| KONKURUR | 21 Nov 2009 1:54 p.m. PST |
I noticed this army in the Field of Glory Decline and Fall supplement. A very scrappy, unusual force which held off the embrace of Islamic peace for centuries. To my surprise, there are a number of lines of minis which will work for these guys. The Axumite line by LKM/QRF in particular. link
I am at loss for painting these however – particularly the shields, and to a lesser extent the maces carried by these figures:
link The tooled surfaces of the shields are what puzzle me. Leather? If so, plain or painted? If painted, what colors? Embossed metal is tempting, but a bit improbable for expense as a general issue item. All I have been able to find is one image from wikipedia that reproduces some Sassanid art, and shows an Axumite in a fairly complex kilt, between the two horse archers:
picture I will probaly rely on Blemmye cavalry for the mounted, and Midianites for the camel troops. Any help on getting this army modelled accurately would be greatly appreciated. |
| Skeptic | 21 Nov 2009 2:06 p.m. PST |
The shield surface probably represents moulded leather, as found on 19th century Ethiopian shields. |
aecurtis  | 21 Nov 2009 2:09 p.m. PST |
Yep. Not very colorful. Plain hide, generally unadorned. Allen |
| KONKURUR | 21 Nov 2009 2:57 p.m. PST |
So a plain, polished leather finish would be appropriate? |
| aecurtis | 21 Nov 2009 3:10 p.m. PST |
Quite dark. Google "Ethiopian shields" for a sense of it. Allen |
| Cacique Caribe | 21 Nov 2009 4:31 p.m. PST |
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| Nik Gaukroger | 21 Nov 2009 4:44 p.m. PST |
Midianites are usually modelled 2 riders to a camel (based on Assyrian reliefs if over 1000 years before) IIRC which would be wholly wrong for the Christian Nubian types. |
| KONKURUR | 21 Nov 2009 4:48 p.m. PST |
Excellent. Thanks very much guys. The links are particularly helpful Dan. I was at my wit's end searching Christian Nubian, Nobades, Blemmye, Coptic, Abyssinian and Meroitic. Should have started with Ethiopian! This will be an interesting army to paint, when I can screw up the will to order about 400 minis at today's exchange and postage rates! |
| aecurtis | 21 Nov 2009 6:40 p.m. PST |
Note the mix of camel troops this gentleman has used for his Blemmye: link He does include some anachronistic and rather Semitic-looking Midianites (out of focus, at the back), but I believe the outer figures on the stands at the front are some of the variants of Essex MPA 145 (Pre-Islamic Arabs), and the center figures look like QRF/Feudal Castings' Axumite light cavalrymen--but on what camels? Allen |
| KONKURUR | 21 Nov 2009 10:20 p.m. PST |
Well, I love the Irregular Midianite camel riders, and just can't see building Midianites. I saw a photo of some modern Beja on camels and they were riding in 2s as well as singly, so I figured what the hell. I don't want the Bedouin looking camel riders. The Axumites/Nubians struggled mightily for centuries to repel Islam, so I want them to look distinctly different. The odd wrap around kilt can easily be suggested with paint. Hair may be more of a problem but shouldn't be too bad. The DBA army is encouraging. Looks good. I think this army has the potential to look very striking, despite a limited and somewhat muted palette. A nice change of pace in period, too. |
| Rudysnelson | 23 Nov 2009 7:48 a.m. PST |
Falcon UK sold by Quartermaster has a Christian Nubian range. |
| aecurtis | 23 Nov 2009 8:56 a.m. PST |
Yes, but how would anyone actually *buy* Falcon these days? It seems to have become a "go down the alley with the proper password" operation. I probably ought to unload the ones I have. They're actually pretty crappy figures (good sales pitch, huh?), but between Falcon and the old (not crappy) Tabletop Blemmye, there are quite a few… Allen |
| Rudysnelson | 23 Nov 2009 9:10 a.m. PST |
Quartermaster seems to be back functioning. I heard one report that he was at a recent show on the East Coast in Oct. His booth was next to mine at the FALL IN 2008 last year. I do not know if he was there this year as I have not checked the vendor list for FallIn 2009. I considered the FalconUK Christian Nubian/Blemmyes as very clean and easy to paint. I have painted (and bought to sale painted) and sold several of the armies. |
| aecurtis | 23 Nov 2009 10:59 a.m. PST |
"…very clean and easy to paint." I can't argue with that. Proportion and detail suffered, though. Having a dead Web site and a TMP entry that hasn't been updated for six years is probably not condicive to enhanced sales. Allen |
| Rudysnelson | 23 Nov 2009 12:02 p.m. PST |
Getting contact with them is still a problem. |
| Rudysnelson | 24 Nov 2009 10:50 a.m. PST |
A thread on contacting Kai has recently been posted. The website and info looks like the list that I sae recently at a convention. In the Blyme range they have a pack of three camels with single riders. An elephant with two crew riding bareback, They also have all the other troops. |
| GeoffQRF | 24 Nov 2009 4:25 p.m. PST |
if you're putting together a large army of our figures and looking at the postage, drop me an email and I'll see what I can do Geoff
QRF Models |
| KONKURUR | 13 Dec 2009 8:59 p.m. PST |
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