Old West Outlaws

For my first Old West painting post, I'd like to establish my Western bona fides.  I lived in Nevada for 4 years and Arizona for 11.  My wife was born in Tombstone and we met at the University of Arizona.  In the desert, I once grabbed a snake by the tail and got bit. I used to catch lizards, mark their bellies with blue dye and then release them back into the wild to see if I could catch them again.   Prospecting with my dad, we once found an old crate of TNT. For brevity, I'll cut myself short and say I still miss the wide open spaces, the mountain skyline and the subtle beauty of the West. Painting Old West figures won't take me back to the place I love, but it's a pleasant reminder!

This commission is for a friend who's going to run them under Great Escape Games Dead Man's Hand.  The figures are loaded with detail and each is a character in their own right.  I thought the challenge here would be to keep a tight and earthy palette. It turns out that painting 36 unique characters is the bigger challenge. There are no economies of scale after you prime the figures!  

For each Old West post, I'd like to tell a western flavored story.  Today's is about Gary Gygax's Boot Hill, my 2nd favorite RPG of my youth after D & D.  Employing two 10 sided dice for character abilities and combat, the game was ahead of its time. It didn't catch on like D & D in part because it was brutally unforgiving. While character attributes leveled up after gunfights, you were still as susceptible to death by a bullet after 20 gunfights as you were in 1. And once you died in Boot Hill, there were no spells or clerics to revive you. You were simply dead and had to start over.

Being young and blessed with loads of time, I spent many hours filling up binders with campaign materials. I rolled up hundreds of characters, drew up maps and  missions.  All the background material paid dividends every time my friends sat down for a game or campaign.  Funny thing, kids who were too cool to play D & D were happy to play Boot Hill!

The summer before we headed off to college, my best friend Pat asked to start a campaign.  From our first game, Pat said he wanted to find Doc Holliday and challenge him to a gunfight.  I had a secret "house rule" that fictional characters couldn't find & kill the legends of history. So I kept Pat on a wild goose chase by making sure Doc was always one town away.  The hunt for Doc became the thing that summer and we had many great adventures along the way.  Over that summer, something amazing happened that I never saw before or since. Pat's character wouldn't die. Against all odds, he lived through every gunfight & diced his way out of every tough spot.  He played so well, so luckily and for so long that his stats topped out and he became nearly invincible.

The week before we left for college, I let Pat find Doc Holliday.  Even though Doc tried to talk him out of it, Pat wouldn't rest until they had a shootout.  Pat was faster and better than Doc. He got off 3 shots that all found their mark before Doc could pull the trigger. Badly wounded, Doc's ability to shoot back AND hit were greatly diminished. I pitched the dice and against long odds, Doc got off a single shot that hit. I pulled out Bio One to find where the hit was, diced it and it was Pat's head. A headshot is never good but it could be the ear, the jaw or a grazing wound.  I diced it again and it came up Pat's forehead. There was no saving throw.  Just like that, Pat was dead and the campaign over. Pat fell into a stunned silence. Seeing how much it shook him, I felt quite badly about having rolled up the bullet that killed him.

This ended our Boot Hill playing days. When I'd suggest a new campaign, Pat would say "What's the point? I'll never top that." He was right. Sometimes, he'd reminisce about his character, look into the distance and say "Remember when...?" 30 years later, I still remember.

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...

Jomsvikings DONE!

One of the great things about Saga is painting an entire warband in just a few weeks.  Here's the warlord and his right hand killer.  And then the whole warband crowded in for a shot too.  If only my minis could take selfies, the quality of photos on my blog would surely improve!

Thanks to a touch of OCD, I usually finish one project before starting another.  Lately though, I've pitched that so I can work like the rest of you.  With the Joms done, here's what's on my table.

Old West: I've got a commission for 28 Great Escape old west figs including Desperadoes, Cowboys, Outlaws and Lawmen.  I'm looking forward to a demo game once I'm finished.  Back in the day, I spent many, many hours playing the old RPG Boot Hill so I'm really looking forward to this.

Anglo-danish:  I gave this warband a spin in Saga over the summer and won my first time out. If that's not reason enough to buy a new warband, I also enjoyed their battleboard.  If you already have a Viking warband, then Anglo-danes are an easy lift as you can port figures between the two warbands.

Dailami: Technically, they're not so much on the painting table as they are near it.  FoG has slipped off our schedules of late, dampening my motivation here.  Sorry fellows, you're on ice until I run out of things to paint.  As summer winds down, I'm happy to report my painting table is double-plus-full.

Jomsvikings, pt. 3

As I was posing these, I though "I  MUST upgrade my 28mm terrain!"  I only have two 28mm huts in my collection, so each new warband I paint is forced to raid the same huts over and over again. This is fairly demoralizing for the wee fellows as once a hut is looted, there's no payout for the next band of marauders.

I really like the stylish balloon pants on these figs as they're a nice space for putting down color. And it's official; the Jomsvikings are my favorite Gripping Beast figures to date.  All that's left for this warband is a warlord and a standout figure.

Right...this one's been looted! 

Searching the woods for leprechauns...is that what this raid is down to?

Over the weekend, I drove my son to the IU Jacobs School of Music. He was all smiles as we set him up in the dorm and very quickly, he was making new friends.  Grant's dorm is all music students and I told my daughter "Just think, this building holds 400 Grants!" To which she replied, "Get me out of here!"

At registration, he discovered he'd finished enough general education requirements in High School that he could do a composition major with a conducting minor and an oboe concentration.  He conducted his first big piece at 14 so he's thrilled to add conducting to his plate.

Sweet freedom!

My wife and I choked up as we said our goodbyes. To keep the return drive from turning gloomy, I spent  it reminiscing about our college days, friends, and adventures at the University of Arizona. Good luck and godspeed, son. I can't wait to hear your stories, and perhaps trade a few of my own!

Jomsvikings, pt. 2

I'm a bit rushed this week as we get ready for the Big Move.  No, I'm not moving, sadly.  My son is soon off to the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music and there is much to be done before we load up the minivan to drop him off.  My wife is taking it quite hard.  All of a sudden, I am too.  I was cleaning the minivan for the long drive when it really hit me. When I think of all of the fantastic opportunities that await him, I feel much better.  I'll concentrate on that.

I was telling Grant that back in my day, I lived in the cheapest dorm on campus and we had one payphone for the whole wing.  Thank goodness for Skype and FaceTime!

So, back to the Joms.  These hearthguard are Gripping Beast. Once again, they're great figures to paint and the Joms may be my favorite GB models ever!

For those readers who are playing Saga and thinking about a Joms warband, here's a link to 4 pages of discussion on tactics for running Jomsvinkings. Enjoy!

Jomsvikings warband, Pt 1

The Jomsvikings were a possibly fictional company of Viking mercenaries who'd fight for anyone who paid their substantial fee. The Joms were highly selective in deciding whom to admit to their order. Membership was restricted to men who proved themselves with a feat of strength, often taking the form of a duel. Once admitted, the Joms required adherence to a strict code of conduct to instill military discipline. Any violation of these rules could be punished with expulsion from the order. 

Members were bound to defend their brothers, and avenge their deaths if necessary.  Jomsvikings were forbidden to show fear or to flee in the face of an enemy of equal or inferior strength, though orderly retreat in the face of outnumbering forces appears to have been acceptable. Spoils of battle were equally distributed. No Jomsviking was permitted to be absent from their stronghold, Jomsborg, for more than 3 days without the permission of the brotherhood. No women or children were allowed within the fortress walls, and none were to be taken captive.  No women?  No wonder this mercenary order disappeared!  

While their existence is a matter of debate,  I became convinced they were real once I received a batch of them to paint on commission.  I'll leave it to our Swedish bloggers and experts to offer an proper opinion.

First up are 8 hearthguard with Dane axes.  These Crusader figs mix well with the Gripping Beast figs that'll make up the rest of this warband. In Saga, they'll get a +1 bonus to their attack roles due to the Dane axe but they'll suffer a -1 penalty to their armor values due to the lack of a shield. In Saga, these fellows will be stone cold killers.

Danish lumberjacks

Knock, knock!  

The helmets are done in Vallejo gunmetal and washed with P3 armor wash.  Chainmail is done with a black undercoat drybrushed with Vallejo gunmetal.  The chainmail got a wash and then a very light drybrush of a brighter silver for the highlights.

It's good to be back painting 28mm for Saga.  The thing I'm loving about the Joms is that you can come at them with a brighter palette than an ordinary Viking warband. So, look for more high fashion and color in this fabulous Dark Ages warband!

Commanders, camp & the whole Gallic army

At the finish line, I realized I didn't have any naked Gallic commanders so I put in an order for Xyston Gaesati.  The Xyston figs are a touch bigger than the Old Glorys but they seem to mix well enough. I love painting Xyston and considered doing this army with their figs, but .75 a figure is spendy for a large 15mm army.  If I were to paint Gauls again, I'd use the Blue Moon line.

Now, about the fellows with clothes.  Other than Lady Godiva, horseback riding and nudity don't mix well. It's also possible that the fellows with pants suffer from a condition known as "never-nude."  Lastly, the historical accounts of Galatians fighting naked says "all but the tribal leaders generally fought naked." There you have the truth of it.  Even in 250BC, management preached from the "Do as I say, not as I do" gospel. Some things haven't changed in 2,000 years!

The Gallic camp is composed of an Essex cart, Old Glory civilians, a Splintered Light dog and a Xyston Gaul.  It was a full-on sweep of my shrinking ancients pile.  

I can't wait to bring the Gauls down to The Source for a game.  I don't expect to win but I do hope there'll be a good amount of walk-up traffic and comments.  When I'm losing badly, those visits can be the best part of a game. To put it another way, my friend Klay once said, "Monty loses a lot but his armies always look great running away!"    

Saturday is the local ReCon in Coon Rapids.  I plan on going early and staying late for a full day of gaming. Last time I went, a fellow introduced himself by saying, "Aren't you the guy who keeps the Twin Cities Gamer blog?"  I almost fell over from surprise to meet someone reading my blog AND recognizing me from my avatar. If you're a local reader and you're going to be at ReCon, look for me at the Saga tables. And game on!  

128 Gauls streak across the finish line!

With a bit of fortitude, I managed to push an additional 32 bases of heavy foot warriors across the finish line for my Gallic army. Multicolored pants and shirts didn't hold me back but the 2-tone shields with 2 - 4 squiggles each were quite trying. It was more work than pleasure to finish this bunch.  As Vercingetorix is my witness, this is the last time I paint Gauls in 15mm!

While I can run these fellows as any Gallic tribe in Field of Glory, they're especially suited to be Galatians. I'll let Philip Matyszak explain why from his great book, Mithridates the Great:

“It appears that the Galatians still fought in the traditional Gallic style. Though skilled metalworkers, all but the tribal leaders generally fought naked.  The Gauls made excellent shock troops, as it took experienced opponents to stand firm against headlong charge by hundreds of large sword wielding warriors who were nothing but spiky line hairstyles and ferocious expressions. The bad news was that the Galatians had only a rudimentary grasp of military discipline and tended to regard setbacks as an invitation to go home.”

The bonus in running them as Galatians in Field of Glory is that they're all rated as superior heavy foot. This plus their impact bonus I'll have a fighting chance IF I can win on impact.  That's really all I'm looking for in a game. I'm a sucker for the "Lost Causes" of history.  As I told my friend Mark last week, when I run Gauls, it is indeed a lost cause.

Here's all 48 bases of heavy foot ranked up. I kept the palette a bit tight by repeating color combos. I think it achieved an irregular look without being hard on the eyes. Front or back, they provide an interesting view! While they were a trial to paint, I'm happy with the look of them all massed up.

Once I finish the Gallic camp and 4 command stands, the Gallic/Galatian army is done! And then, finally, back to Saga.