Old Light Medium Infantry

PB51 Spanish Scutarius

Dacians PB169, PB170 and PB172

These figures and the preceding ones have thicker balsa bases and were possibly a later paint job.

PB175 Jewish Infantryman

PB190 Ulster Warrior

PB164 Early German Infantryman

PB165 Early German Infantrymen

PB188 Lower Class Scots/Irish Warrior

PB138 and PB136 

Infantryman of the Auxlia Palatina

PB160 PB158 PB156 PB153 PB155 PB162

Gallic and British Infantrymen

Carraticus

Bodecia

Artima

Minifigs Ancients Catalogue

Clicking on the image should bring up one that can be safely read.

Old Light Infantry

Way back when I was a teenager and had the good fortune to go to Adelaide University, there was a local model shop up on Pultney Street that had a barrel (sounds better than a bin) of random metal figures.  They were frequently missing spears and were fairly random, often just one or two of the same figure, as if they were samples.  This was in the late 1970s and proved irresistible to a wargamer used to soft plastic figures and limited funds.  See this post for an example:

 https://onesidedminiaturewargamingdiscourse.blogspot.com/2022/09/ye-olde-parthians.html

In moving stuff around I unearthed my collection of mostly Minifig 25mm ancients figures. What to do with them?  Obvious answer is to make a series of blog posts, starting with this one for the Light Infantry.  The terminology comes from WRG's Ancients rules authored by Phil Barker.  My brush with the author came in 1984 and he can be seen in some of the images in this post:

 https://onesidedminiaturewargamingdiscourse.blogspot.com/2014/01/wrg-ancients-6th-edition-competition-in.html   

In looking up these posts I now find I have already done a post on these figures:

https://onesidedminiaturewargamingdiscourse.blogspot.com/2011/09/25mm-metal-ancients-javelinmen.html

Well...

Doh!

So it goes.

But I expect, like me, no one reading this post will remember the previous one from over thirteen years ago.  I hope not anyway as I would find that deeply disturbing.

On with the show!

Just to tie back to the earlier Phil Barker reference, the code numbers for these figures are all PB and no guesses are required for what the initials stand for :-)

PB16 Javelinman

PB121 Barbarian Symmachiaruis

PB163 British Infantryman Javelinman with original spear

PB177 Asiatic Mountaineer with Javelins

Hinchcliffe hairy barbarian light infantry

Apart from replacing broken spears I also cut the figures off their bases.  Madness!  But flat basing was very much a style I was into and still pursue, however thankfully I have perfected it and no longer require the drastic step of base removal.

These figures also predate flocking.  The paint was a Humbrol matt green enamel and matched the playing surfaces I used to have.  I was able to recreate it using some cardboard of a similar colour for these photos.

In a bit of luck I have also found my Miniature Figurines catalogue from this period, along with my WRG Fully Revised 3rd Edition The Armies and Enemies of Imperial Rome by Phil Barker. It is interesting to me how close the Minfigs castings are to the images in this book.  For example the Asiatic Mountaineer with Javelins on page 68/69.

I never progressed to a 25mm Ancients army, but interesting enough the first 15mm figures I painted and that went on to form my Later Hoplite Greek Army matched the PB16 figure.

A Tin Soldier casting painted mid 1980s.

These have been rebased a few times as WRG rules evolved and have been used in many games.

The initial basing was a copy of what I did for the Minifigs - flat green no flock. Here is an example from a November 2013 nostalgia post:

Later Seleucids versus Middle Republican Roman Again

Same armies, but different opponent.  This time Mark B tried his hand with the Romans, again going for Option 3 in the Army List - max Numidians.

I was super happy to be fielding my brand-new Hoplite unit as imitation legionnaires.  They fought well, to the last figure.

This time the Seleucids won the scouting,

only to find the Romans standing on a gentle hill.

At least both flanks were protected by difficult terrain.

   

Boths sides advance.

The Romans send out their skirmishers to harass the Seleucids. 

The wheels fall off the scythed chariots.

The Romans are sticking to that hill.

The Seleucids charged and got pelted with pila.

The new imitation legionnaires bounced, 

but the pikes and elephants at least stuck.

The cataphracts had some success,

but failed to pursue.

The Seleucid infantry recoil,

but their mounted arm push on.

Note Roman cavalry scurrying to safety.

The imitation legionnaires have ceased to be.

The elephants and cataphracts are grinding down the Romans,

but taking casualties in the process.

The Cretan archers are getting in some telling shots.

Victory,

although at heavy cost.

Hoplites with fancy shields

Normally I hand paint shields, but after seeing what some guys at the club had done with transfers and paper, I decided to give it ago.

Not as fiddly as I feared.

And tonight they debuted on the tabletop...

Museum Pictura twice and Babylon once

The Easter period is interfering with serious gaming, so Richard and I tackled a few quick games.

First was Museum Pictura.

My first galley was a struggle.

Richard's first gallery did much better.

My second gallery was a success

Richard's second gallery less so.

Babylon was something quite different.

The two constructs scored within one point of each other,

Richard's, the second structure, having the extra point.