Absolutely and unapologetically excited about the latest release of 2mm siege equipment and sundries sculpted by the redoubtable Geoff Addison for Irregular Miniatures - so I took a quick run through of the majority of the items as soon as they landed at SteelonSand towers !
Trojan Horses, Siege Towers, Penthouses, Battering Rams, Trebuchets, Ballistae, Onagers, Bolt Throwers and on and on flow the latest additions - all incisively and charmingly rendered in the tiniest of scales - what’s not to like ?
In addition, we have some long-needed baggage animals, alongside pavises, mantlets, additional figures as siege engineers - even mine entrances if the mood takes you - scroll down for the ABG26 through 38 listings:
http://www.irregularminiatures.co.uk/2mmRanges/2mmAncients.htm
Now as with the previous creations for these recent releases, Mr Addison’s sculpting is more on the ‘organic’ side of things rather than being architecturally exact, but as before, he does a great job of adding character to the pieces, and where it is present, the detail is very good given their size - visible men pushing the fallen tree battering ram - lovely planking on the siege towers, shields and hides on the penthouses….. let’s take a look at some of the items in more detail, the only caveat being it ain’t easy to photograph stuff this small, and that everything is fresh from their ziploc baggies - no removal yet of venting remnants, flash, etc…..
The giant Assyrian-style siege tower, no doubt clad in rows of burnished copper shields, is an absolute monster - in a good way - only marred by a honking great mould line right down the front - but I think this will file down easily enough if one is careful….. the various rams and penthouses have plenty of incised detail with wheels and structure plainly moulded, and the Trojan Horse is an absolute joy - I will be happy to accept any Greeks bearing such a gift….!
(See below with a couple of Antonine Miniatures’ troop blocks):
I think with these new additions, Irregular have filled out the kit list for any self-respecting besieger, running the gamut through from the Biblical to Ancient and on to the Medieval - the variety of bolt throwers, ballistae and trebuchets are a welcome re-inforcement for the venerable ABG25 ‘siege engine’ sculpt:
Talking of re-inforcements, we also now benefit from the new set of baggage animals, which contains pack mules and horses as well as camels - so useful in most historical periods:
Given the background squares on my cutting mat in all the photos are 1cm - these are some tiny treasures !
Talking of scale, I couldn’t resist seeing how the various items of equipment might scale against actual castle walls, so pulled out my Strength and Honour Roman town:
First up, some onagers, bolt throwers, the mantlets, engineers and a line of pavises - with the siege towers moving in - all nicely to scale, I think:
Then a look at the rams, penthouses and towers moving in for the kill:
And next, the lovely escalating steps, with one even having a lowered bridge to crash onto the battlements:
These definitely fill the mind with possibilities for all sorts of siege actions, and would grace any tabletop - I’m keen to see how they all paint up, so watch this space for more…..
I just need to find 2mm sized miniature Tony Curtis and Kirk Douglas…….
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4njT3pK9OC4
