Pages

Sunday, January 18, 2015

Paging Mr SAGA

Today's post is filed under "Loose Ends."  First up are 8 warriors to round out my Breton warband. I got tired of painting horses in my fall Breton run so these fellows sat while I rested. Combining my Bretons and Normans, I can field 20 mounted warriors and 36 mounted milites, enough for a Hail Caesar army!

I've meant to paint up baggage for SAGA for some time.  SAGA allows you to base baggage on 40mm x 40mm bases up to a 50mm by 100mm.  You can use livestock, civilians, wagons and/or carts to make up baggage.  Each player in the Grand Melee is required to bring 3 pieces of baggage to the event. With this fire under me, I finally got to painting mine up.  I went for a distressed grey wood and I'm reasonably pleased with how it turned out. Carts and peasants are Gripping Beast, as are the mounted warriors above.  

EDIT: I've had requests for the wood painting recipe. Unfortunately, this time it's a little sketchy.  I didn't take notes because I wasn't sure how this was going to turn out. 

I started with black primer, then dark grey applied with a wet brush.  Take care to keep black intact in the recesses where you can. I did this by using the side of my brush. Drybrush with a lighter grey and wash with Army Painter Strong Tone. Finish with a beige green drybrush & highlights on tips and edges. I think I used Vallejo German Camo Beige but I didn't write it down and I have LOTS of light greens. I hope this is helpful and I will take notes next time!

You'll note my baggage train isn't carrying anything at all.  My thinking is that villains and marauders will pass on sacking an empty baggage train and pursue something more loot-tastic. Let's see how this strategy works down at the club.

Last up is my reworked Norse Gael warlord.  After a frustrating stretch of 4 losses, I decided to tweak my list by running my warlord with a Dane axe.  This lowers his armor class but he'll dish out more hits and get 5 dice with the "Howling Axes" ability.  I repainted his base to match the rest of the warband and added a second figure.  The end result is a nice improvement on the original. In his first game out, my warlord not only survived a number of enemy strikes, he also brought home a win. I can only conclude that Odin approves of this revision.




42 comments:

  1. awesome display of figures,colours and brush work!

    well done Seahawks!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Re: Seahawks.
      Family at my house was going wild. Quite an UNBELIEVABLE comeback.

      Delete
    2. 16 down, and the Seahawks came back on top!! A Decisive Victory!

      Delete
    3. Thanks fellows! Perhaps you can bottle the experience of cheering on a winning team and ship it to MN. Hard times as far as they eye can see in football, basketball and baseball too. Thank goodness for gaming. ;-)

      Delete
  2. More great SAGA work, Monty! Beautiful brushwork as always.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Jonathan! I do hope you and Phil aren't out flipping cars or climbing streetlights. Beating the Packers was a tall order and your team delivered.

      Delete
  3. Well Mr. SAGA has come through in spades again! Excellent!

    Christopher

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Christopher! It does help that it's the game of choice around here.

      Delete
  4. "Odin favet audaces", I guess. Or maybe he just favours the best painted figs on the table ;) Awesome figures, Monty - the carts are particularly lovely! Cheers!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Great line, I should get it on a T shirt! Thanks NoVember.

      Delete
  5. Looking great Monty. You've got an impressive amount of cavalry painted up. I'd be happy to never see another horse on my paint table for a very long time! The rebasing did the trick with your Warlord. If you weren't a superstitious person, wargaming would certainly turn you into one!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Paul, you are so right. Its a slog painting a lot of cavalry at once. I should give the oil rub method a try next time to speed things up.

      Yea, this game can make you superstitious!

      Delete
  6. Great warband, Monty! Awesome work all around.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I like the new warlord, and the wagon with the grey wagon driver is really nice as well.

    FMB

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Marcus! It is so cool that you and your son get to game together.

      Delete
  8. Lovely Bretons, baggage and warlord Monty!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Cyrus! Thanks to you, I now want to paint Pontic in 28mm. ;-)

      Delete
  9. Superb Monty! The warlord in particular is excellent – I really like the new base.

    Great work on the wagons as well. I have these models lurking in my lead pile too. Do you mind sharing your recipe for the wood? Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Jonas! Absolutely. I found a tutorial for painting distressed wood where they used grey with green accents. I could not find my way back to it so this was "seat of the pants.
      Black primer
      Dark grey wet brush
      Lighter grey drybrush
      Wash
      Green drybrush & highlights...I think it was German Camo Beige but I didn't write it down. I was just eyeballing it since I didn't have a recipe. I hope this is somewhat helpful!

      Delete
    2. Cheers Monty! Very helpful indeed!

      Delete
  10. These really look impressive! I personally have huge problems picking a favorite! Great work!

    But what I do know is... you did a lovely job depicting that weathered wood on the carts!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Burkhard! It was time for me to do distressed wood in a new way. I think it's a keeper!

      Delete
  11. Loose ends they may be, but my word they're a bit good - I love the baggage train particularly.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Great looking cavalry (love the colors), beautiful warlord (so strong and fierce!)...but my favourites are the baggage trains, really amazing, I want the sames for our club!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Phil, the baggage is now the runaway favorite! ;-)

      Delete
  13. Great work Monty! Very nice work on the Bretons. The yellowish tunics are particularly striking. The reworked warlord looks terrifying too. I'm sure he won't let you down in the future.
    Looking at your baggage train reminds me of mine sitting in their drawer... thank you for your paint recipe. I'll give it a try once I come to the carts... one day... maybe ;-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Moiterei, thanks. Yea, nothing exciting about a baggage train. Mine would still be unpainted if not for the Grand Melee!

      I'm sure you will ramp up the recipe and results quite nicely!

      Delete
  14. Fantastic painting minis! I love this cavalry!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Hi Monty,

    they are perfect !
    the bagages are top! they will have a great success at the Saga Convention.
    and the warlord is ...woaw! the basing you done is very inspiring!

    All the best.

    Gilles

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Gilles my friend! I can't wait to take the lot to Chicago. It will be my very first "real" tournament. I can see the other players saying "Fresh Meat" as I approach the table. ;-)

      Delete
  16. Looking great. How did you do the grey wood? It looks great and I've never managed to nail it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Phyllion! I didn't keep a recipe but I've edited today's post to include my best recollection. I was doing it by eye and I wasn't sure it would turn out!

      Delete
  17. Yep, painting cavalry is a pain - my brother has painted an entire Breton mounted force, and next on his painting table is a Strathclyde Force on ponies ! as for me I have 16 Rus Prince Hearthguard to finish. Carts are looking great.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mark! Your brother is a glutton for punishment, isn't he? I was thinking that after the big tournament, I'd like to run Strathclyde for a time. So lets say Great minds think alike? Good luck on the Rus Prince. They are tough!

      Delete
  18. Stunning paintwork !!!

    Like the reworked Norse Gael warlord very much, suppouse it was inevitable, if hi managed to lose 4 games, to blame the equipment and get a new shiny axe ;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Good one Michael! A good workman shouldn't blame his tools. Nevertheless, a 2nd axe is a nice improvement.

      Delete
  19. As usual, you deliver the goods, and you even provided transport!

    Great reading, Monty, and thanks for the tips on painting distressed woodwork!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Evan! It really helps to have an active SAGA group.

      Delete
  20. "I'm Odin and I approved this warlord revision". :)
    Very impressive work all around Monty. Thanks for the mini tutorial on wood painting, the results are splendid. I'll be bookmarking this for sure.
    Glad to see you have broken your losing streak at SAGA. Maybe you would like to move to Toronto and coach the Maple Leafs?

    ReplyDelete