| John the OFM | 01 Jul 2021 8:20 p.m. PST |
Mary Renault is the Poet Laureate of both Theseus and Alexander the Great. Trilogy for the former, Trilogy +1 for the latter.
Her final novel of Alexander, "Funeral Games", starts at the death of Alex.
One incident stuck with me. One of the Successor Generals (I can't be bothered to remember who; they all blend together) was commanding the Argyraspides, the Silver Shields. They were a bit long in the tooth, average age 60. But they were betrayed. BETRAYED!!! So, in revenge, they became what she called "Terrible Old Men".
I've always loved that phrase. Back in the 80s, I had "finalized" my AWI armies. Hinchliffe. I hand painted an amazing variety of "incorrect" flags. 4 Betsy Ross flags. Wrong colors for von Bose, and Erbprinz. A stand of Colours for … Guards! Well, then I took 10 years off, ahem, got back into "the Hobby" and found quite a few "errors".
Like flags.
But, these old regiments had always fought well for me. I decided that I really should "fix" these errors. But then I got afeared of what my Terrible Old Men would do to me.
So, I still have Betsy Ross flags. The 1st Battalion of Guards still have their Napoleonic flags.
I sleep better. |
| advocate | 02 Jul 2021 4:19 a.m. PST |
And so you should. Good decision. |
Frederick  | 02 Jul 2021 6:30 a.m. PST |
Agreed A buddy of mine a long time ago assumed that SYW British artillery wore red coats – and his red coat gunners were the scourge of our gaming tables for years |
| 79thPA | 02 Jul 2021 6:55 a.m. PST |
You can't disgrace them by taking their colors away. |
| robert piepenbrink | 02 Jul 2021 7:04 a.m. PST |
No, you're right. Rebase if necessary. Touch up paint jobs. Maybe add a few castings if the regiment is under strength. But don't touch the colors. Me? I go for what Washington would have wanted rather than what he got--some sort of symbol of national unity in the canton, and a field color which matches the facing color. New England militia get Pine Tree flags, and southern backwoods militia get Rattlesnake patterns. Sometimes this involves cheating, but I lose no sleep over it. |
 ColCampbell | 02 Jul 2021 7:51 a.m. PST |
I'm the same way. I go with flags that are both "accurate" for the period and that are what looks good to me. Jim |
| KSmyth | 02 Jul 2021 8:38 a.m. PST |
I dunno John, it seems these units have served you well, and errors or not leave them in their glory. |
| John the OFM | 02 Jul 2021 9:21 a.m. PST |
Do you know what would happen if I tried to leave them out of a battle? |
| Stryderg | 02 Jul 2021 11:27 a.m. PST |
My guess is that you would suffer bayonet piercings on the bottom of your feet. I mean, I haven't actually heard anything, just a guess. |
 Old Contemptible | 02 Jul 2021 4:46 p.m. PST |
Don't you think they have earned a restful retirement? |
| John the OFM | 02 Jul 2021 4:51 p.m. PST |
Well, their knees are pretty stiff, but that could be because they're cast lead. |
| Jeffers | 03 Jul 2021 8:10 a.m. PST |
You mean my Betsy flags are…. wrong? |
| John the OFM | 03 Jul 2021 9:09 a.m. PST |
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| doc mcb | 04 Jul 2021 5:57 a.m. PST |
I too have several BR flags in my army. Kids expect it, and they are right to do so. |
paints brigs for the British fleet.
