Which way the lead mountain?

After a decades long layoff, I came back to miniatures as a father-son project.  My son wanted to play Warhammer Fantasy so I bought unpainted collections at Bartertown. In short order, I had a plastic mountain of Orcs & Goblins, Dwarfs, and Tomb Kings.  Being new at this, my son and I were very slow painters. That plus assembling the figures meant it took us many sessions to finish a single unit.  And there were so damned many GW boxes! What was I thinking, buying 3 armies at once?  Every time I got a peek at the plastic mountain, my enthusiasm for painting sunk.  When my son moved onto the world of music, I was left to finish the lot myself.

I did eventually finish at a rate of an army a year but the experience left a mark.  When I quit fantasy for historicals, I decided to avoid this mistake.  I use an accountant's precision to plot my purchases.  I keep a first in, first out (FIFO) painting system. Before I start a new project, I finish the old one.  With this push, my collection of unpainted 28mm minis is down to 6 figures.

These fellows fill some  gaps in my Viking and Anglo-Danish warbands for Saga.  I used triads with the cloaks but I toned down my color jumps and washed to flatten them out for a more gradual transition.

The slingers add an important shooty element to the Anglo-Danish warband. Being levy, they're quite dull to look at.  

Running out of things to paint, I also finished some Saga color items including aditional fatigue counters. 

With my Just in time inventory system maxed, I'm back to sifting through unpainted lead at Bartertown and browsing Architectsofwar.  I've got my eye on more Dark Age figures.  It can't hurt to keep a lead molehill, can it?

Anglo-Danes & warlords, too

In Saga, you can base up your warlord on either a 40mm or 50mm base. I use 50mm in order to have more room to create a diorama of sorts. For my Viking warlord, I broke out bark and fiddled for some time to find just the right pose.  I do how like how the grays and whites all came together here.  

For my Anglo-Dane warlord, I had a good number of figures to pair with him but ultimately, I kept coming back to the plump bannerman.  Balding and stocky, I think they make quite a pair.  When the dinner bell rings, don't stand in their way.  

Last up is the whole Anglo-Dane warband-16 huscarls, 16 cerols and a sullen warlord mustered out in double time.  The A-Ds painted up quickly but then, painting Vikings this spring was a great warmup for painting their later brethren. Now that they're done, I can't wait to get them on the tabletop.

I did get a game of Field of Glory in Saturday.  As the only historicals in a fantasy store, we got a good deal of walk-up traffic and comments on our armies.  Once again, the Romans were impossible to overcome even though v2  has knocked them down from ubermen to better than everyone else in period. Stalin once said quantity has a quality of it's own but then, he didn't have to fight the Romans, did he?

It was a fun, fast-paced game with me working the flanks and aiming for overlaps to neutralize Roman superiority. As my initial charges didn't go well, I came back and charged with every unit on the table in the following turn. That felt very Galatian but it didn't turn the tide. The Roman historian Livy would have written about me "Descendit vibrantur" or "He went down swinging."

Pants!  Who needs them?  

SHIELDWALL!

The Accidental Warband moves toward the finish line with 16 Anglo-Dane Ceorls.  Last up will be 2 warlords. Why 2?  Well, I sold off my plastic Vikings and warlord so once again, I have a hole in my collection to paint over.

You gotta love the large shields and the way LBMS transfers bring them to life. All Gripping Beast figs.

To round out the crew, I dug up 12 Viking Bondi I painted last spring and never posted. Adding them to my new figs gives me a total of 28 warriors for a Viking or Anglo-Dane warband.  When I run a Viking warband in Saga, I'll use the large shielded warriors like below. That is a pretty decent Viking shieldwall.

When I run Anglo-Danes, I'll use a mix of shields including kites. Kite shields appeared in the A-D forces once they hired Norman mercenaries. And Canute the Great employed Jomsvikings with his multinational Scandinavian expedition in 1014.  That means you could slip Joms or Norman foot into this warband. The portability of figs for Anglo-Danes is a nice bonus!

Today, my Galatian army will see the tabletop for the first time against the dreaded Romans in Field of Glory. I'm thinking of yelling "SHIELDWALL!" during the Roman impact phase to distract my opponent and the dice gods.  I'm hoping a few good rolls might sneak through as a result. If I want to have any chance of winning today, I better come up with a more robust plan.

The Accidental Warband

I gave the Ango-Danes a try in Saga and fell in love with their battleboard the first time out. I played them slow, loading my opponent up with fatigue. My opponent loaded his board and went all in for a knockout punch. I not only survived, I also swept his fatigued units right off table. Predictably, I was hooked!

So whats the accidental part? I just put the Ango-Danes together last week and they were supposed to sit and wait their turn.  Then, my wife and I streamed the fabulous Vikings series on The History Channel.  I could fill a post with the reasons I loved the series.  The short version is it fired my imagination and I couldn't let these figures sit with such good inspiration.  So I'm rushing the warband to the finish line.

8 Huscarls: Tough looking hombres with a nice mix of shields. I've started using Tajimal Miniautres tufts as a changeup from the silflor tufts I usually use.  Excellent product and if you buy 4 or more packs, shipping is free!

8 Huscarls with Dane axes:  These fellows get a +1 to hit due to the 2 handed axe and suffer a 1- to their armor value due to no shield.  They'll be the heavy hitters in my A-D warband.

Prime black, drybrush silver, block in, wash, add highlights and you're to the finish line. You'll notice that I traded my paint pots for glass. I like how I can put a drop of water down and work my paint into it for just the right consistency. Colors mix easily in this setup as well so I think it's a keeper.

So, whats today's takeaway?  That I'm easily distracted?  No. That I don't have a life away from the painting table?  Close, but still no.  The takeaway is you must watch the Vikings series. Check out the Season 2 trailer HERE with a Viking on Viking scrum. If you're not already knee-deep in the Dark Ages, you will be after this series. And maybe, just maybe, Saga will call out to you as well.  Don't say I didn't warn you!

Shieldwalls, axes, intrigue and something for the ladies...