Command and Colors Ancients: Lake Trasimenus

Another round of hybrid gaming converting the Command and Colors: Ancients board and blocks game into a miniatures game using 6mm miniatures from Baccus and the Hexon terrain system. All the minis and Hexon tiles were supplied by Mikey.

Table view as seen from the Republican Roman's (me) side
Note the use of string to demarcate the battlefield zones

Obviously a more visually satisfying gaming experience
playing with minis on a terrain table, IMHO and of course, the
Command and Colors system is perfect for this type of conversion 

This was definitely a challenging terrain for the Romans

Carthaginians and Republican Roman Medium Infantry

Roman General and Heavy Infantry about
to face a Carthaginian Cavalry charge 

WIP: Dwarves Part 1

As previously mentioned in an earlier post, our gaming group has been hooked on the Commands and Colors game system. Our latest ambition is to pit fantasy armies versus historical ones. 

Classic match up between Republican Romans and Greeks.

Dwarven battle line and shield wall with artillery.

Not very original, I know and some grogniards out there are probably shuddering in their boots but what the hell! We game what we like especially if it looks good.

My latest project is an old Dwarven army that Willy aka LTL Dad has taken out of storage. The figures are from Black Raven Foundry and are beautiful sculpts. They're also a bit tall for Dwarves but nevertheless they kick ass!

Axes, Swords, Archers and Crossbows

My standard paint process of black primer and off white
(sand) dry brushing ready to receive the base color.

Stay tuned...

Back to Hacking and Slashing with Command and Colors: Ancients

Being the self-styled 'Historical Miniaturist' plainly states that I delve into miniatures and history. It also implies that I'm a gamer (primarily historical) and like most gamers I'll play anything provided that it has drool-worthy eye candy.

'A Viking we will go, a Viking we will go...'

A diorama of my Roman Cavalry being supported by allied
Numidian Elephants sometime during the Punic Wars.

Since I like well designed board games and the 'look and feel' of miniatures my gaming group's latest foray into this hybrid gaming world has led us to the Command & Colors family of games. After a few games with the actual board game we were hooked. It was only a matter of time that we would substitute the game blocks with our minis played on a larger 4" hex map from Hotz and terrain features.  

 

Vassal screen shot of an epic scenario: Battle of Dertosa.
This classic Punic War matchup between Hasdrubal (Hannibal's brother)
and the Scipio Brothers make a fine minis conversion 
as all the battles in the C&C boardgames.

I can now reuse my Republican Romans (built for Field of Glory and was gathering dust) and game this army to my heart's content. Of course, I have to supplement this army by acquiring a few more units and some repainting of the shield colors to represent unit types used in the game (see pics at the bottom of this article).

Numidian Elephants from Corvus Belli bringing up the rear with
the blue shielded Triarii and green shielded Hastati in the fore.

A Roman Fort from Baeuda is the backdrop for the Hastati with
more Corvus Belli Iberian troops in the fore.

Corvus Belli Iberian troops

Corvus Belli Numdian archers painted as generic Greeks
screening the Iberians.

Someone tell me what manufacturer these Velites are. It's been a
few years since I've put this FoG army together and the brand eludes me.

A Roman Fort from Baeuda with Numidian Elephants and Numidian light cavalry both Corvus Belli. 

'The Elephant of Surprise.'

Roman Cavalry from Corvus Belli and another forgotten manufacturer. 

My command stands featuring my two favorite Consular Generals: 
Nefarious Purpose on the white horse with Crismus Bonus on the black.

All you need to play is to follow this recipe: 

One box of Command & Colors (Ancients or Napoleonics)

One 4x6 Hotz Mats w/4" hexes (your choice of green fields or dessert)

Obligatory terrain: trees and hills

6 mm or 15mm miniatures (6mm for Napoleonics and 15mm for Ancients in our case) 

My re-purposed Republican Romans with repainted shields and ready to go:

Rear rank Legionaries: Triarii and Hastati Heavy Infantry (4 per base: RED)
Allied Italian States as Auxilia Light Infantry (3 per base: GREEN)
Velites Skirmish Light Infantry (2 per base: GREEN)

Coming soon: Roman Medium Infantry (4 per base: BLUE)

Joining the 'Arena Race' Part 3: DONE

Without further ado...


Finally my Governor's Box and stands are done. I decided on a trellis for some al fresco viewing with a fabric awning covering option (see below). I've also simplified the Doric columns and added spikes for that 'barbaric' look.

Review of condemned prisoners.
In lieu of Roman figures I'm proxying my Mongols for scale and for the downright fun of it!

A minor Khan of the Golden Horde. This command pack is from The Assault Group (TAG).

TAG Mongol slavers keep the Chinese PoWs in line for the upcoming games.

Sentencing by the Khan while the ominous drummer keeps the beat.

Gladiators (from BTD) are reviewed as some Arabic peasant riffraff from Old Glory look on.

"Ave, Governor! We who are about to die salute you."

And now a word from our sponsors... 

I've always wanted to create ancient and classically themed ads (ala NASCAR) to enhance my scratch-built Colosseum for running chariot races back in the 80s. So I've finally done it here. 

I had a lot of fun researching these familiar icons. 

The cheap seats.

Execution commences.

The other cheap seats.

Now all I'd need is to get some female gladiators... 

1974 blaxploitation film starring Pam Grier and Margaret Markov

Joining the 'Arena Race' Part 2

Construction has progressed for my 'barbaric' wooden arena set in the outer fringes and frontier outpost of the Republic / Empire. Images that inspired me from recent films like Centurion has given me great ideas for the overall look and feel.

I love all the look of the rough hewn timber. 

With these images fresh in my mind and those lessons learned from the massing model I then incorporated improvements to the finish model. Namely a taller height for the Governor's Box. It makes the addition of the portcullis gate opening more proportional thus allowing me to add more details and embellishments to this structure. 

Available foam that I had laying around in my scrap pile that forms the structural core to be clad in wood. 

Thankfully, this project has used most of my Popsicle sticks from the 80s.

For the Governor's Box, I decided to use pavers to represent an upgraded flooring material. Nothin' but the best for the Governor. BTW - material used for this was acquired from the Doll House department at my local craft store. They're sheets of embossed styrene that represent ceramic bathroom tiles.

Base color applied and ready for a much needed dry brushing and weathering. 

Side by side comparison: weather or not?

Dry bush and ink wash cycle (lather, rinse and repeat) to get the desired effect. Here's where the warping effect actually aided in the overall look and feel of weathered wood brought out by dry brushing. 

Almost done.

Joining the 'Arena Race' Part 1

With all the great examples and inspiration from both Hetairoi (http://hetairoiwargames.blogspot.com/2011/03/gladiator-arena-finished.html) and Soldat (http://theminiaturespage.com/boards/msg.mv?id=223283) of recently completed arenas I realized that I needed to build my very own! I was fortunate enough to have played in Soldat's arena which he brought over for game day last week (http://thehistoricalminiaturist.blogspot.com/2011/03/saturday-is-game-day.html). At that point I was hooked and sorely convinced that I needed to start abuilding.


First things first, deciding on the general shape of my arena. Having played on Soldat's arena taught me a few lessons. Its rectilinear shape made more practical sense. I also wanted to model the viewing stands and Governor's Box on just the one side for ease of playing. Finally, I didn't want to build things that I didn't feel necessary especially if it could be represented by alternate means and can be easily acquired. 


For my arena floor I chose a cork bulletin board with a very fine cork texture because:  

1. the rectilinear shape allowed for better storage and portability,
2. it had a big enough area for my minis to battle in,
3. the color and texture of the cork simulated sand very well
4. and it's premade. :D

Bottom line: it satisfied my criteria from a purely functional, practical and aesthetic stand point. And you know I'm all about the eye candy.

17" x 23" Bulletin Board easily available at most craft stores like Hobby Lobby or Michael's. Forgive the lack of focus.

Relative to the recent and excellent examples mentioned above I also wanted to model my arena on the outer fringes of the Republic / Empire. Some backwater hellhole and outpost on the frontier bordering the barbarian lands. 

What that translates to, IMHO, is an arena mostly constructed of wood with minimal stone or marble since those materials would be slated (pun intended) for priority items such as walls and the Governor's villa.

Foam mock-up and massing model.

Close up of the Governor's Box.

Materials - Popsicle sticks I've had since the 80s and other assorted wood bits, fabric and other miscellaneous items I've found at my local craft store. 

Very important tool and an absolute must for scratch build projects. 

Detail studies.

Palisade and portcullis.

After the obligatory massing model was completed and studies done I proceeded to the construction of the actual stadium stands.

If you look carefully, you can see the mock up and massing model beyond.

Stands completed and ready for painting.

Warping was unavoidable but a welcome effect nonetheless.

Construction continues in earnest...