Kate Bush Sang About It, I Live By It...

Serendipity is a strange thing, and rears it's head quite a lot in my hobby.

For instance, I am always looking for interesting bargains and they have a back of being those 'perfect' items for my tastes or something I have always dreamed of getting my hands on.

However, the most interesting cases are when it also involves friends in a kind of blind synchronicity.

This was the case this weekend, when I was mulling over something a little different, having completed my 28mm NMA on Saturday and the idea of something Medieval or Ancient popped into my head. I recalled that I'd seen a truly enormous 15mm Medieval Moslem army which was capable of representing about half a dozen different lists as well as just being a bloody enormous mob in it's own right.

It ticked the boxes for me when making an unplanned purchase:

1. 1058 pieces

2. Very neatly painted in a traditional toy soldier style

3. Attractively priced

But of course, the rub was that I'd need an opponent. Now you would need a lot of Westerners to take them on, and I was saying as much to my bezzie, Roger by subtly hinting that I needed to find a nutter with a similar sized force, thinking he may be able to use some of his Dark Age bits and possibly get him a little enthused (as is our way with each other over the years).

Now, Roger agreed that I'd need a nutter but stood his ground like the Colossus of Rhodes, which I fully respected and so I put the Saracens on the mental back burner.

A few minutes later an email arrived from Roger containing a picture of the Ian Heath ;Wargaming The Crusades' book and the news that he had found several hundred painted but unbased 15mm Crusaders lying about the mansion and which he'd overlooked. So, he said, if I grabbed the Moslems, he had a pretty good start on the opposition.

Serendipity, you see...

So, I made a ridiculous offer to the seller, who fell into my fiendish trap and made a counter offer 9I was actually surprised because over the last few months the price had dropped considerably already.

The trap was sprung and I acquired an instant collection for less than bare metal price. 

Later on Saturday when I was speaking with other online gaming contacts, it turned out that one of them was cursing, because they'd seen the army they'd been watching for a few months had sold that day; a 15mm Moslem army don't you know... I kept silent, because I don't think they'd appreciate that additional bit of serendipity.

The bases will (to placate Roger lest he have a fit at a Crusade army being on green bases) repainted in sand with a few dry grass tufts and it does need some flags adding, but here's the army:

• 307 Cavalry In 23 Units with CIC & 3 Sub Generals;
• 444 Infantry In 25 units & 3 Sub Generals; and
• WRG6 Mounted

Cavalry consists of:

• 1 x Commander in Chief
• 3 x 2 Sub-generals - heavy cavalry lance, bow, shield (HCL B SH)
• 4 x12 Bedouin skirmishers - light cavalry lance, shield (LCL SH)
• 2 x12 Cuman skirmishers - light cavalry javelin, bow (LC JLS B)
• 3 x12 Turkoman tribesman - light cavalry bow, shield (LC B SH)
• 4 x16 Syrian cavalry - heavy cavalry lance, shield (HCL SH)
• 1 x16 Kurdish cavalry - HCL S H
• 2 x 12 Askari - extra heavy cavalry lance, bow shield (EHC L B SH)
• 3 x 12 Qaraghulans - HCL B SH
• 1 x 12 Royal Mamluks - EHC L B SH
• 1 x 12 Toassin Mamluks - HCL B SH
• 1 x 12 Cuman Nobles - HCL B SH
• 1 x 16 Bedouin Camelry - light camalry javelin, shield (LCM JLS SH)

Infantry consists of:

• 3 x 2 Sub-generals
• 4 x 16 Syrian spearmen - medium infantry, light spearmen or javelin and shield (MI LTS/JLS SH)
• 1 x 30 Syrian bowmen (6 mixed unit spearmen) - medium infantry, bow (MI B)
• 1 x 24 crossbowmen - light heavy infantry, crossbow (LHI CB)
• 2 x 16 Muttawi medium infantry - light medium infantry, two handed cutting weapon, shield (LMI 2HCW SH)
• 4 x 16 Sudanese spearmen - light medium infantry, javelin, shield (LMI JLS SH)
• 2 x 12 Sudanese bowmen - light medium infantry, bow (LMI B)
• 1 x 16 Ghazis - LMI LJS SH
• 2 x 20 Ahdath - light medium infantry, light spear, shield (LMI, LTS, SH)
• 2 x 20 Abbasid Ghazis - LMI LJS SH
• 1 x 24 Jabaliyya - LMI JLS SH
• 1 x 8 Naffatun - light infantry, hand-hurled naphtha bombers (LI)
• 2 x 20 Bowmen - light infantry, bow (LI B)
• 2 x 16 Skirmishers - light infantry, javelin, shield (LI JLS SH)