I've long wanted to build an Ethiopian army for Hordes of the Things. Recently, I've been doing some research into what such an army might look like. I ended up reading about "Sebastopol", a huge mortar commisioned by Tewodros II in the 1860s.
The gun weighed 6.7 tons and could fire around half a ton of ammunition at a time! Although an indication of its power, Sebastopol's great weight was its undoing. As far as we know, it was never fired in battle. It was simply to heavy to be mobile.
"Sebastopol" is a strange name. It refers to a city in Crimea, but I couldn't find any information as to why a mortar was given this name. Tewodros fought against the British, who had previously besieged Sebastopol. However, this was a British victory, so the name of the weapon probably wasn't ironic or insulting.
This history is very inspiring, so I started thinking about how I would include it in my future army. It will be classed as Artillery, possibly as a General element for extra power. I imagine that as being Tewodros cheering on his creation!
I remembered I had a 28mm scale mortar I got free with some Alternative Armies figures. I checked it for scale beside some 15mm figures and it was quite accurate to the size of Sebastopol, so the conversion work began!
For my birthday this year, I got a very nice resin bust from Pegaso. Initially I wanted to paint him as Musashi Miyamoto, a samurai of almost legendary renown. I decided against this later on, instead employing a style inspired by the music of Shing02 and artwork from Samurai Champloo.
I tried out some new techniques on this figure. I wanted to create a "Rembrandt lighting" effect. This means that half the face is hit by light, while the other side is in shadow. I'm happy with the result, but I think I should have increased the contrast between the light and dark areas.
The pattern on the collar represents a bamboo forest under a rising sun, and is repeated around the figure.
These little folk are my new Halfling Blood Bowl team. They're great sculpts with a lot of charm. I did a few conversions on some of the players to make them more unique, and to allow me to use Star Players. Their kit is inspired by FC Barca's Catalan shirt.
Here's a group photo of the whole squad!
These two are Hefties, particularly tough Halflings. I like their design, both of them look like they're seasoned fighters (even if they're not exactly great!). I sculpted a scarf for the one on the right and gave him an extra shoulder spike so that he can be used as Puggy Baconbreath.
In 1324, Kilkenny businesswoman Alice Kyteler was accused of witchcraft after several of her husbands mysteriously died. The local bishop, Richard Ledrede, believed that his diocese was full of heretics and sorcerers. He was determined to assert his authority over the region, and relentlessly pursued Kyteler. The case led to the execution of Petronilla de Meath, the first person in the British Isles to be burned at the stake for witchcraft. Alice Kyteler herself is believed to have escaped to Britain.
The case is among the most famous of stories from Medieval Ireland, and I have been interested in it from a young age. After a visit to Kilkenny's Medieval Museum last year (which I highly recommend!), I was inspired to design these chess pieces. I've spent this week carving the designs into wood. They are made of poplar stained with black.
My design philosophy was to create a fairly abstract set of pieces. Since this is an event from many centuries ago, we have little idea about the appearances of the different figures in the story. Yet their personalities are clear from the accounts of the time. This inspired me to create simple pieces that illustrated the personalities involved.
I also thought that chess would be a good medium to depict the political struggle of the time. Much like chess, both sides sought to place their opponents' leader in an untenable position.
The pawns have two points on their tops. These could represent the pointed ears of a black cat or the horns of a demon.
The "King" of the black pieces is Alice Kyteler, a Kilkenny merchant of Flemish ancestry. She was married four times, and each of her husbands died of strange illnesses. This led to the Bishop's suspicion that she was a witch.
Some historians believe she may really have poisoned her husbands, so that William could financially benefit. She escaped to England, and there is no further mention of her after the trial.
In this set, Kyteler is depicted wearing a stereotypical "witch's hat".
I'm still working on the white pieces, which will represent Bishop Ledrede and his followers. Hopefully I'll have them completed soon.
