Civs 6mm Adventures – Ancient Germans

So here’s the first ‘batch’ of my barbarian horde. I thought i would struggle with this scale as there is not much in the way of detail (you simply couldnt see it at this scale!).

However a lack of detail is proving to be very refreshing, painting what you expect to see rather than what is actually there is so different from the usual 28mm painting approach i often take. For example no hand is sculpted on this model but i would expect one to be on the spear shaft so lets paint that bit a flesh colour, step back a pace, i can now see a hand on the spear.

Im also enjoying the vibrant colours, at 6mm i feel you have to go bright and blackline things to really make the detail stick out. Originally i only gave the shields one layer of paint but on my last few strips i highlighted the shields up and added some more extremem highlights on the trousers, hair etc and it makes such a difference.

The only downside is i have to paint up about 10 bases worth (so around 36 models per base) which is a lot of little men!

I have at this point run out of infantry to paint so im ont the skirmishers and cavalry but fear not, i have put in an order for another two packs of infantry so another 192 troops to swell the horde (luckily it doesnt take long to paint these guys!)

So i happen to be at a history festival over the weekend and apart from the sunburn came away with some pictures of Celts vs Romans. Now whilst they are not quite the Germanic warriors im trying to represent on the table top it gave me a good idea of the types of weapons and clothing the people of the time wore and some of the colours i could use.

I felt at one point i may have taken too much artistic license to the models and made them waaay more colourful than they should realistically be (this wouldnt have stopped me but its nice to know). Luckily after speaking to some of the reinactors they produced a basket of various bits of wool dyed in the colours available at the time and my god was there a lot of bright colours in there. Feeling satisfied i could carry on with my colour mad Germanic warband i went home to paint up some more.

These are the latest batch to get finished, you’ll see ive added some highlights on these guys compared to the ones just off to the left, i think it really makes them pop on the table so i’m going to be doing tat to all my troops now. Fortunately the ancient world was a colourful age so i can get very creative with bright vibrant colours to make the little guys stand out on the table top.

Once i have painted them all i need to get onto the basing, ive still not decided how many men to put on each base, i want to make the bases look busy but not as regimented as any Romans regiment would be. Some testing will be required.

Once ive made my mind up i’ll be using the superglue and bicarb approach to texture the bases and get them painted. Im using metal bases to give the figures weight so i think PVA and sand is out on these guys.

So i attempted using the bicarb and superglue method to base my first warriors but the effect was too shallow for the strips the models are on.

It certainly stuck the models down quickly though.

Ive decided to go for 8 strips per base to make them look busy but not strictly ranked.

So for my second basing attempt i used watered down PVA and a pippet to get in between the ranks. I then dropped some fine sand on.

Things ive learnt:

• Dont water the PVA down too much its counter productive.
• Dont use slightly damp sand
• Base one rank at a time so you can get inbetween them
• Paint the bases before sticking them down (Thanks to Torros for this one)

Ill have to tidy the basing up a bit more and then figure out how to paint the sand.

Luckily i have three more sets of warriors on order so i can refine the process as i go.

Whilst deciding on how to base these guys i’ve carried on painting the rest of my Baccus order which included a cavalry pack and a pack of skirmishers.

I’ve pretty much finished the painting barring a few finishing touches on the cavalry so thought it about time i got them based.

A friend managed to procure some metal bases (dont ask me how!). So the only thing left to do is get these guys based up.

I’ll use superglue to stick the models down then try the mikey mud to get the textured base done. I’ll mix that up tomorrow and if succesful put the link up.

I already have some more troops on order so hopefully these will be finished by the time the next batch arrives!

So going with the Mikey mud technique ive added it to a few bases. Ive forgotten to add some stones of different sizes to mix it up but ill have to do that next time.

It goes on pretty well its just difficult getting it to stick initially to the metal. Once its dry ill give it a drybrush and add some static grass.

Im excited to be nearing the end on these guys.

For 6mm i never realised how much effort is involved and the numbers i need to get done. Well ive started now so no return.

Here is a link showing how to make and use the Mikey Mud from the man himself:

Basing using Mikey Mud – AKA DIY Basetex

So i finished the remaining bases over the weekend.

Pretty pleased with how these have turned out, ive learnt quite a bit on how to approach this scale as well so when the next order comes in, fingers crossed it should be quicker.

A few people have said they werent keen on the static grass and prefer flock but looking at the examples and the effect ive decided to stay with the static grass as it looks a bit more scrub like at this scale.

Im lookign to get up to 100 points which is made up of the following:

• Cavalry commander
• 10 warband elements
• 8 skirmisher elements
• 5 cavalry elements

Ive still got 7 bases of infantry to go, 2 skirmisher bases and 4 cavalry bases. It looks like i’ll be painting lots of warband models over the coming months!

My remaining Baccus order arrived!! Thanks to my mate for attending joy of six in my stead and picking up my hefty Baccus order.

Im aiming for speed on these guys as the last ones, i found the focus fell mainly on the shields so the rest of the detail was overkill. Having so many to do helps focus the mind as well.

I have some more cavalry and skirmishers in the wings as well but im going to focus on the warbands and get those done first.

So to help me get over the monotany of painting hundreds of wee men i started the chariots i had ordered.

I cant actually include them in my Germanic Warband but if i ever get to proxy them as celts they will be at the forefront.

Plus chariots look cool. They are also a royal pain to put together, i had to drill into the horses to fit a cross bar (read paperclip) so the chariot actually stayed up right. I probably need three bases to have them work in game but as a distraction one base will do.

I still have the riders to put on the back and then to do the base.

On another note i have almost finished painting the last of the infantry, i have about 4 strips to go. So i’ll get them based and pics up before starting the cavalry.

My general is going to be the first lot of horse to get painted and based so i at last have someone to lead my force.

So the infantry are painted and based (well i have to add some flock but ill do that when i have more bases to do).

Im now doing some more cavalry, ive got two more bases to do which is another 30 models and a cavalry base for my general which is another 15 to paint.

Over the weekend i managed to get 18 standard cav finished so not far from the end now.

Im aimiung for 100 points which is only a quarter of a full force! Dont know how the other guys paint up so many figures without going completely insane.

Im going to be adding some purples in to my general and his unit to pick them out as important and wealthy (im of the understanding that purple was a hard colour to make back then). Its also a colour ive not yet used in my force so again should help pick them out.

Ive started to look at what the next project will be so better crack on before i get too sidetracked. I mean that SPQR game with 28mm looking celts that could easily be mistaken for ancient Germans and which OTT have just put a 25% discount on couldnt possibly interest me….

Some more painting done today. I picked up the Celtic leaders pack from Baccus and am enjoying the range of poses you get. Most of them seem to be holding aloft the heads of there enemies which is very gruesome!

Im going with splashes of purple to pick these models out from the rest of the army.  My leader gets a white horse too to help pick him out at a distance.

One more painting session and they should be done, then i need to work out how im going to base them. I wanted to do a diarama of sorts to make it look like he is leading his men but not thought of something cool yet.

The end is in sight. The last cavalry models have been stuck to their bases and just need to have the Mikey Mud applied amd flocked.

The Germans see their first battle on Thursday. Ive been building a DBMM 100 point list, mainly as an excuse to paint the models but i should really play a few games with them too.

On a related note my SPQR starter box arrived so i can start painting 28mm Germans next. Until then i must remain focused.

Ill get a full army photo up when i finally finish it all off.

So i finally got round to basing up the remaining elements of my force, m glad its over but im also glad i did it. Now i have a base army i can get a few games in and add to it slowly, as and when i have some time.

I did have my first game of DBM last week, but like a numpty completely forgot to take any photos at all!

The first engagement (AAR)

We played 100 points and i faced off against some Romans supported by auxillary and some skirmishers.

I was told early on by our friendly local DBM expert that i should trash the Romans because of how warbands kill off blades (the majority of the Romans force) quickly.

I set up ready to take the hill in the middle with my warband and put my cavalry on the left flank and skirmishers on the right, heading into a wooded area.

My opponent then put his blades opposite my warband, auxillary facing off against my cavalry and his skirmishers against mine on the right.

As defender i got first turn and marched up the hill to hold the high ground. My cavalry went out wide to try and outflank whilst my skirmishers nervously headed towards the forest (i was told their match up was very unfavourable).

My opponent then went aggresive and charged his blades into my warband and also spread his auxillary out to stop my cavalry outflanking. The opposing skirmishers advanced up.

The blades succedded in killing one element of my warband whilst i pushed a few of his back.

Turn 2

I rushed my warband down the hill and killed off two elements of his blades but otherwise wasnt as successful as the odds and insta kills should have been, i also lost an element on my left flank leaving a dangerous gap. My cavalry also charged in, again with favourable odds but failed to kill or even push back anything. My skirmishers moved up to cover my warbands right flank.

In my opponents turn his blades on the left charged into my flanks and whilst the combat was massively in his favour, failed to kill anything. His skirmishers charged mine and started chewing through a base or two. His auxillary killed off a base of cavalry with no loss in return (this really shouldnt be happening!).

Turn 3

Things were looking dire as i couldnt stop the Romans rolling up my left flank with my cavalry staying engaged and my skirmisher being pushed back i had to rely on my warband just muscling through. As it turned out they didnt, i killed off another blade element but with the hard flank giving insta kills on a win and killing off two warband elements just by beating my rolls i hit breaking point.

My cavalry also again failed to make an impact sothat combat just ground on. My skirmishers started pulling back and at that was that, my warband broke and fled the field.

Aftermath

So learning points from this were:

• Whatever you do cover your flanks, if i had anything covering that left flank i could have evened things up again but because i went wide with my cavalry it was left open once i lost that left most warband element.
• Warbands vs blades is brutal, both insta kill on a win (in your own turn) so things die quickly and it cans wing the battle fast.
• There are lots of ifs and buts in this game, and the rulebook whilst watertight rules wise is the most unuser friendly book i have ever seen, i will be learning by playing this game for sure.

I’ll be getting another game in soon so i can take some more pictures, i might get some more chariots to top up the number of bases to three. Otherwise i need to go an open my SPQR box thats been sitting in its wrapping for almost two weeks now.