Spanish for Saga

Or alternately, "out with the old, in with the new." I discovered Crusader Miniatures El Cid Spanish well after I'd painted my Spanish warband using Gripping Beast Normans. I fell in love with the Crusader figures the first time I saw them.  With so much history to paint, it seems silly to repeat a project but that's whats happening here.    

After putting in an order with Crusader, I set about locking in my new color scheme.  My GB Spanish were done in yellows & reds. I tried yellow and black on these Spanish footmen for a test run. Overall, I'm pleased but I'll take the yellow down a notch.  

I'm using a desert basing that matches my Moors so the two can be used against each other in Hail Caesar.  In Saga, I can swap individual figures back and forth for a nice Reconquista look to the warbands.   

With 33-41 horses to paint, I dug out a tutorial on the Metal Mountain blog for the oil wipe method.  I was thrilled with the combination of speed and shading I achieved so the oil wipe method is a lock as well.

I'm blessed to have a buyer in Chicago for almost all of my 15mm & 28mm painting. After a few emails, my Spanish/Norman/Breton/Strathclyde warband was on its way to the Windy City.  The buyer owns a gaming store so these fellows will see the table quite a bit.  It makes me happy to know that something I've painted is put to good use. If you're ever in Chicago and you see these lads out, send me a picture!

Dead Man's Hand

These lovely figures are the "Daughters of the West" set by Great Escape Games.  Each is a character in her own right and that made these fun to paint. Its hard to come up with a back story when you're painting 70 figure warbands for SAGA but it worked for me here.

These fellows are part of the Dead Man's Hand Rogues collection.  Speaking of a story, the Preacher looks to be channeling the abolitionist John Brown.  I can't wait to get him out on the tabletop, even if it is just for a bit of color in a gunfight.

My friend John Stentz hosts a Halloween-themed game of DMH every October. We played  "Dead Man's Hand, Dead Again" with Cowboys versus Zombies last year. This  year was "Night of the Undead Man's Hand" with Outlaws versus Lawmen versus zombies.  You read that right.  Each turn, 3 zombies spawned from a grocery store in the middle of the table and moved to the sound of the nearest gun!  It was a target rich environment with Oktoberfest beers, pumpkin pie and lots of laughs. It's a testament to the game that 3 years on, Dead Man's Hand in still in  rotation and I'm already looking forward to our next Halloween showdown.  

I've got two new SAGA warbands under way. The US Grand Melee is next March and I've got 4 months to paint and train up with a new warband.  I'm split on taking the Spanish or Mutatawwi'a. Whatever I take, it'll be another epic event, courtesy of Eric Hagen and all the great players who turn out. This gaming life is a good one!

Norse Gaels Set Sail

I started painting my Norse-Gaels in January of 2014 and just finished them two weeks ago. 72 figures is a lot for a SAGA warband but I wanted all options. With new warbands in the painting queue and others resting, I put these up for sale.  Since they went to a local player, I'll get to see them at our SAGA events.  Bonus, the $ will fund my airbrush setup now that I've picked out my hardware.

The Gripping Beast & Footsore Irish figures mix very well.  I recommend both for anyone painting Norse-Gaels.  I painted up a warlord with Dane Axe and one without.  A priest is very handy with this warband too. Hearthguard with Dane Axe and without.  When running 20-30 warriors with Dane Axe, I tend to take my hearthguard without axes.  I tend to leave my levy javelinmen at home.  Maybe the new warlord will give them a workout?  Warriors without Dane Axes are javelin-armed and have a lower armor class to shooting.  Shooty warbands go after these lads first so be prepared. I do love the Footsore scuplt with the head! Warriors with Dane Axe.  I like to max out on these.  Buffed with abilities like Howling Axes and Slaughter, these fellows are deadly in 5 and 6 man units! 

I took these Norse Gaels to my first SAGA Grand Melee and they performed very well.  Painting and playing them was a blast but now they're off to serve a new warlord. Cheers, boys!