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Dakkanauts, some of you may recall that my big project for 2023 was to create the forces for a Battle of Kadesh scenario with my post-production rules; In Strife and Conflict. Of course, it took me a while to get this project started as I needed to first decide on a project!

Once decided, I quickly went to work and ordered a Hittite and an Egyptian force from Baccus 6mm and some 60mm x 60mm bases to put them on. I have to admit, ordering from across the pond and getting through the Brexit blockades took a bit longer than I expected. However, the models all made it through and looked great. To give you an idea of the size of this order below is a picture of the Egyptian army all bagged up!



Of course, the Hittite side is just as large! This armies are going to look the part once they hit the table. The Egyptian force was estimated to be about 16K infantry and 2K chariots! The Hittites had even more chariots at the battle, with ranges from 2.5K to 10K chariots! Then there was another 16-25K infantry too. For an ancient battle, those are some large armies!

Now, In Strife and Conflict is naturally a scale and model agnostic game. It is unit-vs-unit, so the basing doesn't matter too much. I really like the look of 60mm x 60mm bases in these Unit-vs-unit games as the units look great and are easy to move all on 1 base. However, the rules themselves don't care. A unit, is a unit, is a unit. Therefore, I began to sort my Egyptians into their respective units and bases prior to painting. I wanted to get a feel for the size of the army once it was complete.



That, is a lot of units! Plus, each base could have between 30-56 minis on it. That means we are looking at around 884 minis! Thankfully, painting a 6mm mini is very different than a 28mm mini.
This give the Egyptians the following force org:

3 Light Chariots
1 Elite Sherden Guard
2 Spearmen units
4 Mixed spearmen/archer units
2 Axemen units
2 Mixed Axeman/Archer support
4 Bow armed skirmish units
6 Archers

You can get a really close look on how I tackle painting 6mm armies on my blog. There is a lot of work ahead of me. However, here is the first two finished units, Egyptian Levy with Bow support.



If you are inclined, you can read up on the Battle of Kadesh launch here:
http://bloodandspectacles.blogspot.com/2023/07/in-strife-and-conflict-battle-of-kadesh.html

Eventually, I want to use these two armies to run demo and educational games around the local area. The intention is to boost interest in wargaming, ancient history, and just engage with the public. The venues will be art shops, game stores, the local libraries, coffee shops, and other public spaces. My local wargaming group has had some success attracting new players by playing in this non-traditional spaces. I have taken a lot of inspiration from HMGS_NextGen from Instagram for this project.

So, this project goes beyond just two large 6mm armies. It also will include terrain, education materials, and a bit of showmanship to the works. If you have experience with these types of projects I would love to hear what has made them a success!

Thanks for your support and looking.

Here is a quick tip for basing 6mm units.



I use this Drydex spackle that I can source locally and relatively cheaply. It starts out purple/pink and turns light brown as it hardens.

You just spread it on the base with a spackling tool and smooth it to your desired level of smooth. Then, you simply stick the strips of the 6mm minis down far enough to make them relatively even. Let it dry.

If you want, you can also do fun stuff with texturing prior to drying. You can also sand it smooth if you prefer. I have never really had a dried base chip or "lose" a model during play. The stuff works pretty well and makes basing 6mm stuff much easier.

Ugh! It has been too hot to paint lately, so I am falling behind on this projects timeline!

I'm following this. 6mm is a touch on the small end, but I am curious about bronze age/chariot wars.

Welcome aboard Polonius!

Progress has been relatively slow thanks to hot weather, and then a pretty busy work/life schedule. However, progress has been made!

https://bloodandspectacles.blogspot.com/2023/10/on-painting-desk-battle-of-kadesh.html

Mostly, I have been working on infantry units for the Egyptian forces. This included four bases of archer skirmishers and 4 bases of Auxiliary infantry with bow support.



Here are some skirmishers. The sharp eyed may see that two units are Egyptians, while two units are also darker skinned Nubians for a change of pace.



Here are the melee infantry bases with bow armed support. In this place, and during this time the bow was the dominant weapon of the battle field and firepower was king!



Here is the Egyptian force so far approaching an oasis. No chariots yet, as I am working on the backbone of the force.

I have also been working on the "scenario" for Kadesh as well. I will share that shortly.

Oh man, the batch painting has been killing me on this project!

I am working on 6 bases of archers now for the Egyptians. Each base has about 14 strips of models on them. 2 command and 12 of archers. Each strip is 4 guys, so 56 models per base.

Ugh. They are all undercoated, and I am working through skin. Killing me.

Getting to the end of the year so I am sprinting to try and finish off the Egyptian army before 2024.

Here is a large batch of archers that I completed....



That leaves me 3 chariot bases and 5 assorted infantry bases left in this force.

You can read more detail on the blog is you are so inclined, including an army shot so far.....
https://bloodandspectacles.blogspot.com/2023/12/on-painting-table-for-glory-of-ra-more.html

So it is written, so it is done.

The full 6mm Egyptian army is now done.



That is 24 bases of goodness! This includes chariot units, infantry, archers, infantry with archers, and skirmishers with bows. Lots of bows for the Egyptian army! That seemed to be a "favored" weapon for them.

You can see some of the WIP shots, some more close-ups of some units, and better photos of the chariots on my blog if that is your thing.

https://bloodandspectacles.blogspot.com/2024/01/on-painting-desk-battle-of-kadesh-so-it.html

In others news, I have been working with a 3D sculptor in order to get a cool looking mini for Kadesh. The results so far are very promising and I look forward to sharing it. Once completed, the sculptor will be offering the the STLs of the city up for sale as well.

Now, onto the Hittites!

Wow what a lovely army Easy! I'm not usually a fan of small scale minis but seeing the whole army together looks fantastic! Well done

Thanks! I appreciate the reply.

I busted out the Hittite forces and started to organize them. It looks like I will have about 19 bases of those, so a little smaller than my total Egyptian forces. However, it will have 6 bases of Chariots (both heavy and light) and a lot less archers!

In other news, some parts for a Bronze Age city are winging their way to me via the mail. I hope they arrive in one piece!

Nice work!

This is really interesting, I love to see so many models. Any chance you could get some more detailed photos of the miniatures? I'd love to see more detail

Nice work! I really like seeing multi-based stuff like that, and do want to do a similar project but probably in 15mm eventually as I find 6mm just a bit small.

I had an Egyptian army in 2mm before, but that was just ludicrous.

I'll keep an aye out for your Hittites!

I am honestly not sure my camera can get better detailed pictures of the individual models. I will see what I can do on that front.

Here is a closer look at the Hittite spearmen. I tried to get a better shot after I undercoated them.....



I hope that helps show some of the detail in this models.

With the Egyptian force done for Kadesh, it was time to turn to their foes. The Hittite army will be a similar sized force in bases, but it has a very different composition from the Egyptians.

For this force, I am still using Baccus 6mm minis on 60x60mm bases. Most of my techniques for painting these guys will be the same.



This first batch will complete about 1/3rd of the army!

If you would like to learn more about the project, you can see the first blog about the Hittites on the blog:
https://bloodandspectacles.blogspot.com/2024/02/on-painting-desk-battle-of-kadesh.html

I am still forging ahead on my Battle of Kadesh armies that go along with me latest "In-Progress" rules set In Strife and Conflict. This project began in earnest in 2023, but the rules were written for about 5 years now. Hopefully this is the year I can get all the post-production wrapped up and I can release it to you!

To that end, I have been working diligently on my Hittite forces. Good progress so far with much of the infantry getting done.



You can find an army shot so far on the blog:
https://bloodandspectacles.blogspot.com/2024/03/on-painting-desk-battle-of-kadesh-king.html

More importantly, my 3D printed Kadesh arrived. Thanks to Kelly Watson for designing and printing it out. Kelly said he was planning on making the design available, so I will let you know when it is.

The city can fit on a CD as a base, but also has two expandable pieces to make it bigger and add some variety. I look forward to painting it and putting it on the table.

One of the big pieces I wanted for the Battle of Kadesh is a model of the city itself! Therefore, I was ecstatic when my friend Kelly Watson offered to make a 3D printer version of the city for me!

Here it is.....



This 3D print is 6 pieces that can be deconstructed for transportation, and can be made into a circular city, as well as this oval version. There are two small marketplaces/wells, and 1 main gate section of the walls. The smaller version is about the size of a CD.

I look forward to painting this and putting it on the table soon.

Wow that's an impressive piece! Can't wait to see a battle scene.

I am now done with the Egyptian Forces and Hittite forces for the Battle of Kadesh. In addition, I also finished painting up Kadesh itself. All the pre-work needed to play the scenario is ready. Just need to test the scenario.

You can see a ton of pictures on my blog here: https://bloodandspectacles.blogspot.com/2024/03/on-painting-desk-battle-of-kadesh.html

However, here are some highlights.....

Full Hittite Army


Full Egyptian Army


The painted city of Kadesh (plus inserts to expand it)



All models are from Baccus 6mm and are mounted on 60 x 60mm bases. Kadesh is a 3D print designed by Kelly Watson. The rules are unit-vs-unit with no model removal. The armies listed above can cover a number of scenarios of various size and not just the Kadesh scenario. The average game is between 4-12 units per side.

Now that the armies for Kadesh are sorted, I figured it was time to do a playtest of the basic rules. I have done some playtesting using templates previously, but this will be the first time with actual miniatures! Exciting.

I Ramses the II, he who makes mortals tremble, have marched north past the fortress of Tjel. My intention is to reclaim the city of Kadesh and the Kingdom of Amurru. The foolish rulers there have turned from my munificence and have taken council with King Muwatalli II from the North. I shall teach them the error of their ways.

As part of this effort, my might army has probed the coast scouting the best way forward. Local vassals of the Muwatalli have come forth to challenge me. Foolish mortals. We shall sweep them aside like so much dust.

At some point, the Kingdom of Amurru which was led by the city-state of Kadesh. They had been vassals of the Egyptians in previous centuries, but overtime had drifted to the Hittite orbit. This angered Ramessess II who wished to rebuild Egypt's empire in the Levant and return the region to Egyptian control. The year prior to the Battle of Kadesh, Egyptian forces were all ready active in the Canaanite lands.

Today's battle will represent some of the scouting and blocking forces engaging in southern Canaan.

Forces:

Today's battle is speculative in nature. Therefore, we will be using the standard Lines of Battle to choose forces up to 24 points.

Egyptians

1 Light Chariot
- Composite Bow

1 Levy Infantry
- Bow

1 Auxiliary Infantry

1 Archer

Hittites

1 Heavy Chariot

1 Light Chariot

Levy Infantry

Skirmishers

Mission:
We will be playing the Scout the Area scenario found in the main rules. The intention is not to destroy the foes, but to understand the terrain.

For ease, we decided not to use any complications for the raid scenario.

Set-up:
We are using a 48 x 48 MU table, with 1 MU being 1 inch. Therefore, a 4 by 4 space.

The Western edge of the table is the Mediterranean Sea. The Egyptians get the South, and the Hittites the North. We divide the area into four zones and randomly determine terrain per the rules in the booklet. The North side is 1 and 2, and the South is 3 and 4.

1 = 2 level hill
2= Pond 0r Dangerous Terrain
3= Grove or Difficult Terrain
4= No Terrain



Of course, you can read the full battle report on my blog to see how it all played out, and the post-battle breakdown.

https://bloodandspectacles.blogspot.com/2024/04/battle-report-in-strife-and-conflict.html

Sounds like a good game, and fantastic to see it with miniatures!

The rules are up on the Wargame Vault now. You can find them here:

https://www.wargamevault.com/browse.php?keywords=blood+and+spectacles+publishing&x=0&y=0&author=&artist=&pfrom=&pto=

So far, they are #15 on the Best-Sellers list.



Thanks to all of those who have purchased for supporting Blood and Spectacles Publishing.

You can read the design notes for the game on my blog here:

https://bloodandspectacles.blogspot.com/2024/07/wargame-design-in-strife-and-conflict.html?sc=1722348857107#c45710117273722355

Amazing work on these guys, Easy E. Other than Legions Imperalis I haven't taken the jump into the tiny side of miniatures (ha ha) primarily because no one around me plays them. But seeing your work is tempting me to build up two armies of my own.

The best way to do it!

Two armies so you can always play a game.

Great work in here mate. Love the terrain and the city in particular!

The armies look great en masse. Different colours on the chariots are clever and the palettes suit each other well.

Thanks for sharing!

Thanks!



Exciting times my friends. This was a practice game in the run up to the big Battle of Kadesh game I want to host. Therefore, the forces are not at maximum size yet as we get used to the rules. We are having a "what-if" type of scenario where our two opponents forward forces have a meeting engagement prior to the big battle we know about at Kadesh.

Forces

Egyptians
3 Light Chariots
- Composite Bows
- General
1 Professional Infantry
2 Auxiliary Infantry
- Composite Bows
4 Archers

Hittites
3 Heavy Chariots
- Javelins
- 1 General
1 Auxiliary Infantry
2 Levy Infantry
- Bows
2 Skirmishers

Mission:
As the Egyptians are operating in the Levant against the Hittites, we made the Egyptians the Attackers and the Hittites the Defenders. We then randomly determined the scenario using the method in the rules. We were going to play a supply run. The Hittites were moving vital supplies to Kadesh prior to the Egyptians getting there and laying siege to the city!

The Hittites have three supply tokens they need to get off board in 8 turns and without breaking.

Set-up:
Of course, we will be playing today on a 72MU by 48MU board with each MU equal to 1 inch.

Using the core rulebook rules, we see a relatively open battlefield that is bisected by some hills. The rest is fairly flat and open terrain, with one edge bordering a coast line.



The Egyptians from there left flank across are two archers, the Pharaoh, the Sherden Guard, some Auxiliary Infantry with bows, two light chariots, some Auxiliary infantry, and the last two archers.



From the Hittite right to left is the Heavy Chariots, backed up by the infantry with the auxiliaries in the middle. On the far flank on a hill is two units of skirmishers. The Hittite commander has dispersed his supplies with the General, the spearmen infantry, and a unit of skirmishers.

That was the set-up for this battle. You can read the full results on the blog here:
https://bloodandspectacles.blogspot.com/2024/08/battle-report-in-strife-and-conflict.html

Great write up and photos mate. Love it when a game comes down to the wire and it doesn't get much closer than the very final dice roll!

I hope you get some bites and engagement wih the rules. Once the project log is clear (ha ha) something like this is different enough from everything I'm currently working on to be a nice palette cleanser and there are definitely blokes in my gaming group who are into historical stuff.

Thanks for sharing!

I want to eventually run a "Educational" game around the Battle of Kadesh at my local libraries. This will be with people who don't know anything about wargaming and probably don't know much about ancient history. Chances are they will be a mix of children, teens, and adults. I have never done anything like this before.

Therefore, I want to test run the Battle of Kadesh scenario from the In Strife and Conflict rulebook to see if it will do what I need it to do for the demo game. Therefore, let's get it on the table and see what happens!

Forces

Egyptians
3 Light Chariots
- Composite Bows
- General
1 Professional Infantry
2 Auxiliary Infantry
- Composite Bows
4 Archers

Hittites
3 Heavy Chariots
- Javelins
- 1 General
1 Auxiliary Infantry
2 Levy Infantry
- Bows
2 Skirmishers

Mission:
We followed the set-up and parameters located in the In Strife and Conflict main rules.

Set-up:
Of course, we will be playing today on a 72MU by 48MU board with each MU equal to 1 inch.

Using the core rulebook rules, we set-up the table per the scenario. The Egyptians start with a limited number of units on the table, representing the Pharaoh and his advanced force. The Hittites get all their troops to start with on the other side of the river.

Crossing the Orontes River is Dangerous terrain, but only Difficult at the Fords. The fields around Kadesh are also Difficult. The city itself is Impassable.



Does this follow the historical outcome? Take a look and let me know if you are interested in the Battle of Kadesh. Thanks for the help.

https://bloodandspectacles.blogspot.com/2024/09/battle-report-in-strife-and-conflict.html

For such weensy models that sure is a huge army. I like the simple canvas terrain you've set up for your battle. Looks evocative and effective for the scale.