By Far the Best Horsemen in Africa

Hannibal set his bridled cavalry in the centre, and strengthened the wings with Numidians. The battle cry had scarcely gone up when Scipio's javelin-throwers ran back amidst the supporting troops to the second line. After that there was a cavalry battle, which for some time remained even, but then the infantry became involved in the fighting and it startled the horses. Many riders were thrown from their mounts, or climbed down on seeing their comrades surrounded and under pressure, and it had become mostly a battle fought on foot, until the Numidians on the wings effected a slight encircling maneuver  to appear to the rear of the Romans. At this, panic struck the Romans....
~ Livy, History of Rome, 21.46

Now Massinissa and his Numidian cavalry confronted Publuis Scipio while he was on the move, and then kept constant pressure on him day and night. Not only would he capture Romans who wandered too far from camp to gather wood and fodder, but he would ride right up to the camp and, often charging into the midst of the sentry-posts, he would cause terrible confusion everywhere. During the nights too, there was often panic at the gates, and the rampart, from his surprise attacks. There was no time and no place that the Romans could be free from fear and worry, and they were pinned down within their fortifications, deprived of access to all essentials.
~ Livy, History of Rome, 25.34

Numidian Cavalry: WIP No.2

The Numidians are very nearly complete - all that is left for me to do is finish up some minor details, a little dry-brushing here and there and making the bases look pretty with grass and stones. Photos of the finished unit will be posted this weekend so stay tuned!

I wanted the shields for these horsemen to look as if rough hides had been stretched and fitted to the frames, and while they didn't turn out exactly how I had envisioned them, I think they look pretty good. The skin tone was a bit tricky at first - I wanted to avoid the deep black colors of southern Africans and so I finally ended up choosing Vallejo's Mahogony Brown (139) which turned out to be a beautiful and rich shade for the skin.

My original plan was to base the Numidians all individually, but I really do prefer the aesthetics of multiple figures on a base, and so these will be two figures to a 60mm x 60mm base. The slightly larger base size allows me to space them out a bit more than normal and position them in interesting angles to help give the unit a more open-order feel to it.

Colors used for the Numidians:

	Vallejo: Mahogany Brown
	Citadel: Rakarth Flesh
	Vallejo: Tan-Earth
	Citadel: Khorne Red
	Citadel: Abaddon Black
	Citadel: Ushabti Bone
	Citadel: Steel Legion Drab

Colors used for the six horses:

	Citadel: Tallarn Sand
	Citadel: Snakebite Leather
	Citadel: Mournfang Brown
	Citadel: Doombull Brown
	Citadel: Rhinox Hide
	Vallejo: Burnt Umber

Numidian Cavalry: WIP No.1

This past weekend was very enjoyable and productive for me. The new Carthaginian elephant is completely assembled and prepped for painting (wow, that thing is a beast!) and I was able to get a good start on painting the Numidian cavalry unit for my Carthaginians.

The models are by Relic and are extremely nice. The sculpts of the horses in particular are fantastic with their proportions and and poses looking very natural. Most horse models I have seen at this size tend to be chunky with long low bodies, but these horses by Relic are very elegant. These are very enjoyable to paint and the entire unit should be done in a few days and will be an important addition to Hannibal's cause against the Romans.