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Wednesday, September 10, 2014

Flemish Mercenaries

First up today are 8 Flemish mercenaries by Gripping Beast.  Famous for their heavy spearmen, the Flemish served as mercenaries for the Franks and Normans. At the Battle of Hastings, they were part of William’s army. After the conquest of England, they offered their services to local magnates.   

In SAGA,  Flemish mercenaries can be included in a warband as Swords for Hire. The Flemish are 8 foot warriors with an Armour of 5, reflecting their heavy equipment and formation. Their movement is reduced to S in open terrain and they do not generate Saga dice. The Flemish may be activated once a turn for free. They do not benefit from any SAGA abilities. Lastly, when engaged in melee by an enemy unit or are the target of a shooting, the Flemish are treated as being in hard cover. In short, Flemish mercenaries are a slow but powerful defensive unit, useful for holding objectives and terrain.




A few weeks back, fellow blogger and painter Iowa Grognard asked if I'd paint these for him. Having followed Jeff's AWI painting for years, I was thrilled to do so.  Jeff and his wife both play SAGA and he anticipates a bidding war for the Flemish sellswords. To round out the job, I also painted two Anglo-Saxon warlords.  Basing was left undone so Jeff can match these to his current collection. Thanks Jeff for this splendid opportunity.  It is a lucky man who shares this hobby with his spouse!

We're 2 weeks away from the start of fall, a season routinely cut short by winter here in Minnesota.  I've been on the hunt for winter painting projects and I found a good one. This lot traveled all the way from Denmark to get into my painting queue. I've painted up a bit of WW II for Chain of Command but none of it ended up in my own collection.  This is my first step to fielding a WWII force and also putting Chris Stoesen's "In the Name of Roma!" to work in an East Front campaign.  

35 comments:

  1. Great looking Flemings, Monty. I really like the painted helmets of the period. Chain of Command, huh? Hmm, haven't tried those rules yet; as I haven't played Bolt Action enough as it is. So far, the weather here in Western WA has been pretty good - sunshine for many days in fact. Today a bit cloudy, but do not look forward to the dark/rainy season soon to come. Best, Dean

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    1. Thanks Dean! I used to have a rule that I'd do only 25% painted helmets but they do look nicer than metal. Flush with gold, the mercenaries were able to afford paint. ;-)

      Enjoy the good weather, Dean. I know it wont last here!

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  2. More good looking figures. Your red/yellow combination is really growing on me. I may have to give it a whirl.

    On the WWII front, is this package for a commission or for some of your own painting and gaming pleasure? I hope the latter!

    Better get your primering for winter projects completed before winter sets in...

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    1. Thanks Jonathan! That was poor writing on my part. These are for my WW II East Front project and collection. I'm a bit ashamed to admit this Jonathan but I primer in my utility room in the basement with a painter's mask on. Not ideal but the painting table demands it.

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  3. Splendid looking mercenaries and quite a nasty bunch also. Looking forward to your Eastern Front project as I do it myself and I'm always on the hunt for inspiration.

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    1. Thanks Moiterei! I'm following in your footsteps with both Dux B and now the East front. Where are we going next?

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  4. Wonderful figures and such a fine painting. It´s a joy to look at your posts!
    Peter

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    1. Thanks Scheck, for you kind comments. Wow, I really love your blog!

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  5. Excellent Flemish Mercenaries Monty! They are a tough nut to crack in Saga.

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    1. Thanks Cyrus and you are correct. If they could walk just a bit faster, I think everyone would take the Flemish in their warband.

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  6. Very nice painting. Great project for winter as well.
    cheers

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    1. Thanks Brendan! I'm looking forward to the new front.

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  7. great looking shield patterns... awesome painting by you sir!

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    1. Thanks Phil! The credit for the shields goes once again to the fabulous LBMS transfers.

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    1. Thanks Phil, looking forward to your next great AAR!

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  9. Nice work on the Flemings there, Monty; will they get tested during the SAGA Storm, perhaps?

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    1. Evan, thanks! It's a bit of a drive up to the Twin Cities but Jeff and I will get together one day. The only question is whether it's Iowa or Minnesota. :-)

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  10. Excellent work Monty. The Flemish seem like they make up for a few deficiencies of the Normans. They would make a nice addition to my Norman warband. Good to see you're getting organised for winter :-)

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    1. Paul, all of you FoW tournament reporting has me jonesing for some WW II gaming. And the Normans, I just can't seem to master that faction. They're resting in a box while I test drive my Norse Gael. Lucky me, I get out for a game tonight!

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  11. Great looking figures, Monty. Lovely work on the chain mail, and the shields look terrific! A great project!

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    1. Thanks Sidney, your African Autumn project will be sure to please!

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  12. Okay, I have to ask, what's with the green guy? Everyone else has this fairly consistent colour scheme, and then out pops Mr, Green?!? ;)

    FMB

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    1. You know, there always has to be one in the bunch, going his own way and refusing to be color coordinated!

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  13. What? We aren't slow! Who said that? ;-)
    Excellent painted figures! What else can I say, that I love them, these fellow countrymen!

    Greetings
    Peter

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    1. Peter! Good things take time so I'd say being slow is a compliment. ;-) Thanks so much for ringing in, and nice work on your Jagdpanther!

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  14. These fellows arrived in the mail today and WOW, even better looking in the flesh. Nicole was very happy with her Saxon Warlords, btw. Very lucky to have these painted by you. I will definitely want to do more business in the future, but I don't want to distract from your own projects.

    Thanks again for a great job done.

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    1. Superb! I've got a bit of a backlog but winter is long and I'd love to do some more painting for you. Thank you for the 15mm Spanish. That's another winter project I'm looking forward to!

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  15. Excellent work on the mercenaries, Monty.
    I'm looking forward to seeing your WWII progress now.

    Cheers
    Stefan

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    1. Thanks Stephan, I can't wait to paint and play for Chain of Command again!

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  16. Cracking paint job on the figures Monty! Looking forward to seeing your WWII material!

    Christopher

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    1. Thanks Christopher, I hope you enjoyed your trip back to the US!

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  17. Oh, I like those Flemish fellas a lot – nice and colorful.

    Looking forward to seeing your Soviet horde!

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    1. Thanks Jonas, not a codpiece in this lot! ;-)

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  18. Great work on the Flemish, also looking forward to seeing what you do with the Soviets.

    Steve

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