the Early Sassanid Clibenarii stats/abilities that we decided to play a game using the older Early Sassanid "Cataphract" and Huns style list.

Due to real life issues I do not have the time to go describe in words how the game went. It was though, one of the very best wargames I have played in many years, the final combats leaning on a knifes edge with the Romans taking the laurels at the end of the game. If you follow the vast number of images through the game, via the lightbox on Blogger, you will be able to follow the action all the way through. 

Roman Legionaries in Marching Column with support from torsion engines and Light Lanciarii

Sassanid Deployment

Roman Legeionaries and Light Lanciarii supported by Equites Alares