Thursday, August 20, 2020

DBA Special: III/17 Maurikian Byzantine (15mm)

 

 
This is the second army to emerge refurbished from my large Armati/DBM Byzantine box (which, pretty much, still has an ADLG army left in it!) ... 
 
This army is crafted around some very stylish Kavallarioi with teardrop shields by (these days, generally unfancied) Irregular Miniatures.  I like their swagger, although I have had to replace their slightly wonky cast-on spears (whilst retaining the characteristic penons and speartips) ... It meant the army spent too long on my desk in bits (but I think it worked) ...

Anyway, here's what you get:-


The general is a Museum torso grafted in, and the army banner is my usual foil and tissue lamination.  

He's a Cv element, as is the main battleline of the army ...

(Kavallarioi, 5 x CV - figures mostly by Irregular) 
 
As usual all the shields etc. are hand painted.  The dragon windsocks are actually 10mm pieces from Penrdaken (but I thought they were too big for 10mm figures so used them here instead!)
 
You can then mix and match around this cavalry core. 
 
(Byzantine Light Horse - figures by Gladiator and Essex)
 
I would usually take one of these LH but seldom all of them.
 
Instead, I would take some western-style knights ...
 
(Optimates: 1 x 3Kn - figures by Essex) 
 
All mounted options ...
 
 
 But I would usually take some of the infantry shown here, around the camp ...
 
 
The options line up like this ...
 

 
Very rarely, you might take some or all of the skirmishers

(mixed Ps figures by Chariot, Essex and Gladiator) 

The Camp 

... is my take on the time-honoured 'tooth-pick' stockade with a couple of waggons drawn up as the outer defence.

(DBA Byzantines: Waggon and stockade camp)

(Waggons by Gladiator, figures by Irregular and Hallmark)

My usual configuration for this army would be:
 
Cv Gen + 5 Kavallarioi (Cv), 1 x Optimates (3Kn), 1 x LH, 2 x Sp, 2 x 4Bw

It's natural opponent in my collection is Arab Conquest.