NOT Raphia!

Apologies to regular readers - this post has NOTHING to do with painting, figures, wargaming, history, etc., but is a shameless money raising plug, albeit for a good cause!

On June 8th, I will be taking the plunge (literally!) when I start my first triathlon. The are are some eighty-odd of us taking part from the business I work for. Me and two colleagues are jointly fundraising for the Anthony Nolan Bone Marrow Trust, an organisation that helps to match bone marrow donors to leukaemia sufferers, particularly children - a worthy cause if ever there was one!

Anyone wishing to contribute can do so here

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-web/fundraiser/showFundraiserPage.action?userUrl=Greenhamnorth&faId=326381&isTeam=true

If people don't contribute, I'll just have to post more pictures like the one below....I'm "swimming man" in case you want to know!

Last of the Arabs for Raphia

Phew! Glad these are done!

I've now completed enough figures to represent the 10,000 Arabs who turned up (I hesitate to use the term "fought") for the Seleucids at Raphia.

I've used a 60x60 base to mount these on. In theory, I should have put eight figures on each base, but due to the dynamic posing of the figures, I've generally been able to get away with six or seven.

Next up, more cavalry.

Advancing Pike all together

Basing now finished, so I thought a quick shot of both completed units was in order.

Apologies for the quality of the image. These two units, together with another five similar ones, will form the core of the Seleucid Raphia forces. Back to the last batch of Arabs!

Pike for Raphia completed

Finished the other 16 pike to go with the 16 shown in my last post. Shields added; LBMS, designed for Crusader and trimmed to fit Aventine's rimless pelta. 

I might just paint the edges in blue to match the smaller design (albeit identical) used on the other 64 already painted in this "unit". The transfers were kindly donated by my Raphia co-conspirator, Mr Simon Miller (aka BigRedBat), who not only has a lead pile, he clearly has a transfer pile as well!

This gives me 96 in two units of 48 to match up with my World Famous Pink Pike. Still need to do the basing - obviously!  ;-)

That's the last of the pike I need for Raphia. Next up, more Arabs.

More pike for Raphia & what's left to do

These represent 16 of the 32 extra pike I need to make up a unit of 48.

I originally built two units of 32 of these chaps, but Simon's OOB has pike in 48's, hence the extras. The other 32 are primed and ready to go.

Still to complete in time for Partizan are:

16 more pike
5 more bases of Arabs (nominally with 8 to a base, but I intend to cheat...)
15 heavy cavalry (horses already done)
8 Cretan archers (to make 16 up to two lots of 24)
12 javelin skirmishers
12 Asiatic archers
96 shields to equip my Argyraspides (not sure on quite where to go with that one)

Might be a challenge, but I'll give it my best shot.

Also have the small matter of a playing surface 4.2m x 1.8m to game on, of which more anon...

Cavalry for Raphia - more WIP

Here are the expanded Agema cavalry for our Partizan Raphia game.

I originally had one unit of twelve, but Simon's OOB called for two units of nine, so here they are.

Also visible in the rear rank are three command bases to expand out the line cavalry. Again, I initially had one unit of twelve, needing four units of nine. Just another eighteen to go then...

Thracians for Raphia

Yet another unit for our Epic!

These are all Crusader Miniatures, with shields from Aventine.

Figures are predominantly from the Thracian range, with I think a few Greek thureophoroi I managed to scrounge off Simon to round out the unit.

Oh, and it looks like the site visit counter's hit 30,000 - thanks for looking!