Roman Heroes for Midgard

I ordered these figures, piggy backing on a friend putting in an order to Footsore, before the Mad Padre sent me a sprue of Victrix plastic Roman generals. As usual with things I really want to look grand I over thought things, got paralyzed, and set them aside for a while before finishing them off.

But now I have lots of mounted commanders for both Roman armies and a proper King for the Goths.

I wanted a nice cavalry hero to lead the cavalry ala of Cohors Equitata IX Britanarium. This is the Footsore Belisarius figure. He has a suitably ornate helmet and armoured horse. His companion with the draco standard is from the Late Roman Cavalry Command set. His shield decal is from Relic Miniatures. I think it looks like Mithras and it seems like something a big damn hero would carry into battle. It was a struggle to make it fit the metal shield since these decals are made for the bigger Wargames Atlantic shields. Fortunately the boarderless design meant I could squish the edges around to make it fit. The signifer with the draco has a painted shield design. I have a few left over LBMS decals that fit the Footsore oval shields. I should probably just give him one of those so he fits the rest of the army. Especially since I suspect his job will be trailing around with Equus Fornicatus here to show the enemy what a Big Damn Hero (at least level 2) he really is.

"Treat your woman like your horse! Take her for a gallop and leave her sweating and breathless three times a day! Woof!"

The Goths really needed a bigger Big Man, or a properly heroic Level 3 King, if they're going to take the table as an army on their own. After a bit of a search I settled on Footsore's King Arthur, who comes with the draco bearing companion as well. Arthur himself is a one piece casting plus the wire spear. 

Finally the other two offciers from the Footsore Late Roman Cavalry Command set. I did one with a yellow cavalry crest and a LBMS decal to be another cavalry tribune for the IXth cohort. I tried using a Relic Miniatures transfer but it didn't work, the border on the design getting all messed up by the different curvature of the metal shield edge. The other commander, with the fur cape, I did with a blue crest so he can go anywhere. He could even be a Goth really.

The Footsore figures are a bit pricey, but they do have value added. I do like my round washers, but some of the horses wouldn't fit on one of those, and fortunately they all came with pill shaped MDF bases I could use. I even used some for the Victrix commanders mentioned at the start. They also come with the wire spears and poles for the dracos.

I have seen that Footsore is working on a 3rd century Roman range. So I may get some of those in the future. Possibly a pack or two when I finally pull the trigger on a Picitish army to face off againts the IXth Britanarium.

Quar Houses and Terrain

Some 3d printed terrain that I got as part of the Zombiesmith MyMiniFactory Tribe Subscription. The stls do not seem to be available for sale currently.

There's a big house and a small house and a flowering bush. Don printed 6 of the bushes. Perhaps some insects live in the fat trunks, or the berries are good eating. They certainly look whimsical.

Because the lilacs are in bloom right now I painted the floral clumps in assorted purples and pinks. That will inject some whimsy into any battlefield, and the trunks are substantial enough to give cover as well.

I got two prints of the small hut, but I don't like how the other is working out, plus I dropped it after priming and it suffered some damage, so I may just bin it. I have lots of Quar houses now thanks to Sarissa.

The earthenware pitcher is another detail that Don sourced and printed for me. I added it to a base along with some flower tufts and a gravel path to make the model more grounded.

 

The roofs of the big houses were done with contrast paints.I used black ink on the chimneys to give them some metalic shine. Brown ink on the trimber framing.

How It Started, How It's Going

40 years ago I did a thing, and its mostly turned out pretty great, so I cannot let the day pass without comment. 

41 years ago.

An obviously excited 21 year old weirdo (R) moving in to their first apartment together with this glamorous beauty (L)

Glamorous beauty (L) has said some words and is looking calm. Weirdo (R) is looking confused. He thinks he did it right, but still isn't sure.
This will continue to be the pattern for the relationship.

Looking fancy for a Cadet Christmas Mess Dinner. The Glamorous Beauty (R) has always been very supportive of my nonsense. I'm sure a dinner at the Legion with a bunch of teenagers wasn't high on agenda.

A great picture taken by daughter no. 2 while at a niece's wedding and enjoying the opportunity to put our Glad Rags on.

Honestly, I'm surprised that I haven't made a mess of everything by now. Sometimes we got through just by sheer bloody mindedness. Other times with a lot of talk over tea and snacks. But every day you've got to remember why, so every day you make the effort and try.

But she's the Light of my Darkness, the Gromet to my Wallace, the Tea in my otherwise empty mug. She's been in my life twice as long than I lived without her.

And she's made everything better.

The Battle of Durin's Tower

Grishnak pointed a ragged claw at the Orc chiefs arranged around him. "Right, da stunties is over der on dem rocks, see? An' wez gunna push 'em off!" Growls of agreement. The dwarves had been expanding their reach through the northern mountains and had begun clashing with the orcs, driving them from rich veins of ore and stopping raids on trading caravans. He pointed his scimitar at the hills from left to right. "Grashak you takes yer gobbos up da left. Razgul, you an' yer boys hit dat big rock in da middle. Me? I'm gunna grab dat pretty rag over der." He pointed to where the Dwarf King's red and gold banner fluttered at the foot of the hill capped by an ancient ruined tower.

Orcs, goblins and trolls deployed.

Overview of Dwarf deployment

King Thain and his shield wall at the foot of the tower

Meanwhile, across the valley, Sami put out his pipe and carefully put it away in his pack. "Aye, seems we're in for a hot day o'work!"

Dani spat. "Ach! What de ye ken about work?"

Grom leaned on his spear. "More 'n youse I reckon" he mumbled.

"Shut it you lot!" shouted their captain, Thorkl Stone Hammer. "Those trolls are coming up fast!"

 

Remembered to get my Nerd Dice out for this!

Both sides at 12 Reputation and approximately 430 points (note spiffy new Reputation Tokens)

The Dwarves got a lot of Armour 4 and Spears as Tribute. Hearth Guard also got Brutal. Orcs and Goblins got Reluctant, and Brittle. Although uruks and Trolls were Brutal. Dwarf heroes were much more tooled up with traits as well. Baldor's sword, Foe-Cleaver is a Legendary Weapon.

Turn 1 

Turn 2, Goblins keep passing their Command Tests to move, unlike the others.

Dwarf Rangers have advanced to try and knock a few Trolls down

Turn 3. Dwarf Rangers caught in a desperate hand to hand with some orcs. But they hold for a turn and wound Razgul. Thain charges down to hit the trolls before they charge him.

Trolls charge up the rocky hillside in the center. Dani, Sami and Gron fight them off, their spears and axes black with troll blood.

Sami caught his breath and wiped his eyes. He hoped it was troll blood on his face. That last one really gushed when Dani jamed his spear into it's neck as he went for the big brutes groin. Dani was bandaging Gron's head now. They returned to their initial position and reformed their shieldwall on the blood slick grass, trying to keep ranks inspite of the massive carcasses littering the ground.

They were pretty spent.There were too many smaller dwarf bodies among the slain trolls. Thorkl told off a quarter of those still standing to look for wounded and dispatch any trolls still breathing.

But the battle now ebbed away from them as goblins approached the hills to their right and another wave of black anger washed up around the King's red banner to their left.

Thain has pushed the Trolls back but his comany is battered

Turn 4 "To the King!" Baldor Foe-Smiter arrives on the field with his Hall Thegns

Baldor arriving lower edge of picture

Thain brings his reserve of Hall Thegns up and smashes the trolls again destroying them.

Beogruff, cousin of Beorn, charges from the woods to take the goblins in the flank. Wargs and riders are hurled like bloody rags into the trees

Beogruff charges the second unit of wolf riders. Even though he's wounded he slaughters them all.

Grimbeard charges downhill into the goblins, wiping them out.

Sensing the crisis is at hand, Thain leads a charge with his other company of spears, smashing into some orc warriors. They recoil and their brittle morale breaks. Orc Reputation collapses to -1.

This, my sixteenth game of 2026, capped off a very Middle Earth themed day. That afternoon Mrs Rabbitman and I took in the Stratford Festival's production of The Hobbit. It is very much a children's play, but they did great things with a minimalist set, effective lighting, and a cast of nine. Yes nine. After Bilbo, Gandalf, Thorin, Bombur, and the Narrator, the other four had to play all the other roles, quick changing from dwarf, to goblin, to Bard, to Gollum, to elf, and back. The monsters were all accomplished with puppetry, which was quite nifty. The Battle of the Five Armies was more ballet or interpretive dance, than epic spectacle, but it was effective. I'd have liked some shadow puppetry warriors or light effect on the background to accompany the actors, but that's me.

I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was far better than those horrible movies that Peter Jackson made. Yes I said what said.

waiting to start: In a hole in the ground lived a hobbit...

Intermission, this is going to be Mirkwood

Mrs Rabbitman and I