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Post by davel on Sept 17, 2019 21:42:57 GMT
As you may know, I love Expeditionary Force figures and am collecting Macedonian and Persian armies. Unfortunately, they Don't produce elephants yet, so I bought some Schleich toy elephants and my mate made me a howdah and put an ex-force figure on it for the mahout. Here are dome photos of the work in progress. I still have the w figures to paint for the howdah and 2 skirmish figures for protecting the elephant. I have 2 elephants so will post photos when they're finished. Best Wishes Dave Attachments:
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Post by davel on Sept 17, 2019 21:44:04 GMT
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Post by tradgardmastre on Sept 18, 2019 6:14:27 GMT
These are coming along splendidly. You are fortunate to have such a talented mate. How many figures are going in the howdah?l like the idea of the skirmishing infantry protecting the elephants, they should add to the visual impact of the base .
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Post by davel on Sept 18, 2019 11:42:35 GMT
Hi Alan,
There will be 2 figures in the howdah (1 spear armed and 1 with bow) and 2 figures on the ground (both with spear and crescent shield).
I'll have 2 elephants when I've finished.
Then it'll be onto the camels!!!!
I can't find any camels in the army lists, but they were in the Alexander film, and I'm sure the King of Kings would have had access to them.
I've seen pictures of Persian war camels which also have a howdah. I Don't know if that's the correct period, but I thought "Sod it!!! They look good so I'm having some"!!!!!!
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Post by Quantrilltoy on Sept 22, 2019 23:29:04 GMT
It looks really good. Now I'm going to put a spanner in the works and ask, wouldn't the elephants be Indian elephants? I got the impression that they were the ones generally used in ancient and later armies either because they were more available or easier to train. For some reason African elephants are also more readily available as toys, especially the cheaper ones. I have actually trimmed down African elephant ears to represent Indian elephants. They don't look quite right though. I know Hannibal used African elephants although there is some debate as to if he used only the smaller extinct North African elephants (that were smaller than other African elephants) or if he also used the larger ones. I usually give a nod to historical precedent although most of my games are in fantasy settings so it doesn't matter to much. I'm hoping you are going to say that normal African elephants were quite common in armies which will save me some angst! I'm guessing that weapon the mahout has is to kill the elephant if it goes berserk.
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Post by davel on Sept 23, 2019 5:32:45 GMT
Hi Quantrilltoy,
You're quite correct. They should be Indian, but as you say, they're difficult to find.
Also, with Expeditionary Force figures being 60mm, I had to take this into consideration when buying the elephant. This African toy elephant is made by Schleich and they do a female elephant as well, so I bought a male and a female to see the difference.
I felt the female was too small so stuck with the male. If I could have found an Indian elephant, I again felt that it would have been too small. If you look at the mahout, you can see how big he is, hence the use of an African elephant.
The weapon he has is an axe - again not quite right (they had a rod with what looks like a giant fish hook on it) but it was all I had.
Normally I Don't like being historically innacurate, but as I said, the 60mm scale of the figures dictated the choice of elephant for me (Ex-Force Don't make elephants yet, and, like a child in a sweet shop, I couldn't wait so had to improvise!!!!!)
My argument was also that with the Persian Empire being so big (stretching from Egypt to India) I could argue that the King of Kings could probably get whatever he wanted - hence an African elephant 😁.
That's my argument anyway and apologies to those who think I've gone a howdah too far!!!!
Best Wishes Dave
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Post by davel on Sept 24, 2019 19:28:00 GMT
I've finally finished my elephant and figures. Thanks to my mate Steve for the construction work. I might be the envy of fellow wargames now I have this to put on the table. I've started work now on my 2nd elephant and crew!!!!!!! Attachments:
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Post by stuparkin on Sept 24, 2019 22:00:01 GMT
Lovely work Dave, very effective and they really look like they are going into battle rather than a lot of 28mm elephants that appear to be only "meandering" into action!! Have you taken up Mike's offer of the 2 free Schlieff toy elephants he advertised on the swap page, you can never have enough elephants
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Post by gonefishing on Sept 25, 2019 0:04:27 GMT
Oh my, those are looking absolutely beautiful. Your opponent might cede victory just looking at 'em!
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Post by jhonpog on Sept 25, 2019 0:24:07 GMT
really nice Davel wow!
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Post by rupertm on Sept 25, 2019 8:25:52 GMT
Fabulous
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Post by davel on Oct 4, 2019 4:42:01 GMT
QUESTION: What's better than an elephant ANSWER: Why TWO elephants of course!!!! Just finished my 2nd elephant. Hoping they look good on the field of battle Best Wishes Dave
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Post by tradgardmastre on Oct 4, 2019 6:15:10 GMT
Perhaps you can post some battle pictures of them in action?
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Post by gonefishing on Oct 4, 2019 13:22:53 GMT
Those really do look outstanding. I second the request to see them in action (hopefully busy squashing any impertinent enough to get in their way)!
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Post by davel on Oct 4, 2019 16:50:10 GMT
Hi Alan and gonefishing, I will eventually post photos of a game, but I'd still painting the armies (I have to paint both sides!!!!!) I have about 20 units for Alexander (Just a couple to go) and about the same for the Persians (with about 14 to go!!!!!!). Best Wishes Dave
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