Incoming Saxons!

I promised you some Saxons, did I not?  Well, better late than never, or so I have heard.  To be fair, one unit of these was finished before Christmas, I was just sitting on them for a while before taking pictures.  I was pretty active over the last month, finishing these other two units among other things - more on that later.

These Saxons are a mix of Gripping Beast and Wargames Foundry models, and I find they mix ok.  The Foundry models typically have better sculpted faces, and thus look better all around.  The Gripping Beast Saxons look taller and more imposing however.  They have been armed with a smaller buckler which was apparently more common with the Saxons of the 5th century.

Group shot:

A nice mixed yet somewhat disorderly line.  I am happy with how they turned out compared to the time I spent painting them - I tried to be as quick as possible without making them look rubbish.  This is the first unit I finished:

The figure front and centre is my favourite of all.  One of the Foundry miniatures.  Let's have a closer look, shall we?

I think the sculpting on the hand, and his moustache make him full of awesomeness.  He was quite easy to paint up as well.  Here is another closeup from this group, probably my second favourite from this bunch:

On to the next unit I painted:

I think my favourite from this group is the drunkard in the back.  He is actually a Gripping Beast viking (along with his drinking buddy from the first group) but I thought I could sneak them in without too many people noticing.

Front and centre is another fine figure from Foundry, whose smooth facial features lend to easy painting:

Lastly, a more stern and seemingly organized group - outlined by the lack of drunken louts (or perhaps I just ran out of suitable miniatures). 

Front and centre is an imposing and dour figure from Gripping Beast.  I thought he looked serious enough that his men should all appear ready to fight.

There were a couple nice, dynamic poses from this group as well.  It is always fun to paint up figures with different features and poses.  This has been a really fun project.

I hope you like these guys.  I have decided to use them first to play a game or two of SAGA, instead of Dux Britanniarum.  Mostly because I need less models to play SAGA, and it seems a bit easier to teach newcomers.  All I need to finish is a Saxon warlord and a British warlord, and choose suitable factions for them to represent, as SAGA is set about 300 years after the time period in which I have based my Arthurians and Saxons.  Enjoy!

Still here! More Arthurians...

My, how the time flies!  Fall is my favourite season, mostly to spend outside.  As such, pursuits such as painting tend to be forgotten.  If you were wondering what has kept me from the painting table, perhaps this picture of my good friend will give you an idea?

Yep, it's hunting season!  But I won't bore you with the exciting details of my outdoor adventures.  You came here to see what I have painted.  Hopefully I will not disappoint!


I am pleased to say that my Arthurian levy troops are complete!  All that is left to paint for the Arthurian force are the 4 archers and the 4 command models. 

Here they are, all together:

And per unit:

Next, a closeup of the 3 figures which would act as leaders for each unit (even though there is no in-game representation):

Finally, to show that I have been up to other stuff, here is the whole Arthurian force to date with some 4ground scenery and a stand of trees I recently made:

Hope you like it!  I have gotten my Saxon army based (minus the command) so hopefully I can get a few painted up in November.

More Romano-British!

Well, I thought I would have updated you all more frequently, but distractions are to be expected in real life!  Was I very productive?  Perhaps not as much.  Did I accomplish anything?  You bet!

In Dux Britanniarum, your basic starting force for the Romano-British are one unit of 6 elite troops, two units of 6 warriors, and three units of 6 levy/peasant troops.  Add to that four ranged troops and four commanders, you get a total of 44 models in your starter army.  The Saxon starter army starts with three units of 6 warriors, 2 units of 6 elites, four ranged models and four commanders for a total of 38 models.  As of this blog post I have finished:

- 6 elites (my Comanipulares)
- 2 units of 6 warriors (my Milites)
- 10 levy troops (1 2/3 units), minus their spears.

What's that, you want proof?  Of course you do.

First up is the second group of Milites, all based and ready to go:

More of the same, but these ones were not a repaint but were started from scratch after stripping the old paintjobs.  I took some more photos of the leader and armoured guy.  Each will act as a commander for each unit of Milites (no in-game effect, just to stand there and look important!)

Next, I finished the basing and the shields for my Comanipulares:

Lastly, here are the levy so far - all is done save some of the spears:

These figures are primarily West Wind Arthurians.  West Wind Productions recently had a 30% off sale, of which I took full advantage.  I will write a detailed review of my thoughts about the models, and my experience with the company later.  Needless to say, I think they paint up well.  When compared to my Gripping Beast Milites, I find the West Wind to have a bit bulkier proportions (particularly legs and feet) but still rank up ok.  They have separate heads which provides for more variability (and also more fiddly assembly!)

How about some shots of the army in all its glory?  Sure thing!

So my total painted miniatures for this army is 28 (minus 7 spears) out of 44.  That leaves me with 16 Romano- British miniatures and 38 Saxons to paint in four weeks before my deadline... not likely gonna happen, but you really can't rush quality, am I right?

Dux Britanniarum!

My first foray into historical wargaming!  I have fostered a growing interest in historical settings for wargames over the past couple years, and I decided to jump on the boat with the Dux Britanniarum pre-order. I was even fortunate enough to get a free Arthur figure!  After having read the rules, I am keen to give it a try, but alas, I have no opponents at the moment.  What would be the best way to attract new players?  My thought exactly - have two painted armies!

What is Dux Britanniarum you might ask? It is a skirmish game set in 4th century Britain. At that time, the Roman empire withdrew its soldiers from the island, and basically told the residents to 'look to their own defences'. As history shows us, Britain did not stay Roman, but this game pits the remaining Roman colonists against the invading Saxon armies.  It makes use of in-game action cards to add some variety, and focuses heavily on a continuing campaign setting rather than static one-off battles.  Lots of fun!

Thus my quest begins.  I have set myself a lofty goal to paint up a Romano-British and a Saxon force by mid-October.  Doable?  Perhaps, though I will really have to buckle down.  So far I have completed one unit of 6 Milites, and a unit of 6 Comanipulares.  The Comanipulares do not yet have shields, as I am awaiting the LBM transfers before I get them finished.

On to the pictures!

For the Milites, I had received a lot of GB late romans that I felt would fit the bill.  The had already been painted (poorly) and for these I decided to try and paint over them.  While it turned out OK, I am not entirely happy with the results and for my other unit the models have already been stripped and reprimed.  The sculpts themselves are not too stellar IMO, which means they need a bit more TLC to make shine.  Seeing as I am on a deadline, I settled for something closer to tabletop standard.

Next, my Comanipulares, are BTD armoured late romans which I acquired in their latest 50% off everything sale  .  They painted up quite nicely, and for the price I say the detail is great.  The faces are quite expressive, and take to painting pretty well!  Its definitely easier to get a nicer result when you aren't painting over a sub-par paintjob!

All in all they were pretty easy to paint, and I look forward to starting on the rest of them.  I have about 8 weeks to paint 70 more figures, so here's to hoping it just gets easier from this point forward!
Watch this space as I update my progress.  I hope also to share some more insights about the game, and this fascinating period in history!