Arab Camps and Extras
/Now that the infantry and cavalry for the Arabs are done, it was time to fill in all the extras you need to actually get the army onto the table: primarily camps, a vital component of your To The Strongest force.
In the past I have tended to just use a generic square base for my camps - requires no effort and is practical in terms of a place to store coins, spare ammo etc - but seeing all the beautiful camp dioramas at competitions has inspired me to try and create the same for my troops. I’m sure they will fight better with nicer camps!
First up was the camp that comes with the Red Copper Arabs, here printed for me by Baueda and, as with all the camps you’ll see today, mounted on a 10cm x 10cm base.
The inside of the tent is detailed right to the back wall: laid out as if for a banquest, with sofas, cushions, rugs, a low table etc.The roof comes separate, so you can paint the inside without any difficulty and then glue the top on afterwards.
This is a really nice piece that is actually very easy to paint as the roof and walls have subtle markings for where the stripes go. The inside is easy too: everything is clearly defined and not difficult to get a brush to. Highly recommended.
The second camp is also from Baueda, and consists of a large tent. No markings for where the stripes go, but as it’s a big piece it’s pretty easy to get a decent stripe effect anyway. The model comes complete with relief folds and creases, so the base colour Contrast paint works well to show them off.
The camels and handler are from the Red Copper Arab civilians set and, as you can see, paint up very nicely.
The large space in front of the tent, by the way, is space for a defending unit or for keeping coins, ammo markers etc. I wanted to make sure the camps were practical as well as good looking!
I do sometimes field three camps, so here is a third comprising of two round tents and a tree!
I can’t remember where the tents came from (I think Khurasan) but they are metal and really make the base heavy! The tree came with the Baueda tent, above, but worked better here.
The three figures and the ‘shop’ also came from Red Copper’s Arab Civilians pack, and are lovely figures full of character and animation. I think I could have made a better job of the tents (maybe trying vertical stripes) but they look okay done like this.
Here’s a look at all three camps together:
Finally for this post I also needed some foot commanders and mounted heroes (for the Jund cavalry). These I sourced from Blue Moon Manufacturing via Old Glory as the Red Copper range is limited in terms of command figures, and the 3D Breed Moorish commander is £4.50 for one foot and one mounted figure!
I must go back and take another look at the rest of the Blue Moon range, as these paint up beutifully. The Heroes are from their Arab Personality pack, and I particularly like the chap with the hawk on the left as you look at the picture. I am, however, not sure about the chap second from the right: I have painted what he has in his hand as a stick grenade, as that was what it looked like, but it’s probably a torch or a mace of something…although I think the stick grenade would be more useful!
So that’s the Arab Conquest force done: on to converting it into some of the more ‘organised’ Arab forces by substituting Spearmen for Warriors.