28mm Neustria Franks Milities and Vassi I

Carolingian Frank Heavy Infantry I 

Off the desk some 28mm Gripping Beast plastic dark age figures. This unit will represent the first of my Neustria Franks for the 8th century defending the Breton/Maine Marchers. Shields are LBM transfers, based for Impetus.

"walk the battlefield in the morning, wargame in the afternoon"™

Cheers
Matt

28mm Dark Age Breton Warlord Cavalry

Breton Warlord Cavalry I

Off the desk this week another unit of Breton warlord cavalry, again from the footsore miniatures range. Should be quite flexible to be Alans, Goths, Franks and late Romans. A real pleasure to paint with LBM transfers.

"walk the battlefield in the morning, wargame in the afternoon"™

Cheers
Matt

28mm Dark Age Breton Coloni I

Breton Coloni

Off the desk this week some Breton Coloni (colonizers from Britain) peons, adding to my Dark Age Domnonée army, this base could also be used as Carolingian Franks Anjou-Maine, saxon pirates or early Normans.

28mm Gripping beast plastics with some Victrix heads and hands, plus some metal shields, several more units not to far away from completion.

"walk the battlefield in the morning, wargame in the afternoon"™

Cheers
Matt

28mm Royal Catholic Armee Vendee/Chouans part two

Second small skirmish screen of Vendee/Chouan troops added to the collection. I am waiting for the Revolutionary Armies Vendee troops to arrive to start my formed units. Off to another Chouan chateau and museum on Tuesday, I will post some pictures later in the week.

Cheers
Matt

28mm Dark Age Goth-Alani cavalry I

Gothic Alani Cavalry I

Next unit to join my Breton army are some Alani-Goth cavalry from the Footsore range. These. Will be for my later 5th century Armorican army, but I will possibly also use them for Goths, Visigoths or Burgundians.

The Vandals, Alani (including Sarmation confederation tribes) and other confederate Germans crossed the Rhine in 406AD pushing far into western Roman territory. Alan tribes settled along the Loire and up the Sarthe river beyond Le Mans and west to the Mayenne river. Many place names in the Pays de la Loire region still relate to this period of 40 odd years of occupation. This I believe also lead to the unique horse breeds in western Pays de la Loire

The Alani leader Goar agreed with the romans to ally with them and in 440 the Alan's were gifted Orleans and the lower And Upper Loire to act as a buffer in the west with the Bucaudae of Armorica, and to the south the Visigoths and Burgundians. The Alani also played in the internal politics of the western empire supporting Jovinus as emperor 411-13. The Alani had contingents in the Roman army at Chalons against the Huns and again at at Orleans against the Visigoths. Contingents were still with the Roman army at Soissons, and retreated to Armorica after the defeat, coming to terms with Clovis and the Franks, becoming part of the Merovingian and Carolingian empires.

Ammianus Marcellinus writes their military customs resemble the Huns "they enter battle drawn up in a wedge shaped masses, while their medley of voices make a savage noise". The Alans like the Huns disliked fighting on foot, and unlike the Huns they seemed to have utilised armour for themselves and their horses.

References
Alans in Gaul Bernard S Bachrach.
The History of the Alans in the West Bernard S Bachrach 
Long Haired Kings JM Wallac-Hadrill
Rerum Gestartum libri qui supersunt XXXI 2,21. Ammianus Marcellinus. 

Cheers

Matt

TTSFN part five and six

Total Terrain System For Now 

Part 5 added tree stumps and drybrushed some more, then taped the edges of the board

Part six

Sacrificed several teddy bears, clipped, cut and hot glued down the fur, more clippings, then some airbrushing, quite happy with my results so far, loads more to do yet though 

Cheers

Matt

TTSFN part two modular terrain

Total Terrain System For Now 

Modular Normandy Table part two

More work today on the table, of my Normandy Bocage modular table, lots more to complete before I finish. 

Cheers

Matt