About 6 months ago Iannick got me in a weak moment and convinced me to build an army for a new period: Ancients. He had even ordered the War and Conquest rulebook for me! I try to be a man of my word, so after a bit of research and one false start, I settled on the New Kingdom Egyptians. I knew that Iannick was building a Canaanite army, and was focussed on the period of 1800-1500 BC (the start of the NKE era)
I had really little knowledge of this era, despite my late father being a keen amateur Egyptologist. I grew up in a house filled with reproductions of Pharaonic statuary and funerial wall murals (the one above was on the wall of our dining room, I suspect it must of been almost 6 feet in length). So maybe I could say I had some knowledge of the look of the era but not really the history. I bought a couple of Osprey Books, the NKE (Elite 40)and Ancient Armies of The Middle East (Men-at-Arms 109), and a quick read through gave me a basic understanding of the period.
The New Kingdom of Egypt is the period in Ancient Egyptian between the 16th century BC and the 11th century BC, covering the Eighteenth, Nineteenth, and Twentieth Dynasties of Egypt. It was Egypt’s most prosperous time and marked the peak of its power.(from Wikipedia)
I then had a good look through the rulebook and the extensive army lists that accompany it and planned out my army. I have always been fascinated by the ancient kingdoms of Nubia and the Kush, so when Warlord Games had a sale on their Kushite figures, I plunged in and ordered some. The NKE army was characterized by not only using their own people but also vassals and mercenaries from the south as well as along the Mediterranean basin. I wanted something simple to paint, and there is nothing much simpler then skin, minimal coverings and a rudimentary weapon.
I will get more into my specific army plans in subsequent posts, but my force will be comprised of about 70% NKE and about 30% Allied forces including the Nubians, Kush and the Sea Peoples. The NKE were later in adopting chariots then the Canaanites, so I plan to restrict them to less then 15% of my army.
So on to some units, these 3 infantry units and the commander are what I have so far received. The Kushites are from Warlord Games and the commander is the Pharaoh figure from Black Tree Designs. The chariots are coming from Cutting Edge and I have the NKE and Sea Peoples coming from Foundry, I hope the Foundry are not too small. I have just discovered Black Tree Designs and they have quite a nice NKE list, so they will be my fall back supplier. I do not have a lot of suitable terrain, I believe I will leave this to Iannick, so I have took these photos using a light box with a black backdrop, a bit of a challenge really especially with the Kushites.
Pharaoh from Black Tree Designs. This is really quite a nice figure, it does look a little brighter then the photograph and I am happy how it came out. |
Primed white, and then painted with a combination of inks and washes. I used a lighter flesh on the command figure and a slightly darker on the driver. |
A second unit of Nubian archers, this time with a leopard skin pattern. I probably should of cut the bows down a little as the Nubians used a relatively short bow, I may yet do this. I have taken the basing from Iannick and although not as well done as his, it does look similar. |
Excellent start John! And already a painted chariot, I didn't even have time to share my tips with you!
ReplyDeleteYou base are very similar to mine, too, well done.
Hopefully it will be a fun period to game!
A fine choice in rules and army, WaC's chariot rules are very good.
ReplyDeleteAwesome stuff John! Love your chariots. I have a small force of NKE (Foundry) so perhaps I'll bring them down to Montreal some time so we can combine forces for a game.
ReplyDeleteNicely done - ancients are a lot of fun
ReplyDeleteI've got a copy of WaC but have never played it, so I'll look forward to see how your opinion evolves.
How could I have missed this post? Fabulous work, the chariots are amazing and you did a great painjob on the skins...
ReplyDeleteCheers,
Phil.
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ReplyDeleteWhile searching for some Kushites I found this post. Weary nice looking miniatures.
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