First Look at Some Hittites

The first Hittite chariots roll off the painting table, ready for action.

Hopefully the start of a brand new Hittite army to fight my New Kingdom Egyptians.

I'm hoping to develop my "chariot wars" armies in 2012, so watch out for more like this.

Ancient Briton Cavalry

....and the mounted arm to support the foot soldiers!

Horsemen (light and heavy - tribes usually had either/or, not both) and chariots.

Ancient Britons Firing Up for New Year!

It's been a while since my Ancient Britons took to the table top, and hopefully they'll get a shot early in 2012.

Pictured above we have a basic warband, plus supporting light troops armed with bows (and arrows), javelins and sling shots.

(I'm currently going through all my ancient armies trying to get them ready to go. They've been a little neglected over the past couple of years as I've worked on later periods.)

Peleset (Sea Peoples) to Hinder (More Than Help) My New Kingdom Egyptians

The Peleset were another of the Sea Poples who hassled the New Kingdom Egyptians, and eventually brought down the Hittite Empire. As with the Sherdana, they were a mix of heavy infantry with spears in a tight formation and lighter, javelin-armed light troops, used more to harass the enemy than to get to grips with him.

Historians geenrally regard these as the descendants of today's Palestinians.

(As a footnote, and not really to do with the Sea Peoples, I disagree with Plastic Toy Soldier's review of Hat's Assyrian chariots. The review said that the model is easy to fit together, but I'm having all sorts of problems. I think I will have some great-looking models they are finished, but it is definietly a model that requires patience - unless maybe you're a much better engineer than I am!)

Hopefully some pictures of the Assyrians will be ready by the end of the month. I was hoping to have a couple finished by the end of this weekend, but that just didn't happen!

Sherdana (Sea Peoples) to Help/Hinder my New Kingdom Egyptians

The Sherdan were one of a number of "nations" that formed the Sea Peoples armies that harrassed New Kingdom Egypt, and the nations further north, eventually bringing down the Hittite Empire, among others as they eventually settled throughout the area known today as Syria, the Palestine, and the Holy Land in general.

The guys without shields are the Sherdana Guard, mercenaries hired by the Pharaoh to help protect himself. (They would normally fight FOR the Eggyptians, although I guess they would also fit as the bodyguard for a Sea Peoples general).

There isn't a whole lot known for certain (yet) about the various Sea Peoples "nations", so there is plenty of scope to use one's imagination when planning scenarios involving these guys.

Libyan tribesmen to oppose my New Kingdom Egyptian

On their own they were usually no match for the Egyptians, although if they showed up in large enough numbers, they could be very pesky.

They also allied with the various Sea People nations that began invading Egypt and the nations to the north.