Assyrian progress report 26 October 2025

What a nightmare these have proven. To get a base coat? I've had to use gesso, as though they were the worst Caesar Miniatures plastic. And yet, there was nothing in the composition of horse or foot to hint at the issue. Shields are still lying trimmed but unvarnished.

Assyrian progress report 28 September 2025

Woooahh dude we finally got somewhere! Excellent! Yep trimmed out those pesky Assyrians (just, not the chariots) and gave them a wash this morning. 

I think a large part of my modelers block was the mould lines on the cavalry. I expected better from HaT. The foot are good though I would have preferred simpler poses with moulded-on spears and shields throughout, but I'm well aware I'd be in a minority on this. The riders are OK, just not particularly animated.

The other side to lack of progress is my new life as a Podcaster, but I think I'll achieve a better balance of hobby time soon.

on to Assyrians

I decided to say "enough" on the semi-project Ugarit bits n pieces. They come out to the a army, more or less. Then, they also give me more flexibility for morphed armies in the Mitanni sphere.

I pulled out a bunch of elements to think about rebasing older card bases, but I didn't have the heart.

So now, and it is the end of an era, I have dismantled and bagged my old converted Assyrians, and begun prep work on replacements from HaT. The plastic is mostly the easy to paint rubbery stuff HaT often use, but the heavy foot use more normal stuff. 

bench update 03 August 2025

I've taken a few shots of progress over the past few weeks but hadn't had the excitement to post anything. With these "parts of Ugaritic, Mitanni, OMK Hittite or even Trojan reinforcements" almost done here's where they are at. On the far left are a couple of Mitanni comparison elements and the ochre colored lid has the "pod" chariot elements to swap in and out.

bench update 07 July 2025

I did a test on the Caesar minis with magic wash (heavy on the varnish) and it looked stable, so that"s what I've gone with.

bench update 05 July 2025

It grows... "no I always meant to add these"

With the pods nicely hardened I've turned my attention to the 9 Amurru/Hupshu Auxilia types. These are Atlantic Egyptian foot, adding a few straps and tassels with grey stuff. No need for changing the hair, which is nice.

I'm also working up a third pod, this one not Maryannu - you might be able to spot the driver, once an Esci barbarian. He's the pale tan 2nd from right of the cutting board.

chariot pods

I thought I would drop this photo in to show my current technique.

1. You need a nice solid base for the crew, but you need to manage height. In this instance I've snipped one of the foot stands about 2/3 length, which when turned end-on slots into the tiny Atlantic Egyptian cab loosely. You can see a full size foot stand to right of photo.

2. Chop the crew off at the ankle.

3. Embed them in grouting silicon onto the base.

4. Eventually once painted use PVA glue to tack the pod to the painted cab.