Saturday 31 December 2016

Double DBA Parthian Army Complete

Good afternoon,

Here, within mere days shy of two years since starting, are my final Parthian fighting elements for my Parthian army. And so, my double DBA Parthian army is now complete.




With these done I now have...
  • 2 x Generals (4Kn)
  • 4 x Cataphracts (4Kn)
  • 12 x Horse Archers (2LH)
  • 2 x Vassal State Archers (Ps)
  • 1 x Daylami (4Ax)
  • 2 x Hyrkanian Mountaineers (3Ax)
  • 2 x City Militia (3Bw)






I can't make two all mounted Parthian armies (I'd need another three Light Horse elements and/or another five Cataphract elements to do that), but I do have enough numbers and variety to send two DBA armies up against my Later Republican and Early Imperial Romans.

I've still got five more Warmaster Ancients command (2Kn) elements to complete before I can say that all my Parthians are done, but...it's not every day one completes a DBA army, let alone two!

Nick

Wednesday 28 December 2016

More...Wromans?

Good afternoon,

Here I have finished two more Celtic elements...



...one for...I think...Caesar's Gallic Allies for WMA, and one WMA Gaul command element.

To be honest, I can't remember which box I pulled this Gallic cav element out of!

And here is Spartacus hisself!



The first element painted of my HOTT Sparaticus army! The bulk being from old Atlantic Gladiators.

These ones are atop Esci Napoleonic cavalrymen legs, sitting on Newline (metal) Roman horses.

Ah, bother, I've just spotted a patch of unfinished flesh! Best I touch up that before he goes back in his box.

Nick

Yep, they were the third Gallic cav element to fill out my WMA unit of Gallic Allies for my Late Republican Roman WMA army. Now back to these Parthians...

Monday 26 December 2016

More Pathians Perfected

Good afternoon,

Just to prove that it's not all X Wing...I present to you...Parthian Cataphracts!





Just two more elements to go and I will have 2 DBA armies worth. Five Warmaster Ancients command elements more and I'll have 1000 WMA points worth. A small force to be sure, but a workable one.

Nick

Saturday 24 December 2016

Brothers in Arms

Good morning,

Yesterday morning young Tim invited Andrew and me around for some X Wing. I was a little early, so...I got to face Tim first!

Having left my toys at home, I got to play with Tim's Ghost (Hera, TLT, Fire Control SystemGunner - a couple of times Tim took a point of avoidable damage to avoid my gunner! - and a Plasma Torp to shoot out the back) and his Arc 170...
(Nora, with Kanan, BB-8, PTL and an engine upgrade - never before have I flown something so maneuverable! 
Reveal a green, BB-8 rolls, PTL off that, get a stress, do your green and remove your stress, getting a free focus thanks to Kanan, then you've still got another action to do. My favourite combination was reveal a green - roll - PTL for TL - move, get a free focus - and focus - save the TL for defence (thanks to Nora and the second focus), and use the other focus for attack.)
...neither of which I have myself. Cool!

Flying side by side, what with their bulbous canopies both, I wondered if they might be related...


Tim decides not to joust with the brothers...fatty and skinny...

So the boys decide to go hunting for YT. 'Cept one of them is a girl.


While Miranda circled with her TLT.


Death by a thousand cuts, anyone?

What, with all his barrel rolls and ignoring obstacles, Dash Rendar is a really hard fellow to pin down. But pin him I did.




Or so I thought.

Dratted TLT!

Must have missed a photo here - I did a soft one, Dash ran into me...

...so I K-Turned to get out of his way. And hopefully back onto his tail.


Debris be damned!


All the while Dash's HLC is taking rather large chunks out of the Ghost, and Miranda's TLT is quietly cutting away.

Now this is just sneaky. I turn in, figuring, rightly, that Tim would do the same. We end face to face, but not touching...

...and Dash just barrel rolls out of my arc and takes the rest of Hera's hull down.

Well played Tim, well played.


By this time Andrew was all ready to go with his final league match against Tim (who was using the same list as he was against mine - Death-By-A-Thousand-Cuts, and Dance-Like-A-Butterfly-Punch-Like-A-Gorilla!)

Tim won. Dashed hard thing to kill that Dash. (Though it was Miranda's ion bombs that really did it in for IG-88D...)


Then Tim suggested that Andrew and I should have a game.

I stuck with Brothers-Fat-And-Thin, Andrew brought out the Bounty-Hunters-Grimm. Boba and Cath.

And away we went.

Literally - I went straight in.

A bit of a frontal assault...


...and some strategic blocking later...


...and Cath was shieldless.

But now for Boba.


(I do love the way Nora can zip around like a wee hummingbird!)

Shields off Boba, down into hull...


...all ready for a missile shot out the rear of the Ghost...



...but Boba shot first!

Drats.

Still...




...revenge was Nora's...before I conceded! Nora had but one or two hull left, while Cath was fully hulled up...

Great game fellas, thanks very muchly for the invite Tim, and the use of your toys.

The Ghost's magnificent, but it seems to me that it only really works when flying alongside Biggs. Poor Biggs. Nora on the other hand...loads of fun!

Thanks again boys,

Nick

Tuesday 20 December 2016

Dogfight in a Phone Box

Good afternoon,

Yesterday morning, before heading out to Rogue One (one great movie!), Mark D came round to help me play with my new toys - the G-1A that I had won at Regionals but hadn't flown yet, and two Protectorate Starfighters that I had just bought a couple of days before.

Hence, I took...


...and selected for Mark these fellows...


...'cause...well...they look cool together!

So, we set up, and away we went.

Cool, I thought, Mark is flying Talonbane straight at me.



Turned out, no, he wasn't!

So I turned into the treat that was developing on my flank.


Flying Fen Rau straight onto a rock, taking damage.

Drats.

Mark also misjudged his own turn in, and flew Leanne (Leatin A'shera) into the debris field.



So I got Zuccus to tractor beam her deeper into it!

Tractor beams are cool!


Can anyone say "double stress?"

Leanne flies straight out, right to where Old Terroch was waiting for her...




Kablooie!

And at the very same time, even though Fen Rau had K Turned right in behind Serissu...he did diddly squat!

So we both set ourselves up for another pass.



Zuccus once again TB'd his opponent, and this time dragged him a little closer to Old T...but to no effect.

Alas and alack,




Talonbane had his revenge!

Boom!


And once again Fen Rau failed to produce the goods.

And so it was that the fight was reduced to two on two.

Unfortunately, Fen boosted, hoping to catch Serissu in his front arc (Ability + Title + Fearlessness = Good Odds!), but, well...he overshot. Bother it.




Bother it indeed!

And so it was that the odds became 2:1 in Mark's favour.

Hmmm...


Chances were missed.


Mistakes were made.


But eventually...



...Kablammo!

Now it was just ace on ace. Mano o' mano.

Mark had given me the initiative, so as he could react to my moves. Clever lad.


And so it was that he could barrel roll out of my firing arc while keeping me in his.

Again, we break and face each other once more.



I wasn't expecting that!

I have you now...


...right before Talonbane jumped to lightspeed!

Time was called, a Star Wars movie awaited, and a draw was declared.

It was a great game thanks Mark! Lots of fun.

Nick