On The Painting Desk: Battle of Kadesh - So It is Written, so it is done!

 

For 2023, I decided that my big project was going to be a Battle of Kadesh scenario.  This included rules, a scenario, and two armies of 6mm miniatures from Baccus.  I started the project pretty late in the year, and had a slow start in getting going.  There was a race to the end of 2023 to get at least one of the armies painted up before 2024.  Well, here it is 2024 and I am still posting about the first of the two armies!  However, I actually managed to finish this army at the end of December so I did manage to get it done in 2023.  

When we last left this army, I had finished off 6 bases of archers.  That left only a few units left to complete.  I had some Sherden royal guards, some Auxiliary Soldiers, and some levy none of whom had any bow support.  I also had 3 bases of Chariots to paint up for the Pharaoh and his striking units.  

I decided to start the next phase of the project by finishing off the remaining infantry units.  I followed the same pattern I have so far with all the minis for this project.  A pavement undercoat, then painted on the flesh tones, white clothing, bronze, white for shields, and a dessert brown for bows and hafts. 

The Sherden required a slightly different approach as they used a lot more Bronze armor.  In addition, they had some blue, Lapis Lazuli looking points on their shields that I picked out with a blue.  I also tried to give each unit a "unique" color for their banner and shields to help me differentiate them on the battlefield at arm's length.  

The Pharaoh's Royal Sherden Guard

Of course, once all the 6mm minis were painted, I went on to the basing.  Again, the techniques was the same as all the others.  I used gap filling putty on the bases and put the strips onto the putty.  Once dry, I painted the bases Territorial brown.  I then dry brushed a Khaki color and spot applied some green wash.  The last step was to paint the edges of the bases black.  

 Then, they went and joined the rest of the army marching across the desert.  

The Royal Guard lead out some soldiers and levy towards the Levant

That left me with the last 3 units, the Chariots.  These would be the main striking force and one of the unique units for the army.  I had never really painted chariots at this scale before.  I was unsure how to proceed as they came in some small pieces; an axel, the chariot car, and two horses.  I decided to paint the horses like all the infantry models, and the chariots I assembled the cars and axels before sticking them to my painting stick.  

I then proceeded to follow my normal approach to painting the Egyptians.  The only deviation was with the Pharaoh's chariot.  I decided to give him 4 horses, and painted the chariot crew and car a bit flashier than the others.  

Here they are on the shores of the Red Sea, perhaps recreating a scene from Exodus?  

Here is a full army shot of the Egyptian force heading to Kadesh.  

With the last elements painted, the Egyptian army is complete.  I barely finished it in 2023.  The Egyptians were ready to march to Kadesh!  Now, I just need to paint up the Hittites and we would be ready for a big throw down in the Levant before the end of 2024?  Hopefully.  

So it is written, so it is done!   

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