If you’ve been inspired by the Iliad and the Odyssey, or by movies such as Ray Harryhausen’s Jason and the Argonauts and Clash of the Titans, or by Troy, or 300, or any of a myriad books or movies on the Ancient Greeks, you’ve probably (like me) considered building a couple of armies to act out your swords and sandals fantasies. Ancient Greece is a website that provides a wealth of information of the history behind the legends.
A couple of years ago I bought a Foundry Sea Peoples horde and some Canaanites with the intent of doing some biblical style battles. I was further inspired by a recent History Channel show called Aegean Apocalypse, which speculated that the Sea Peoples were responsible for the sudden demise of the bronze age Aegean civilizations. Still thinking along those lines, I found this Jeff Zorn article comparing the various lines of figures available for the Sea Peoples.
I’m just getting started painting up some Foundry Caananites and Sea Peoples for a bibical skirmish game. When doing some research I came across this Bibical Curse Generator. It’s fun.
Miniature Wargaming is part of the "adventure games" hobby, which includes r ole p laying and board games. Wargamers recreate battles on the tabletop with toy soldiers, like a more complicated game of chess. Models range in height from 6mm to 28mm tall, with 15mm and 25mm being the most popular. There also is a growing interest in toy soldiers and military models, such as the 1/32 and 1/35 scale plastic soldiers from Conte, and Marx.
The most popular miniature wargames are fantasy and science fiction based, such as Warhammer, Warhammer 40K, Warmachine and The Lord of the Rings. World War II games such as Flames of War and Axis and Allies are new favorites. Other favorite historical periods include Napoleonics, the American Civil War, and ancients, such as Romans or Greeks. Other gamers enjoy miniature naval wargames, recreating battles like Trafalgar, Jutland and the Coral Sea.
Hobbyists research historical periods and paint their tiny soldiers in accurate uniforms. Others develop "historically realistic" rules sets or build scale battlefield terrain using model railroad techniques.
For pictures, visit the gallery.
Some of the bigger hobby companies are Games Workshop, which produces Warhammer, Wargames Foundry and Old Glory Miniatures. Wizards of the Coast produces several lines of pre-painted miniatures games, such as the Star Wars and Dungeons and Dragons miniatures games, and a historical game with pre-painted miniatures: The new Axis and Allies game. Wizkids produces a fantasy collectable miniatures game, such as the Mage Knight and Heroclick fantasy games, the science fiction games MechWarrior and Rocketmen, as well as the quasi-historical Pirates of the Spanish Main.
