Dead Man's Hand - Dead Again!

Up today are Great Escape Games new figures for Dead Man's Hand.  I normally stick to a First in First Out, or FIFO system for painting but these were too lovely to queue up.  So for this week, it's LIFO!

First up is the Preacher, inspiration drawn from Clint Eastwood's character in Pale Rider.  He's a key figure in one of the new DMH scenarios and yes, he's just as tough in the game as in the movie.

Next up is the undertaker set.  Funny thing about painting the dead...it's not as easy as it looks! It took a few tries to get the skintone right and I eventually settled on the lightest fleshtone, topped with a purple wash. All the while, I was while singing "Streets of Laredo."  Poor cowboy, where did you go wrong? Challenging the Preacher to a draw was a poor idea.  The coffins are by Frontline Wargaming.

Last up are the dead.  There's a set for each of the four factions in DMH.  I did check my painting from last fall to match the color schemes.  It seems I've found a reason to start keeping a painting diary.

And here's how they looked last weekend, with British paras waiting impatiently in the background.

DMH is quickly learned and played, going well with a beer.  The 2 minor scenes building up to a Big Showdown is simply brilliant. You can lose both minor scenes and go into the showdown with only a small handicap. The scenes are a great way to build a narrative and suspense.  What's not to love?

I can't wait to get these figures on the table today.  Every time Hugh brings DMH out, we get a steady stream of admirers. Win, lose or draw, it's great to meet fellow gamers, tip a beer and get a game in.

I'll close today with Marty Robbins' "Big Iron."  His album, Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs, is perhaps the greatest collection of Western songs ever recorded.  +5 points to the artist who donned the album cover in pink! 

Norse Gaels warlord & wrapup

It's the finish line for another SAGA warband.  I turned the warlord that comes with the Norse Gaels pack into a bannerman. With both hands tucked behind a shield, he'd have made a non too threatening warlord. The lovely banner is by LBMS.

Last of the Norse Gaels hearthguard.  I've looked but cannot find the name of the loincloth-like protective kit these fellows are wearing.  I assume it's a Dark Ages protective cup?

While the Norse Gaels are an older line of Gripping Beast figs, the rough spots in some of them were surpassed by their character and energy.  Now I need to get these fellows out for a "test drive."

I've put my 15mm Later Hungarian army up for sale at the top of my blog. The poor fellows have not seen the light of day so off they'll go. No worries, I've got loads of unpainted lead coming in the mail to me right now. The seller told me one of my boxes weighs 19 lbs so I think it's safe to say I'm on my way to building a lead mountain!     

Bang a Scutum, Celtiberians are done

Up today is a run that finishes out the ancient Spanish army I sold in January. All Xyston figures and once again, Xyston is a joy to paint.

First up are 16 bases of Celtiberian Scutarii heavy foot.  To set them apart from their Iberian breathren, I brought in dull yellow for tunics and bright yellow & runes for shields.  I'm quite pleased with how they look ranked up.  This seals the deal. I must find a partner for painting and playing Iberians and/or Celtiberians in 28mm.

I also painted up a small batch of Scutarii medium foot.  These fellows were painted to match the 42 bases of Iberian Scutarii I painted up previously.

With this, all of my 15mm painting is done and it's back to 28mm.

Dailami Allies

I finished the core of my Dailami army last December and here's the rest. First up are Bedouin allies. The Bedouin ally commander can only attach to Bedouin troops in Field of Glory.  I painted the Bedouin units in black as a visual cue to help keep them together. In 15mm, that means a black basecoat followed by 2 highlights of grey.

Bedouin Light Horse:  The role of light horse on a battlefield is generally to skirmish and delay.  The role of Bedouin lancers is to run down enemy lights and destroy them.  Tough fellows!

Bedouin Slingers:  Nothing fancy here.  Just slingers, annoying other troops on the battlefield.

Bedouin Archers:  The Old Glory website suffers from the fact that they don't post up pictures of all of their figures.  As a result, I was surprised when I pulled these fellows from the box. They're either Bedouin slaves or men who eschew robes and turbans.

Next are the Ghazis.  Ghazi means "to raid" in Arabic.  Ghazis warriors depended on plunder for their livelihood and were prone to looting during peacetime.  Not a good way to impress your employer!

Ghazis Foot:  These fellows are medium impact foot.

Ghazis Cavalry:  Lancer armed, these fellows will be tough at impact.

Ghilman Cavalry:  Ghilman were slave-soldiers who served in Muslim armies from the 9th century on. Trained and educated, they could earn their freedom through dedicated service.  They're equally good with the bow and sword.

Kurdish Lancers: The history here is a bit thin but 11th century Kurdish cavalry are shown and described as wearing armor, helmet, robes, light lance, sometimes sword and shield, and sometimes bow. That's all I've got on these fellows!

I could not find armored Arab lancers on the Old Glory website so I took Ghilmen figures, trimmed their swords and drilled out the right foot to mount spears.  Presto!  Armored lancers.

Camp:  Baueda tent and supplies with Old Glory figures and cart. With this, the Dailmi army is finished.

The Rocky Road to Dublin...

The rocky road to Dublin passes through these gents, so best take care.  All Gripping Beast figs with LBMS shield transfers. The Norse Gaels remind me of the saying "To a hammer, everything looks like a nail." These guys are hammers, every one, and they have the battleboard to prove it.

The Norse-Gaels SAGA battleboard is built on personal challenges. Personal challenges represent combat between single champions from units engaged in melee and are settled with a die roll. The defender can decline the challenge but then the Norse Gaels automatically get the benefit of their battleboard ability associated with the challenge.  Most opponents will accept the challenge on the off chance of winning the die role and denying the NG their battleboard ability. I say "off chance" because the NG battleboard can generate a +1 or 2  bonus for personal challenges. The odds should always be stacked in their favor.

A couple of neat tricks...

Howling Axes: Gives 3 additional attack dice, 5 if the unit is armed with Dane axes.  That's a good reason to field axes in this warband.

Slaughter:  All 1s rolled become hits, 2s too if you use a rare rune.  When combined with the Dane Axe, you can turn all of your attack dice into hits. Combine this ability with Howling Axes and a small unit of hearthguard can wipe out a much larger one.  Deadly!

With abilities like Slaughter, Howling Axes, Death Dance and Ostmen’s Fury, their Viking roots shine through. If you like running Vikings in SAGA, you’ll love their mad cousins, the Norse-Gaels.

I'm working my way through the Great Courses lectures on the Vikings.  The 34 half hour lectures count as 1 book at Audible.com so with my monthly subscription, it's a bargain compared to the retail rate. I paint with the door to my painting room open and I think my family is enjoying the lectures as much as I do! So far, it's a great deep dive on the Norse. When I'm done, I'm going to grab the Romans and Barbarians course next.    

Howling Axes! Norse Gael axemen

The Norse were first recorded in Ireland in 795 when they sacked Lambay Island. Raids continued until 832, after which they began to build fortified settlements throughout the country.  The Norse–Gaels originated in settlements when the Norse intermarried with the native Gaels in Ireland and Scotland.  They founded the Kingdoms of Man, Argyll, Dublin, and Galloway. To this day, the Hebrides are known in Scottish Gaelic as Innse Gall, the islands of "foreigners." The Norse–Gaels dominated the region until the Norman invasion.

Gripping Beast did a splendid job of capturing the spirit of mad Viking-Irish warriors.  The warband contains a shocking number of barefoot fellows.  What they lack in fashionable footwear is made up for by the Dane axe. These barefoot axeman have a wicked look about them.  Slopping around without shoes might turn anyone into an axe-wielding maniac.  

First up are 8 warriors, followed by 4 hearthguard. Take a look at the warrior in red below. His hair is plaited and each plait is secured by a small golden ball. I knew I'd seen this look before and sure enough, Ian Heath's "Armies of the Dark Ages" has an illustration that appears to be the inspiration for this figure.   

This winter has been a brutal one, even for Minnesota.  We're going to get popped by another round of the Polar Vortex with temperatures dropping below -25 tomorrow.  Gray skies and icy cold temps are fueling a bad case of cabin fever.  It's a good thing I don't own an axe or I just might chop through a door, pop my head through and yell out "Heeeere's Mooonty!" Thank goodness for the painting table as it does keep me sane.   Stay warm and sane, where-ever you are!

Where's my SAGA warband?  WHERE??