Common Era Errors

[Ben Waterhouse]

It's bloomin' daft.....isn't it ? 

Too late to change 'the whole world' to the same system, now.

Cheers - Mr Stuck-In-The Mud.

Variety is the spice of life...

[d_Guy]

When you lot switch to the right we lot will go metric. We should do it on the same day.

[steve_holmes_11]

Apart form Sweden, I don't know of any other country that switched sides as motor cars displaced horses as the main means of transport.

Update: Loads of countries changed over, usually to conform to the standard among neighboring nations.

[FierceKitty]

Roman armour

...was mail a thousand times for every once it was a moulded cuirass or a lorica segmentata, which didn't exist during the republic.

[Duke Speedy of Leighton]

But Lorica was used from the Early Principate and used up until at least Severus.

[FierceKitty]

Oh, certainly. Just tired of seeing Caesar or Scipio leading troops wearing it. Trajan's column and Asterix will answer for this at the last judgment.

[Duke Speedy of Leighton]

 
*MA in Roman Military History and feeling like a fight.*
Trajan's column shows a mix of armour, within the correct timeframe (and Goscinney and Underzo have done more for popularizing Roman history than anyone apart from Gibbon [who himself could/should feature on this thread]). I would love to do a Caesarian army of Asterix figures.

[Chad]

Think Obelix will have something to say about that 😉

[FierceKitty]

Trajan's column is a thing of endless joy to a wargamer. I just object to the assumption that it covers everything.

[Westmarcher]

Split Rail Fences

If you randomly nick them to break up the smoothness and add a touch of paint and/or a wash, cocktail sticks (of the round variety) with the ends cut off can make believable logs for entrenchments and fortifications. But not for split rail fences.

Firstly, split rail fences are made of split lengths of wood. Cocktail sticks (of the round variety) are, in effect, logs. So, it's probably better to use the straight edge variety of toothpick (as featured in the Fire & Fury ACW rules, for example) (but, even then, these are probably only suitable for the larger scales).

Secondly, what scale are your figures? Real life rails in a split rail fence are usually only about 10 or 12 feet long and are easily lifted by one man. So, for 15mm, the rails should be about 25mm to 30mm long, in 10mm scale, no more than 20mm, and in 6mm scale, no more than 12mm.

The cocktail sticks in my kitchen cupboard are of fairly standard size. But at 80mm long (60mm if you cut off the pointy ends) can you now see how naff cocktail sticks are for fencing? Scale wise, its a telegraph pole. It's far too long and too heavy for one man to lift. 

So, when buying (or making) your split-rail fencing, choose carefully.

Split rail fences come in various types. I've visited a number of U.S. battlefields and have lots of photographs of period fences but, unfortunately, I'm naff at posting pictures so here are some examples in the following link.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Split-rail_fence

[Ithoriel]

The Asterix books were a set text for my Archaeology course at uni. Prof Piggot reckoned they were the best depiction of druids anywhere, at the time.

[Westmarcher]

I liked it when Asterix and Obelix visited Britannia and were asked by their Celtic host if they wanted milk in their hot water. 

(tea hadn't been discovered yet).

[Duke Speedy of Leighton]

Westmarcher...
https://blotz.co.uk/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=23_57_187

[steve_holmes_11]

The Asterix books were a set text for my Archaeology course at uni. Prof Piggot reckoned they were the best depiction of druids anywhere, at the time.

We have Druids doing an event in the local park today.
They've come quite a way since Getafix and his brothers.

[paulr]

I would love to do a Caesarian army of Asterix figures.

One of our 'local' DBMM players has one, it is a joy to behold