Carthage Rises Again!

With my Scots of the English Civil War project well under way and making good progress, I have decided to jump back into the Punic Wars project that I started but never really began. Specifically, I will be working on the Carthaginian army.

Many months ago I purchased a good amount of Carthaginian figures from Gripping Beast. These have been quietly waiting in plastic bags until late last night when I began sorting, organizing and planning how I want to tackle this (large) project. I currently have forty-eight Liby-Phoenician veterans with spears, twenty-four Libyan heavy infantry with spears and ten heavy cavalry. The plan is to start with these as the "core" of the army and then add other interesting units such as Numidian light cavalry, Balearic slingers and Gallic warbands to round-out the force.

The Gripping Beast models are of very high quality and I am very happy with them. All types are supplied with a good variety of poses, all of which seem to be fairly natural and will make for a dynamic looking army on the table. I had very little trimming or filing of mold lines to do to prepare the figures for washing and mounting on temporary painting bases. All of the models are stocky but proportional, which is very important to me - there are no gigantic heads or stubby arms like you see in some other figures. I was most impressed with the sculpts of the command figures supplied - their appearance is fantastic and are easily differentiated from the rank and file by their "I'm in charge around here" poses (holding a helmet under their arm and pointing for example) and their armor and equipment.

I am not as well read or learned in the Punic Wars as I am in other periods of history, and so this will be a learn-as-you-go experience for me. I'm sure I'll make some mistakes along the way, but I'm excited to get this going.

Carthaginian veterans by Gripping Beast.

Libyan infantry by Gripping Beast.

Carthaginian heavy cavalry by Gripping Beast.