Dark Ages over the holidays

I decided to work up some Saxons over the break for a game of Hail Caesar I plan to run in January. I had a box of these fyrd, so gave them a go:

They came out okay, I got better at constructing dynamic poses with practice, but to be honest I prefer my shieldwall at rest or on guard with spears held vertically and this pose was not possible with the available armatures. The detail also tends to be soft and shallow, they are not nearly as good as Perry, Warlord or GW plastics. On the bright side, there are lots of good bits on the sprues for future conversions (bows, shields, etc). Still, a very good value. I plan to do the remaining warriors as Norman liberi using the kite shields and helmet head options.

I also found some Old Glory Huscarls that are great, the OG dark age stuff is really good- lots of character and dynamic poses (sometimes a bit OTT, but on balance they are excellent value and paint up really well.

The peasants are revolting!

Bit of a gap since my last posting, I actually finished another ECW cavalry regiment but it looks just like every other regiment, so I didn't bother putting it up. Then last week I finished my Covenanter command stand figures, I really like the cleric and the piper:

I also did a batch of medieval peasants who can be very useful for many scenarios. These turned out pretty well, I experimented with Vallejo wash over base/shade/highlight. They are a bit dark, but of course they are supposed to be filthy, miserable and angry

Up next: well, it's this time of year of course:

Happy Holidays everyone, keep safe and have fun!

ECW New Model Artillery and Horse

Latest ECW units to come off my bench is a mix of artillery and horse. There are two Warlord saker guns and crew. I couldn't decide whether to mount the crew on the base with the gun or base them separately. So I did one of each.

I have just assembled the last 10 horse and primed the command models- a pretty cool assortment of preachers, agitators, commanders and other goodies. And that will likely be a wrap for ECW for some time. Two armies is enough? Perhaps...

DBA Early Imperial Rome

I finally finished a Corvus Belli 15mm DBA army, this is the box set will all options. I also used a bit of FIW resin wooden pallisade as a camp.

Nice figs, good size, excellent detail, paint up well, lots of variety in the poses. On the downside, they were a complete bear to clean up, lots of flash.

Here are the Auxilia

The core of the legion, Blades

Cavalry, I usually prefer the cavalry general for mobility and he is harder to kill than a Blade

Camp:

Not sure how they will fare, tonight Mark is bringing something over to test them against. It is probably a forgiving army to play because it is well balanced, but I think it is also vulnerable to mounted esp if they feature knights. I am also not 100% how to play the mandatory artillery, parked in the camp it keeps your rear safe, but it is tempting to try it out on the battlefield, especially if there are jumbos or tempting bows to shoot at.

Dragoons

I just finished a unit of Parliamentary dragoons, I wanted to do Okey's but I don't know anything about their colours. So they will generic- will have to come up with a guidon of some sort. These are converted Warlord musketeers, firelock party and cavalry. Turned out okay, not as nice as the dragoon models purpose made, but I have lots of material to work with so wanted to give them a try.

Next up: I have just cleaned and primed a Corvus Belli 15mm Early Imperial Roman DBA army. Nice figs, but it took longer to clean and assemble those than a box of 28mm Warlord plastics!

New Model Army pike and shot regiment

Another pike and shot regiment for my New Model Army came off the line this week. The highlight in the unit is the nice preacher model from Warlord games alongside of the command. The figs are all Warlord except for the command which are mostly Foundry. I am still enjoying this project and the painting, but there is quite a way to go yet. Sorry for the pics, very dark today now that winter has arrived.

Seljuk DBA army for sale!

I just listed my Seljuk Turk 15mm DBA army on ebay for $1 starting bid (http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250928148478). I am selling it to raise funds for the crack in the basement repair at our wargaming venue. 100% of the proceeds will be donated to the EWG group, so go bid!!!

Picoarmour desert rats

Over the weekend I completed a couple of regiments of British picoarmour for the Beda Fomm scenarios I have planned. This first batch is mostly tanks

There are some transport for the 25lber guns (not received yet)

This is an FAO:

An HQ

2lber portees:

A10s

Vickers MKVI and A13s

 A13s

business end of some portees:

A9s

A10s

More of the wee Vickers:

Pretty close to having the first scenario ready to go, waiting for the artillery guns (required for the Brits who used 25lbers firing over open sights) and some additional terrain pieces.

ECW firelock party and the man himself

I completed another unit for my late Parliament ECW army, this is a company of firelocks (musketeers) ready to storm, well, .... something. Warlord figs, with command and a couple of conversions. These guys all have the same body with 2 arm variants, plus of course the obligatory selection of hats. There is also Ollie himself cheering the lads on.

Yes, I know the lighting is shite. However I don't have photo blind and no sunshine in Edmonton today.

Next up: should be those picoarmour Brits based and ready to be painted....