Anglo Saxon Warband

Thanks to a persistent bout of bursitis, my hours at the painting table are way down this year.  Lemons to lemonade, this is a good thing as I now pay attention to how long I sit and avoid it as much as possible.  I've got a standing desk at work and another to replace my painting table. Being an "iron ass" and sitting for 6-8 hours in a stretch is not good for me, no matter how much I enjoy painting.

This project is a bit of a lark.  When I saw the new Anglo-Saxon battle board for Saga, I realized an all levy warband could work.  I went to Footsore and picked out 48 shield & spear levy along with 24 archers.  Along with great sculpts, Footsore offers a massive variety of poses and figures. You can pick through this rabble and only occasionally find doubles.  It's another reason why Footsore is my fav!  

Most of these lads were painted with inks and washes over zenithal priming. I added a white drybrush over the zenithal to make my highlights pop.  It is a speedy but nice effect and finished with the standard Foundry flesh 5A, B and C highlights.  I mixed custom washes and inks to get more variety in this band.  

The King is by Crusader Miniatures and from their El Cid line.  I've had him for years and realized it might be clever to have a King leading an army made up of only farmers.  All in all, I'm happy to now have a 2nd Age of Viking warband and they're quite fun to play!  

Saga Shows

Today I want to share my two favorite Saga shows. Whether you're just starting out or you've been playing SAGA for years, you'll learn loads from both of these.

Joe Rogers produces and hosts Saga Thorsday, a weekly Youtube show of all things Saga.  Joe has a great wit and a deep love & knowledge of the game.  He brings in a new guest each week to talk about the boards and game. You'll learn quite a lot by listening to how other people play the game.  Check it out and subscribe!  Shameless plug, I'm the guest for this week's show about the Welsh.

Joe, Jim and Chris produce the superb Northern Tempest podcast.  You can access the shows via their FaceBook page here or the archives here.  These lads are passionate about the game and very active in UK Saga community.  I keep these queued up for my painting sessions and car trips. While listening to their show on my long drive back from the US Grand Melee, they persuaded me to paint and play Vikings for a time. Well done!

Both Northern Tempest and Saga Thorsday are great inspiration for planning and painting your warbands.  And playing the game too.  Check them out!

To wrap up, here's my current Saga project. 72 Anglo Saxon levy in the zenithal highlight phase.  Now to put some paint on them.

Dead Man's Hand

Great Escape Games keeps DMH fresh with a steady stream of new figures, gangs and color items. First up is the Tong Gang.  If you're a fan of the HBO series Deadwood, you'll recognize the fellow with the meat cleaver as Wu. Sometimes after a bad day at work, I too shake my fist and meat cleaver at the heavens. I had a bit of fun mixing up my blacks with green, blue and grey tints.

More Zombie denizens for the Curse of Dead Man's Hand.  A bit gruesome and colorful!

The Count and his motley gang.  Here's hoping they're as fun to play as they were to paint. 

Lastly, a hodgepodge of color items for the game. Rest easy, I sourced the snake colorings (other than the anaconda) to the American West. Today's post shows why painting for Dead Man's Hand remains one of my favorite subjects 3 years on. Where else do you get to paint snakes, zombies, horses, zombie cattle, Dracula and Wu too?