Middle Kingdom Egypt Bowmen

Out on desert patrol the dogs sense a nearby threat.  Nubians must be close and the bowmen are to ready to loosen off some arrows.  Life on the frontier is tough.  If death does not come from a Nubian arrow then thirst and fatigue is next in line.
This next Impetus style base is based on pictures from Ospery "Soldier of the Pharaoh".  Figures are Cutting Edge and dogs Black Hat(too big I suppose) adding a little character to the base.  These figures offer an interesting change the more commonly seen New Kingdom Egypt figures.

Akkadian Army

Here is nice battle ready army of Akkadians.  Looking at the those 3 captives in 2nd photo I don't think taking prisioners is an option.  Add another spear unit it can be a full basic impetus army that looks good without costing a fortune.  These are alll Cutting Edge with Bears Den bull/sacrafice viginette.

Akkadian Platform Car

Here is a great warrior general in the army of Sargon the Great.  The plafrom car would it seems normally have single crewman but as I could fit 2 I could not resist.  Another fantastic 28mm model from Cutting Edge Miniatures.

Akkadian Bow

Here is an Impetus style base of Akkadian archers sporting the powerful composite bow.  These can also be Mitanni or Hammurabic Babylonia bowmen also.

I decided to give them a bit colour being household regular type infantry.  This also helps to contrast the earlier Sumerian armies.

Mitanni Chariot

"The Chariot lords have come upon us and terrible was their wrath.  Their bronze scaled armour covered body and chariot and glistened in the sun.  Many fell pierced with arrow and those who ran were cut down with sword, spear or chariot wheel."

This amazing model (28mm) from Cutting Edge really looks great.  Fantastic detail especially on the scale armour.  These really were to the knight of thier day armed to the teeth.  Suitable of course for Cannanites and Syrians etc. Untrained levy often shieldless must have been very worried to face them.

These were the best of nobel warriors leaving enemies no choice but copy arms and tactics or face destruction.  Again done with block colours and Army Painter.

Akkadian Chariot

Here we have a couple the wonderfully sculpted and presented new 28mm Akkadian chariots from Cutting Edge.  Photo not as clear I would like but army shots to come later (basic Impetus size).

I chose yellow to make them look different form the usually seen red Sumerian chariots. These are the chariots from the time of Sargon the Great who crushed the Sumerians and created the first known Empire in the Near East.  Sargon did like a good battle.

Gutian Warband

" They came pouring down from the mountains with screams and mighty fury.  The savage Gutians sent chills through the ranks of Akkadians  The line must hold ......"

Here we have a warband of Gutian hill tribes.  Fortunately for the Akkadians they will serve as allies in my army.  I like the primative almost stone age look of these warriors.  I have raised the bases up 2mm to give them more stature as they are slim sculpted with no helmets and armour etc.
Very nice sculpting again from Cutting Edge Miniatures and using Army Painter ink.  I have given copper weapons to reflect early period and technology.

They mainly seemed to wear goats skins which come in many colours.

Sargon the Great

Here we have Sargon the Great.  Holding his men together for a fierce charge from the Gutian mountain tribe.  His dog will feast well this night, on their bones. Sargon was  hailed as a mighty warrior and leader up to Neo Assyrian times  and beyond.  With his well equiped army he created the first empire in Mespotamia.
These men are part of the Akkadian army who took over from the Sumerians.  A large sheild still kept in use for spearmen and differs in appearance more like later Assyrian or even Persian shields.

This a more pleasing size of unit for some and represents a 24 man block.  These are all Cutting Edge with a Castaway Arts drummer at the back.

Hammurabic Spear

Here is a fine unit of Hammurabic Babylonian spear.  Spearmen from this period can also be represented with javelin and axe or sword.  King Hammurabi well as giving us the Law Code was a prolific campaigner and conquered all of Mesopotamia.  Enemies would have looked mostly similar.
Chariots were simple rail types and fewer in number compared to later Empires eg Mitanni and Hittites.

I have chosen to give these regulars uniform red kilts to contrast from my Sumerian and Akkadians.  These are all Cutting Edge 28mm.  I do like upright spear mostly.

Moses Battles the Amalakites

In this scene Moses urges the Isrealite army into battle against the dreaded Amalakites.  Before the conquests of Joshua the Hebrew warriors were gaining valuable fighting experience.
As long as Moses can keep his staff in the air victory, with the hand of God would be assured.  Moses chose a high point to be visible to the army.

Here we have a nice mix of Foundry and Cutting Edge with the Moses figure from Castaway Arts.  This base is done again Impetus style but would look nice as part of a bigger unit and of course an army!  The Hebrew army of this period would have been very similar to Cannanites and no defeated enemies equipment would have been wasted.

Thumose III

Here we have Thutmose III in all his glory wearing the double crown of upper and lower Egypt.   He is considered by many to be Ancient Egypt's greatest general.  Fearing invasion he took the war to his Asian enemies in 17 campaigns!  Best known of these is the battle of Meggido where he took on the mighty "chariot lords" the Mitanni in a colourful multi chariot clash.
I took a bit more time with this new model from Cutting Edge 28mm New Kingdom Egyptian range as I find the sculpting wonderful.  I have tried to create a colourful noble image fitting of this great Pharoah without being too busy on the eye.

Hittite Interrogation

In this scene tensions are running high on the eve of the great battle of Kadesh.  The Egyptian officer struggles to maintain order amongst his men.  The captured Hittite scout is taking a heavy beating form monk warriors and will not yield information on the numbers of Hittite forces in the area.

Rammu (left) an eager Egyptian soldier, is seen being held back, his sword already drawn to smite the wretched Hittite.  The brave Hittite did not talk and Rammu was given permission to put an end to the interrogation, taking off the captives' head with one blow.
Rammu however failed to fully distinguish himself at the mighty battle of Kadesh the next day.  He was crushed by an overturned Hittite chariot fleeing the battle.

The figures are Cutting Edge with the Foundry viginette.  Again this represents and characterful spear block of NKE.  You can see the pain on the pain on the Hittites face.  Army Painter as usual.

Syrian/Mitanni/Cannanite/Hebrew Bow

As in the title these bowmen have multi use in many armies of the Near East.  I like to think of them as more Syrian with longer robes than Cannanites.  I suppose though in reality all troops would appear similar and came together as allies regardless.  A nice mixture of soldiers here.  Front 4 are Cutting Edge and back row is Foundry and Essex(who appart from many silly poses, do still have some nice stuff).  I feel they blend together rather well.

Hittite Chariot

Thought I should get a chariot up on the blog to go with title "chariotgamer".  This is one of new Cutting Edge 3 man Hittite chariot from battle of Kadesh period Again the Army painter has worked a treat. I applied blue colour thin over chariot cab and has given a nice highlight with no extra effort.  I believe to be the best sculpted chariot in 28mm.  I even prefer this Foundry now and the crew fit!!
Due to my poor photo skills the chariot looks better in the flesh and was a pleasure to paint.

Samson Smites The Philistines

Behold the wrath of God.  Samson the mighty Hebrew warrior destroys an army of 1000 Philistine with the jaw bone of an ass.  The evil Philistines lay broken upon the ground.
This base was inspired by the 1950s movie with Victor Mature as Samson.  I loved this film as kid as well as the great story.

The Philistines are Perry Sudan casualties with MDS heads.  Samson (that powerful looking fellow on the rock) is from Eureka and not too unlike Victor Mature I think.  The other Hebrew warriors are Cutting Edge and will form part of my Early Hebrew army.

Mitanni Spearmen

I am very happy with latest base.  Officer pointing is Foundry and rest are Cutting Edge.  These are regular Mitanni spear but can have several uses eg Syrian/Cannanite guard or King Saul's better soldiers or King Davids picked men.
I chose all metal helmets to give them some shine rather than leather.  I feel better equiped Hebrews would have taken equipment from captured/killed chariot crew as well as foot soldiers.

I slightly raised up bases on thin card to give more hight/elite look.  The full armoured man 2nd from right is a spare early chariot crewman.

New Year plans and all

 I have been taking in too much food and fine wine to give time to getting on with some more bases of figures.  So need to get back to work!!
I am slowly working on some Mitanni line infantry which should turn out well.  Great sculpting again from Cutting Edge with a Foundry officer to make up numbers. Also made up one the new Hittite 3 man chariots and looks exellent.
I have made a small purchase of Perry Sudan Fuzzi Wuzzi casualties to make a fun base, based on a classic hollywood biblical movie....... More soon.