Life In Mono

Yesterday I posted a general update containing a picture of some "work in progress" (WiP). Now I don't normally post WiP shots but I was testing my new tripod and the pictures were was so good it would have been a shame not to include at least one of them. It helped that the figures were the excellent 15 mm 3D prints of Arab camel riders from Red Copper.

To publicise my post I shared the picture on Bluesky, where I am vexillia.me.uk, and the Society of Ancients forum. To my surprise it generated quite a decent response. As the likes rolled in (it was more of trickle really) I started messing about with the image. In the end I removed the background and produced a monochrome version:

Have a play with the slider to compare and contrast (desktop only) then read on for an interesting painting tip.

AI And Event T-Shirts

Introduction

I've seen lots of event t-shirts & polo shirts: both printed and embroidered. I began to wonder just how hard could it be? To find out, I designed, and had printed, something for this year's King in the North at Haxby in October.

The main problem was the artwork. I'm not really gifted with a pencil, so I had to turn to the new AI tools to compensate for my lack of skill.

Now read on for all the gory details.

Wargaming: Is It A Hobby Or An Obsession?

Background

I used to run small wargames business here in the UK. I ceased trading in April 2021, and began, what I hoped would be, a serene and relaxing retirement playing toy soldiers.

Naturally, it didn't turn out that way. Moving house didn't help. Now that's over, and I've finished the bulk of the decorating required, things have improved. I've now got more time for painting toy soldiers and wargaming.

Retirement goals

My wargaming dream is to play in half a dozen Art de la Guerre competitions a year and make inroads into my small stock of unpainted miniatures. That's it for my hobby: nothing more ambitious.

ADLG: Northern League Round 4 (Manchester, 08 September 2024)

Introduction
Once again I braved the northbound M6 on a rainy Sunday morning.  Fortified by the mandatory bacon buttie (sandwich), the journey there wasn't too bad.

ADLG: V4 Army List Writer - Major Update

Important update (31 July 2025)
I've decided make the versions available below (4.04.03 with & without macros) the last to be publicly available.

Introduction
In March 2021 I delved into the delights of Google Sheets and created a spreadsheet based list writer for Art de la Guerre (ADLG) V3.   In the following May I released a version for ADLG V4.

In the intervening years I have used the writer extensively.  I've also fixed the odd bug and updated the released version.  However, behind the scenes I've been tweaking a few things, adding more features, and writing app scripts (Google speak for macros) to automate various processes.

It's now time to release an updated and much streamlined version.

28 mm Commanders (Essex Miniatures)

When I placed my last order with Essex I decided to buy a few extra figures to add some variety to the long slog of painting a 15 mm Hellenistic army.  I ended up with commanders for three of my Art de la Guerre (ADLG) collections: Hellenistic, Arab Empire, & Ilkhanid Mongol.

The figure is based on a magnetised 40 mm plywood base which is the same size as my 15 mm ADLG command bases. My plan is to use them as CinCs during competitions. Afterwards they will be retired and placed in my display cabinet.

15 mm Camel Riders (Red Copper)

We've all done it!.  Bought something on impulse that is.  In my case I bought the Arab Conquest Army Deal from Red Copper for a mere 30€.  The deal includes both 15 & 28 mm versions.

I want to make it clear that I do not own a 3D printer nor do I intend to go down that route due to lack of space in my new home.  This makes the purchase seem somewhat less than sensible, but I do think 3D printing is the way forward.   Somehow, I managed to convince myself this would be a sensible medium term investment.

15 mm - Iranian Cavalry (Forged In Battle)

When I began building an "Arab Conquest" era army, in February last year, I settled on a North African Arab army (132 in Art de la Guerre) not least because it offers steppe terrain and camel troops.

Needless to say I got sidetracked into painting units for other Arab Empire lists, but I had began to dread preparing the Forged in Battle horses (see below).  So I kept putting off these final cavalry.  However, they are done now.

ADLG: King In The North (York, 14 - 15 Oct 2023)

Introduction
For the second year running I attended this excellent competition.  When the theme was announced I was relieved to see that my recently completed Arabs just sneaked into the "Vikings!" theme thanks to the Andalusian Arabs list (ADLG list 133).

As it turned out this was a very popular choice with three other players opting to pit Arabs against the even more popular Irish and Viking armies.

Travel
On Friday the 13th my wife and I set out for darkest Yorkshire in the pouring rain.  To make matters more interesting it was the first long journey in our new car: new control layout and computer beeps a plenty.  Three hours later the rain had stopped and we had reached our B&B in Haxby.  We were staying in the same place as last year so finding it wasn't a problem.

Book Reviews - David O. Morgan

This is something of a first.  Instead of reviewing the books I want to focus on the author.  David Morgan died in 2019 but left behind a significant body of work.

I first came across his book on Medieval Persia by chance last year when I was looking for books on the Arab Conquests.  Purchased second hand, the first edition was both a bargain and a delight.  With a clear, concise and approachable style the book dealt with all the rulers of post Arab Conquest Persia with aplomb.

ADLG: Northern League Round 4 (Manchester, 03 Sep 2023)

Introduction
Eccles is normally the venue for the 5th and final round in November and last year it was absolutely freezing.  Thankfully, this year the second Eccles round was held on a beautiful sunny day in early September.  I even decided to wear shorts!

I arrived nice an early, got a good parking spot and helped set up the tables before making the first of many cups of tea.

Tournament Preparation

I have a two-day competition in October: "The King in the North" held in Haxby, a small village outside York.  As the day draws near I've begun getting things ready.  To be honest I've been getting ready for a while now.

I've been surprised at just how much preparation is required so I thought I'd record what I've been up to.  I suppose one of my former professional roles, as a project manager, is well to the fore in what follows.

28 mm Arab Commander (Irregular Miniatures)

This is something of a first: a 28 mm figure!

As regular readers will have seen, I usually paint 15 mm figures but for some strange reason I was overcome by an urge to paint something larger.  So, when I was shopping for a few random 15 mm command figures, I strayed into the 28 mm portion of the web shop and bought a super sized commander for my Art de la Guerre (ADLG) Arab army.

15 mm Arab Black Guard (Essex)

This is another mini-project using figures from my "Phalanx hobby haul".  It only involves 16 figures but this post is longer than usual.   There are some simple conversions to discuss, and some research into the Guard and early Umayyad flags to summarise.

15 mm Arab Camel Archers (Essex)

This is one of my "hobby haul" from Phalanx last month.  They are the first camels for my Arab Empire armies.  Imagine an Arab army without any camels!

I wanted Essex figures as I usually find them a pleasant change of "painting pace" compared to Forged in Battle.  Plus I have no intention of fielding large numbers of camel riders so buying a large pack from Forged in Battle wasn't really an option.

In the end I was glad only bought one pack.  Usually, I find Essex figures quicker and easier to paint, but not this time.

15 mm Daylami Medium Infantry (Forged in Battle)

After nearly eighteen months painting an Arab Conquest army with a deliberately limited & muted colour palette it was time to go wild.  And what better subject to choose than that wargaming cliché the Daylami: fierce mountain warriors renowned for their brightly painted shield designs.

Hobby Haul

I don't normally do this but what follows is that staple of wargaming blogs: the "what I bought at the last show" post but with a twist or two.

Ten days ago I spent the day at the Phalanx show (St Helens, UK) helping Dave Lanchester run his bookstall.  I didn't get a lot of time for shopping but I went prepared with a list to focus my efforts.  The purchase of the day was a rather special dice tray:

15 mm Arab Heavy Cavalry (Forged in Battle)

Why is it the last units always seem to take ages?  These took a while as I painted them as one group; which I don't normally do.  Plus the horses required extra work (see below).

Anyway, I now have all the core units for a wide range of "Dark Age/Feudal" Arab armies so I'm pleased they are finished.  It feels like I've finished a project and that is always good.

15 mm Arab Medium Cavalry (Forged in Battle)

After a run of non-hobby posts, normal service is resumed.  These figures came from two packs of light/medium cavalry.  I bought two packs so I could have javelin armed light cavalry (which I forgot to photograph) and a mix of javelin and lance armed medium cavalry.

ADLG: Northern League Round 2 (Manchester, 07 May 2023)

Introduction
It's fair to say I had to force myself to attend this round: I have a lot going on at the moment.  Not least the residual upheaval surrounding my recent relocation.

When this year's themes were announced I thought I'd be able to field a new Arab army in this round.  No chance: I've still got to finish the heavy cavalry.  I had to borrow four bases of heavy cavalry from Gareth Jones: thanks Gareth.

Kevin Johnson at the day's organisational nerve centre.  Thanks Kev.

I was surprised by how long it took me to get ready on Saturday.  Nothing was in its usual place.  I'd unpacked things in new places and everything took longer to find.

Of course I forgot a few things (play sheets etc) which was annoying.  Then I ended up with one too many army lists (see below).  To cap it all, I didn't realise that my camera wasn't set up properly until right at the end; so apologies for the quality of some of the photos.

The match to decide first place.  Or was it?